Anyone ever fix a leaking air conditioner?
The one over our bed suddenly began leaking (never before) for 15 or 20 minutes after my wife turned if off this morning. A steady stream into a bucket.
Then when we turned it on this afternoon it began leaking rapidly for hte first 15 or 20 minutes after startup but then stopped.
Any chance of amateur self repair or does this require an expert?
The drainage hose is blocked. Same thing happend to me last year. I called the AC repairman. The guy comes in, opens up the unit, finds the hose where the water is supposed to drain from, and proceeds to blow on it. Five minutes later, the problem was solved, well, temporarily. There was all this gunk that he blew out from the hose. To solve the root of the problem, you need to have the AC cleaned professionally. If you run the AC every day for more than 6 months a year, you should get the unit maintained/cleaned at least once every couple of years. Apparently, a lot of dust still passes through the dust screen and gets lodged inside the unit. So you can try blowing on it for now, but don’t be surprised if it leaks again in a few weeks. Good luck.
Thanks. That sounds like a logical explanation.
We moved the bed and now have bucket placed below the aircon. Strangely, it only let loose all that water twice (though it’s only been a day; we’ll see what happens tomorrow). And, strangely, it did it once after being shut down and once after being turned on.
We would’ve had the guy out to fix it yesterday, but we were told they don’t work on sunday’s so we’re trying to get him out here this week.
One more question. Is it possible it might not be broken at all, but might’ve suddenly emitted a large volume of water because my wife inadvertently pushed the wrong button? It’s all in chinese, so I don’t know what all the buttons do, but do aircons often have a button for dumping water for some reason? Probably not, but just curious?
None that I’ve seen.
It isn’t broken, MT. It’s just clogged up from extended use. It needs a good cleaning, which will set you back a few grand, but it’s worth it. The cleaning is a 3 hour affair which includes both the inside and outside units. They’ll also check to make sure there’s enough freon in the unit. Get it done and you won’t have to worry about it for a couple of years.
I won’t have to worry about it in 2 months anyway. We just bought a new house and should be moved in by then. We intend to hire a guy to clean our new aircons prior to movein, but hadn’t planned on giving a going away present to our old landlord. Actually, strangely enough, it only discharged (a fairly large volume) Sunday morning, but Sunday afternoon (we turned it on for a few hours then off) there was no problem and last night/this morning (on all night, then off) there was again no problem. Not a drop. So, maybe we can get away with NOT cleaning it for two months, provided we keep the bed away from there and keep a bucket below just in case (if we wish to take the cheapskate route).
Edit: I wonder if it’s possible those two discharges somehow cleared some of the junk out of the system, postponing the need for a cleaning?
Just a word of caution. Almost every guy I’ve ever known has confused blowing with sucking. So if you decide to try this, just be sure you know which end of the tube the stuff’s going to come out of.
I’ve known a few girls who have made the same mistake. No harm done, though.
Last time I did this it cost 800, but recharging (R134a) was extra and quite expensive (1000+)
MT, be careful the bloody thing doesn’t actually use freon (R22) or you could end up unable to get it recharged or at best paying a fortune for under-the-counter freon. The drop-in replacement stuff is useless in my experience, but they may have some decent stuff nowadays. If it’s blowing cold don’t charge it - freon a/cs can work on even a tiny amount of gas, but not the new tree-hugging gas as it’s less efficient.
EDIT: It appears you can still buy freon in Taiwan… Splendid. Time to charge the living room a/c with hippie-frightening freon!
I’ve known a few girls who have made the same mistake. No harm done, though. [/quote]
Touche! Sorry for playing in your thread. Hope you get the AC fixed soon. I’ll be good now.
[quote=“housecat”]
Just a word of caution. Almost every guy I’ve ever known has confused blowing with sucking. [/quote]
You poor dear. That almost deserves to be someone’s signature.
