Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Deja]

So I like much cooler space than most folks.
The problem however is that once the A/C reaches the desired temperature, it throws the dampness/moisture (what's the right term here?) back into the air.

Putting it on a lower fan setting doesn't help, it just takes more time for the thing to fully go out. This lasts for quite some time after the temperature is reached, so it's not like a few minutes, but rather it can be hours.

The tech guys tell me this is normal
It also happens on several A/Cs, so I don't think it's untrue.


Any ideas what I can do about this? It seems it doesn't happen as much, or least it isn't as bad if I keep the A/C set to a very low temperature (18*C), but .... that'll burn my power bill to whaat I pay for heating the entire winter

[Weigookin74]

[Deja]

I forgot to mention that Dry makes it even worse! It starts pumping the same thing right away.

The thing is most people can't even sense it, and I can't tell a specific smell. Rather it is what I am most allergic to, so I can sense it far too well.

[fustiancorduroy]

I'm not quite sure what you mean. The purpose of an A/C is to remove humidity from the air. Once the desired temperature is reached, the cooling mechanism will disengage, leaving the fan running, but this means the A/C is simply recirculating the cooled, dehumidified air around the room. The A/C does NOT introduce humidified air from the outside. The unit itself is in no way connected to the outside air.

So, as I wrote, I'm not quite sure what your complaint is. Once A/C has cooled the room -- and the room stays at the temperature you want -- it is not going to introduce humidified air into the room. It cannot do that. It's just not possible. Once the room gets warmer than your desired temperature, the cooling pump will begin running again, but it will just be cooling and dehumidifying the same air that is already in your room.

If you want the A/C to run constantly, just turn off the Auto setting (자동) and turn the fan speed to whatever setting you want. This will cause the cooling pump to run constantly, but it will cost a lot of money. But really, once the air conditioner has done its job cooling and dehumidifying the room, there shouldn't be any need to constantly run the pump. The temperature and humidity levels should be low enough for you to be comfortable. If not, then maybe you need a new, more powerful air conditioner.

[Weigookin74]

are you living in an uninsulated building? that may be why you're experiencing that.

[Lazio]

Not sure what your problem is.

When your A/C reaches the set temperature the compressor will turn off but the fan will keep running. The cooling surface will be moist and as the fan runs it will dry it and therefore it will evaporate into your room increasing the humidity minimally. However by that time a lot of water is removed to the outside and it will not come back so the humidity will be much less than before turning on the A/C.
What you could do is to set the temp. to 18 Celsius and when you feel cool enough just turn it off completely. Turn it back on again when the room temperature increases again. Repeat.

[Deja]

The "set to 18*C" (or 16*C, depending on the unit) is what I do know and I find that it is better in terms of not doing what I don't want it to do.

I am not sure if it is dampness, but I think it is. It is an extremely allergic something that comes out of the A/C unit mostly when it reaches the desired temperature for cooling. Also, if the A/C unit has the "Clean" function when it is turned off, the air that comes out is exactly what I have problem with. I doubt it is "just" humid air, since plain evaporation in the shower is nothing like it - but a combination of humid air with bacteria that is in there could be it? (note that this happens even a day/two after the A/C is cleaned completely, in and out)

It is as if enough water remains on the coils to be sent back in. It's not as if much water is needed.

[Swampfox10mm]

You likely need to:

1. Buy a can of aircon cleaner from a corner store (get the one with an attached brush) and clean out the dust and mold. This needs to be done yearly, and is usually neglected by foreigners who don't know about it. Spray and soak the aluminum finnage good. Then brush carefully and remove what you can without damaging the tiny fins. Douse it again.... use most or all of the can. Keep windows open while doing this, and run the aircon on high for at least 15 minutes afterward (windows still open). This should help rinse it out a bit so that the smell goes away.

2. Run the aircon at a lower temperature. Or get it serviced to run cool enough. There is a sweet spot around 26 to 27 degrees on my aircon where it will cool, but not remove humidity. I am betting your aircon needs charging with more coolant so that it can break this threshold and cool the needed amount to make enough water on the coils so that it begins to drip off. A very dirty aircon can also exacerbate this problem. Not to mention, make you sick.

[Deja]

My A/C is brand new, used first time <2 months ago, and cleaned about a month ago (new apartment, dust etc. so I wanted ti fully cleaned after I moved it and cleaned up the place).

The thing is at 25-26*C the problem I mentioned is full on, even when the A/C is clean and I let it blow max. speed for a few hours after minor use. It won't work for me


I used a 12.000BTU unit currently for my work room, which is <15m2.

[Swampfox10mm]

If it won't get cooler than that, then it's not working right. Call the AC guys... you probably just need to add more coolant. There could be a small leak, if you installed it recently, or they may have put less coolant in it than it needs (not uncommmon). Just call them to come look at it.

It it expelling water through the hose? Does it drip outside, or into an inside container you must empty? I have had them installed improperly, and it didn't drip for the first few days of use, then suddenly water started dripping out of the unit on the wall. It was a brand new aircon, and the install guy had actually forgotten to remove the internal plug so that the water could run out of the tube. Instead, it slowly filled-up inside and just eventually overflowed at 3am on night... all down my wall. You could be facing a similar problem?

[Deja]

The A/C can cool quite well to 18*C it's not an issue.
This (dampness) is also an issue with exactly every previous A/C I used. (this one is just extreme, probably because it is a very strong unit for a very small room)

After it reaches the right temperature, it starts to throw something extremeely allergy inducing into the room (I call it dampness, but I don't know what it is exactly - I just know I can't stand 10 seconds without my nose getting more mucus than I can take).
It DOES NOT do that while it is cooling! Only when the temperature is reached.

The water is dripping outside just fine.

[Swampfox10mm]

You seem to have an allergy to the air during warm up/dry mode when the compressor stops circulating the coolant. The fins warm up because coolant is not circulated so that the fan air warms the metal fins and the water drips off.

It will never improve for you. Best you can do is keep it clean.

[Deja]

Since this doesn't happen on a completely clean unit until it gets used for some (not many days) time, I reckon it's a combination of water/vapor left over in condesant exhaust pipes with the bacteria/mold that gets collected behind the coils

Anyway, today I got someone to simply clean the condesant exhaust (took a hose, sucked some little water that was in the condesant exhaust hose, and blew it out - extremely little).
After some 10 seconds of not so pleasant air, after I turned on the A/C, it was GOOD. It takes that little water to be in the exhaust water pipes/hose to make a problem

So, you're right I need to keep that exhaust pipe clean