Air Conditioner Gas Refill Cost

[4MyEgo]

The 1st air conditioner of 7 that we purchased over the years, yes big house, is due for a refill.

 

We had the local (village) air conditioning guy in the other day who was going to re-gas the unit, but before he could proceed I asked him how much it would cost and he replied 1,000 baht, to which I nearly fell over backwards, and stopped him dead in his tracks, advising him that I felt that it was a bit rich, with his reply being "up to you", to my reply being, yes it is and I will let you know as I have 6 more that I can use.

 

Any idea what it costs for a regas for a standard air conditioning unit, I would have thought 500 baht "tops" inclusive of his time, the reason I am asking is I (Mr Farang) don't want to get taken for a ride because I have 6 more to do over time and am pretty much up to speed with what things cost, but no on air condition refills.

 

Appreciate any feedback, just on regasing the air conditioner, no cleaning of filters or anything like that as I do them, and if its 1,000 baht, well its a 1,000 baht 555, just haven't done a refill yet. 

[Lamkyong]

what indications do you have that makes you think that a re gas is required ??

[bankruatsteve]

We get the coolant topped up when they come to clean at no charge - so they say.  But, now they are charging 800 baht/unit when it was 500 before.  BTW: cleaning the filters is only part of the job.  The inside unit needs mold removal and the outside unit needs a good spray to remove dust from the heat sinks.  A job for the pro - for most folks anyway.

[Lamkyong]

could be incorrect but i thought these units are sealed   so apart from a leak or the gas degrading  a re gas is not necessary

[stubuzz]

I would suggest that a full leak examination  before refilling as R22 is dangerous to the environment.

[Kwasaki]

1 of our air-cons compressors gets some sun and has been topped up after 3 years where others haven't,  when they are cleaned everytime they check gas.

Our regular guy never charged for top up, for clean 500 for 1,  800 for 2,  1000 for 3,  1300 for 4.

[mogandave]

Unit should not use refrigerant, if it needs to be re-charged, it is leaking.

When the refrigerant starts getting low, the evaporator coil will often freeze over. Get the leak fixed before re-charging.

The only service should be cleaning the filter. The coils should not get dirty or moldy.


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[Lamkyong]

they only top them up with the amount they loose during the diagnostic procedure no test no loss   unless of course  there is  definite   symptoms of a leak  or as suggested icing up 

[mogandave]

they only top them up with the amount they loose during the diagnostic procedure no test no loss   unless of course  there is  definite   symptoms of a leak  or as suggested icing up 

There is no need to diagnose a system that is working properly. The only service should be cleaning the filter.

There is little that can go wrong with a conventional AC unit.

[Lamkyong]

2 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

There is no need to diagnose a system that is working properly. The only service should be cleaning the filter.

There is little that can go wrong with a conventional AC unit.

 

exactly my point    a top up is just somchais way of charging more  for nothing

[4MyEgo]

3 hours ago, Lamkyong said:

what indications do you have that makes you think that a re gas is required ??

The air conditioner has been used for a fair while and the air temperature when I put it on 25 or 26 as I usually do, is as if I was running a fan, i.e. no cool air, I thought there might be a leak as well, oddly enough he didn't suggest that, would be a waste of baht to refill if it has a leak, will speak to him today and get him out this afternoon, and if there is a leak he can fix the leak when he finds it and then refill it, but not before providing me with a quote, because a 1,000 baht to refill sounds excessive if it has a leak.

 

If he finds the leak, assuming its coming from the copper pipe, then he can sort it and refill for a 1,000 baht which in my opinion would be about right, i.e. whats the labour charge for a days work, tops (300 baht), and the gas refill (500 baht), allow for copper piping (200 baht), one can then justify the 1,000 baht.

 

Will  investigate further before going for the refill, I think Bankruatsteve in his reply is on par to what I am thinking, i.e. 500 baht in the village, 800 baht I think is a little high personally, but depends if you live in the city or the village, add for labour and parts if any and I think the 1,000 baht is justifiable, thanks to all.

[tutsiwarrior]

to check for refrigerant leaks ye need to check all the pipe joints both threaded and welded (the coils are pressure tested in the factory before they are shipped, presumably)...which means removing/replacing the insulation...a big mess...

 

 

[4MyEgo]

1 hour ago, tutsiwarrior said:

to check for refrigerant leaks ye need to check all the pipe joints both threaded and welded (the coils are pressure tested in the factory before they are shipped, presumably)...which means removing/replacing the insulation...a big mess...

