More about aircon

[zlodnick]

I spent a few hours reading past post to educate myself before I bought a new aircon. Have to really give it some thought after reading so many confllicting posts.

I finally settled on a 18,000 btu mitsubishi standard unit for a 25 sq m room. Havent tried it yet, too dam cold.

I also looked at youtube videos on aircon. VERY informative. Shows step by step how to install and maintain.

One thing that really caught my eye was a couple of videos of guys from the US who claimed to be professional aircon men. A big topic on thaivisa was the amount of refridgerant in a system. How often to add, weather or not to add, how to tell if there is a leak?, etc. Well, these guys say its simple to tell if there is enough in the unit. They said, check the larger pipe on the outside unit. If it is cold and has condensation on it. The system is full and working fine.

Well. I tend to believe them. The reason being, i have a 9,000 btu unit in the bedroom. Its a mitsubishi, 11 years old and NEVER been serviced! Once a year, I vacuum the outside unit and wash it out with the garden hose. The inside unit, i vacuum and wipe down with a damp cloth. I vacuum the paper filter and its the original one, 11 years old. The company recomends replaceing every 4 months. The outside pipe is always cold and wet.

I always thought I was wrong by not having it professionally serviced, but Im just not comfortable with Thai people touching my stuff.

[eyecatcher]

Did you read the topic last week on our Chiang mai forum.

His new mitsubishi aircon was making noises so they replaced it and the srcond one is the same.

Perhaps you can send him the video link and in return he will tell you what a mistake you made buying a mitsubishi.

Seems fair?

[konisaan]

As a final touch you can buy some foam rubber, cut some notches in it and then use it to insulate the copper junctions. It's the one spot that usually gets missed.

[zlodnick]

I just reread my post and realize I didnt make 1 point clear.

My 11 year old Mitsubishi, that has never been serviced, still runs great! Thats why I bought another.

[lopburi3]

That said the service should not have anything to do with adding refrigerant unless there is loss, which should not happen. But it would remove internal dirt and restore cooling efficiency. Believe the 9K may have been all you needed if serviced.

[zlodnick]

Loburi13,

Sorry ive done a poor job of explaining things.

I still have the 11 year old 9,000 btu in the bedroom and it works great.

I was so satisfyed with it I bought another Mitsubishi for the livingroom.

As long as I have no problems, I suppose I will continue to service it myself.

The old one is very quiet. Once it was making a real racket, so I removed the cover outside and wasps had built a nest on one of the faan blades knocking it off balance. Removed the nest and back to quiet.

I have a feeling the brand of aircon is not the cause of most problems. I think it is improper instalation and maintainance.