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aircon problem, help!

 
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mzizzle



Joined: 05 Jul 2009

PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:54 am    Post subject: aircon problem, help! Reply with quote

Hi hi, so I've got an aircon unit in my apartment and it does not seem to be working well. I have had it on all weekend and it is still 31 in my apartment. I opened the vents to the outside, so that's good to go. I had a repair guy come and he seemed to just check the valves for a compression leak but that wasn't the problem. I cleaned the filter on the inside unit, so that is also not the problem. The repair guy basically just said that my ac is too small for my apartment and the venting is not good enough, but all the other teachers at my school live in the same building as me, same ac, similar room size, and myself and one other teacher have this problem. I am on th 12th floor and the other teacher with this problem is on the 4th floor so I don't think it is a matter of just being high up. My ac seems to cycle cool air for about 5 minutes and then warm normal air for maybe 15-20 and this repeats. Not sure what to do but i am meeeelllting, any suggestions would be splendid!
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coralreefer_1



Joined: 19 Jan 2009

PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 9:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

not an expert by any means...but based on your write up concerning it spitting our cold air for a few minutes, but then basically recycling warm air for 15-20...sound like an electrical problem concerning the elements inside that detect air temperature.

Not sure what you could do about that other than call a different tech guy and let them look at it
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orosee



Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Location: Hannam-dong, Seoul

PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 4:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can't say what the problem is but I can tell you that there is indeed a technical problem with the unit. I've had that before with different models and there is something to be fixed, or worst case the cooling unit needs to be replaced. Regardless of the apartment size, the air coming directly out of the room vent has to be cold.

So, you need to find the right person to put pressure on for a repair, or you're likely to kill someone in this Summer heat.
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viciousdinosaur



Joined: 30 Apr 2012

PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 6:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you are facing the sun you are asking a lot of a small unit, especially during this heat wave. Block out the window completely with something. Then start sealing all the leaks to the outside. The craftsmanship of these apartments is sh** (I was a contractor). Then clean the radiator. Open the containment unit and blast it with a water or air jet. Then get insulation to reinforce the containment unit.
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orosee



Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Location: Hannam-dong, Seoul

PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's also correct; my rather large unit had a tough time cooling my apartment (penthouse so hot all around) this weekend, made lots of unfriendly noises and really only came to normal operation effect after 10 PM. But still, right at the air outlet I got cold air.

Does the unit at least dry the air? Is it stuffy? The problem I had in another place required the technicians to work several hours, so it was more than just a cooling fluid replacement.
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PeteJB



Joined: 06 Jul 2007

PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 9:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is aircon repair/cleaning covered by the landlord?
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JustinC



Joined: 10 Mar 2012
Location: We Are The World!

PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 11:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sounds like a very lazy repair man, get a different one in for a second opinion.
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tideout



Joined: 12 Dec 2010

PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 1:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry to hear about the AC not working.

I had the same description as you - cool for 10 minutes and then nothing but recycled warmish air. I was dying.

I cleaned the filters - imperceptible improvement.

I got a guy in my building to look at it and we fully opened the vents to the outside. The AC unit has an electrical cord cover and an outlet tube out of one side running into what is basically a utility closet - hot water heater, vents etc.. Vents leading to the outside are in this closet. Make sure if your AC unit leads into a closet like enclosure that any vent leading outside are fully opened. If they aren't the AC unit can't push the hot air out of the closet so it's essentially getting backed up. It also seems to help in creating suction/flow to have the closet door just slightly ajar. Sorry if this describes something different than your setup Mad

Barring that I think what others are saying is correct - try another repair guy. Watch your health on this one - just saw headline that ten people have died during this heatwave in Seoul. There's a real health risk for everyone with this.
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genesis87



Joined: 21 Nov 2011

PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 4:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

tideout wrote:
Sorry to hear about the AC not working.

I had the same description as you - cool for 10 minutes and then nothing but recycled warmish air. I was dying.

I cleaned the filters - imperceptible improvement.

I got a guy in my building to look at it and we fully opened the vents to the outside. The AC unit has an electrical cord cover and an outlet tube out of one side running into what is basically a utility closet - hot water heater, vents etc.. Vents leading to the outside are in this closet. Make sure if your AC unit leads into a closet like enclosure that any vent leading outside are fully opened. If they aren't the AC unit can't push the hot air out of the closet so it's essentially getting backed up. It also seems to help in creating suction/flow to have the closet door just slightly ajar. Sorry if this describes something different than your setup Mad

Barring that I think what others are saying is correct - try another repair guy. Watch your health on this one - just saw headline that ten people have died during this heatwave in Seoul. There's a real health risk for everyone with this.


I had a similar problem with the vents. Somebody told me about a month after using it and it works perfectly now. Try that
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kberger



Joined: 22 Oct 2009

PostPosted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 6:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My guess is it's low on refrigerant.

Did it work well before, but recently started being a problem?

If it needs to be charged with freon or whatever they use over here, I'm guessing maybe a 75,000 won fix.
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orosee



Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Location: Hannam-dong, Seoul

PostPosted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

kberger wrote:
My guess is it's low on refrigerant.

Did it work well before, but recently started being a problem?

If it needs to be charged with freon or whatever they use over here, I'm guessing maybe a 75,000 won fix.


Landlord should pay for that, mine always did.
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