 

 

The air con guy pulled off the cover to the machine on the ground and I found the leak after he topped it up a little with gas, its is where the copper pipe joins the air conditioning unit that sits on the ground, he said he would have to take it away and weld it, then regas it, cost 1,500 baht.

 

I said to him prior to him relocating the unit a few weeks back, it was working perfectly, and me only finding out just the other day that there was no gas, even after confirming it worked when he relocated it back then, and as there are no parts to replace, just a weld and his labour to take the machine back to his place up the road, then a regas, I thought that to be excessive and offered him 1,000 baht, and he said he could NOT do it for that, so I showed him the door in a nice way, i.e. no brains, good offer and 6 other units to service over the years.

 

I said to the wife, make a call, find someone, and she did, and another guy said he would charge 800 baht all up, but can't come today as he is out of town and will be in tomorrow.

 

As for the other idiot, I suppose he just cost himself 1,000 baht of easy money which I will give the other guy when he comes tomorrow, another mans lose, is another mans win, plus 6 further units to service if his work is good.

[stubuzz]

41 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

if his work is good.

That is always the gamble here.

[mogandave]

I think if you find someone that does good work, it's better to stick with them.

It has also been my experience it is better not to hammer them down.

Guy does a good job fixing the leak and re-charging the unit I could give a sh*t less whether it's 800 of 1,500.


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[mogandave]

That is always the gamble here.

That's the gamble most anywhere nowadays...

[Hereinthailand]

With the amount of particulate matter in the air here you should clean your inside and outside coils every year for efficiency. I buy an acid based cleaner from amorn electronics for the outside unit and they have a spray foam can for your inside unit. Easy to do yourself with a hand sprayer and water hose.

[BEVUP]

9 minutes ago, Hereinthailand said:

With the amount of particulate matter in the air here you should clean your inside and outside coils every year for efficiency. I buy an acid based cleaner from amorn electronics for the outside unit and they have a spray foam can for your inside unit. Easy to do yourself with a hand sprayer and water hose.

Agree, have used the stuff & it fizzes up slightly after leaving it for a little while

OH OP, fair enough you know the prices of many things but you have to realize the labour cost are like the west - This man doesn't dig holes for a living so I think he would want more then 300 bht a day

[mogandave]

I never have to clean the coils.


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[4MyEgo]

2 hours ago, BEVUP said:

Agree, have used the stuff & it fizzes up slightly after leaving it for a little while

OH OP, fair enough you know the prices of many things but you have to realize the labour cost are like the west - This man doesn't dig holes for a living so I think he would want more then 300 bht a day

I pay the builder what he wants, which is usually 500 baht a day, we are in the village, we had been quoted 250 and 160 a metre to put gutters on, the builder charged us 60 baht a metre, and that's the going rate in a big town 20 minutes drive from us so why should I pay above the normal rate, because I am a farang and have money, as Mogandave said he couldn't care less if it was 800 or 1,500 baht, well if he wants to throw his money away, up to him, his money.

 

The fact that the guy doesn't dig trenches or work on roof's in the heat should charge less in my opinion.

 

The builder employs guys for 300 baht a day mixing cement, digging trenches, working on the roof, all in the heat and sweating like crazy, so why should I pay some guy 1,500 baht to weld a small hole in a copper pipe when someone else quoted me 800 baht, after I offered this dipstick 1,000 baht which I though was above fair, remember, he relocated it a few ago for me, was working fine, and we checked it when he reinstalled it and was working fine again on that day, then didn't use it until now and then found that there was a leak at the joint, his doing from the rough handling obviously.

 

He then wants to ripe me off 1,500 baht for his F up, my approach in Thailand has always been a balancing act, but when they dig in and want to rip me, then they can go without, i.e. electrical store franchise wanted 13,900 baht for a dryer, said can you do better, no can do last one, as we were leaving said would take a 1,000 baht off, we kept walking, drove around the corner to the same franchise, walked out with the same dryer for 4,000 baht less, and it was the last one too, so go figure.

[mogandave]

I pay the builder what he wants, which is usually 500 baht a day, we are in the village, we had been quoted 250 and 160 a metre to put gutters on, the builder charged us 60 baht a metre, and that's the going rate in a big town 20 minutes drive from us so why should I pay above the normal rate, because I am a farang and have money, as Mogandave said he couldn't care less if it was 800 or 1,500 baht, well if he wants to throw his money away, up to him, his money.  

The fact that the guy doesn't dig trenches or work on roof's in the heat should charge less in my opinion.

