Air con leaking gas?

[thai3]

Mitsubishi heavy duty 3 years old, always needs topping up with gas on cleaning, so obviously a leak even though somchai says it's not. I think in the USA and the EU it's actually illegal to re gas a unit until the leak is fixed to stop it polluting the atmosphere.

What's the solution here? in the US they have something injected into the system that is meant to plug the leak but nobody has heard of it here. Would contacting Mitsubishi heavy duty lead anywhere? most of the air con blokes seem pretty clueless and cannot seem to do anything other than clean and shrug their shoulders, and charge quite a bit for putting yet more gas in it of course.

[Naam]

that leak sealant available in Thailand would make thousands of a/c contractors very unhappy!

[Isan Farang]

Do you know for sure there is an actual leak ?. The guy who services our AC charges 500 Baht for a basic service per unit, if he was to top up the gas that we be an extra cost depending on how much was used.

Another AC man who is now retired told my wife he used to inform the customer the system was low on gas and connect the gas tank to the system and pretend to add the gas. I recon most people when told their system is low in gas just give the go ahead to top it up when they have no idea if gas has been added or not.

[1BADDAT]

Never heard of a product that will seal the leak. Seams it would lock up the compressor as well. I have heard of them injecting something with a die to help locate the leak.

[thai3]

Do you know for sure there is an actual leak ?. The guy who services our AC charges 500 Baht for a basic service per unit, if he was to top up the gas that we be an extra cost depending on how much was used.

Another AC man who is now retired told my wife he used to inform the customer the system was low on gas and connect the gas tank to the system and pretend to add the gas. I recon most people when told their system is low in gas just give the go ahead to top it up when they have no idea if gas has been added or not.

AC do not use gas anymore than a fridge does and you don't have to top that up. You know you have a leak when the unit does not run as cold and in the end just blowing air

[thai3]

Never heard of a product that will seal the leak. Seams it would lock up the compressor as well. I have heard of them injecting something with a die to help locate the leak.

[Isan Farang]

Do you know for sure there is an actual leak ?. The guy who services our AC charges 500 Baht for a basic service per unit, if he was to top up the gas that we be an extra cost depending on how much was used.

Another AC man who is now retired told my wife he used to inform the customer the system was low on gas and connect the gas tank to the system and pretend to add the gas. I recon most people when told their system is low in gas just give the go ahead to top it up when they have no idea if gas has been added or not.

AC do not use gas anymore than a fridge does and you don't have to top that up. You know you have a leak when the unit does not run as cold and in the end just blowing air

So what is it that is leaking ?

[thai3]

gas

Refrigerants make air conditioning possible. Contained within the coils of an air conditioner, these liquid agents cool and dehumidify indoor air. For years, the most common refrigerant gas used in air-conditioning systems was R-22 (Freon).

still is R22 here as far as I know

[Naam]

Never heard of a product that will seal the leak. Seams it would lock up the compressor as well. I have heard of them injecting something with a die to help locate the leak.

http://contractingbusiness.com/refrigeration/how-and-when-use-refrigeration-system-sealants

[Pib]

Mitsubishi heavy duty 3 years old, always needs topping up with gas on cleaning, so obviously a leak even though somchai says it's not.

Is it still cooling OK when you have it cleaned and you are basically just doing preventive maintenance by keeping it clean?

Or does it stop cooling well and then you call in Somchai who then says it probably leaking?

If it's still cooling OK before cleaning then maybe Somchai is just scaming you regarding the need for additional freon.

[thrilled]

My take if it puts out cold air your in good shape.If not you most likely have A small leak.You'll most likely need to get A new one sooner than later.The heat in Thailand puts A strain on air conditioners.

[Pib]

My take if it puts out cold air your in good shape.If not you most likely have A small leak.You'll most likely need to get A new one sooner than later.The heat in Thailand puts A strain on air conditioners.

I would hope not if the A/C is only 3 years old...plus it's a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries A/C which is suppose to be better/longer lasting than a regular Mitsubishi A/C. Heck I have 7 York A/Cs in my house...these A/Cs are eight years old....never had to have freon added to any of them due to leaks.

