Split A/C Problems. Need Advice on Regassing.

Howdy all, so this run I've been having major problems with my aircon. It leaked some gas and now can't keep the heat down in growroom. I'm in prohibition land so hiring someone to come do the job isn't possible.

I have all the tools and the basic knowledge to do it myself, but have had trouble finding gas (originally R32). I've tried topping up with LPG which helped a little but still isn't running optimally.

I've gotten my hands on a bottle of R22, the old gas, and am planning on evacuating gas currently in the system, vaccuming and then refilling.

Havnt been able to get my hands on any nitrogen to flush the lines. Is that going to be a problem?

What's the best way you think I should go about this? Every day that it isn't fixed is costing me money and affecting the quality of my buds, and stressing the fuck out of me. Any help appreciated. Cheers.

Lol


Be sure and film it, we will all love a good laugh

This is the first time I've ever heard of refrigerant/Freon referred to as 'gas'.


I second the, "We're gonna need a video".

Beehive said:

This is the first time I've ever heard of refrigerant/Freon referred to as 'gas'.


I second the, "We're gonna need a video".

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They are all gasses mate. Freon is actually R22, a specific gas. Maybe we have different lingo here in Australia.

If you want a video no dramas, it's pretty simple.

I was asking if vacuuming will be enough to get the moisture out of the lines since I don't have nitrogen, so if you don't have anything to add, kindly fuck off.

BobThe420Builder said:

Lol


Be sure and film it, we will all love a good laugh

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I don't see what's worth laughing about regassing an aircon but if you really want a video then no dramas.

Installed the A/C, new circuit and light controller, not to mention built the whole room from scratch...

It's a piss easy job I'm just not sure if I should hold off until I can get some nitrogen so I don't waste my R22, expensive shit and was hard enough to get this tank.

Im not an HVAC tech but I believe the nitrogen is only for leak testing the line set. If that is the case, I would imagine any inert gas would due.

BurnzAU said:

They are all gasses mate. Freon is actually R22, a specific gas. Maybe we have different lingo here in Australia.

If you want a video no dramas, it's pretty simple.

I was asking if vacuuming will be enough to get the moisture out of the lines since I don't have nitrogen, so if you don't have anything to add, kindly fuck off.

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It is simple.

Pull a vacuum for 45minutes and find out.

Then look up what a AC dryer is. It's the beer can looking thing. Usually painted blue. Try replacing it. So get your bundle of silver solder and go to town.

Beehive said:

It is simple.

Pull a vacuum for 45minutes and find out.

Then look up what a AC dryer is. It's the beer can looking thing. Usually painted blue. Try replacing it. So get your bundle of silver solder and go to town.

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Thankyou! That is helpful, because otherwise I wouldn't have even thought of it, after a quick ask of uncle Google it seems that it will definately be worth doing. Now to find a replacement.

Just pull vacuum and charge it, vacuum is what removes moisture, let it pull down for a hour or 2 if your concerned. Make sure whatever you put back in is compatible with what the original charge was.

nitrogen and soapy water for leak checking.

J232 said:

Just pull vacuum and charge it, vacuum is what removes moisture, let it pull down for a hour or 2 if your concerned. Make sure whatever you put back in is compatible with what the original charge was.

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That's my other concern I managed to get a bottle of R22 which is the old style stuff, and mine is a new split which is R32...

R32 is supposed to run at higher pressure, so it shouldn't explode.. but I doubt it will be running optimally.

This is why it's stressing me out and taking me so long to decide what to do.. mid flower trying to nurse this crop over the line and don't want to risk making it any worse, then I would have to use a portable and since we can't get dual hoses here would unleash a bit of dank stank to my neighbours ...

BurnzAU said:

That's my other concern I managed to get a bottle of R22 which is the old style stuff, and mine is a new split which is R32...

R32 is supposed to run at higher pressure, so it shouldn't explode.. but I doubt it will be running optimally.

This is why it's stressing me out and taking me so long to decide what to do.. mid flower trying to nurse this crop over the line and don't want to risk making it any worse, then I would have to use a portable and since we can't get dual hoses here would unleash a bit of dank stank to my neighbours ...

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You can modify a single hose into a double, I have seen info somewhere on that, unless I was just really high . Double check but I’m pretty sure you can run r22, the charge will be a bit different as head pressures would change. 32 and 22 are close, there are better options though. Make it work!

Hey im actually an aircon technician. Before u do anything make sure to find where it was leaking from. Then go ahead and do a good hour of vaccuum ( >=400 micron) then refill with the good amount of freon.

The compressor might not last you long but its gonna work for temporary.

Let me know if it helped !

BurnzAU said:

Howdy all, so this run I've been having major problems with my aircon. It leaked some gas and now can't keep the heat down in growroom. I'm in prohibition land so hiring someone to come do the job isn't possible.

