Why do aircons seem to have so many problems here?

[giddyup]

I had the same aircon for over 10 years in Australia, in that time only cleaned the filter. Admittedly it only got used a few months a year, but so do my aircons here, and yet I have had people out to regas and service more times than I can remember in the 7 years I've been in this house. All the Samsung aircons (3) were brand new when I moved in and they only get minimal use during the very hot weather, like now. Theoretically an aircon shouldn't leak, so why the need to regas so often?

[jadee]

I agree with Minimiglia - if you've genuinely had countless problems, there must have been an installation issue. I live in Samut Prakarn and I've had the same LG air conditioner for 9 years, I use it daily and I've never had to have it professionally serviced (as in fixed or repaired). I have paid to have it cleaned regularly though, once every 6 months. On two or three occasions, the company has topped up the gas. 
Your problems could stem from a botched installation job or that the people you have to call out to have it serviced aren't trained to fix Samsung units. 

[digbeth]

The aircons in Australia are made in Thailand

 

Normally there wouldn't be need of regassing, a good clean is enough, but some service technicians reagas just to make it look like they're doing something 

[NanLaew]

Regassing is related to old technology when things weren't hermetically sealed, manufacturing processes were more arcane and quality control was scarcer than hens teeth.

 

However, as MINIMIGLIA has already stated, the fact that the average air conditioner installer and serviceman is probably only a tad higher than the electrician in the local tradesmen capabilities scale, a piss poor installation will quickly negate even the highest manufacturing and assembly standards.

[Guderian]

Yes, poorly trained Thai peasants installing and servicing the units causes most of the problems. One of my 12 kBTU Daikin units just suddenly stopped working a few months ago. Fed up with the idiots I'd been using for servicing before I asked my Thai builder friend to get his air con guys around to fix it. Two hours later and they'd decided the problem was with the electronic doodahs but didn't know what or which, so they tore them all out and replaced them. That'll be 3900 Baht, krup, thank you very much. The next day it stopped working again, a blown fuse this time. So they installed an earth line. Two days later the fuse blew again, now they tell me that the motor's old and broken down (even though the unit's only five years old and used for around 4 or 5 hours a day) and needs replacing. Sweet Jesus, it would be cheaper and easier to just buy a new air con than deal with all this nonsense.

Edited April 27, 2017 by Guderian

[KhunBENQ]

The age old Samsung in my room still works,

Can not remember when last gas filling was.

 

Six year old Mitsubishi (Heavy Duty) without problems.

The latest Mitsubishi inverter is only two year old and thankfully no problem too.

We let cleaning been done once a year.

 

Poor installation seems a likely reason for the described problems.

 

I should mention that all three ACs are only in operation for about 4 months a year and even then not on a daily basis.

"Lightly used" so to say.

[transam]

Daikin, 9 years old, never been gassed up....That's cooooool....

[NanLaew]

Another factor that prevails more in the Bahn Nork locations is the poor electric supply from the PEA. Plenty towns have voltages that fall below 200 V AC in the suburbs (and as low as 170 V AC in our house) in the early evenings when a lot of people are switching on their air conditioners to cool down the bedroom, cooking (mostly gas but always plenty electric fans) and some having hot showers before turning. The more 'lumpy' the electric, then more mechanical issues are likely. Inductive electric loads (electric motors and compressors) take a hammering. Arguably, homes with unstable electric supplies may benefit from having inverter type units installed?

Edited April 27, 2017 by NanLaew

[Suradit69]

4 hours ago, giddyup said:

I had the same aircon for over 10 years in Australia, in that time only cleaned the filter.

I've had the same aircon in Thailand for over 15 years. Never had any problems.

[Naam]

2 hours ago, digbeth said:

The aircons in Australia are made in Thailand

 

Normally there wouldn't be need of regassing, a good clean is enough, but some service technicians reagas just to make it look like they're doing something 

the aircons don't leak. shoddy piping work leaks!

[giddyup]

26 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

I've had the same aircon in Thailand for over 15 years. Never had any problems.

For every good luck story there are plenty the opposite.

[Moonlover]

A common mistake is to set the temperature too low. This can cause the room unit to ice up, especially in humid conditions. This is even more likely if the filters haven't been cleaned for a while, restricting air flow. 24 to 26 degrees is the ideal temp to set it at.

 

Clean the filters regularly and  wash the heat exchanger in the outdoor unit. This is especially important if you live in a polluted environment. I just use the garden hose spray for this, but a power washer would be even more effective.

 

If properly maintained and it isn't that difficult, they should run, trouble free for years.

Edited April 27, 2017 by Moonlover

[Naam]

10 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

 wash the heat exchanger in the outdoor unit. This is especially important if you live in a polluted environment. I just use the garden hose spray for this, but a power washer would be even more effective.

effective bending the fins and therefore reducing cooling capacity. important is also cleaning the evaporator fins of the inside unit because condens water and dust that passes through the filter "bakes" on them and on the cage fan.

[Mousehound]

I am told by the sales people here in OZ that the new invertors are only good for 5 years on average.  My old Panasonic is still going strong after 25 years and I have never had anything done to it.  Just clean the filters twice a year. dread buying a new system - which I need now for another room.

[Naam]

Just now, Mousehound said:

My old Panasonic is still going strong after 25 years and I have never had anything done to it.

you beat me. my Panasonics (in another country) are running trouble free since 24 years.