 

The builder employs guys for 300 baht a day mixing cement, digging trenches, working on the roof, all in the heat and sweating like crazy, so why should I pay some guy 1,500 baht to weld a small hole in a copper pipe when someone else quoted me 800 baht, after I offered this dipstick 1,000 baht which I though was above fair, remember, he relocated it a few ago for me, was working fine, and we checked it when he reinstalled it and was working fine again on that day, then didn't use it until now and then found that there was a leak at the joint, his doing from the rough handling obviously.

 

He then wants to ripe me off 1,500 baht for his F up, my approach in Thailand has always been a balancing act, but when they dig in and want to rip me, then they can go without, i.e. electrical store franchise wanted 13,900 baht for a dryer, said can you do better, no can do last one, as we were leaving said would take a 1,000 baht off, we kept walking, drove around the corner to the same franchise, walked out with the same dryer for 4,000 baht less, and it was the last one too, so go figure.

 

 

It doesn't need to be welded, it needs to be soldered.

 

I said if they did a good job I didn't care if it was 800 or 1,500.

 

I also said that if I find a good tradesman I stick with them and don't hammer them down. I have not had to have anyone out to service any of my units in years.

 

You on the other hand seem to have a revolving door of bunglers traipsing through your home every other week.

 

'nuff said.

 

[Hereinthailand]

5 hours ago, mogandave said:

I never have to clean the coils.

Just shows you know nothing about hvac systems.

[Hereinthailand]

1 hour ago, mogandave said:

It doesn't need to be welded, it needs to be soldered.

Soldered ??? lol yeah just solder the high pressure line on an ac unit and see how long it lasts. Again shows you know nothing about hvac units. But wait maybe thats why they make so much money here fixing leaks in ac units.

[sappersrest]

OK to put things in perspective,

Small top up is generally included in the price of a service here in Chiang Mai 500 baht per unit on average, and I mean a full service not just cleaning filters.

 Fully recharging a unit is a different matter  refrigerant is around 950 baht per kilo, some small units will contain .75 kg whilst larger units can contain 1.5 kg.

Plus labour for repairs etc.

1000 baht is not a rip off.

 

A big no to soldering.

 

Source of info au prices for refrigerant

Mitsubishi brochure for quantities.

[Hereinthailand]

My house when she bought it had leaky ac units so I replaced the lines. welded not soldered then went to Do home and bought a 30 lb tank of R-22 for 1000 Baht, it is up to about 1800 last time I looked. Newer units will use R4xx which is a little more expensive. The thing you have to watch out for here is someone putting used refrigerant in your unit, If it hasnt been recycled correctly-cleaned and acid free your unit wont last long.  But yes if you are refilling, topping up you have a leak somewhere. The best thing to do is put some leak detector dye in and run it to find the leak, I have never seen an electronic leak sniffer here and they can be expensive.

[mogandave]

Most often soldered, sometimes brazed, almost never welded.




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[KittenKong]

13 hours ago, mogandave said:

The only service should be cleaning the filter. The coils should not get dirty or moldy.

 

Which planet do you live on?

 

I get my air-con cleaned every 3-4 months. The amount of black crud that gets washed out of the both the inside and outside units each time has to be seen to be believed. If all the indoor and outdoor coils and radiators and fans weren't cleaned at least every 6 months the unit would simply stop working.

[KittenKong]

15 hours ago, bankruatsteve said:

We get the coolant topped up when they come to clean at no charge - so they say.  But, now they are charging 800 baht/unit when it was 500 before.  BTW: cleaning the filters is only part of the job.  The inside unit needs mold removal and the outside unit needs a good spray to remove dust from the heat sinks.  A job for the pro - for most folks anyway.

 

800B seems a lot. 400-500B is the going rate in Pattaya. The place I currently use charges 400B and does a proper clean, inside and out.

 

They check the gas level for free but top-ups cost 20-30B (depending on the type of gas) per <measurement>. So far I have been unable to work out what the <measurement> really is. They say per kilo, which to me means a kilo weight of gas, which seems very cheap. So I suspect that they really mean per kilo of pressure as read on their gauge. They reckon the reading should be 10 and mine currently shows 9, so I suspect that this means that it should cost 30B to bring mine up to the correct level. But I've never been able to get a straightforward answer to the simple question "how much altogether for the gas"?

[mogandave]

 
Which planet do you live on?
 
I get my air-con cleaned every 3-4 months. The amount of black crud that gets washed out of the both the inside and outside units each time has to be seen to be believed. If all the indoor and outdoor coils and radiators and fans weren't cleaned at least every 6 months the unit would simply stop working.

Mold? Something wrong with your installation.

[KittenKong]

1 hour ago, mogandave said:

Something wrong with your installation.

 

 

Not at all. All air-cons here are exactly the same. As I mentioned, you apparently live on a different planet.