Air-con servicing

[aussiexpat]

I had one aircon that wasn't cold. They said gas was fine and changed some cylinder thingy. Works perfect now (if they did re-gas I would have just paid it none the wiser)

 

[Dazinoz]

3 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

So unless a repair is needed a top up shouldn't be needed?

Sometimes a very small leak can occur and take a long period of time to be detected. So basically what i was saying is if you needed to do a top up because unit not cooling we had to locate source of leak and repair before topping up.

[Dazinoz]

2 minutes ago, aussiexpat said:

I had one aircon that wasn't cold. They said gas was fine and changed some cylinder thingy. Works perfect now

Probably a drier.

[wwest5829]

I have just gone to HomePro here in Chiang Mai. They use subcontractors but, my thinking is that they have already vetted.

[scubascuba3]

27 minutes ago, Dazinoz said:

Sometimes a very small leak can occur and take a long period of time to be detected. So basically what i was saying is if you needed to do a top up because unit not cooling we had to locate source of leak and repair before topping up.

ok so if cooling fine, shouldn't need a top up? I'm just trying to spot when the AC boys are just trying to scam

[Dazinoz]

3 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

ok so if cooling fine, shouldn't need a top up? I'm just trying to spot when the AC boys are just trying to scam

Basically yes. 

[topt]

3 hours ago, Dazinoz said:

Not correct, the outside unit gets neglected too much. The fins do not have a filter and depending where you are can get very dirty. The video is the outdoor unit fins getting cleaned here in Chiang Mai only 1 year after being "professionally" cleaned. So don't waste your money when unit being serviced  and get the outdoor unit cleaned.

 

NOTE: This is not a "How to" video but a "Why you should" video.

Agree wholeheartedly however I do have a query.

 

This has been discussed in the past on here and some years ago someone posted a vid from a US guy who basically said you should only use a hosepipe to clean the fins as you could (not would) damage them using a pressure washer.

Now there are pressure washers and pressure washers but is there any truth in that? 

[Dazinoz]

16 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

ok so if cooling fine, shouldn't need a top up? I'm just trying to spot when the AC boys are just trying to scam

I am renting a house and a few months back the bedroom AC died. Owner got a company to replace it. They did so with one of their own brand I had not heard of before. After a couple months the airflow was "surging" which was very annoying trying to sleep. First thing I checked was the filters. Only very slightly dirty but I cleaned them anyway. I got a torch and looked into air outlet. The barrel fan was extremely dirty and looked to have mould on it. No way should it have been like that in such a short time and filters not dirty. I called my real estate agent as to who should look at it being under warranty. She contacted owner who had installer come out. First thing he did was look at filters then I pointed out fan. Trying to ask him why like that in such a short time but he could not speak a word of english. He phoned agent and while he was on phone to her, her husband (American) called me. He said both and AND filters were very dirty and not covered under warranty. As I had only cleaned filters day before I just told him to go and told agent I will do it myself. Trying to scam a few more baht by saying he had to clean filters.

[Dazinoz]

5 minutes ago, topt said:

Agree wholeheartedly however I do have a query.

 

This has been discussed in the past on here and some years ago someone posted a vid from a US guy who basically said you should only use a hosepipe to clean the fins as you could (not would) damage them using a pressure washer.

Now there are pressure washers and pressure washers but is there any truth in that? 

The fins on the heat exchanger piping are very thin and bend easy. If you use too high a pressure cleaner with the nozzle in a jet you can bend them. I use my cleaner tip in a more wide pattern and not too close to fins and also try to aim cleaner spray parallel to the fins.

 

A garden hose will help but, obviously, not clean as good as a pressure washer.

[aussiexpat]

Thanks for all the comments, I will get Juristic on Monday to ask them why they didn't clean outside

 

(I know why as too scared to climb, but I should at least get a discount if they don't do)

 

Edit: Juristic just confirmed they're coming back Monday to clean the 4 outside units (included in the 2000 already paid) Thanks guys ????

