Air Conditioner Gas Refill Cost

[Naam]

8 minutes ago, BEVUP said:

The ones that did my first & last clean for them

then you should use a different diction instead of "...just spray your coils with water" because my aircon men clean evaporator and squirrel fan with foam and water pressure. the condenser fins are cleaned with water containing a small amount of dishwashing liquid.

[decca60]

Hi everybody

Here in Jomtien, two weeks ago I had one AC checked, small leak which was fixed, all unit desarmed and cleaned up, recharge, all for 800 bahts. If needed this guy does an excellent job and knows what he his doing( even better) he installed a brand new unit in my home some months ago and it was very well done, can give his phone number on pm.  problem for some of you guys:  he only speaks thai in Thailand

[BEVUP]

10 minutes ago, Dazinoz said:

 

 

Are you saying no difference to soldering plumbing pipe and air conditioning pipe?

 

 

Yes & it's good for 30,000 psi ( that's braising a hole in an aluminium condensor ) according to google

& then theirs brazing of copper pipe

[Cyclone88]

On 27/08/2017 at 0:25 PM, 4MyEgo said:

The air conditioner has been used for a fair while and the air temperature when I put it on 25 or 26 as I usually do, is as if I was running a fan, i.e. no cool air, I thought there might be a leak as well, oddly enough he didn't suggest that, would be a waste of baht to refill if it has a leak, will speak to him today and get him out this afternoon, and if there is a leak he can fix the leak when he finds it and then refill it, but not before providing me with a quote, because a 1,000 baht to refill sounds excessive if it has a leak.

 

If he finds the leak, assuming its coming from the copper pipe, then he can sort it and refill for a 1,000 baht which in my opinion would be about right, i.e. whats the labour charge for a days work, tops (300 baht), and the gas refill (500 baht), allow for copper piping (200 baht), one can then justify the 1,000 baht.

 

Will  investigate further before going for the refill, I think Bankruatsteve in his reply is on par to what I am thinking, i.e. 500 baht in the village, 800 baht I think is a little high personally, but depends if you live in the city or the village, add for labour and parts if any and I think the 1,000 baht is justifiable, thanks to all.

You make me laugh. You say 300 baht TOPS for a days work. 

Why not just offer him a bowl of rice and some monkey nuts.

[pauleddy]

I stick to a regular bloke and his team.

 

The gassing (fluon??) is part of a service where he will clean inside and check compressor. I pay about 800. If he does my smaller new one in the bedroom, about 1000 for both.

[rwill]

I pay ฿500 per unit for cleaning service which includes checking the pressure and topping off refrigerant if needed.  I have yet to see any service person that uses an electronic leak detector here just dish soap.

[Dazinoz]

Obviously it's a Thai thing and people just accept topping up the gas. If done properly it should NEVER need topping up and if it does require it then it has a leak and needs to be repaired. I had a split ac system in Australia fir 18 years and never needed topping up. I put a new inverter in and I moved 18 year old one to work shop and ran another few years and was still running when I left.

[rwill]

1 hour ago, BEVUP said:

No difference as to fitting copper pipe in a house - silver solder / Brazing rods or what ever else

& by the way those aircon men just spray your coils with water & never touch the blower & do a half arse job on the outside unit for 500bht

The guy I pay ฿500 to do it removes the blower and cleans it outside.  one difference between fitting copper pipe is that Freon creates phosgene gas which can kill you so you need to make sure the pipe has been purged first when doing repairs on an A/C unit.

[KittenKong]

1 hour ago, Dazinoz said:

Obviously it's a Thai thing and people just accept topping up the gas. If done properly it should NEVER need topping up and if it does require it then it has a leak and needs to be repaired.

 

The very act of measuring the pressure will cause a small gas loss every time it is done. Over time that would probably amount to enough of a loss to need topping up. I'm fairly sure that is what has happened to mine anyway, based on the fact that it loses the same amount of pressure every year but has not yet been topped up.

