Air Conditioner Maintenance In Cars And At Home.

[North]

Hello all,

I live in Thailand now and would like to know some details about air conditioner maintenance. My wife have a Ford Aspire with air conditioner, does such an air conditioner need any maintenance ?

(My wife talk about refilling water to it, but I am not sure, if it is true or not ? )

And at home we have a Snow Sea split type air conditioner 12500 BTU/hr. The outdoor unit is type CM 12-16.

The indoor unit has an air-filter, which I cleaned already.

what further maintenance does this air conditioner need ?

North

[tjo o tjim]

Mold grows in air conditioning systems in Thailand pretty quickly. For cars, I don't know how the he11 you would actually clean it without completely taking it apart and soaking things in bleach. For inside, the coil and the condensate drain pan and drain line are the worst parts for mold, take out what you can, and use spray bleach on the rest. I would give it one go with a 20% bleach solution, and a second go with plain water.

The outdoor unit will also see a drop in performanace if you live in a dusty/sandy area, as these things will collect on the condenser coil. A good pressure wash of the coils should do the trick.

You are really better off getting a professional to do either of these things, but I am not sure how much confidence I would have in them. (There was a thread a ways back about air conditioner maintenance contract companies.)

[Firefoxx]

All air conditioners need maintenance, whether they're used or not. Conditions determine how often you need to perform the maintenance. Your wife, probably Thai, says you need to refill "water" because in Thai, refridgerant is called "air water solution". All air conditioners need to be topped up every few years, more often if it develops a leak.

For your car, you should take it back to the dealer to clean. For your air con, you should contact the store you bought it from (the air cons we have at home come with a free yearly maitenance plan).

[astral]

All air conditioners need maintenance, whether they're used or not. Conditions determine how often you need to perform the maintenance. Your wife, probably Thai, says you need to refill "water" because in Thai, refridgerant is called "air water solution". All air conditioners need to be topped up every few years, more often if it develops a leak.

For your car, you should take it back to the dealer to clean. For your air con, you should contact the store you bought it from (the air cons we have at home come with a free yearly maitenance plan).

If you bought the house with the AC installed, most AC shops will come out and clean

and top up the AC for a small charge. A few 100 baht.

PS You need to clean the filters about once a month. You will be amazed at the dust they catch.

The latest AC units have a timer and turn on a light to remind you when to do the job.

A dirty filter will reduce the effectiveness of the unit and waste electricity!!

Edited June 19, 2006 by astral

[Clipped]

for a car, prices for parts are as follows:

fan motor:800-1200 baht (fan only no casing)

condensing unit (honeycomb) :1000-1400 baht, they have full copper and half copper/aluminium

rebuild kit for compressor i think it was around 400-800 baht; most compressors can be fixed by replacing the seals, if the guy tells you that a new one is needed, he's trying to play you.

refrigerant recharge: 200-350 baht....no one tops them off completely TIT

hoses 80-300 baht (depending on make)

cleaning the system will involve, taking out the condensing unit, cleaning it and recharge the system...

i have yet to see a shop that uses leak detectors via colored gases injected into the system to find leaks...

if you really want things cold, you can replace the stock fan motor with a higher rpm unit, i did this in my bmw and the difference was night and day. (fan motors are squirrel cage motors that can be universally fit, when taken out of the casing)