Air Con Repair/maintenance In Pattaya?

[pluto_manibo]

Can anyone recommend a reliable repair/maintenance for house Air cons in Pattaya? Not someone who will pretend to put gas in the compressor, and do a little vaccum and charge you unrealistic rates! A service where they take the unit apart and give it a proper cleaning, check for leaks, gas etc... Had a great guy but he left Pattaya.... Thanks!

[johnlexo]

ARC / Call Tom / The Best / 081 809 51 35

[trevorjes]

Bill at Artic air 0899931307

[bangkapiboy]

I like Irish Aircon: http://www.irishaircon.com/

The owner stands behind his product and service.

[rmicheald]

I like Irish Aircon: http://www.irishaircon.com/

The owner stands behind his product and service.

I completely agree about Irish Aircon... I have had several Thai A/C companies including the ones who originally install my A/C. Irish has come in recently to do a maintenance and did an excellent job. Far superior to anyone else I have dealt with. Prices might be a couple hundred baht higher but WELL worth it.

[wpcoe]

Is Irish AirCon the old place that used to be run by Will Purser? (Or, perhaps, is he still around?) He installed one unit and serviced two of my old units, and the work was top notch.

[bangkapiboy]

Is Irish AirCon the old place that used to be run by Will Purser? (Or, perhaps, is he still around?) He installed one unit and serviced two of my old units, and the work was top notch.

Will ran A1 aircon (i think it was called). He disappeared. This company is run by someone else.

[DAndrew]

Is Irish AirCon the old place that used to be run by Will Purser? (Or, perhaps, is he still around?) He installed one unit and serviced two of my old units, and the work was top notch.

I think Irish Aircon is run by a guy named Seamus. I have found the work to be outstanding and use them exclusively.

[daones]

Whats the going rates for someone just to come clean your A/C and check the compressant levels? Just want to know as I look someone to come clean my A/C.

Also my air is leaking water so maybe a small repair.

Edited May 21, 2010 by daones

[Rimmer]

Whats the going rates for someone just to come clean your A/C and check the compressant levels? Just want to know as I look someone to come clean my A/C.

Also my air is leaking water so maybe a small repair.

Numchai charge Baht600

[Guderian]

Whats the going rates for someone just to come clean your A/C and check the compressant levels? Just want to know as I look someone to come clean my A/C.

Also my air is leaking water so maybe a small repair.

400-500 Baht would be typical for a single unit. A weekend visit may cost a bit more, and if you want servicing for more than one unit then you should expect a small discount. Some places might be a bit cheaper, and some a bit more expensive, but that's about the average in my experience.

Gas costs around 20 Baht/unit (is that psi???). Be sure to watch them topping it up, that they actually do add the amount of gas they charge you for.

One question for the experts here - should the gas pressure be taken with the compressor running or idle?

[daones]

Are any of the #'s mentioned in this thread around east side of pattaya or north pattaya? The one I seen with the website (irish) is located a bit far and dont think they want to go all the way here just to service my air.

[buddy]

One question for the experts here - should the gas pressure be taken with the compressor running or idle?

If its a partial recharge - when the compressor is running.

Take pressure readings from both the low pressure side and the high pressure side of the system but only charge gas through the low side of the system.

Most Thai A/C technicians havent a clue about charging A/C systems correctly as they dont know how to read a temperature pressure chart or even have an acurate thermometer to measure the ambient temperature to achieve this.

but heres a tip, if the A/C tech says you need a gas refill/top up, the gas has leaked out somewhere.

The Tech needs to identify and fix the leak before adding fresh gas (refrigerant).

Dont just let the Tech add the gas/refrigerant and go away, as obviously the leak is still there and its only a matter of time before the gas leaks out and you have a breakdown again.

Good luck hope it helps.

[Naam]

1. Most Thai A/C technicians havent a clue about charging A/C systems correctly as they dont know how to read a temperature pressure chart or even have an acurate thermometer to measure the ambient temperature to achieve this.

2. but heres a tip, if the A/C tech says you need a gas refill/top up, the gas has leaked out somewhere.

