unzippy Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 Being a fresh import, I've not had much experience with house aircon, not really needed it in SE London. In our previous place we had a wall mounted unit that did hot and cold and was linked to a bigger unit out on the balcony. The previous tenant must have been a big fan of the deep fryer, whenever it was turned on it would stink the place out. At this point I discovered the filters and how to clean them and all was sorted. The unit also had a condensation tube - I presume that was linked to the lowest point of the indoor unit to collect the condensation that was created by pushing warm humid air over the cold fins. In the new place we have ceiling mounted units rather than wall units. We turned them on for the first time and they started dripping after a while. I'd already cleaned the filters so knew it wasn't related to that! On closer inspection I could see ice forming on the fins inside, it's that melting that is dripping out. Surely that's not right? Thermostat perhaps? But then is there condensation drain? How would that work when the vents are at the lowest point? Does it get pumped out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 I would normally say clogged filters, but you say you've already cleaned those. Check for any other kind of restricted air flow. Otherwise it might be low refrigerant or something has sezied up, and you'll need to call a technician. (I should say I'm used to office air con not home ones so take all that with a pinch of salt). One more general comment: a lot of people make the mistake of setting the thermostat to very cold when they turn on the system, thinking it'll cool the place down faster. It doesn't - it just causes problems. Leave the temperature control at between 21 degrees and 24 degrees C all year round, depending on personal preference. If you're going to leave it on at night, or if you're going to do vigorous exercise, turn it down to 18 or 19. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eera Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 If it's icing up it's technician time, we had that issue, I can't remember what it was but it was an easy fix - might have been low refrigerant. Also often just cleaning the filters isn't enough - especially if you've got one near to the kitchen; you need a periodic proper clean when the tech basically dismantles the unit and hoses it out. Doesn't cost much, about $80. The amount of crap that comes out of them is amazing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eera Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 Actually, from memory it was the return pipe that was icing up, and that was because the internals were filthy and the fans weren't effectively blowing the cold out so the refrigerant returning to the compressor was still cold. It was the comprehensive clean that sorted that issue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unzippy Posted November 11, 2020 Author Share Posted November 11, 2020 Thanks all. Tech has been out - due to the age of the system he thinks the gas is ok but can't actually get a pressure gauge on it. The only way of knowing for sure is take the gas out and weigh it. At that point you may as well put fresh back in. Marisa's comment was repeated too - it doesn't need to be on the lowest setting, also if you know it's going to be hot in advance turn it on early so that it can have a head start. Every day is a school day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 (edited) 8 minutes ago, unzippy said: it doesn't need to be on the lowest setting, also if you know it's going to be hot in advance turn it on early so that it can have a head start. It's astonishing how many Australians don't know that. They switch on the air con and the first thing they do is crank it down to 15 degrees or something, imagining it will cool the place down faster. It doesn't work, because the temperature setting is the temperature the device is aiming for - not the temperature the air comes out at. The other problem is that people then don't remember to adjust the setting once the room is cool - so it gets cooler than it needs to be. It may feel good, on a hot day, to sit in an extra-cool house - but then if you have to go outdoors for any reason, it's going to feel even hotter. And it's been proved that sudden transitions from very cool to very hot makes you extra-vulnerable to illness. Think about it - if you were outdoors on a 23 degree day, you'd think it was great. So there's no need to be any cooler than that inside your house. If you're the kind of person who's happy at 25 degrees, set it to that. The less difference between outdoor and indoor temperature, the more money you'll save and the more confortable you'll feel. Edited November 11, 2020 by Marisawright 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eera Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Or just set it to dehumidify instead. Depending on where you live just taking the moisture out of the air makes a massive difference and it doesn't get too cold either - I find aircons generally are way too cold but by just drying out the air it becomes pleasant, and it costs much less to run as well (caveat: I live in the tropics where you can chew the air in summer, don't know how well this works down south but give it a go - you never know) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 9 hours ago, unzippy said: Thanks all. Tech has been out - due to the age of the system he thinks the gas is ok but can't actually get a pressure gauge on it. The only way of knowing for sure is take the gas out and weigh it. At that point you may as well put fresh back in. Marisa's comment was repeated too - it doesn't need to be on the lowest setting, also if you know it's going to be hot in advance turn it on early so that it can have a head start. Every day is a school day! Yep, gas has to be weighed in. And if ducted get a duct clean if it hasn’t been done for a while. Did ours six months ago and it’s made a big difference... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 On 11/11/2020 at 11:17, unzippy said: Thanks all. Tech has been out - due to the age of the system he thinks the gas is ok but can't actually get a pressure gauge on it. The only way of knowing for sure is take the gas out and weigh it. At that point you may as well put fresh back in. Marisa's comment was repeated too - it doesn't need to be on the lowest setting, also if you know it's going to be hot in advance turn it on early so that it can have a head start. Every day is a school day! And just in case your outdoor unit isn’t shaded, it’s a must. Here we just use a large garden umbrella, it does the job. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unzippy Posted November 27, 2020 Author Share Posted November 27, 2020 After a couple weeks with the new regime: Give it a head start - bring the temp down gradually, keep the door shut etc 25 deg seems to be the minimum, 24 and the radiator starts icing up after a few hours and then dripping out in the bed. I don't think that is right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 47 minutes ago, unzippy said: After a couple weeks with the new regime: Give it a head start - bring the temp down gradually, keep the door shut etc 25 deg seems to be the minimum, 24 and the radiator starts icing up after a few hours and then dripping out in the bed. I don't think that is right. Definitely not right. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unzippy Posted November 27, 2020 Author Share Posted November 27, 2020 1 hour ago, Marisawright said: Definitely not right. What's worse, it only drips on my side! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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