aircon not cooling

[fruitman]

Our Daikin aircon isn't cooling anymore, or very very slow. It's cleaned every 4 months and the guy said it has enough gas last time he was here.

 

It only makes the air dry but can't cool lower than 28-29 celcius.

 

I've tried every mode, reset the remote but it doesn't help.

 

What can be the issue? I can't check the gaslevel myself since it's unreachable and i don't have a ladder to go to the compressor.

[Dmaxdan]

Is the outside unit actually working? Is the fan outside spinning?

The inside unit will continue to blow air,albeit not cool even if something has failed outside.

Also, my remote has a button that actually turns off the outside fan. If you accidentally press it, the only way to reset it is to turn the whole aircon off via the isolator switch, then turn it back on again.


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[doctormann]

If the external fan and compressor are running but there is no cooling effect then the unit has almost certainly lost its gas.

 

This can happen very suddenly - I had a union split on one of my units and all the gas escaped.  Easy fix but needed an aircon engineer to re-gas the system.

 

If the compressor is not running this could be down to a number of things.  I had a contactor (relay) fail on a Dakin unit - inside unit was operating but no cooling effect as the compressor was not running.  Could also be a failure on the control board or a thermostat problem.

 

You'll need an engineer to sort this, I think.

 

[tutsiwarrior]

2 hours ago, doctormann said:

If the external fan and compressor are running but there is no cooling effect then the unit has almost certainly lost its gas.

 

This can happen very suddenly - I had a union split on one of my units and all the gas escaped.  Easy fix but needed an aircon engineer to re-gas the system.

 

If the compressor is not running this could be down to a number of things.  I had a contactor (relay) fail on a Dakin unit - inside unit was operating but no cooling effect as the compressor was not running.  Could also be a failure on the control board or a thermostat problem.

 

You'll need an engineer to sort this, I think.

 

 

 

yeah, sounds like a gas leak...you will need a technician to locate all leaks, repair/restore, pressure test and then recharge with refrigerant...and then observe in operation for at least 30 mins to demonstate that his efforts have been succesful...

 

it's a lotta work and too much to do yerself...

 

 

 

 

[Deepinthailand]

We had same exactly two months ago called our aircon fitter it was an elbow had come loose and it had lost it's gas fixed in 40 mins 300 bht. 

[Kaalle]

Had one that leaked, it took them three trips to get it right. Hope you are more lucky. 

[fruitman]

The aircon is working worse since a year or so but the cleaners always tell me there's enough gas inside.

 

Now it works very bad and almost doesn't cool at all. We had about 10 different companies to clean it, they all are no good.

 

Well i guess i have to call them again and wait many hours because they always come too late or not at all.

[chickenslegs]

56 minutes ago, fruitman said:

The aircon is working worse since a year or so but the cleaners always tell me there's enough gas inside.

 

Now it works very bad and almost doesn't cool at all. We had about 10 different companies to clean it, they all are no good.

 

Well i guess i have to call them again and wait many hours because they always come too late or not at all.

 

You might get better advice/service from Daikin? http://www.daikin.co.th/en/service-request/

[Deepinthailand]

When they come back tell them you want the gas filling if they say is ok just say I want gas filling please then stand and watch them do it. we use same family all time they have installed about 25 aircons for us and maintain them as well.

[fruitman]

If i want to see the gas-level i have to go up the bamboo ladder...maybe i 'll let them move the compressor to a balcony for easy access.

 

If that's done i can also clean the whole thing myself since i don't like aircon cleaners at all in my house.

 

Yesterday i bought Filtrete in homeworks, will install that and hope it works well so i don't need to clean it often.

[i claudius]

Can anyone recomend a good aircon ,repair man , ours moved away , we are in Banglamung

[NanLaew]

5 hours ago, fruitman said:

If i want to see the gas-level i have to go up the bamboo ladder...maybe i 'll let them move the compressor to a balcony for easy access.

 

If that's done i can also clean the whole thing myself since i don't like aircon cleaners at all in my house.

 

Yesterday i bought Filtrete in homeworks, will install that and hope it works well so i don't need to clean it often.