[Moonlover]

2 minutes ago, Naam said:

effective bending the fins and therefore reducing cooling capacity. important is also cleaning the evaporator fins of the inside unit because condens water and dust that passes through the filter "bakes" on them and on the cage fan.

I guess you're suggesting not using a power cleaner then. I've seen 'professional techies' using them at my neighbours, but never considered using them myself. I'll stick with the garden hose then. Thanks for the tip.

[NoshowJones]

6 hours ago, jadee said:

I agree with Minimiglia - if you've genuinely had countless problems, there must have been an installation issue. I live in Samut Prakarn and I've had the same LG air conditioner for 9 years, I use it daily and I've never had to have it professionally serviced (as in fixed or repaired). I have paid to have it cleaned regularly though, once every 6 months. On two or three occasions, the company has topped up the gas. 
Your problems could stem from a botched installation job or that the people you have to call out to have it serviced aren't trained to fix Samsung units. 

I bought my aircon unit for my bedroom about 11 years ago, it has not been gassed for seven years now and is still going strong.

[thailand49]

Based on your comments, I'm wondering if you made the service call for the sole reason because the A/C is not cold enough?  If not and you have a guy that comes regular to clean and service and he is saying it has to be reloaded then I'm thinking something is wrong here?

[Moonlover]

I've got an anecdotal story here about A/C units. I was having tea with a neighbour of mine back in Egypt and she asked me if I'd take a look at her lounge unit which wasn't working too well.

 

It didn't take too long to spot the problem. The filters looked like small white hairy carpets!

 

'Err Dawn, have you been grooming the cats in here?'

 

'Yes dear, why do you ask?'

 

I handed her the filters and she quickly got the message.

 

Pets and A/Cs clearly don't mix very well.

 

 

 

[silent]

6 hours ago, MINIMIGLIA said:

Because they are installed by complete retards, and are normally a complete bodge job at best.

From what I read a few years ago that makes a lot of sense, it's the quality of the solder used in the gas lines 

http://www.achrnews.com/articles/95404-soldering-refrigeration-lines

[Pdavies99]

I have a Samsung and a Panasonic, serviced every year now for 7 years, never needed gas.

I think you should consider changing who you use for servicing?

[khunPer]

Never had problems with my (7) Mitsubishi aircons installed in 2011; however one – the one most used, which is every day since August 2011 – had it's filter cleaned last year...

[giddyup]

24 minutes ago, Pdavies99 said:

I have a Samsung and a Panasonic, serviced every year now for 7 years, never needed gas.

I think you should consider changing who you use for servicing?

That's the problem, finding someone who knows what they are doing.

[simoh1490]

Biggest problem with them that I can see is that many get turned on for only two months per year and remain idle for the rest of the time. In the downtime period the seals and O-rings dry out and the gas escapes etc. - high temperature and humidity doesn't help. The workaround is to switch them on for a fifteen minutes or so, every two weeks.

[Naam]

1 hour ago, silent said:

8 hours ago, MINIMIGLIA said:

Because they are installed by complete retards, and are normally a complete bodge job at best.

From what I read a few years ago that makes a lot of sense, it's the quality of the solder used in the gas lines 

http://www.achrnews.com/articles/95404-soldering-refrigeration-lines

or, what i suspect, in many cases the after-installation-goose-that-lays-Baht!

[digbeth]

1 hour ago, silent said:

From what I read a few years ago that makes a lot of sense, it's the quality of the solder used in the gas lines 

http://www.achrnews.com/articles/95404-soldering-refrigeration-lines

 

For new air conditioners these days, the supplied piping comes in pre cut length and only requires bending and fitting of connectors at the end. very minimal chance of botching things up in typical installation

[kokesaat]

You can buy a good name AC from a reputable dealer with trained technicians or buy the same good name AC from a small shop seller who's going to go as cheap as he can on hired labor.   I've seen the later install ACs with the ground wire hanging loose or tied into ceiling light circuitry.  

[abab]

Why do people seem to have so many problems here? Without even knowing that they are the problem !

 

Buy samsung aircon and wonder why it suxx :-) I would consider myself a genius !

 

 

[Moonlover]

9 hours ago, MINIMIGLIA said:

Because they are installed by complete retards, and are normally a complete bodge job at best.

 

1 hour ago, Fulwell53 said:

Seriously that is a disgraceful post.

I Get banned for sticking up for thais and giving grief to posters like yourself.

I Will refrain from saying what i really think because no doubt someone will go running to the mods.

I completely agree with you Fulwell. I sometimes wish that all postings had a 'not like' toggle that we could choose to show our displeasure when morons like this make their bigoted postings. Maybe the the mods will take note. But, judging by the number of 'likes' he got, it would be be like trying to slow the flow of the Chao Phraya with a squeegee mop. Maybe we're in the wrong place!

[Pib]

I expect numerous times the topping-up/regassing of A/Cs is purely to get some additional money and the tech actually does "not" add any additional refrigerant even though you may see the tech hookup a refrigerant tank and gauges to the A/C.  Then the A/C tech fixes the "real" problem like possibly cleaning the outside and/or inside unit being really dirty.  

 

Heck, I've got seven York split air A/Cs in my house...they are around 9 years old (installed when we bought the house  new) and none of them have ever had to have additional refrigerant added...but one has had a outside unit circuit board replaced that was smoked/shorted and two outside units have had their startup capacitors replaced (I did those cap replacements which was cheap and easy enough).   

Edited April 27, 2017 by Pib