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7 common questions relating to general aircon service

7 common questions relating to general aircon service

Question 1:

What is normally done in a general aircon cleaning service of a fan coil?

Answer:
Performing a thorough general aircon cleaning requires cleaning of the fan coil cover or panel, air filter, evaporator coil, drainage tray, condensation tray, blower fan and blower wheels. Normally, the vendor will also help to lubricate motor parts and tighten electrical contact if required. To finish up the job, the air con technician will also check serviceability of moving parts, the electrical components and the refrigerant level and test blower air flow level. Usually, an experience air con technician will be able to check the adequacy of the refrigerant level just by using their hand to feel the airflow. The final step is to test and commission the fan coil. The following page provides a detail breakdown of all the preventive measures taken in a general aircon service of fan coil.

Question 2:

I seldom use my air conditioner. Do I need to perform regular aircon service?

Answer:

Air conditioner that are used less often will still accumulate dust. You will still need to service it although you may not need to service it as often compared to one that is used regularly.

 

Question 3:

I perform general aircon service on my air conditioner regularly.  Does it mean I don’t need to do any chemical wash?

Answer:
Most of us sweep or vacuum our house frequently but will perform a thorough spring cleaning annually. A preventive maintenance for the air con is very similar. We need to perform general service for the air con regularly and perform a spring cleaning for the air con at least once a year through a chemical cleaning.
In a general aircon service, cleaning of key components such as the evaporator coil and air blower is done onsite where the fan coil is mounted . Cleaning are generally performed on those surfaces where your brush or vacuum can reach. However, the brush and vacuum are unable to reach out to certain deep areas and inner parts of the fan coil or condenser, for example the deeper fins of the evaporator coil.
Overtime, more and more dust and grime will accumulate on those areas where the brush and vacuum is unable to reach and the air con will be polluted with debris. These unwanted contaminants will affect air transfer within the air con system and contribute to many different types of common air con problems such as water leaking, air con not cold, air con smelly etc. If you read through our article on air con repair in http://citicoolaircon.com/aircon-repair, you will notice that chemical cleaning is the solution to many common air con problems.
To reach out to those areas not included in a general aircon service , you will need to remove the entire fan coil from the wall and dismantle all the parts piece by piece for thorough cleaning with chemical solution. Chemical solution can easily penetrates and reach out to deeper areas and help remove stubborn dust and grime easily within minutes or seconds. After treating each washable parts with chemical, you will also need to spray running water on the parts to rinse away all the chemical and debris. This process of performing chemical wash on your air con is very tedious and is definitely much more costly compared to a general aircon service. However, it is a required preventive maintenance for your air con to operate efficiently.
As chemical wash is a very important preventive maintenance for your air con system, our web site has provided many useful educational video and articles to help customers gain a better understanding on the importance and best practice procedure relating to chemical wash service. Please click on the following link for more information relating to chemical wash.
http://citicoolaircon.com/chemical-wash

 

Question 4:

How often should I perform a general aircon service for my fan coil?

Answer:

The answer to this questions depends on many factors including but not limited to:

• sensitivity of the air con users
• number of users
• how frequent do you use the air con
• the environment where the air con is installed etc

It is recommended that homeowners perform a normal or general service for their air conditioners at least every 3 to 4 months as a preventive maintenance for their air conditioners to keep the air conditioners efficient and effective in delivering clean and cool air.

For the commercial users, the frequency of servicing really varies and very much depends on the environment and the extent of usage. Take for example, most restaurants would need to service their aircon monthly to prevent it from breaking down due to dust and grime clogging the indoor fan coil, especially if the aircon is in the kitchen. Clinics and hospital will normally service their fan coil monthly as they need to maintain clean air quality for their patients. Basically, those air conditioners that are serviced more regularly tend to be more efficient in producing clean and cool air and consume lesser energy and have a longer life span.

 

Question 5:

Is it ok to use some chemical solution to clean the fan coil during a general aircon service?

Answer:

If you are cleaning the fan coil yourself and wants to use chemical solution on the parts. You should do the chemical cleaning of the dismantled parts offsite. Instead of using chemical solution, you can use normal detergents or just water to rinse the parts which is what the vendors will do in an a general aircon service.
You should avoid applying chemical solution on the fan coil onsite because it is difficult to remove the chemical thoroughly unless you remove and dismantle the whole fan coil for rinsing with water. Note that most chemical solution are either acidic or akaline based and chemical residue left on your fan coil can damage or even corrode the metals of the key components of your fan coil.

Question 6

What is the difference between general aircon service and chemical cleaning service?

