AC Icing up

[Polar Bear]

Another dumb AC question. 

Since the weather got hotter last week, around sunset, when the temp drops slightly and the humidity rises, I've been getting ice/frost on the indoor part of the AC unit. The first time, it properly iced up, but once I realised what was happening, I kept an eye on it, and as soon as it starts, I turn it off for a bit, then run the fan to dry it out before putting the AC back on. That's working fine, but it's annoying. 

It's due to be serviced next month, and I'm thinking of asking the landlord to send someone to look at it sooner. But I wanted to check if there is actually something wrong with it or if this is normal in this god awful weather. Is this something that can be fixed, or is it just part of life in this heat?

Google says it could be low refrigerant or dirty/blocked air filters, but if that was the case, I'd expect it to happen all the time, not just at this specific time of day. 

[sirineou]

I know that when I had a problem with Icing , the person who came to fix it, said it needed a good cleaning. And he said we should clean the A/C also 

Time to ask the landlord to send someone over, Probably too dirty, restricting airflow  and causing icing. 

[worgeordie]

What temperature do you have the A/c set at ? , our tenant has the same

problem , solved it when I found out he had it set to 19 degrees , the whole

A/c inside the house was frozen up.

 

regards Worgeordie

[Crossy]

A good clean and a gas check should be order of the day.

 

[Polar Bear]

31 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

What temperature do you have the A/c set at ? , our tenant has the same

problem , solved it when I found out he had it set to 19 degrees , the whole

A/c inside the house was frozen up.

 

regards Worgeordie

This one is set to 26c and the ones in the bedrooms are 24c. (Those ones aren't icing up, but we don't have them turned on at that time of day.) 

The electric bill is bad enough at 26c, I can't imagine what we'd be paying at 19c!

[Polar Bear]

Thanks everyone, I'll get onto the landlord. I didn't want to embarrass myself by complaining if it was normal!

[soi3eddie]

52 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Probably too dirty, restricting airflow  and causing icing. 

 

Agree. Almost certainly the cause. OP should look at the cylindrical fan inside it and it will likley be coated in dirt restricting airflow. This happened to mine some years ago and once airflow restored, it worked perfectly.

 

[Denim]

Polar Bear worried about ice formation. That has to be a first.

[brianthainess]

1 hour ago, Polar Bear said:

Another dumb AC question. 

Since the weather got hotter last week, around sunset, when the temp drops slightly and the humidity rises, I've been getting ice/frost on the indoor part of the AC unit. The first time, it properly iced up, but once I realised what was happening, I kept an eye on it, and as soon as it starts, I turn it off for a bit, then run the fan to dry it out before putting the AC back on. That's working fine, but it's annoying. 

It's due to be serviced next month, and I'm thinking of asking the landlord to send someone to look at it sooner. But I wanted to check if there is actually something wrong with it or if this is normal in this god awful weather. Is this something that can be fixed, or is it just part of life in this heat?

Google says it could be low refrigerant or dirty/blocked air filters, but if that was the case, I'd expect it to happen all the time, not just at this specific time of day. 

Is it draining outside ?

[Polar Bear]

2 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

Is it draining outside ?

Yes, and if it ices and defrosts, the runoff for that drains outside as well. 

[Fruit Trader]

 

 

 

 

 

Restricted air flow or fan speed problem, get it serviced ASAP.

 

 

[rexpotter]

Blocked air flow causes freezing up:

Air conditioners need to have a constant flow of air so that humidity can’t settle on the coils and freeze. In order to keep the air flow in your own house moving enough to not disrupt your air conditioner’s functionality, you need to be sure your air filters aren’t dirty and becoming clogged. This restricts the air flow in your house. Air filters are cheap, and it’s best to change them regularly. Keeping your AC clean and tuned up is also a good idea for preventing air flow problems, and other problems in general. Plus, the United States Department of Energy reports that changing your HVAC filter can improve the efficiency of your HVAC equipment by 5% to 15%.

[Polar Bear]

There are removable filters that sort of clip into the front, and I clean them every month or so because we have a dog and they get fur stuck on them. I wouldn't even know where to look for other filters. 

[rexpotter]

I think they mean that easy to clean filter accessed by pulling out on the top of the unit. . Use your butt sprayer and spray against the normal incoming airflow. Do it once a week. Guy who cleaned mine recently used his high pressure spray and was not very careful. water got into the printed circuit board main connection. They wanted 2500baht to replace it. It dried out after a a few days on its own, and is normal now.

[Polar Bear]

I usually just take them outside and hose them down in the yard. It's a 5-minute job. I can do it weekly if it'll help.

[rexpotter]

Have you sprayed the outside units radiator fins with a hose? Do that too. Also look at the rotataing circular fan and see if it is all crappy. If it isn't you have other issues.

[rexpotter]

Just now, rexpotter said:

Have you sprayed the outside units radiator fins with a hose? Do that too. Also look at the rotataing circular fan and see if it is all crappy. If it isn't you have other issues.

