Team-BHP - AC gas recharge, big scam?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abeer (Post 2337600)

Got my 1.5 Ton Hitachi AC ( It is 4 years old) serviced few weeks back during Hitachi's free AC service camp.
It worked fine for sometime and now the cooling has reduced. Not sure if it is low gas issue or something else.
I have asked them to come and check. The charges they mentioned are 1500/- for gas refill.

Was it running fine before the so-called FREE service camp ? . I think ,they might have leaked the gas deliberatly so that you call them back and they charge you money for the refill .:Frustrati

Quote:

Originally Posted by black12rr (Post 2339715)

Was it running fine before the so-called FREE service camp ? . I think ,they might have leaked the gas deliberatly so that you call them back and they charge you money for the refill .:Frustrati

Exactly my feelings. The Samsung I bought last year was working fine, but coz it had a lot of lint accumulated on the fins, called up the helpline for a wash. The first thing the visiting technician told me was," it has started leaking gas" Complete sham! To top it, he said that cleaning the muck might reduce cooling and would accelerate the leaking.
And while leaving, "any problems reported in a month from now, would be attended free, but gas recharge will be charged". I suspect he must have fudged up something while cleaning.

Gave that guy a hint that if any problems are experienced in this season I will wring him by his neck.

My car has'nt had a AC recharge in 9 years, my fridge has'nt had a recharge in 5 years, then why my window AC in one year? It is a scam for sure!

My LG ac hasn't needed a gas recharge in the past 3 years, though the person I bought it from insists on servicing (which is merely cleaning) & gas recharge every year.
He argues that gas leaks on its own but common sense says it shouldn't until some pipe has taken a hit or has corroded or there is a loose connection somewhere.
A friend dealing in ACs says, they make more money in servicng/annual maintainance contracts than by "selling ACs" since margins in sales are low due to competition.

Interestingly, all my relatives, not staying in NCR, don't face this miraculous Leakage. :)

For whatever its worth, here is my experience with ACs and gas filling in Noida. I live in sector 50 and as the view from google maps will tell you, very close to a major nalla that intersects 50 and 51.

I moved into this flat in 2004 and bought 4 ACs - three 1.5T Whirlpools and one 2T General. This year I've had to change two of the Whirlpools because of frequent gas leakage issues and a minimum coil replacement repair bill of Rs. 6,000 each. However, for the first 5 years none of the ACs gave any trouble. The first problem occurred in the 6th year when two of the Whirpool's and the General stopped cooling. The gas was replaced in all and they worked fine for that season. Next year again two Whirlpool's needed gas twice in two months and faced with the coil replacement bill, I replaced two. The third is working fine with a gas change - for the second summer running. The General has not needed gas replacement after that one time.

Albeit the General and Whirlpool that continue to work are in the most protected locations in the house. The Whirpool that was least protected from the elements was in terrible shape when it was replaced - the body was corroding and the pipes were all covered in black stuff.

Another reason for inadequate cooling could be improper gas recharge. I have a 1 year old Hitachi split, 1.5 T. This year since last 2 weeks the cooling was very ineffective, called the service center and the technician who visited told the same. The compressor is drawing less current (~5A), gas is very low and needs to be recharged.

He tells voltage fluctuation leading to compressor vibrations, frequent tripping also leading to some valves getting loosened and hence the gas leaked. Agreed to gas recharge, charge is 2,350. But the technician obviously doesn't seem well trained and was filling gas in a guesstimate manner. Like the pipe is cooling enough now and the current drawn is 6.5A so it is fine.

I am not convinced of this method, can other Hitachi AC owners share their feedback on gas recharge mechanism they have seen in use. Also, how do we confirm if they have charged the gas in optimum quantity?

Checking Grill temp could be another option, did any of you guys check it for your ACs and is yes, which range does it really fall in (It will depend on the ambient temp but the differential could easily be in 12-15 deg C at least, I think).

In my opinion even in the first case itself the refilling is unwarranted. The service is generally out sourced and the agency is playing foul here. Better watch out. There is a habit among us to call the service guys for a check up before monsoon arrives and this weakness is being exploited.

Guys

I am kicking myself for not being aware of this thread. I had to shell out Rs 3000 a couple of days back to refill gas in two of my split ACs. One of them was a 3-year old Samsung 1.5 Virus Doctor AC that worked like a charm for 3 summers. When I switched it on a few days back, there was no cool air emanating at all!The other one is a Voltas 1.5 T split that is 8 years old.

The Voltas had gas refilled only 2 years back, but was not cooling enough. We called the same technician who'd installed the Samsung, and he said the Samsung had no gas at all in it, and that the Voltas needed half kg of gas refill. He showed the reading on both with an instrument that he'd brought. Per him, the reading should be around 150 when the AC is off and should be around 60 when on. He filled 2 kgs gas in the Samsung and half Kg in the Voltas.

I had to shell out 3000 to put both in order. The surprising thing is that neither AC showed any leakage with the soap bubble test. I wonder where the gas went!!
Per the technician, the only way to avoid this is to keep using the AC for around half an hour every 2 weeks even in off season.

I wonder whether this is correct. In any case, both ACs are working fine now. Fingers crossed. BTW my house is not located in any smelly area.

plagued with the same gas leak and now coil re[placement cost for 2 ton Hitachi ( In Noida). I think what we all need is a reliable fellow for gas fills and repair. I really don't know if the the coil actually needs a change or not ( its been 5 yrs though). Last time I didn't pay the full amount for gas charge but and hola ice formation.. aka gas leak...

any pointers for ensuring that cooling coils are of good quality and not some junk?

You need a gas recharge only if you do not operate your AC for long periods of time, like if you live in those places which have a winter and AC remains unused. Atleast it is a good practice to switch on the AC once every week for half an hour or so that that the refrigerant is charged. i do not think the refrigerant needs to be changed even once in 10 years if you follow this routine.

Good information and I found it at the right time too.

So, I have a Samsung 1Ton AC and its around 2 years old. The cooling is normal and I dont find any changes in it. Last week, I was at the terrace of my apartment and just happened to look at the outdoor unit and the white foam cover/cotton cover (not sure what its called) on the copper wire is all peeled off. Will this have an issue? I had to buy additional wire over the company provided one as the distance was more, and it is this wire that has this issue. I dont have the pictures handy, but I hope I have managed to explain. What should I do to cover the copper pipes?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dass (Post 3442126)

Last week, I was at the terrace of my apartment and just happened to look at the outdoor unit and the white foam cover/cotton cover (not sure what its called) on the copper wire is all peeled off. Will this have an issue?
What should I do to cover the copper pipes?

From the little that I understand of this subject, this will NOT be an issue for the overall cooling performance of your AC.
It will however lead to a little bit extra temperature increase before the gas reaches your cooling coil, making the overall unit work a wee bit harder to achieve the same levels of cooling. However, this should be too little for you to measure or notice.
If the pipe is very long, only then will you notice a significant temperature increase between the compressor and cooling coil.

Quote:

Originally Posted by roy_libran (Post 3442178)

If the pipe is very long, only then will you notice a significant temperature increase between the compressor and cooling coil.

The pipe is about 5.5 meters from the indoor unit to the outdoor one. Will covering with the electrical black tape be of any use?