Answer:

In general aircon servicing, only certain parts are dismantled for cleaning and rinsing with water. However in chemical wash service, all the parts in the fan coil should be dismantled for chemical cleaning. More details on this topic can be found on the following page:
General Aircon Servicing vs Chemical Wash Servicing

Question 7:

What are some price considerations and precaution to take when sourcing for a vendor to perform general aircon service?

Answer:

Do some manual calculation on what is a reasonable price to pay for a general service. Vendors’ key costing include vehicle, petrol or diesel and labour cost. One should beware of pricing that are unreasonably too low. All vendors are out there to make a profit. If the pricing is way below a reasonable market price, beware of such vendors. Check whether they cover all the important steps mentioned in Question 1. Vendors may eliminate some of the steps in order to charge a lower price to attract customers. Others may start recommending additional unnecessary services during their visit.
If you are not sure whether the vendor’s recommendation is genuine, you should pick up the phone and call a few other vendors to get a second opinion. Otherwise do some research and read up more to understand how air conditioner works. If your air conditioner has some problems, we highly recommend that you browse throw the following pages to check for possible causes and solutions and to clear any doubts that you may have. The following post are some highly recommended articles for your reading:
what-you-need-to-know-about-aircon-gas-top-up
tips on aircon problems and solution

Aircon Service Technician dismantling aircon parts for cleaning

Aircon Service Specialist/Technician dismantling aircon parts for cleaning

regular aircon service is important for your air conditioner

Regular aircon service is important for the efficiency of your air conditioner

 

 

What You Need To Know About Aircon Gas Top Up

What You Need To Know About Aircon Gas Top Up

Aircon Gas Top Up

Read this before agreeing to aircon gas top up

Some new customers told us their previous aircon servicing companies always suggest topping up gas (refrigerant) for them after the aircon cleaning. PLEASE BEWARE. We received some comments from our aircon technicians who have friends working for aircon servicing company in Singapore. These companies charge very low rate for aircon servicing BUT they will tell you that your aircon need to top up gas. They will charge a very high rate for aircon gas top up. Many customers ended up paying more $$$. Actually, nothing is wrong with the aircon and there is no leakage. In fact, the aircon servicing company will either top up a little gas for show or do nothing at all.

Important: Unless there are unsealed leakages in your air conditioning system, there is no need for you to top up gas for your aircon regularly.

If your aircon takes a long time to cool your room, the most common problem is because it is dirty. You can try cleaning the air filter yourself. If this doesn’t work, ask an aircon servicing company to do general cleaning or chemical wash service for you.

The gas (refrigerant) in your aircon works like the gas (refrigerant) used in your refrigerator. Ask yourself, your fridge is on 24 hours a day. Do you need to top up gas regularly for your fridge? Answer is NO. You can use your fridge for many years without having to top up gas. The same goes for your aircon.

When do you need to top up gas for your aircon?

Answer: Only when there are unsealed leakages in your air con system. If this happens, you need to seal the leaking area or get the leaking part replaced before topping up gas. Once the leaking area is sealed, you don’t need to top up gas until leaking happen again.

What are some common causes of gas leakages?

  1. Improper installation of your aircon.
  2. Poor quality copper pipe used.
  3. Chemical residue left over from improper chemical wash procedure causing corrosion in your air conditioning system.

Note that if your aircon is properly installed with quality piping and properly maintained, it is unlikely to have gas leakages. If there are leakages, you need to seal the leakage area to stop the leaking before topping up the gas.

There is no need to top up gas regularly unless there is unsealed leakages in your air conditioning system.

aircon gas top up (aircon refrigerant)

air conditioner refrigerant

 Video on Aircon Gas (Refrigerant) Top Up

Best Practice For Aircon Chemical Wash Service And Its Advantages

Best Practice For Aircon Chemical Wash Service And Its Advantages

aircon chemical wash or aircon chemical overhaul is effective for washing away stubborn dirts and grimes in your fancoil.

 

 

 

 

CitiCool strongly advocate adopting the best practice of removing the fan coil unit from the wall where it is mounted and dismantling all the components in the fan coil piece by piece for a thorough chemical treatment and rinsing.  Despite the time and effort required in doing so, it is important to follow such best practice procedures as this is the proper and correct way of cleaning the fan coil to ensure that it can operate efficiently after the chemical wash. (more…)

When Does Your Air Conditioner Require Aircon Chemical Wash Service?

When Does Your Air Conditioner Require Aircon Chemical Wash Service?

Basically, when general cleaning of the air conditioner is unable to keep your air conditioner running properly, cleaning your air conditioner with chemical solution is required. Your air con need a aircon chemical wash service because the internal components of your fan coil, especially the evaporator coil is blocked by a layer of dirt, dust and grime. This layer of blockage on your evaporator coil can cause the air con to malfunction. It also has many negative effects on the entire air con system. (more…)