[Isan Farang]

gas

Refrigerants make air conditioning possible. Contained within the coils of an air conditioner, these liquid agents cool and dehumidify indoor air. For years, the most common refrigerant gas used in air-conditioning systems was R-22 (Freon).

still is R22 here as far as I know

Your last quote was AC do not use gas anymore, and now its changed that they use gas.

That Freon must be giving you a blast from the past.

[Pib]

Oh, freon (many different specifically number varieties now days, R-22, R-410a, etc., and more accurately referred to as refrigerant) is definitely still used in A/Cs, frigs, etc....it's just the freon (refrigerant) assumes two states as it's being pumped around the A/C system (i.e., the compressor/condenser unit to evaporator unit continuous round trip) in that it assumes a gaseous state and liquid state depending on where it's at in the system when the system is running. Call it freon, refrigerant, gas, etc., kinda like referring to some types of fuels as benzine, gasoline, petrol, etc....still talking the same animal.

http://www.ragsdaleair.com/blog/your-most-common-questions-about-refrigerant-or-freon-answered-4/

What is Freon?

Freon is a brand name of air conditioning refrigerant trademarked by DuPont. So you definitely have refrigerant in your air conditioner, but you may or may not have the brand Freon.

However, Freon has become synonymous with the word “refrigerant” similar to how the brand name “Kleenex” is synonymous with “tissues”.

[1BADDAT]

Never heard of a product that will seal the leak. Seams it would lock up the compressor as well. I have heard of them injecting something with a die to help locate the leak.

http://contractingbusiness.com/refrigeration/how-and-when-use-refrigeration-system-sealants

i didn't open your link but I can tell you there are products called engine restore that claim to restore compression ratio )blow by) and they are a complete waste of money.

[thai3]

Mitsubishi heavy duty 3 years old, always needs topping up with gas on cleaning, so obviously a leak even though somchai says it's not.

Is it still cooling OK when you have it cleaned and you are basically just doing preventive maintenance by keeping it clean?

Or does it stop cooling well and then you call in Somchai who then says it probably leaking?

If it's still cooling OK before cleaning then maybe Somchai is just scaming you regarding the need for additional freon.

No it's not running cold before cleaning, or after unless topped up

[thai3]

gas

Refrigerants make air conditioning possible. Contained within the coils of an air conditioner, these liquid agents cool and dehumidify indoor air. For years, the most common refrigerant gas used in air-conditioning systems was R-22 (Freon).

still is R22 here as far as I know

Your last quote was AC do not use gas anymore, and now its changed that they use gas.

That Freon must be giving you a blast from the past.

I did not say AC does not use gas, some do not use R22 any longer but different refrigerants as R22 is a pollutant

[Naam]

Never heard of a product that will seal the leak. Seams it would lock up the compressor as well. I have heard of them injecting something with a die to help locate the leak.

http://contractingbusiness.com/refrigeration/how-and-when-use-refrigeration-system-sealants

i didn't open your link but I can tell you there are products called engine restore that claim to restore compression ratio )blow by) and they are a complete waste of money.

open link and read.

[RBOP]

I'd advise you get a new air con repairman from one of the bigger companies like homepro, Intercool or call Mitsubishi themselves. Insist the repair man disconnects and reconnects all connenctions as those will likely be the leaky points.

If its leaking from the compressor casing itself you'll need to replace. Most give 5 year warrentee on compressor.

[Naam]

I'd advise you get a new air con repairman from one of the bigger companies like homepro, Intercool or call Mitsubishi themselves. Insist the repair man disconnects and reconnects all connenctions as those will likely be the leaky points.

If its leaking from the compressor casing itself you'll need to replace. Most give 5 year warrentee on compressor.

[biplanebluey]

Do you know for sure there is an actual leak ?. The guy who services our AC charges 500 Baht for a basic service per unit, if he was to top up the gas that we be an extra cost depending on how much was used.

Another AC man who is now retired told my wife he used to inform the customer the system was low on gas and connect the gas tank to the system and pretend to add the gas. I recon most people when told their system is low in gas just give the go ahead to top it up when they have no idea if gas has been added or not.