3. The Tech needs to identify and fix the leak before adding fresh gas (refrigerant).

4. Dont just let the Tech add the gas/refrigerant and go away, as obviously the leak is still there and its only a matter of time before the gas leaks out and you have a breakdown again.

1. correct.

2. not necessarily. in one of my cases it was a faulty expansion valve which caused wrong pressure readings.

3. something next to impossible because expensive testing equipment is lacking and pipes are in walls under plaster. as expensive automatic couplings are not used but pipe connections hard soldered to evaporator unit even proper testing might produce wrong results.

4. correct.

[buddy]

1. Most Thai A/C technicians havent a clue about charging A/C systems correctly as they dont know how to read a temperature pressure chart or even have an acurate thermometer to measure the ambient temperature to achieve this.

2. but heres a tip, if the A/C tech says you need a gas refill/top up, the gas has leaked out somewhere.

3. The Tech needs to identify and fix the leak before adding fresh gas (refrigerant).

4. Dont just let the Tech add the gas/refrigerant and go away, as obviously the leak is still there and its only a matter of time before the gas leaks out and you have a breakdown again.

1. correct.

2. not necessarily. in one of my cases it was a faulty expansion valve which caused wrong pressure readings.

3. something next to impossible because expensive testing equipment is lacking and pipes are in walls under plaster. as expensive automatic couplings are not used but pipe connections hard soldered to evaporator unit even proper testing might produce wrong results.

4. correct.

OK Naam, you asked for it

No2 -Its as basic as this, if the Tech is telling the customer that he has to recharge the system, the gas has leaked out somewhere, it does not make a jot of difference if the thermal expansion valve is faulty or not, a faulty expansion valve will give incorrect pressure readings but wont make you lose any gas out of the system..I hope you understand this?

(The Tech could of course lose gas when changing the TEV).

No3 - If the installation was hard "Soldered" then the pipe-work was not joined together correctly in the proper manner in the first place, Brazing technique should always be used with brazing rod containing a high Silver content.

I could go into depth technically about why there are various reasons for this pressure reading or that reading but I wont.

What I was trying to do was help the original poster be aware that it is the biggest scam in Air-conditioning to top up the gas (Refrigerant), with out at least trying to find and fix the leak before adding fresh gas/refrigerant - for example most owners of cars who have ac problems believe they need six monthly or annual top ups of gas/refrigerant, not true its a sealed system .

Oh and point number 2 - Good old Soapy water will catch most leaks, dont need expensive equipment to leak check!

[Guderian]

Thanks for the interesting replies, gents.

I was asking because in the past the eejits technicians who have come to service the AC have always measured the pressure with the compressor idle. It was always below the 70 psi (or whatever) that they think it should be, so I always ended up forking out for new gas. The trouble was that the new gas never seemed to improve things for more than a few days at best. I asked, and people said it was a leak, but it would probably cost more to find and repair the leak than it was costing to regas the thing every 6 months.

Back in February, I asked the condo to arrange a service again ready for the hot season, and a new pair of scruffy Thai guys came along, but this time they measured the pressure with the compressor running. I watched, as usual, and to start with it was about 40 psi, so I assumed that another 30 units (= 600 Baht) in gas would be required, but over a few minutes the pressure slowly built up to 70 psi, and they said it's OK, no need for gas, no hab leak. So it sounds like the last few years the others have been regassing the compressor needlessly. I assume that there's some sort of relief valve, so that in the past when they gassed it to 70 under static conditions, as soon as it was running and the pressure climbed well above 70, the gas would have started to bleed off, which explains why the effect of the new gas never seemed to last very long.

So the good news is that the old compressor in my room evidently doesn't have a leak, and I will make sure in future that they don't add gas under static conditions. I don't know if this is incompetence on the part of the AC servicing guys, or a scam to sell gas when it's not needed? If it's a widespread practice, and assuming that most people know as little about aircons as I do, then it can't be very good for the environment.

[buddy]

Thanks for the interesting replies, gents.

