Air con problem

[zephure99]

My home air con system is a Sanyo system with 2 compressors with each compressor serving 2 indoor units. Out of the 4 indoor units to the main hall and 2 bedrooms, one of the unit in the hall is not giving out cold air.

The air-con service guy told me that the gas level in one of the compressor is low. For a quick fix, he suggested to just top up gas level. However, he pointed out that by topping up the gas level immediately, it would introduce contaminated air into the compressor and damage the internal components. He suggested using a vacuum extraction technique to first suck up all the air in the compressor before he does the gas top up. He wants to charge me $120 to do air suction (excluding gas top-up). He went on to mention that the quick fix is only temporary since there is a possible leakage in the air con system which is the cause of the low level gas. He therefore needs to do a thorough analysis to the connection points and pipes to check for leak. Of course that means paying more. I am not an expert in this, but I have a gut feel this guy is trying to pull off a con job.

Can anyone confirm if what he mentioned about the air extraction technique is really something that should be done before any gas top up. Also I find it odd that if the gas level is really low in the compressor it should affect only one instead of the 2 indoor units supported by the affected compressor.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

 

[tima81]

why not try getting another a/c service guy & see if his advice is the same?

 

[tammysoup]

the guy is full of BS, better get another service company to advise u. If one indoor unit is short of gas, the other indoor unit sharing the compressor should also not be producing cold air.obviously he is not telling u the truth.short of checking if the system leak, just top up gas and see if the aircon give any chilled air, and for how long. if it has a major leak, the indoor cooling show up very fast when it no longer produce any chilled air. anyway, In residential aircon system, air does not leak into the system. Big time BS you la for fast bucks.....the gas leak out but air cant leak in le....

 

[0939]

How did you find the air-con man. If is from the Strait Times ads, you will be a carrot head. Try go for the agent, you get better deal. When ever any appliances like water heater, bathroom accessories, go check out with agent first rather than those in the newspaper.

 

[tonychat]

Get a new aircon system. Replace it.. I thought sinkies are very rich? no?

 

[Zombie]

Can anyone confirm if what he mentioned about the air extraction technique is really something that should be done before any gas top up. Also I find it odd that if the gas level is really low in the compressor it should affect only one instead of the 2 indoor units supported by the affected compressor.

never heard of air extraction..

possible one of 2 units affected if gas level is low, because the distribution of gas and pressure will not be even as there is not enough gas pressure to circulate effectively.... gas/pipe nearer to the compressor outlet (higher pressure because of compression) will be much cooler than the gas/pipe nearer to the compressor inlet (lower pressure due to suction)... it is also a sign of low gas if you find that the compressor outlet piping is extremely cold (sometimes freezing) and yet your aircon is not cold... your compressor unit will usually work much harder and maybe continuously...

imagine very long q...
if people are not close to one another (low pressure), when someone (cooler gas) at the back pushes forward, the one (warmer gas) in front will not move..
if people are so close to one another (high pressure), and someone (cooler gas) at the back pushes forward, the one (warmer gas) in front will be pushed off..

but then again, the problem may be at your fan coil unit, not the pressure....

2 cents

 

[GoFlyKiteNow]

"" Out of the 4 indoor units to the main hall and 2 bedrooms, one of the unit in the hall is not giving out cold air.""

check out the affected fan unit first.
The air filter could be clogged up.
if that is clean..
since you say that one of the fan units in working
while the other does not, the compressor may not
be the cause.

 

[prinzy]

Full of bull shit. If no gas, both air cons should not be cold. I think there is a leak in your system from the compressor to your indoor unit. If you need a technician, I may be able to help.

 

[Zombie]

Full of bull shit. If no gas, both air cons should not be cold. I think there is a leak in your system from the compressor to your indoor unit. If you need a technician, I may be able to help.

No gas, definitely both air cons not cold. Low gas is different from no gas (almost total lost of pressure). Many half-baked technicians have never come across this situation and therefore do not know the fine differences, because they are so used to assume that gas is like fluid that distributes pressure efficiently.

edited:

TS said one cold, one not cold, maybe because of leak.

You said no gas, both should not be cold, but you think it is a leak.

If both are in the same pipeline, are you not contradicting?

 

[prinzy]

No gas, definitely both air cons not cold. Low gas is different from no gas (almost total lost of pressure). Many half-baked technicians have never come across this situation and therefore do not know the fine differences, because they are so used to assume that gas is like fluid that distributes pressure efficiently. 

edited:

TS said one cold, one not cold, maybe because of leak.

You said no gas, both should not be cold, but you think it is a leak.

If both are in the same pipeline, are you not contradicting?

There are two gas outlets in the System 2 compressor. Each indoor unit is connected one of the two gas outlet of the compressor by an individual pipe line. If there is insufficient or no gas, both air cons will not be cold. Hence, I think that there is a possibility of a leakage in the not cold unit.

 

[kansas]

Maybe contact Sanyo for a list of authorized service centres?

 

[Zombie]

There are two gas outlets in the System 2 compressor. Each indoor unit is connected one of the two gas outlet of the compressor by an individual pipe line. If there is insufficient or no gas, both air cons will not be cold. Hence, I think that there is a possibility of a leakage in the not cold unit.