AC do not use gas anymore than a fridge does and you don't have to top that up. You know you have a leak when the unit does not run as cold and in the end just blowing air

So what is it that is leaking ?

GAS-------- FREON

[maxisrael]

I am glad to have a good 'Somchai' the air was not cool enough so i asked to top-up the fluid in the system ( had this problem before) checking the fluid is was Ok so they dismanteled the indoor unit partly cleand it all with high pressure cleaner all nice coverded and clean job only 400 baht and the air is really cool as before so clean the unit regulary when often in use............

[Pib]

Mitsubishi heavy duty 3 years old, always needs topping up with gas on cleaning, so obviously a leak even though somchai says it's not.

Is it still cooling OK when you have it cleaned and you are basically just doing preventive maintenance by keeping it clean?

Or does it stop cooling well and then you call in Somchai who then says it probably leaking?

If it's still cooling OK before cleaning then maybe Somchai is just scaming you regarding the need for additional freon.

No it's not running cold before cleaning, or after unless topped up

Time to find a different Somchai to try to find the leak...a Somchai with leak detection equipment

[SOTIRIOS]

.........pay.......pay.....pay.........

........I had one unit 'serviced' and cleaned 3 months ago.....he left some parts off.....the unit makes a strange sound now every 8 seconds....

...and my electric bill has been higher since....even during the cold spell...

[kiwikeith]

Never heard of a product that will seal the leak. Seams it would lock up the compressor as well. I have heard of them injecting something with a die to help locate the leak.

I worked on car aircons years ago, we had electronic sensors then.

A hand held device with a long flexable snout with a light on the end, this picks up any leak and bleeps when it finds one.

I have never seen one here, they rely on soap and water.

They would never find a leak other than a pipe joint.

Maybe someone could franchise a brand of one of them and make some money.

[jobsworth]

.........pay.......pay.....pay.........

........I had one unit 'serviced' and cleaned 3 months ago.....he left some parts off.....the unit makes a strange sound now every 8 seconds....

...and my electric bill has been higher since....even during the cold spell...

how much were you charged? i paid 500 THB for gas and 800 THB for cleaning. mine was very dirty and it does run much better now. however he also left some parts off, in particlar the flaps that cycle side to side. maybe that is the strange sound you get every 8 seconds.

[1BADDAT]

Never heard of a product that will seal the leak. Seams it would lock up the compressor as well. I have heard of them injecting something with a die to help locate the leak.

http://contractingbusiness.com/refrigeration/how-and-when-use-refrigeration-system-sealants

i didn't open your link but I can tell you there are products called engine restore that claim to restore compression ratio )blow by) and they are a complete waste of money.

open link and read.

read it. If you believe any of that then maybe you should buy this as well.

http://www.restoreusa.com/index.php

[masuk]

Mitsubishi heavy duty 3 years old, always needs topping up with gas on cleaning, so obviously a leak even though somchai says it's not.

Is it still cooling OK when you have it cleaned and you are basically just doing preventive maintenance by keeping it clean?

Or does it stop cooling well and then you call in Somchai who then says it probably leaking?

If it's still cooling OK before cleaning then maybe Somchai is just scaming you regarding the need for additional freon.

No it's not running cold before cleaning, or after unless topped up

Time to find a different Somchai to try to find the leak...a Somchai with leak detection equipment

When my car AC stopped working (in Australia) the technician put a dye into the unit before he re-gassed it. A few weeks later, the gas was gone again, and the dye, (which I think was seen with a UV light) showed exactly where the leaks were.

Sadly, the replacement of various parts was going to cost more than the car was worth!

Does the dye technology exist in Thailand? It's one way to avoid scams from the local techie.

[Beats56]

I have one of them leak detectors and gauges in my storage locker back home. My father after he retired use buy old window shakers and fix them up and sell them. Kept him busy in the retirement years.

[Beats56]

I have one of them leak detectors and gauges in my storage locker back home. My father after he retired use buy old window shakers and fix them up and sell them. Kept him busy in the retirement years.