How long do airconditioners last

[ben2talk]

On 7/26/2017 at 3:08 PM, tutsiwarrior said:

my mitsubishi inverter manual has a procedure for drying out the unit before an extended period of no operation; run for 3 - 4 hr in cool mode at the highest temp setting, I also set the fan speed at max...it's to help clean out/inhibit accumulated mold/fungi...doing this periodically might also help prevent drain blockages which are caused by the same stuff...

In general use with the Mitsu it's good to use the remote's 'memory' key as well as the 'economy' modes. Economy bumps the temperature up 2 degrees - for short excursions when coming home to a room at around 27-28 feels nice and cool.

 

When going out for a day I often set the temp to 30 and leave the fan on auto (this is the 'memory' setting).

 

INstead of cleaning coils every few months, it's better to clean the filter every week or two with a vacuum cleaner and consider using something like 3M's cleaning foam (spray on, leave 30 minutes, then blast the aircon for half an hour).

 

I have a hose outside too, as we get some grass seeds around here I need to check that - in summer sometimes I need to rinse them off the outside unit every week or so.

Edited August 4, 2017 by ben2talk

[jacko45k]

On 7/24/2017 at 8:53 AM, madmax2 said:

OK thanks for the answer, i will tell the Mrs i got a experts opinion and you agreed it probably needs replacing as i thought it does

I have a couple of 10 year old units which still seem to work fine, but they are a good brand.

Simply, if your unit is not cooling as efficiently as it used to, (be sure there are no other reasons, like hotter walls from removing shade), and it is over 10 years old, replacing it with a more efficient, newer model, with inverter control of the compressor is a good idea. Particularly if this is in your main bedroom and used every night. 

[Dan5]

An odd thing I ran into with my LG. The service manual is supposed to be in Thai and it certainly looks like Thai. But my Thai wife couldn't read it, so I tried a couple Thai friends and they couldn't read it either.  So I tired Google Translate to see what it came up with and it was just a collection of words that made no sense. So I tried to get an English version and didn't get anywhere with that. So I don't have a manual for a high efficiency unit that has a lot of functions I don't understand

[Crossy]

Try Google Translate with the source as Korean.

 

Failing that you should be able to find a Korean manual, Google works fairly well with Korean.

[Naam]

On 8/3/2017 at 3:38 PM, lucjoker said:

With a handful of tools you can do almost every job .

Even take the air out the system without loosing the gas.

yo' sho' is a technical wizard

[Naam]

22 hours ago, Dazinoz said:

On 8/3/2017 at 3:38 PM, lucjoker said:

 

Even take the air out the system without loosing the gas.

You need a vacuum pump and a good quality vacuum gauge to do this properly.

and you can't evacuate a unit without losing refrigerant!

[Dazinoz]

2 hours ago, Naam said:

and you can't evacuate a unit without losing refrigerant!

Not true. When you buy a new AC unit the refrigerant is stored in the outdoor unit. After connections are made and tested the lines to and from the outdoor unit and the indoor unit are evacuated using the vacuum pump. Once done the 2 service valves are opened and the refrigerant fills the system.

 

If you want to disconnect the unit you connect AC test gauges to the outdoor unit and run it. You then close the discharge service valve and watch the gauges. When a vacuum is pulled on the suction side then quickly shut the suction valve and switch  off the AC. All refrigerant is now in the outdoor. If reconnected the original process is repeated. No, or an extremely small amount of refrigerant lost.

 

Same applies to topping up or recharging an AC. I would connect the three hoses on the test gauges. One to the unit, one to the vac pump and one to the refrigerant bottle. If topping up I would vac the line from the bottle to the ac and add required refrigerant. If recharging a system I would use the above connection and vac down everything. Once evacuated I would start adding refrigerant. It is usually not possible getting the required amount in the system this way so when stopped filling I would start the AC and use the compressor to suck in the remaining  amount of required refrigerant. Then I would shut off the bottle, close discharge service valve on AC. Again when suction observed I know all the refrigerant has been sucked from the filling hoses, so I disconnect the hose from the AC unit and open discharge valve. Again system evacuated and no refrigerant lost.  

 

If the system is to be decommissioned, in Australia, it was law that the refrigerant be reclaimed to a bottle using a refrigerant pump (not a vac pump). The refrigerant was then taken to a centre where pumped to larger bottles and treated at a later date.                                                                              

Edited August 4, 2017 by Dazinoz
Text added,

[Dazinoz]

2 hours ago, Naam said:

yo' sho' is a technical wizard

He is a Googlespert.

[Dan5]

15 hours ago, Crossy said:

Try Google Translate with the source as Korean.

 

Failing that you should be able to find a Korean manual, Google works fairly well with Korean.

