Thread: refrigerant

I bought a Kelvinator KSV35HRC split system, does anyone know that whether the unit has already been filled with refrigerant or not?

They are generally charged with refrigerant so that you just have to pull the lines down to a hard vacuum for an hour or so to remove all air and moisture before opening the valve.

what will happen if I don't do the vacuumization？Seems a lot installers don't do that.And where can I buy this vacuum pump（possible the meter to measure as well）. And how much are they cost？

Water and/or air in the refrigerant = less heating and cooling for your dollar + higher chance of compressor failure due to corrosion. If you try a purge with gas, you are of course losing gas which means (again) less efficiency in your a/c - the units only come charged with a kilo or so of gas, so every gram counts.

Vacuum pumps and gauge sets on ebay or see your local hire place - they usually have them.

See also:
DIY Air Conditioning Installation

Thanks for that. I tried bunnings this morning, unfortunately they don't have these tools for hire&sale, can you please give me some links (as I also tried the DIY Air Conditioning Installation", can't see those picstures)?
BTW, I measured outer diamter of both copper pipe, one is about 6mm, the other is 9.5mm, are they standard pipes that I can buy in burnings? I am in Adelaide.
Thanks a lot.
Jamie

The pipes generally come in long rolls, making it uneconomical for a DIY install.

I'd suggest mounting the units, having the sparks done, and then get a fridgie to do the pipe, vac it, gauge it, and release the gas. Quite a few of them will do it for $200 on a quiet saturday, and you've got the piece of mind that it's done right, and a warranty that's still valid.

The pics in that thread were hosted on an external site and are no longer there (d'oh!) but the article is still useful.

Try a proper hire shop, not Bunnings.

Refrigeration pipe is a specialised item - you'll need to get it from a place that services the trade or ebay.

If you don't have pipe benders, flaring tools and possibly a MAPP torch and brazing skills, you'll need to get them as well.

I posted yesterday, but my post seems to have gone, it would not be cost effective to purchase gauges and a vac pump for one job, many trade suppliers will not supply any thing to do with the gas side unless you show your licence. try the air condioning wharehouse or maybe Actrol they may have the copper tube. I think overall it would be much simpler to have a tradie do and you will also have a warrenty + COC

I have 5 same units to install, I am electrician not a fridgie, however I think it's a good chance for me to do it myself this time. Warranty is not the biggest problem, as time is not critical for this project, I can install one and use this air-con for couple months then install the rest. This might be the next license I am interested to get
Thanks.

Not sure if you can get one of those licenses out of a weeties box yet....

You might end up having to do a 3-4 year apprenticeship to get one....fridgies have to protect their turf, too!