Thanks for sharing.

But then ...

[If there is insufficient or no gas, both air cons will not be cold.] implies both pipes are interconnected, since insufficient gas in pipe A will reduce the gas in pipe B, therefore both air con A and B will not be cold.

[Hence, I think that there is a possibility of a leakage in the not cold unit.] implies both pipes are not interconnected, and insufficient gas situation in pipe A will not affect air con B.

So if I release the gas at one fan coil A, will it affect the gas pressure at the other fan coil B, both served by the same compressor?

 

[GoFlyKiteNow]

No gas, definitely both air cons not cold. Low gas is different from no gas (almost total lost of pressure). Many half-baked technicians have never come across this situation and therefore do not know the fine differences, because they are so used to assume that gas is like fluid that distributes pressure efficiently. 

edited:

TS said one cold, one not cold, maybe because of leak.

You said no gas, both should not be cold, but you think it is a leak.

If both are in the same pipeline, are you not contradicting?

There are two gas outlets in the System 2 compressor. Each indoor unit is connected one of the two gas outlet of the compressor by an individual pipe line. If there is insufficient or no gas, both air cons will not be cold. Hence, I think that there is a possibility of a leakage in the not cold unit.

If there is a leakage ..then eventually, both the fan units connected to the compressor will not cool..due to loss of coolant gas. ( not just one ).
I suspect that the coolant gas is not reaching the affected fan unit from the compressor, due to clogging, or the air filter within is fully clogged with dust and or the fan itself in the fan unit is not running.
Hence better to first check out the fan unit that is affected and its associated piping.

 

[Zombie]

Hence better to first check out the fan unit that is affected and its associated piping.

Yes. Switch on the highest fan speed, and listen (at night when it is quiet). If it sounds like asthma (high-low-high-low pitch), then there could be enough to make ice-jelly. Normal vacuuming will not improve much. Thorough cleaning is necessary, diy or not.

 

[darememore]

All these are air "con" man. Tell me, does your refrigerator have gas leak and need to refill? No right? The reason is all these air "con " man did it on purpose to losen the valves during installation period and as time goes by.. you find that its out of gas.

 

[Zombie]

anyway, In residential aircon system, air does not leak into the system. Big time BS you la for fast bucks.....the gas leak out but air cant leak in le....

i think it may be possible (not talking about TS' case) that air and impurities can get into the system... when there is a bad leak, and the refrigerant has "finished" leaking... the pressure in the pipe and the atmospheric pressure would almost be the same...then when you switch on the compressor, it starts sucking at one end, the negative pressure from that end may cause some air and water vapour to go into the pipe... if you just pump in refrigerant without flushing, the moisture may stay at the compressor, damaging it...

i think this is what that servicing guy was trying to tell TS

btw, I am not that aircon guy

 

[Zombie]

All these are air "con" man. Tell me, does your refrigerator have gas leak and need to refill? No right? The reason is all these air "con " did it on purpose to losen the valves during installation period and as time goes by.. you find that its out of gas.

You may be right. I have been using the same aircon almost every night for the past 10 years. No repair. No gas top up. Just simple cleaning. Maybe I met the honest contractor.

Also, aircon man can damage your aircon when they "chemical" clean.

 

[darememore]

Yes, you are lucky to have an honest technician to install your aircon unit.

 

[krafty]

My home air con system is a Sanyo system with 2 compressors with each compressor serving 2 indoor units. Out of the 4 indoor units to the main hall and 2 bedrooms, one of the unit in the hall is not giving out cold air.

The air-con service guy told me that the gas level in one of the compressor is low. For a quick fix, he suggested to just top up gas level. However, he pointed out that by topping up the gas level immediately, it would introduce contaminated air into the compressor and damage the internal components. He suggested using a vacuum extraction technique to first suck up all the air in the compressor before he does the gas top up. He wants to charge me $120 to do air suction (excluding gas top-up). He went on to mention that the quick fix is only temporary since there is a possible leakage in the air con system which is the cause of the low level gas. He therefore needs to do a thorough analysis to the connection points and pipes to check for leak. Of course that means paying more. I am not an expert in this, but I have a gut feel this guy is trying to pull off a con job.

Can anyone confirm if what he mentioned about the air extraction technique is really something that should be done before any gas top up. Also I find it odd that if the gas level is really low in the compressor it should affect only one instead of the 2 indoor units supported by the affected compressor.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

hi,i doubt you are going to do this all by yourself? If you need recommendation,may be a young chap I know can help.He just started out for a year doing air-con servicing.If you are keen,you can pm me and I can give you his contact?I am doing this to help him and be assured that I am not making money out of it. thanks!

 

[zephure99]

Managed to engage my regular air con guy to take a look at the problem. He found the problem to be due to faulty wiring and components. Nothing to do with lack of gas. It will cost me $240 to replace the parts plus workmanship.

You may be wondering why I engaged the first air con service guy. He happened to put a flyer in my recently purchased condo to clean up to 5 indoor units for $80. It was a mistake on my part to engage him.

Anyway, thanks to those who have contributed their opinions.