Common Misconceptions About Aircon Gas Topping And How Often You Need To Do It

An air conditioning system requires refrigerant gas in order to work. The refrigerant gas is responsible for an exchange of heat from inside a room to the outdoors. It is inside a closed loop in the air conditioning unit. At times, refrigerant gas leaks from the AC due to some issues. It is important to maintain the right level of refrigerant gas in the air conditioning unit in order to ensure that your air conditioner keeps working at its most efficient.

When the level of refrigerant gas goes down, it needs to be refilled. However, there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding the refilling of refrigerant gas in an air conditioner. Here are a few misconceptions you need to know about aircon gas topping and how often it needs to be done.

One of the most common misconceptions associated with aircon gas topping is that it is not required as the refrigerant gas is in a closed-loop system. In a closed-loop system, the refrigerant gas keeps changing its state from liquid to gas and vice versa in order to transfer the heat from inside the room to the outdoors. However, the refrigerant piping is made of metal and no matter which metal is used, it will slowly get eroded over the years.

It happens due to the formation of formic acid in the unit. This acid eats through the metal which leads to small holes. When these small holes get big enough, the refrigerant gas starts escaping. If the air conditioners aren’t serviced regularly, the refrigerant gas will escape through these holes and there will come a time when there will be almost no gas left inside the unit. When it happens, your air conditioner won’t be able to cool the air.

Another common misconception associated with aircon gas topping is that checking refrigerant gas levels isn’t part of the regular maintenance. Many technicians working as aircon technicians do not have the necessary training and tools required to check the refrigerant gas levels. They just check the components from the outside.

However, most people these days are aware of the need for aircon gas topping. When you hire the services of a professional technician who is well trained and knowledgeable, they will also check the refrigerant gas level of your air conditioning unit as part of regular servicing. They will first check the presence of leakages and if they find any leakages, they will first flush the system and fix the leaks before topping up the refrigerant gas.

The rise of DIY culture has led many to believe that they can fix everything on their own but that is not true in the case of aircon gas topping. This isn’t some DIY project you can do on your own without proper training and tools. You need a professional who knows what they’re doing.

There are a lot of components in an air conditioner. Some parts are easy to reach and replace such as filters. Cleaning the air conditioner also isn’t that challenging as you can do it with the help of a vacuum cleaner once it has been disconnected. However, no one can deal with the electronic components and other major components such as compressor and condenser without proper equipment.

If you try to go the DIY route and cause the slightest of damage to the other components, you might have to replace the whole unit. Most people do not have the necessary equipment to check the refrigerant gas levels and therefore, it is recommended to call a trusted and reliable professional with experience in servicing your air conditioner to get it checked and to top up the refrigerant gas.

This next misconception is that an aircon doesn’t need to be maintained and regularly serviced in order to save energy but the truth is that a well-maintained and regularly serviced air conditioner will save you quite a bit of money on your energy bills. If the refrigerant gas level is lower than required, your air conditioner components will have to work much harder in order to maintain the same level of cooling.

For instance, if it took your air conditioner around 30 minutes to bring down the temperature to the desired levels with the right levels of refrigerant gas, it might now take more than 2 hours to reach the same temperature with lower levels of refrigerant gas. Needless to say, it will lead to higher energy bills and you will lose money as your AC has to work harder leading to higher energy bills.

Your air conditioner cannot function at its most efficient without regular servicing. Since the refrigerant level check is part of regular servicing, it is safe to say that your air conditioner is unlikely to function at its most efficient without regular checks for refrigerant gas. While these are some of the most common misconceptions associated with aircon gas topping, you must be wondering how you can check on your own whether your aircon requires gas topping.

First and foremost, it is important to keep in mind that the refrigerant gas inside the air conditioner doesn’t get used up as fuel in your car. As discussed in the above paragraphs, it is a closed-loop system and your system loses refrigerant gas only when there are leakages in the refrigerant pipes. Therefore, you need to look for some warning signs in order to figure out whether there is a refrigerant gas leak in the system.

If your air conditioner isn’t cooling, there is a possibility that the gas needs to be topped up. If your air conditioner is blowing hot air into the room, you need to call in a professional technician as quickly as possible to perform the required checks and top up the gas. If your air conditioner is leaking water, it typically means that vaporization isn’t happening properly and one of the main reasons is the lack of sufficient amount of refrigerant gas in the unit.

To conclude, you need to hire the services of a professional technician with expertise in servicing your brand of air conditioner for regular maintenance and servicing of the air-conditioning unit. Without proper servicing, the refrigerant pipes might develop a leak and it will seriously affect the performance of the air-conditioning unit. So, keep the above-mentioned tips in mind and call in a professional whenever you notice a warning sign indicating lower levels of refrigerant gas in the air-conditioning unit.

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