I have all the tools and the basic knowledge to do it myself, but have had trouble finding gas (originally R32). I've tried topping up with LPG which helped a little but still isn't running optimally.

I've gotten my hands on a bottle of R22, the old gas, and am planning on evacuating gas currently in the system, vaccuming and then refilling.

Havnt been able to get my hands on any nitrogen to flush the lines. Is that going to be a problem?

What's the best way you think I should go about this? Every day that it isn't fixed is costing me money and affecting the quality of my buds, and stressing the fuck out of me. Any help appreciated. Cheers.

Click to expand...

the purpose of nitrogen is to do a leak test
you inject around 25 bar of nitrogen in your refrigerant circuit, note the pressure value you see on your manometer and the temperature outside. then you come 24 hours later to see if the pressure value is the same on your manometers, if the temperatue changed compared to the previous day, you need to do a small cross product to calculate the relative pressure.

if the value isnt the same 24 hours later, you circuit is leaking

if it pass the leak test, now you can purge the circuit with your vaccum pump.

dope4mine summarized it pretty well

personnaly if i need gas i buy it in italia, always worked fine
they sell 1kg bottles

do not put r22, find some r32. these gas have different operating pressures

Yeah r22 will be much more expensive, just sell that r22 jug and get a r32. Fix the leak and replace the filter drier, leak test, evacuate, and re-charge. I wouldn't have put propane in lol. If you do change to a different compatible refrigerant for r32 systems you will need to flush or replace the line sets
.

As others stated, find the leak before replacing the refrigerant. Nitrogen is mainly used to pressure check the system, but does help in drying out any moisture.

The best procedure would be to reclaim all the refrigerant from the system, run some rx11 through the lines followed by nitrogen, then pull a vacuum until you achieve 500 microns or less. Afterwards you refill the system with the new refrigerant. Not sure if your system uses a fixed piston or a txv, but depending on what refrigerant you are starting with and switching to, you might need to swap this as well (like switching from r22 to 410a or vice versa) to get proper cooling.

You. Put. Propane. In. Your. Mini-split. Yes, propane is used as a refrigerant in certain applications, NOT ALL are interchangeable. Incompetence is no reason to release refrigerant into the atmosphere, unless damage occurred to your line set your system should absolutely not leak before the system is energized.

Houstini said:

You. Put. Propane. In. Your. Mini-split. Yes, propane is used as a refrigerant in certain applications, NOT ALL are interchangeable. Incompetence is no reason to release refrigerant into the atmosphere, unless damage occurred to your line set your system should absolutely not leak before the system is energized.

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Who said anything about releasing the refrigerant into the atmosphere? I said to "reclaim" it. You'd still have to reclaim the refrigerant in order to use propane, you can't just mix gasses like that. They run at different pressures and for the record I would not use propane, you're just asking for trouble.

I've also seen systems leak without actual physical damage to the line sets. Schrader valves at the condenser, schrader valves at the coil, brazes that developed leaks, improperly flared connections etc.

To just suggest topping the system off with propane sounds like incompetence to me. Most any blended refrigerants are gonna give you problems mainly because they all work at different pressures... does blended/dirty refrigerant work?.. sure sometimes but it's not optimal if it does. I told the OP the best procedure and I stand by that.

Find the leak. Reclaim the refrigerant. Flush the line sets with rx11 then nitrogen. Pressure check the system to ensure leak is fixed. Run vacuum to 500 microns. Refill system with new refrigerant... no incompetence in this procedure.

I would also make sure to label the system with whatever new refrigerant you use for any future reference.

Cloud Surfer said:

Who said anything about releasing the refrigerant into the atmosphere? I said to "reclaim" it. You'd still have to reclaim the refrigerant in order to use propane, you can't just mix gasses like that. They run at different pressures and for the record I would not use propane, you're just asking for trouble.

I've also seen systems leak without actual physical damage to the line sets. Schrader valves at the condenser, schrader valves at the coil, brazes that developed leaks, improperly flared connections etc.

To just suggest topping the system off with propane sounds like incompetence to me. Most any blended refrigerants are gonna give you problems mainly because they all work at different pressures... does blended/dirty refrigerant work?.. sure sometimes but it's not optimal if it does. I told the OP the best procedure and I stand by that.

Find the leak. Reclaim the refrigerant. Flush the line sets with rx11 then nitrogen. Pressure check the system to ensure leak is fixed. Run vacuum to 500 microns. Refill system with new refrigerant... no incompetence in this procedure.

I would also make sure to label the system with whatever new refrigerant you use for any future reference.

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Read the OP, that is who this harsh assessment was for.

Houstini said:

Read the OP, that is who this harsh assessment was for.

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My apologies sir.