Air Conditioning No Longer Cool / Cold

[rexnong]

Thanks to everyone for your responce but i am still sweating at 32c i will get another cowboy to check in the morning as we have many cowboys around I am still sure its the condensor but i will have to to and locate where the little bugg$r is Thanks

you don't need a magnifying glass to find the "little bugger". the condenser is the heat exchanger located in the outside unit. but it is highly unlike that a leak can be found in it. more likely is that the leak is in one of the pipes. unfortunately i have never heard of a thai aircon service company which has the gadget to find a refrigerant leak losing 1ppm (definitely not cowboys) plus the fact that most of the pipe length is in the wall under plaster and can't be checked. you have two options: keep on refilling refrigerant and pay through your nose till kingdom come or have new pipes installed who's vacuum is checked for a minimum of 24 hours before the system is filled again.

Thanks for your reply . i am sure there wont be a leak in the condensor?

can condesnors leak??? has anyone found a leaky condensor?????

There is no leak anywhere and you say most of the length is in the wall and cant be checked????

My unit has pipes that are visible apart from less than 6 inches so not sure about your pipe comment but thanks for the idea

Sorry Naam but i do think you comment on nearly every topic and know Jack Sh*t about most but good on you your my kind of guy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[elkangorito]

Condensers can leak, particularly if they are exposed to a corrosive environment (pollution, salt water etc). This particularly applies to condensors that are not 'coated'.

Also, the copper pipework becomes 'work hardened' after a period of time, which can lead to fractures in the pipework. Ususally, it takes a long time (years) for such a problem to surface.

From what I have seen of the a/c installations done by Thai 'technicians', pipes are quite often 'kinked' (bends are too sharp), which creates unwanted noise & gas turbulence (amongst other things).

Not only this but they seem to not care about certain things.

I'll give you an example. At my place of work, an a/c compressor recently 'blew up' (literally in flames & smoke) although I told the a/c repairman to NOT turn on the unit.

The result was a new compressor but a 'burn out' filter was not fitted...an ordinary 'receiver/drier' was fitted. I fully expect this new compressor to last about 1 year before it destroys itself as the pipework is about 5m long. I'm pretty certain a nitrogen purge was not done, nor a 'pulldown' test to check for leaks.

This may seem extreme for a small system but big or small, they all cost money if something fails.

I can assure you that Doc knows what he is talking about when it comes to a/c. He will probably correct some of my mistakes .

Edited April 29, 2010 by elkangorito

[T_Dog]

Is there anything to be learned from the temperature of the condenser unit input and output tubes? We

have one AC that works great, and both the condenser's output tube and evaporator return tubes are frigid cold when touched. This is after a long on-run.

We have another AC that barely puts out any cool air. That condenser's output tube is frigid but the evaporator return tube is hot to the touch. Also after a long run but a different manufacturer.