 

[jacko45k]

5 hours ago, kinyara said:

Using this thread to ask if anyone knows the best place in Pattaya/Jomtien to get replacement A/c remote controls, my A/c's are LG. I guess the cleaning guys would know, just wondered if anyone has had to replace theirs.

Just got a new Daikin one from Lazada.... it was a bit expensive at over 800 baht but was OEM. Chinese substitutes are of course available too.

The LG Service centre may be able to help, it is on Sukhumvit...near the motorway flyover...search in Google Maps.

[natway09]

In all probability a serviceman would look at the compressor outside to ensure the fan is clear 

but where most performance is lost are the condensors that get all gunky inside that need cleaning every 6 months under normal domestic use.

Commercial heavy use can pay dividends to clean condensors every 3 months.

(I am assuming no need for regassing which with a good brand & correct installation should not need doing for 5 years

[Dazinoz]

9 hours ago, natway09 said:

but where most performance is lost are the condensors that get all gunky inside that need cleaning every 6 months under normal domestic use.

Did you watch my video I posted in this thread? It was the outdoor unit that was causing the issue.

[Dazinoz]

9 hours ago, natway09 said:

I am assuming no need for regassing which with a good brand & correct installation should not need doing for 5 years

Should NEVER need doing. As posted above I had AC in australia that had gone 19 years without a top up.

[Mickeymaus]

23 minutes ago, Dazinoz said:

Should NEVER need doing. As posted above I had AC in australia that had gone 19 years without a top up.

I have 3 old aircons. They never needed gas. I don't even allow to check it. They just might damage the valves and then you have a leak. 

[KannikaP]

On 10/14/2022 at 3:59 PM, aussiexpat said:

Not so with mine, they said all four were good for gas (12 years old).

 

I'm just amazed at the difference in cooling after the clean with no re-gas involved

 

Note: this is just the 4 internal units, they didn't touch the 4 outside compressors

 

My AC man out here in the jungle does inside AND outside units for Bht 500 a throw.   555

[proton]

22 hours ago, sandyf said:

The average person would have some idea if the air is not cold. When that happens every chance it is down to a drop in gas pressure.

Our aircons are now over 12 years old and have had a leak on each one in the last couple of years.

But then the average falang thinks everything is a scam.

How did they find the leaks and fix them? no point topping up until a leak is fixed.

[Peterw42]

Topping up the gas isn't always a scam. Air-conns can have slow leaks. I have a car that needs a top-up once a year and no amount of testing shows a leak (pink dye in the system etc). 

Same with houses, I had a place that needed a top-up after a couple of years, extensive testing didn't show any leaks, but over time there was a slow leak.

Air-con tech put it down to high temps or rapid heating cooling etc can cause otherwise good seals to fail momentarily under certain rare conditions. Probably not much different to car tyres, which otherwise have no apparent (or repairable) leaks, but do need air from time to time.

[Dazinoz]

23 minutes ago, proton said:

no point topping up until a leak is fixed

Exactly.

 

23 minutes ago, proton said:

How did they find the leaks and fix them?

I used 2 main ways of finding leaks. Most leaks occur around piping joints or at the service valves (valves on outdoor unit). Oil build up around those areas are a good indication of a leak as oil travels around the refrigeration circuit with the refrigerant. The second method is an electronic leak detector. The one I had was rated at a sensitivity of a leak as little as 7 grams of refrigerant per year which is a very small leak. You would turn the unit on in fresh air then move it to indoor or outdoor unit. When the detector beeps you reset detector and move detector closer. This makes the detector more sensitive. This is repeated until the leak is located. 

[Dazinoz]

31 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Topping up the gas isn't always a scam. Air-conns can have slow leaks.

Of course thats not a scam because it needs doing. But there are so many that do top up when not needed to get a few extra baht. I have read a few stories where refrigerant had to be let out due to too much being eventually added.

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, proton said:

How did they find the leaks and fix them? no point topping up until a leak is fixed.

Quite. They had to remove the internal units and take them back to the workshop and then brought them back a few days later.