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Hi,

I am facing a weird issue in my LG window inverter AC which was purchased last year (June 2021). This year when I started the AC (after properly cleaning the filter), there was a strange smell coming from the AC. It was the smell of a chemical, a bit sweet, but suffocating. I thought, it might be due to some dust or mold, so got the AC wet serviced by LG technician today.

But the smell is still there post the servicing. The technician refused to acknowledge the smell, even though I could feel it standing 10 feet away from the AC. After he left, I opened the windows and kept the AC on for 15-20 minutes, hoping that the washing would remove the smell. But it seems that the smell has become stronger. I stood in-front of the blower to double check the source of the smell and am regretting it now. My nose and throat are burning and my eyes are also itching. My wife went into the room for a moment and came out running and cursing me for asking her to go into the room. She felt nauseated. The LG technician called in the evening to ask for happiness code. I told him that the smell is still there and we cannot sit in the room. He simply denied that there is no smell from the AC and said that it might be coming from the AC plug (totally false). He also went ahead to say that if I stick to my smell theory then he will take the AC to service center and keep it for 5-6 days. He had a threatening tone (not uncommon in Delhi NCR). Probably was miffed that I did not share the happiness code with him.

I Googled up to find the probable cause and it all linked to refringent leakage. I can also see in my LG THINQ App that the electricity consumption of the AC has gone up (marginally though).

Please advise on how to get this sorted. The AC is still in warranty. LG India does not respond to tweets and their technician has a threatening tone.

My Whirlpool *** Inverter Ac's cooling was insufficient and the LED display was not working properly, so I lodged a complaint with Onsitego with whom I have extended warranty. Two technicians came and inspected the unit and said it needs to be attended by Whirlpool themselves because of the faulty LED display. And that it might need a R32 gas top up too, so raised a complaint to Whirlpool and went off.

Today a fellow from Whirlpool visited and said the gas topup was not required, but the indoor unit needed a thorough chemical wash because there was a lot of dust accumulated inside over the last two years. Seems the monthly air filter wash I do is not sufficient, and the dust was clogging many hard to reach places as well as the fan. He disconnected the unit, took it to their workshop for thorough cleaning. Later in the afternoon he brought it back and installed, and it is now cooling very well. He charged me Rs 3030 (Rs 2500 labour and Rs 530 visiting charges) which he said will be reimbursed to me by Onsitego. They did not have the LED display which will be procured in a few days and installed, for which I will have to pay about Rs 1500, which again will be reimbursed.

He also said I need to perform this thorough cleaning at least twice a year. I now feel unhappy I replaced my Samsung window Ac with this split Ac.

We had a "chemical wash" (apparently different from a normal pressure wash) recommended by technicians for our Mitsubishi 2.2 ton inverter. It is not so long ago that it had a pressure wet wash.

The wet wash was done in situ, but for this chemical wash, they uninstalled the thing and took it outside.

This is a dusty area anyway, and there is a lot of building work going on. There is an AMC in place, so there is no extra payment for the company to do this, just extra work.

After the wet wash we had to live with a high-pitch wine, as water had got inside the IDU fan motor. It was replaced, under the contract, but it had to be imported, which meant it took a couple of weeks.

All is well with the machine now.

The service is provided by the Mitsubishi dealer. They also cover our old Daikin on a labour-only basis. It is expensive. But it is good. They call us when it is time for a service, and are quick to attend any fault.

Good to know, Thad that Mitsubishi gives good service. JUst finalised yesterday for a/cs for the new house. Nearly finished negotiations save the add ons. As we say in Gujarat, have bought the Gotas (Bajji).. Now negotiating for the chutneys and add ons. Fun.:Cheering:

1. Check if the plug is heating up - it would be hot and if you put your nose near it you get a strong smell.. We had the same problem and ultimately found that the contacts inside the plug/socket were sparking. It would start after some time and grow stronger with time.

2. Leaking refrigerant is a possibility, but as far as I know refrigerant does not smell.

3. Switch off the AC for at least 2 hours and air the room thoroughly so that there is no smell. The switch it on and use some one with a keen sense of smell to "nose around" the AC and the plug. Remember your nose is 100 times more sensitive than any instrument.