Years since I have seen sight glasses in aircon pipeworks. How old is the unit? Regardless if you have access to the sight glass, all it will show is bubbles or cloudy gas which only indicates low refrigerant or air in the system. If there's ice forming on the evaporator (inside unit) coils, then it's more likely to be low refrigerant. If it needs re-gassing, the cleaners wouldn't know unless they attach gauges and actually check what's happening inside while measuring the temperature difference between the input and output side of the evaporator. It should be at least 10 degrees C.

Edited November 17, 2016 by NanLaew

[fruitman]

49 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Years since I have seen sight glasses in aircon pipeworks. How old is the unit? Regardless if you have access to the sight glass, all it will show is bubbles or cloudy gas which only indicates low refrigerant or air in the system. If there's ice forming on the evaporator (inside unit) coils, then it's more likely to be low refrigerant. If it needs re-gassing, the cleaners wouldn't know unless they attach gauges and actually check what's happening inside while measuring the temperature difference between the input and output side of the evaporator. It should be at least 10 degrees C.

 

It's a Daikin inverter from 5 years old. So there's no metre or anything to see if there's enough gas inside the system? That's weird, how can they know if it needs to be filled up then?

 

Daikin is a good brand but i have several points of improvement for the aircon.  I want a disposable filter so i don't need those cleaners and i need a metre or warninglight for low gas. Also i would like to have an lcd-screen on the unit so i can see the set temperature the system is trying to reach and what the actual temp/humidity is.

 

Are there any better models now? Just in case i need a new one so i can buy me another model.

 

 

[thai3]

4 hours ago, i claudius said:

Can anyone recomend a good aircon ,repair man , ours moved away , we are in Banglamung

 

They are mostly idiots with a screwdriver who think they know what they are doing but don't. The best thing is to get the technicians in from the manufacturers. Ours was not running cold and I thought gas leak, got the Mitsubushi technicians in and they explained not gas leak and it had never been cleaned properly as too near the ceiling, they took it apart and did it properly. It actually had too much gas in it as the idiot who was cleaning it kept topping it up when no need. Mitsu's have a warning when gas is leaking anyway. Costs a bit more but no more idiots for me.

Edited November 17, 2016 by thai3

[NanLaew]

On 11/17/2016 at 1:40 PM, fruitman said:

 

It's a Daikin inverter from 5 years old. So there's no metre or anything to see if there's enough gas inside the system? That's weird, how can they know if it needs to be filled up then?

 

Daikin is a good brand but i have several points of improvement for the aircon.  I want a disposable filter so i don't need those cleaners and i need a metre or warninglight for low gas. Also i would like to have an lcd-screen on the unit so i can see the set temperature the system is trying to reach and what the actual temp/humidity is.

 

Are there any better models now? Just in case i need a new one so i can buy me another model.

 

 

Air Conditioners are sealed, closed-loop units with service valves and I have only seen indicators on high-end commercial units. The indications that it needs gas are when it stops air conditioning... as you have noticed. Daikin are reputable brand and 5 years isn't old so it probably does need a qualified tech to check it out. However, if you have had 10 different companies look at it over the past 5 years, there may be something wrong like a bad installation (poor or restricted airflow around the external condenser or internal evaporator unit) or even low or 'rough' voltage. That tends to bugger up compressors.

 

Best tech I ever had was an installation guy from Numchai in Naklua (Pattaya) that replaced a unit at my old place. He left his phone number and I used him several times for the annual checks and repairs on the other units.

[fruitman]

5 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Air Conditioners are sealed, closed-loop units with service valves and I have only seen indicators on high-end commercial units. The indications that it needs gas are when it stops air conditioning... as you have noticed. Daikin are reputable brand and 5 years isn't old so it probably does need a qualified tech to check it out. However, if you have had 10 different companies look at it over the past 5 years, there may be something wrong like a bad installation (poor or restricted airflow around the external condenser or internal evaporator unit) or even low or 'rough' voltage. That tends to bugger up compressors.

