Another RCBO tripping

[lopburi3]

8 minutes ago, Susco said:

Blower not gonna work, because that stuff sticks like glue, and is soft.

 

Not sure what high pressure cleaner could damage, because when aircon is cleaned they also pressure clean the outdoor units

But not the electrical section - that said if you have to use water just make sure you use a good hair dryer (or blower) to get water out of everything and give it some time to dry.

[bankruatsteve]

1 hour ago, Susco said:

Got the LG technician here, he had a quick look and quoted 7800 Baht for repair, because according to him bees in the condenser.

Did he say exactly what he would "repair"?  If the wasps/bees/whatever have gummed up the PC board, then that is likely going to need replace in any case (guessing B3000-5000).  You might try calling LG customer service to get a quote and explaining what happened including their "technician" throwing prices at you.  I'll bet you get a more considerate response.  

 

If you can figure out how to remove the board (probably need to unplug 4-5 connectors and whatever secures the board), that might help let you have at it for cleaning things up.

[Susco]

34 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

Did he say exactly what he would "repair"?  If the wasps/bees/whatever have gummed up the PC board, then that is likely going to need replace in any case (guessing B3000-5000).  You might try calling LG customer service to get a quote and explaining what happened including their "technician" throwing prices at you.  I'll bet you get a more considerate response.  

 

If you can figure out how to remove the board (probably need to unplug 4-5 connectors and whatever secures the board), that might help let you have at it for cleaning things up.

Yes board is completely messed up.

 

I think gonna stop dealing with this and just replace the aircon, the way it looks in there, I don't believe they ever get it completely cleaned out

[bankruatsteve]

3 minutes ago, Susco said:

I think gonna stop dealing with this and just replace the aircon, the way it looks in there, I don't believe they ever get it completely cleaned out

I'd give your local AC cleaning crew a chance at it - unless they want more than the normal cleaning price.  Seems a shame to replace the whole unit.  And again, I would give LG Customer Service a chance to make things good.

[Susco]

1 minute ago, bankruatsteve said:

I'd give your local AC cleaning crew a chance at it - unless they want more than the normal cleaning price.  Seems a shame to replace the whole unit.  And again, I would give LG Customer Service a chance to make things good.

I spoke with LG customer service while the technician was here, they lowered the price from 7800 to 5000 when I said the condenser was not affected.

 

Will check with a local aircon man, and if they don't charge for making a quotation, like LG did, give them a chance.

 

In fact, I may just leave it as it is, since I never use this aircon anyway

[Susco]

Got an update.

 

Had a local aircon guy come around today. He removed the main board and opened it up, and said some circuits were damaged.

 

He quoted 3- 4000 for the board, and said after replacement would have to check the motor.

 

Went back to LG for a detail on the survey.

 

It included mainboard at 2065 Baht a few connectors, transformer and motor.

 

After some discussion I got an agreement that all would be done for 4100 Baht, in addition to the 428 Baht I had paid already, and that if the motor didn't need replacement 1230 Baht would be deducted from that total.

 

I agreed to let them do the repair

 

The question is now why both technician consider the motor to be defect, since there are no signs of any bees near the motor?

 

Is there a way to test the motor by myself?

 

The aircon guy also told me that if you spray the compressor with Sonax MoS2 oil, which you can buy at Tesco, bees will not attack.

 

 

 

Edited June 1, 2020 by Susco

[Susco]

16 hours ago, Susco said:

The question is now why both technician consider the motor to be defect, since there are no signs of any bees near the motor?

 

Is there a way to test the motor by myself?

@Crossy @bankruatsteve Any opinion on this?

[Crossy]

These motors are built down to a price and when driven by an inverter can be pared back even more. The electronics provides the nicest operating environment, gentle start and stop ramps, power and current limiting and the like. Inverter devices weren't developed for our comfort, they are cheaper to make (despite what the stickers tell you), the lower power consumption is a pleasant side-effect.

 

Now our bees enter the electronics, the electronics fails and possibly bangs full supply across one winding until the protection operates. That winding may fail immediately (with no outward signs) or it may hang on for a while before failing (and potentially taking the new electronics with it).

 

You can't test one of these motors yourself! Even the techies will "test" it by sticking it on an inverter and running it. The saga of our Samsung (inverter) washing machine is worth a look, the end result being that we actually got our money back!

 

 

 

[Susco]

4 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Now our bees enter the electronics, the electronics fails and possibly bangs full supply across one winding until the protection operates.

With electronics, do you mean the main board?

[Crossy]

17 minutes ago, Susco said:

With electronics, do you mean the main board?

 

Yes.

[Susco]

Had the LG guy come around today.

 

He replaced the mainboard, a sensor and another wire, transformer was fine, as was the motor.

 

Tried to clean out the case, first with his own pressure cleaner, and later with a small Karcher I own, but impossible to remove the sticky stuff.

 

Total cost 2540 baht , on top of the 428 Baht I had paid for the survey.

 

Such unexpected repair costs are never pleasant, but in hindsight, it could have been worse.

[bankruatsteve]

If the sticky stuff is bees wax, turpentine dissolves.