I know what the Thai and Korean alphabets look like and this manual definitely uses Thai characters. They just don't make sense.

[Dan5]

Just now, Dan5 said:

I know what the Thai and Korean alphabets look like and this manual definitely uses Thai characters. They just don't make sense.

And this has nothing to do with how Google Translate works with Thai. I had 3 Thai people tell me they couldn't read it. Besides I've used Google Translate a number of time with Thai to English translations and it worked fine.

[Crossy]

Just now, Dan5 said:

I know what the Thai and Korean alphabets look like and this manual definitely uses Thai characters. They just don't make sense.

My thought was that somewhere along the line someone simply changed the character set and not translated, leaving the actual source still in Korean but with Thai characters. Forcing the input language to Korean may result in something readable.

 

EDIT My suggestion to find a Korean manual still stands, LG being a Korean company the chances are it will be right.

 

[KittenKong]

I have found that for LG products where the manuals come in Thai only, one can often find a manual in English on the LG Malaysian website. Not always exactly the same model number but usually very close, and features across a model range are generally quite similar. It certainly worked for my LG washing machine which came with a manual in Thai that I could not understand. The only real discrepancy was that the Malaysian manual covered hot water supplies which the Thai model does not have and so the Malaysian model had a water temp selector instead of the water level selector that mine has.

[Oztruckie]

Good air-con units can last anywhere up to 30 years,12 year old is really not very old at all,I had a Daikin reverse cycle system installed in my house in OZ many years ago,20 years later when sold the house still working same as the day it was installed,had couple of mates been in air.con business 50 years,advised best make to buy is Daikin,sounds like yr unit is just getting low on gas,have it regassed,probably go another 10 years.

[madmax2]

6 hours ago, Oztruckie said:

Good air-con units can last anywhere up to 30 years,12 year old is really not very old at all,I had a Daikin reverse cycle system installed in my house in OZd  many years ago,20 years later when sold the house still working same as the day it was installed,had couple of mates been in air.con business 50 years,advised best make to buy is Daikin,sounds like yr unit is just getting low on gas,have it regassed,probably go another 10 years.

Had it regassed 4 months ago only took a small amount of gas

Just getting old like me, i think the unit is a bit small for the room size

[Dazinoz]

1 hour ago, madmax2 said:

Had it regassed 4 months ago only took a small amount of gas

Just getting old like me, i think the unit is a bit small for the room size

Split sytem Acs are what they call "critically charged " units. In other words they work best with the designed about of refrigerant. Of course there is leeway. Often a good way to tell an AC is low on refrigerant is icing on the small pipe coming from the out door unit. This indicates low. I used to add refrigerant until the icing stopped then a slight bit more. Obviously the correct way is to reclaim the remaining refrigerant from the AC and recharge with new refrigerant as per the manufacturers specifications. If no icing and the unit is not cooling then most, if not all, refrigerant gone.

[Dazinoz]

 

1 hour ago, madmax2 said:

, i think the unit is a bit small for the room size

I have an AC sizing calculator designed for Australia so I will try to put screen shots of what info is required and I if any one wants sizing calculated they can send me info and I will input into calculator and give you an idea of size. As I said this was written for Australia so I will use Darwin as the selected zone as probably closest to Thailand.

[Dazinoz]

Just now, Dazinoz said:

 

I have an AC sizing calculator designed for Australia so I will try to put screen shots of what info is required and I if any one wants sizing calculated they can send me info and I will input into calculator and give you an idea of size. As I said this was written for Australia so I will use Darwin as the selected zone as probably closest to Thailand.

Options for Roof or Ceiling are are:- Insulated or uninsulated.

 

Options for Floor are:-  slab on ground or timber or raised concrete or air conditioner below.

 

Options for outside walls are:- insulated or uninsulated.

 

Options for inside walls are:- air conditioned adjacent or not air conditioned adjacent.

 

Options for Windows are:-  inside blinds/curtains or outside shade or inside and outside shade or no shade.

 

Options for "Choose" on windows:- north or south or east or west or skylight.

 

Options for people, electrical, air leaks are:- sitting or sleeping or cooking.

 

Send me the details and I will calc for you.

[madmax2]

12 hours ago, Dazinoz said:

 

I have an AC sizing calculator designed for Australia so I will try to put screen shots of what info is required and I if any one wants sizing calculated they can send me info and I will input into calculator and give you an idea of size. As I said this was written for Australia so I will use Darwin as the selected zone as probably closest to Thailand.

Our local samsung salesman does that for us as a free service(home visit)

[Dazinoz]

1 hour ago, madmax2 said:

Our local samsung salesman does that for us as a free service(home visit)

That is good. Not many places here would.

 

And BTW I am not charging.