I did not mean to add that image. But I had to replace one once. cheap.

[Polar Bear]

It needs servicing soon anyway, so I'll let the landlord send someone to deal with that. 

[Photoguy21]

The air conditioner just needs a good cleaning. Not a big problem.

[sometimewoodworker]

4 hours ago, Polar Bear said:

Google says it could be low refrigerant or dirty/blocked air filters, but if that was the case, I'd expect it to happen all the time, not just at this specific time of day. 

It can happen anytime.

The common causes are one or all of:

• blocked or dirty filters
• dirty or damaged fan
• blocked or restricted water out flow line
• low refrigerant 
• restrictions on the pipe set between the 2 units.

it is likely that the time of day is a factor 

 

[Muhendis]

5 hours ago, Polar Bear said:

This one is set to 26c and the ones in the bedrooms are 24c. (Those ones aren't icing up, but we don't have them turned on at that time of day.) 

The electric bill is bad enough at 26c, I can't imagine what we'd be paying at 19c!

"The electric bill is bad enough at 26c"

 

Don't you have solar off grid like everyone else.

Ah!

Perhaps you live in a condo.

Tough

[transam]

2 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

"The electric bill is bad enough at 26c"

 

Don't you have solar off grid like everyone else.

Ah!

Perhaps you live in a condo.

Tough

None of my local friends with houses have solar panels, nor do I, and I can safely say that in my area very few do, so nothing to do with condo's...🤔

[Muhendis]

2 minutes ago, transam said:

None of my local friends with houses have solar panels, nor do I, and I can safely say that in my area very few do, so nothing to do with condo's...🤔

Aircon is a power guzzling luxury (or maybe not so much of a luxury).

I would suggest that, at current prices, solar technology would give you a payback time which would be well worth the capital outlay.

Mind you, it would be more economical to run your AC at a sensible temperature in the region of 27ºC in the bedroom and 30ºC in the lounge and also change to inverter technology if you don't already have it.

 

[transam]

2 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

Aircon is a power guzzling luxury (or maybe not so much of a luxury).

I would suggest that, at current prices, solar technology would give you a payback time which would be well worth the capital outlay.

Mind you, it would be more economical to run your AC at a sensible temperature in the region of 27ºC in the bedroom and 30ºC in the lounge and also change to inverter technology if you don't already have it.

 

Yes, I know how to run my A/C and ceiling fans, been doing it here for a long time..

But at my age, and financial outlay for solar is a no-no for me and most of my friends to even think about.......

I don't need A/C downstairs, 4 ceiling fans and cold floors do the job, plus the upstairs heat buffer. I only need my twin inverter A/C in the bedroom when I get there...🤗

[Muhendis]

3 minutes ago, transam said:

Yes, I know how to run my A/C and ceiling fans, been doing it here for a long time..

But at my age, and financial outlay for solar is a no-no for me and most of my friends to even think about.......

I don't need A/C downstairs, 4 ceiling fans and cold floors do the job, plus the upstairs heat buffer. I only need my twin inverter A/C in the bedroom when I get there...🤗

Yeah. I can appreciate your point. Why spend money when you are thinking of dieing before payback time comes around. 

How old are you if you don't mind me asking?

I am well into my late 70's and still enjoying technological challenges. My wife keeps telling me I should live 'till I'm 125 so I go for it and stuff my kids inheritances.

 

[transam]

2 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

Yeah. I can appreciate your point. Why spend money when you are thinking of dieing before payback time comes around. 

How old are you if you don't mind me asking?

I am well into my late 70's and still enjoying technological challenges. My wife keeps telling me I should live 'till I'm 125 so I go for it and stuff my kids inheritances.

 

They keep telling me that too, but I know I won't.........😄

[SingAPorn]

Many suggest solar as the solution agains the electric price scamming all over. Very true. But the maintenance of solar pannels that need regular cleaning seems to be overlooked,. Not to mention to find a reliable company to do the setup and that is a job in itself in the Land of Scams. Not to forget the legal paperwork that needs to be submitted and any eventual insurance issues ? Thai Home insurance firms that are far from being customer friendly, even through a broker,  often are rather cold on solar pannels with regard to fire issues.

[Polar Bear]

30 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

Aircon is a power guzzling luxury (or maybe not so much of a luxury).

I would suggest that, at current prices, solar technology would give you a payback time which would be well worth the capital outlay.

Mind you, it would be more economical to run your AC at a sensible temperature in the region of 27ºC in the bedroom and 30ºC in the lounge and also change to inverter technology if you don't already have it.

 

 

Installing solar panels and replacing AC units in a rented property doesn't sound like a very economical option TBH.

 

Or is this my landlord posting...?

[Middle Aged Grouch]

Better to plainly avoid comming here, if possible, during the hot season that runs from march to october.

[Muhendis]

32 minutes ago, transam said:

They keep telling me that too, but I know I won't.........😄

They......?