 

Best tech I ever had was an installation guy from Numchai in Naklua (Pattaya) that replaced a unit at my old place. He left his phone number and I used him several times for the annual checks and repairs on the other units.

 

They always spray the compressor but that takes 2 minutes.

 

When they installed our big aircon in livingroom there were 4 men doing it. When finished it didn't work (brand new house).  They measured everything many times and said the wire was broken...i had to go to the developer for it.

Then my wife noticed a big main switch on the wall....turned it on and it worked 555.

 

I will let them fill the gas and see if it's working. If he can't fix it i'll see further. It all works but it seems it's on drying mode all the time, doesn't cool much but makes dry air to 40% humidity which is also not comfortable.

[NanLaew]

7 hours ago, fruitman said:

 

They always spray the compressor but that takes 2 minutes.

 

When they installed our big aircon in livingroom there were 4 men doing it. When finished it didn't work (brand new house).  They measured everything many times and said the wire was broken...i had to go to the developer for it.

Then my wife noticed a big main switch on the wall....turned it on and it worked 555.

 

I will let them fill the gas and see if it's working. If he can't fix it i'll see further. It all works but it seems it's on drying mode all the time, doesn't cool much but makes dry air to 40% humidity which is also not comfortable.

The bigger the BTU (capacity) of the air conditioner, the longer is needed to verify that it is working efficiently. If your aircon remote had a decent LCD display, that and a decent wall thermometer should be all you need to verify that effective cooling is taking place and remove the 'feels cooler' which is a subjective thing. The LCD should indicate the temperature you want and keep in mind that only in the most 100% thermally efficient house will 24 degrees selected on the controller display equate with 24 degrees actual room temperature. Typical Thai home construction isn't thermally efficient. Most aircon jockeys are very familiar with the smaller split-type in a standard 4x4x4 m room and that can be 'verified' in about 2 minutes. By the same token, when assessing the effectiveness of a repair, the worst thing is starting to mess with the thermostat as soon as you 'feel' it's not cooling enough, cycling power, changing fan speed, etc.. In your case, I would check the supply voltage over a 24-hour period. In my place in Isaan, the ice factory up the street eats the local electrical supply and evenings saw line voltages down to 180 V AC. The aircons just cycled faster but it murdered a couple of refrigerators and the on-demand shower units never got more than lukewarm.

[kannot]

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

The bigger the BTU (capacity) of the air conditioner, the longer is needed to verify that it is working efficiently. If your aircon remote had a decent LCD display, that and a decent wall thermometer should be all you need to verify that effective cooling is taking place and remove the 'feels cooler' which is a subjective thing. The LCD should indicate the temperature you want and keep in mind that only in the most 100% thermally efficient house will 24 degrees selected on the controller display equate with 24 degrees actual room temperature. Typical Thai home construction isn't thermally efficient. Most aircon jockeys are very familiar with the smaller split-type in a standard 4x4x4 m room and that can be 'verified' in about 2 minutes. By the same token, when assessing the effectiveness of a repair, the worst thing is starting to mess with the thermostat as soon as you 'feel' it's not cooling enough, cycling power, changing fan speed, etc.. In your case, I would check the supply voltage over a 24-hour period. In my place in Isaan, the ice factory up the street eats the local electrical supply and evenings saw line voltages down to 180 V AC. The aircons just cycled faster but it murdered a couple of refrigerators and the on-demand shower units never got more than lukewarm.

my houses  must  be  very  efficient then  as 25c =25c 

[Boon Mee]

Clean the evaporator coils and vacuum out the filter(s)

[tutsiwarrior]

^^yeah...the condenser in the outside compressor unit is a finned fan device that also gets clogged with debris...some places offer a total cleaning package...

[fruitman]

We get everything cleaned 3-4 times a year with high pressure water.

 

But my wife found the perfect thai solution, we moved to the other bedroom which is spare and even got fungus in the mattress.

 

Right now she even moved her piano to it and is playing there, well at least she's not watching tv so i like it too!

 

It's the guest-bedroom but rarely used.

[daveAustin]

^^ Thai missus that plays piano. Respect. 