[KittenKong]

2 hours ago, BEVUP said:

by the way those aircon men just spray your coils with water & never touch the blower & do a half arse job on the outside unit for 500bht

 

The people I use charge 400B and I dont see how anyone can really justify charging more unless they do more than just clean it, or if perhaps they come a very long way. They do a decent job on the inside unit (radiator, drip tray and rotary fan - the latter is dismantled and cleaned outside) and an acceptable job on the outside unit, and they also clean the drain pipe. But I do always watch them like a hawk and if they look like they are about to "forget" something I dont hesitate to remind them. The outside unit is the one that is most likely to be "forgotten".

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

Recently had 2 done for ฿1,000 in Bangkok Condo.

Thing is we have had leaks from the A/C unit condensation pipes and some actually dripping out of the units themselves on and off for a while and all the "Tech" guys would do was clean them and 6-8 weeks later it started again. They are about 6 years old.

I got some new guys and they reran the pipework and blew it through and cleaned it too, along with everything off the walls and in bits sprayed and cleaned.

One Unit wasn't blowing cold so they came back and fixed it for free. Seems fine now on that score.

We will see how long they work for...

 

 

[whaleboneman]

On 8/28/2017 at 7:03 AM, Naam said:

you come to my home and i show you little boxes mounted below my indoor units producing O3 (ozone) which prevents mold problems especially the dangerous mold build-up at the evaporators.

 

I'd love to come over. PM me your address OK.

[KittenKong]

30 minutes ago, George FmplesdaCosteedback said:

Thing is we have had leaks from the A/C unit condensation pipes and some actually dripping out of the units themselves on and off for a while and all the "Tech" guys would do was clean them and 6-8 weeks later it started again. They are about 6 years old.

I got some new guys and they reran the pipework and blew it through and cleaned it too, along with everything off the walls and in bits sprayed and cleaned.

 

That sounds like exactly what used to happen with my unit when they didnt flush the drain pipe correctly. Once they have been done properly you could try my vinegar solution method which I find very effective at keeping algae at bay.

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

14 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

 

That sounds like exactly what used to happen with my unit when they didnt flush the drain pipe correctly. Once they have been done properly you could try my vinegar solution method which I find very effective at keeping algae at bay.

Thanks, good idea, vinegar!

 

[Dazinoz]

 
The very act of measuring the pressure will cause a small gas loss every time it is done. Over time that would probably amount to enough of a loss to need topping up. I'm fairly sure that is what has happened to mine anyway, based on the fact that it loses the same amount of pressure every year but has not yet been topped up.

Why would you measure pressure if the unit is functioning ok? My ac in Australia was never checked because it worked. Another stupid idea by someone who just wants to charge you money.

[catman20]

i find these days im always getting ripped off one way or another 

the days of 3 or 400 baht for a small job have long gone they all wana be millionaires these days.

[jacko45k]

On 8/27/2017 at 11:16 AM, Lamkyong said:

they only top them up with the amount they loose during the diagnostic procedure no test no loss   unless of course  there is  definite   symptoms of a leak  or as suggested icing up 

Then testing for loss of coolant is causing loss of coolant??

They should not need testing unless the unit is not cooling or is freezing up, that may also suggest a leak which needs to be addressed first. One of mine needed to be refilled after pipework was replaced and it cost under 1000 baht. My usual service really only involves cleaning of the inside and outside units with water. This is not something I can do myself as they use a bag device on the indoor unit and there is some disassembly done.

There is every likelihood they will make up a (falang) price which includes some profit for them, but once sent home you will likely be subject to some minimum charge for the next visit.

[themerg]

Get it serviced from where you bought it. They will come to your house, usually 2 people. 

The cost is : 500-800 Baht.

[hobobo]

On ‎27‎/‎08‎/‎2017 at 10:41 AM, Kwasaki said:

1 of our air-cons compressors gets some sun and has been topped up after 3 years where others haven't,  when they are cleaned everytime they check gas.