[quote=“TheGingerMan”][quote=“housecat”]
Just a word of caution. Almost every guy I’ve ever known has confused blowing with sucking. [/quote]
You poor dear. That almost deserves to be someone’s signature.[/quote]
Yea, sometimes I type faster than I think, but it just sounded so funny in my head. You know, it’s funny 'cause it’s true.
[quote=“housecat”][quote=“TheGingerMan”][quote=“housecat”]
Just a word of caution. Almost every guy I’ve ever known has confused blowing with sucking. [/quote]
You poor dear. That almost deserves to be someone’s signature.[/quote]
You know, it’s funny 'cause it’s true.[/quote]
Tragic! It’s really the thin edge of the wedge!
How many more times will a good woman accept such negligence?!
[quote=“TheGingerMan”]Tragic! It’s really the thin edge of the wedge!
How many more times will a good woman accept such negligence?![/quote]
Glad I could amuse you. Anything for you, Ginger dear. I’ll have to stop, though, or you’ll have that wedge’s edge at my throat!
[quote=“housecat”][quote=“TheGingerMan”]Tragic! It’s really the thin edge of the wedge!
How many more times will a good woman accept such negligence?![/quote]
Glad I could amuse you. Anything for you, Ginger dear. I’ll have to stop, though, or you’ll have that wedge’s edge at my throat![/quote]
Amused? More like inflamed! How dare those miscreants foul up such a fine and noble endeavor…
And I’m not one to place the edge of my wedge at a throat.
I prefer the solar plexus.
That’s where the heart…
is.
Never mind the double endendre.
Most guys ask for one thing when they actually want another thing. Don’t worry, though. I’m quite sure you know what your talking about.
Now, we really have messed poor MT’s thread all up.
It’s normal for aircons to drip. In your case, it’s just dripping at the wrong place. The bottom of the unit is basically a drip pan that collects condensation and at the back of it there’s an outlet that can be connected to a hose. Somehow, the pan isn’t draining, it’s filling up, and it’s overflowing inside the house.
This is very easy to fix so long as you have a way to access the rear end of the unit. This can be a problem if the aircon is installed high off the ground away from a window or a balcony. In that case, the unit has to be moved out of its hole in the wall/window, in order to access the back of it.
But if you can access the back of it easily (sometimes they are mounted right next to a window or above a balcony), then all you have to do is pull the hose out and poke in the drain hole with a screwdriver or a chopstick or something. You may find a kink in the drain hose clogging proper drainage. Poke through the drain if you can and that should be plenty enough to get you through for a couple months, at least.
When the drain gets plugged up, it is a good indication that maintenance is overdue. Not sure about 3k in Taipei, but here in Kaohsiung, I know blokes who take the unit away for 2 days and they charge 1k for maintenance. They spray the cooling coil with soapy water, then they spray the whole thing down with a water hose. That’s it. There is no maintenance to be had on such small cooling units. It’s just cleaning, really. Takes them 15 minutes, and they need to let the unit dry for 2-3 days after that.
There is no need to think about adding refrigerant to the unit. If a unit needs refrigerant, it’s because it’s broken and it doesn’t cool anymore. The rule of thumb with small units like this is if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Just clean it. Freon and the newer R22 leak rapidly much like compressed butane does in a cigarette lighter. Any leak whatsoever is usually fatal to the cooling unit within a short period of time. You do not have that problem. Just a clogged drain on the drain pan that can be unclogged easily.
You can do it, you handyman, you. 
marboulette
I am not sure about using more “environmental” refrigerants because I think refrigerants are heavier than air so it will take a LONG time before it will make it up in the ozone layer. I mean I don’t see the advantage to using a non ozone depleting freon when it will cause AC units to become less efficient, because then you’re creating more greenhouse gas because now your AC uses more energy (and making greedy Taipower happier). Of course if hippies gets their way the world would have no air conditioning and any tiny amount of electricity will be solar powered and meat would be banned (because eating meat creates more greenhouse gas…)
Also if your aircon leaks outside be aware that you can be fined if you live in Taipei city.