Does she like Rick Wakeman?

Edited November 20, 2016 by daveAustin

[NanLaew]

On 11/19/2016 at 9:54 AM, kannot said:

my houses  must  be  very  efficient then  as 25c =25c 

Try 24

[NanLaew]

On 11/20/2016 at 0:47 PM, fruitman said:

But my wife found the perfect thai solution, we moved to the other bedroom which is spare and even got fungus in the mattress.

Bonus! Can she cook?

[tartempion]

Here it is even worse!
30C in bedroom, 5mx4m.
Set remote to 26C, say at midday.
Sometime one hour later room temp will be 25C, but more than not will never get lower than 28C.
Airco gets cleaned every 6 months.
Think I will need to buy a multimeter and check voltage at different times of the day.
I also have a microwave oven, after 6pm can't Heath up anything.

[fruitman]

Today they came, we waited all day , the called many times but the security didn't let them in without us picking them up so they left, even didn't call us they were there.

 

Then we called another company, they came and totally disassemled the aircon indoorunit to clean...new gas..and it works again for 2000 baht.

 

But when it was new it worked better i think, it's still slow...next time we dont' buy an inverter...and make it very easy to clean.

 

[tutsiwarrior]

5 hours ago, fruitman said:

Today they came, we waited all day , the called many times but the security didn't let them in without us picking them up so they left, even didn't call us they were there.

 

Then we called another company, they came and totally disassemled the aircon indoorunit to clean...new gas..and it works again for 2000 baht.

 

But when it was new it worked better i think, it's still slow...next time we dont' buy an inverter...and make it very easy to clean.

 

 

this implies that inverter units require disassembly before cleaning...is this true??? is an inverter technician required for routine inverter unit cleaning???...for the outside compressor enclosure on conventional units you simply spray the mother with high pressure water and finished...

 

and, btw...unit performance for heat exchangers (and it is the heat exchanger surfaces that are cleaned, not the compressor) is based upon 'new and clean conditions' which are not obtainable after regular use...are there degradation curves for AC units?

 

(jeezuz, it's been 2 months since I retired and I'm still having workplace nightmares...)

 

 

Edited November 26, 2016 by tutsiwarrior

[klikster]

Recommendation -- don't apply talc/body powder in the same room your aircon is located. Learned that one the hard way.

[KittenKong]

4 hours ago, tutsiwarrior said:

this implies that inverter units require disassembly before cleaning...is this true??? is an inverter technician required for routine inverter unit cleaning???...for the outside compressor enclosure on conventional units you simply spray the mother with high pressure water and finished...

 

I have an inverter. The outside unit is cleaned with a pressure hose (but not set at high pressure, to avoid damage). Just spray water around from the back and front until the fins are clean and the water runs clear. It's surprising how much dirt accumulates in there.

 

The indoor unit requires partial disassembly as do all indoor units that I know of. Basically the roller fan has to come out along with the blades that send the air left and right and up and down. The unit is designed for this and that section just clips in and out. All that is cleaned, as are all the fins which remain attached to the wall. I like them to use the yellow cleaning foam as it gets more crap out. They charge a few tens of Baht more for this.

[KittenKong]

On 17/11/2016 at 2:19 PM, thai3 said:

 

They are mostly idiots with a screwdriver who think they know what they are doing but don't. The best thing is to get the technicians in from the manufacturers. Ours was not running cold and I thought gas leak, got the Mitsubushi technicians in and they explained not gas leak and it had never been cleaned properly as too near the ceiling, they took it apart and did it properly. It actually had too much gas in it as the idiot who was cleaning it kept topping it up when no need. Mitsu's have a warning when gas is leaking anyway. Costs a bit more but no more idiots for me.

 

I have found most technicians here to be badly equipped and not very technical. I'm fed up of seeing a group of techs arrive with one broken screwdriver in a plastic bag between four of them. And I'm always doubtful about how much they actually know about my brand and unit.

 

The idea of getting the manufacturer's people out sounds like a good one. But how much extra did it cost? For comparison, the various cleaning people I have had charged between 400 and 600B (Jomtien).