I was asking because in the past the eejits technicians who have come to service the AC have always measured the pressure with the compressor idle. It was always below the 70 psi (or whatever) that they think it should be, so I always ended up forking out for new gas. The trouble was that the new gas never seemed to improve things for more than a few days at best. I asked, and people said it was a leak, but it would probably cost more to find and repair the leak than it was costing to regas the thing every 6 months.

Back in February, I asked the condo to arrange a service again ready for the hot season, and a new pair of scruffy Thai guys came along, but this time they measured the pressure with the compressor running. I watched, as usual, and to start with it was about 40 psi, so I assumed that another 30 units (= 600 Baht) in gas would be required, but over a few minutes the pressure slowly built up to 70 psi, and they said it's OK, no need for gas, no hab leak. So it sounds like the last few years the others have been regassing the compressor needlessly. I assume that there's some sort of relief valve, so that in the past when they gassed it to 70 under static conditions, as soon as it was running and the pressure climbed well above 70, the gas would have started to bleed off, which explains why the effect of the new gas never seemed to last very long.

So the good news is that the old compressor in my room evidently doesn't have a leak, and I will make sure in future that they don't add gas under static conditions. I don't know if this is incompetence on the part of the AC servicing guys, or a scam to sell gas when it's not needed? If it's a widespread practice, and assuming that most people know as little about aircons as I do, then it can't be very good for the environment.

No bleed off valve for the gas to release on high pressure, normally a high pressure safety switch is fitted to turn the compressor off untill the system pressures stabalise (cool down).

[davethailand]

Pluto pm me your number and i'll send you the number of the guy that does my bar and house.

German guy, very good.

Edited May 22, 2010 by davethailand

[Naam]

No2 -Its as basic as this, if the Tech is telling the customer that he has to recharge the system, the gas has leaked out somewhere, it does not make a jot of difference if the thermal expansion valve is faulty or not, a faulty expansion valve will give incorrect pressure readings but wont make you lose any gas out of the system..I hope you understand this?

i mentioned wrong pressure reading NOT loss of refrigerant. i hope you understand this?

[Naam]

If the installation was hard "Soldered" then the pipe-work was not joined together correctly in the proper manner in the first place, Brazing technique should always be used with brazing rod containing a high Silver content.

you know that and i know that. but Somchai AC Tech does either not know or considers silver solder too expensive. i hope you understand this?

[Naam]

Oh and point number 2 - Good old Soapy water will catch most leaks, dont need expensive equipment to leak check!

works (sometimes) on pipe connections. works only in wet dreams when the leak is in the condenser or evaporator coils. i hope you understand this?

[Naam]

I could go into depth technically about why there are various reasons for this pressure reading or that reading but I wont.

good move! reason: none of the participants in this thread (but me) will understand your indepth explanations. i hope you understand this?

[Naam]

What I was trying to do was help the original poster be aware that it is the biggest scam in Air-conditioning to top up the gas (Refrigerant), with out at least trying to find and fix the leak before adding fresh gas/refrigerant - for example most owners of cars who have ac problems believe they need six monthly or annual top ups of gas/refrigerant, not true its a sealed system.

i hope you understand that in this respect i fully agree with you?

[buddy]

Woooh Naam, hit a raw nerve did I?...those Klingons are really tetchy.

Seriously though it looks like we both have knowledge of Air- Conditioning/Refrigeration...myself 30 years at it, 8 years in Asia.

Are you still active in the business?

[frenchfarangjomtien]

Hi,

Can you tell me if one of the guys you know will buy old air con ?

(i am buying a new one bur Homeworks charges to uninstall old aircon, so better sell it cheap to someone)

Any number much appreciated.

Thanks.

[4.real]

Back on sunject.

PK air in Thepprasit [guy called Pittaya -speaks good english].First came to my house 6 kilos away with his workman .Said my A/C was ok did not need charging..

Was going to leave with no money.I insisted he take 200 baht for his time and travel.

He has been since and charged 500 baht for clean and top up after my 8 montha in uk.

[Thaifan2]

Hope ,everyone understands this ,but i have found Kongmun A/C ,Jomtien ,very good over several years . ,038-251888