So relatable by the way.

1. The plug is getting slightly warm, not hot. But there is no smell coming from the plug.

2. I read the same on LG's website. Super confused now. :disappointed

3. We sniffed around the AC vent area even when the AC had been off for over 2 hours. The smell was still coming from the vent (very mild though). Another thing we observed is that the room gets filled with the same smell EVEN if the AC is kept on Fan mode. Sniffed around the evaporator coil area and the smell was distinctly present there.

I have to redirect that credit to the dealer/service-provider! I wanted to buy from a local company that would provide service and support after the sale. With most domestic equipment, service should not be a big issue as it is seldom required (hopefully) but ACs do require ongoing maintenance three to four times a year. AC machines are more like cars!

I was facing a similar issue with my Amazonbasics ac, the smell was present even when the ac was running in fan only mode.
Every article on internet pointed towards a gas leak, but the power consumption was normal. So I decided to opt for AC deep clean by UC, on the surface everything was positive; multiple positive reviews and videos but upon digging further found out dozens of horror stories about them overcharging for gas refills, unable to assemble ac unit back after cleaning, PCB water damage and the list goes on.

Browsed through this thread but was unable to find any concrete solutions.

Also was a bit lowkey pissed to find out that the refrigerant costs less than 500 bucks per kilo and yet we're made to pay thousands. Quoting from my blog :

Coming back to what worked for me :
Disconnected the unit from mains, sprayed on 70% IPA on condenser fins to inhibit any bacterial growth and let it dry.
To deal with the remaining odor bought a fridge odor absorber and placed it near the intake.
Took around 2-3 days for the smell to completely disappear.







Hope it helps!

Thanks Venky03!

Couple of queries:
1. Did you run the AC after spraying the IPA or let is soak it for few hours/days before turning the AC on?
2. Was the smell coming from your AC causing irritation in eyes and throat? The smell from our AC makes it unbearable for us to sit in the room.

1.It dries out instantly but I gave it 2-3 hours before turning on the AC.
2. No irritation, it was just bad smell.

Added emphasis to the last quote.

Yes, it quickly dries, but by evaporation to a highly inflammable gas! Best to be on the safe side.

By the way. From the early days of covid, when we we wild about sanitizing and sterilizing everything, I seem to remember that it is better not to use pure IPA. It's more effective at killing micro-organisms with some water added. Please google for the percentage, I'm really bad at remembering numbers.

This looks like refrigerant leak only. AC gas is odourless but the compressor oil may have smell. Since it is sweetish smell, it probably is synthetic. So most likely cause is the compressor oil also gets circulated with the refrigerant and is not flowing fully when the refrigerant is vaporized. Please raise a ticket about breakdown of AC and let the technician get the refrigerant checked as well the oil. One of the major compressor failure mode is oil starvation.

Gansan - Since there is moisture (at near condensation level), the dust will settle down on the coatings/fins under the removable filter and become a hard solid mass preventing the evaporator to work. Apart from washing the removable filter, one tip is to use a old tooth brush to gently brush the fins in one direction and remove the dust accumulated there frequently. You can use wet brush also. Don't be hard to avoid any rupture. Once it is done, please leave it open for few hours and run the AC in fan mode. This will improve the cooling marginally only but at least prevent the 'gunk' from forming. Two times a year is too much for this type washing (Rs.2500/wash). Voltas charges the same amount. You can replace the evaporator core itself after few years instead of spending this much money.

IPA?

When sprayed directly on a naked flame: Yes.
After spraying, the evaporating vapour: No.

I clean the fins with a wet wall painting brush while washing the filter. (I used to do that for the previous window unit too). That is whatever part of it I am able to access from the front of the IDU. This particular portion is at the top and towards the rear of the unit, and there is only about 12 inches of clearance between it and the ceiling. I am able to view it only through a mirror, leave alone clean it. It can be cleaned only if the unit is brought down. Also the dust deposits on the fan blades, which we can't remove and clean.

I sorely miss the window unit. The technicians will take it down once a year, clean it in the bathroom by the hand shower after covering sensitive spots with a polythene bag and then remount it in hardly 45 minutes. It never required any chemical wash in the twelve years I used it.