Our regular guy never charged for top up, for clean 500 for 1,  800 for 2,  1000 for 3,  1300 for 4.

That's good, your guy must have an MBA! I wish more would: the other day I saw a pick-up selling some fruit: 3 kg - 50 baht, 5 kg - 100 baht. I bought two 3kg bags, gave him 100 baht and he seemed happy?

[Naam]

11 hours ago, Dazinoz said:

Why would you measure pressure if the unit is functioning ok? My ac in Australia was never checked because it worked. Another stupid idea by someone who just wants to charge you money.

 

[transam]

Does the gas have a lifespan....?

[Dazinoz]

Does the gas have a lifespan....?

I don't really know but I think the ac itself will end its life before the refrigerant. As mentioned before mine was 18 years old before I changed to an inverter type and then I moved the old one to my workshop with still the same refrigerant.

Lubricating oil travels around the system with the refrigerant, hence you will often see oil at the site of a leak. The oil is probably more likely to break down than the refrigerant. The newer refrigerants use a synthetic oil which is hydroscopic meaning it absorbs water easy. If the ac is not vac properly on installation moisture in the air is trapped in the system, absorbed by the oil and forms an acidic compound and eventually corrodes ac components. Very important to have newer ac units using refrigerant such as R410A to be evacuated properly.

[4MyEgo]

18 hours ago, Cyclone88 said:

You make me laugh. You say 300 baht TOPS for a days work. 

Why not just offer him a bowl of rice and some monkey nuts.

Laugh as much as you like mate, for your information, the new guy took the unit away, soldered the leaking joint, refilled and reinstalled the unit and charged 800 baht as quoted, that's half what the other dipstick quoted, all done within 3 hours, and I gave him the 1,000 baht which I offered the other dip stick originally.

 

The new guy was happy as, and I am sure he will be eating more than what you suggested I offer him, so don't see your stupid point in offering him a bowl of rice and some monkey nuts, try to remember, or should I remind you that we are in Thailand and things are much cheaper than in farang land, which is why we can afford to live her, and doesn't necessarily mean we have to fork out farang prices, unless you want to blow your money quickly and have to move back to farang land, if your loaded, which I doubt, and want to feed them seafood, washed down with a nice bottle of 1993 Don Perignon Brut, then go for it, but I doubt you would be so inclined.

[4MyEgo]

10 hours ago, catman20 said:

i find these days im always getting ripped off one way or another 

the days of 3 or 400 baht for a small job have long gone they all wana be millionaires these days.

I think this depends on whether you live in a village or in a City, in Issan, the going rate is 300 baht a day, although some out of villages will try to charge more, i.e. had been quoted 250 baht and 160 baht per metre to install 75 metres of VC guttering, which included down-pipes going into pits, so a little digging, but we ended up paying 60 baht a metre, pays to shop around.

[mogandave]

Does the gas have a lifespan....?

No. That said it can be contaminated, and may be more costly to recycle than to replace.

I can't speak to the oil, but it in an ideal environment, without dirt and moisture.

It is not unusual for industrial units to go 30 years, and they routinely go twenty.

[Naam]

2 hours ago, transam said:

Does the gas have a lifespan....?

no.

[transam]

Does the oil have a life span..?

[Naam]

1 minute ago, mogandave said:

No. That said it can be contaminated, and may be more costly to recycle than to replace.

I can't speak to the oil, but it in an ideal environment, without dirt and moisture.

It is not unusual for industrial units to go 30 years, and they routinely go twenty.

installed 1992 three Panasonic units in our home in Germany. they are cooling as they did 25 years ago. used of course only during four months a year.

[Naam]

4 minutes ago, transam said:

Does the oil have a life span..?

yes, but it's a secret that nobody knows.

[mogandave]

yes, but it's a secret that nobody knows.

If no one knows, who's keeping the secret?