A little help please

[Mayfair]

Hi Guys
Please be kind to me :o I am an electrician of 30 years experience working in Spain and of late have been working a lot for a big letting agency and they are forever at me about AC mostly small units but they keep asking if i can give the units a pre summer look at clean and top up,???????????????? As i said be kind I have fitted AC units in the past about 5 to be exact Qs are Do they really need topping up each year I can easily clean the filters etc just a bit confused as to why a so called sealed system should need as they put it topping up. I have a vac pump and manifold set but really unsure about this ........As i said play nice
Thanks

[monkey spanners]

Imagine they had asked you to check the apartments and replace all the fuses that keep blowing...

As a sparks you know they don't blow with out a reason, well its the same with refrigerant, if the system had the correct charge to start with, and is now undercharged, it has a leak which needs finding and fixing. They do not require, and it is in fact illeagal to do so, 'top ups'.

You will need a recovery machine and cylinder, leak detector, nitrogen and regulator, weigh scales, vac pump, gauges, various other tools, both general and trade specific to go about locating and repairing a leaky system.
The other equally if not more important thing you need is an up to date F gas refrigerant handling certificate to be working on such systems, both you and the people who contracted you would be liable for prosecution for non compliance. Just google f gas regulations to see what you would be getting yourself into!

Jon :)

[Mayfair]

Hi M8 thanks for reply Im in Spain so dont have as many regs to cope with as in the UK (Thank God) I have a carrying cert for the gas bottle have some of the equipment just been looking at gas detectors. Have the gauges and Gas for the new installs and just ordered a vac pump.

Imagine they had asked you to check the apartments and replace all the fuses that keep blowing...

As a sparks you know they don't blow with out a reason, well its the same with refrigerant, if the system had the correct charge to start with, and is now undercharged, it has a leak which needs finding and fixing. They do not require, and it is in fact illeagal to do so, 'top ups'.

You will need a recovery machine and cylinder, leak detector, nitrogen and regulator, weigh scales, vac pump, gauges, various other tools, both general and trade specific to go about locating and repairing a leaky system.
The other equally if not more important thing you need is an up to date F gas refrigerant handling certificate to be working on such systems, both you and the people who contracted you would be liable for prosecution for non compliance. Just google f gas regulations to see what you would be getting yourself into!

Jon :)

[Mach 2]

Re a little help please
Read and take on board monkey spanners wise words, and never imagine that being trained in one field of engineering makes you proficient in others

[monkey spanners]

Hi M8 thanks for reply Im in Spain so dont have as many regs to cope with as in the UK (Thank God) I have a carrying cert for the gas bottle have some of the equipment just been looking at gas detectors. Have the gauges and Gas for the new installs and just ordered a vac pump.

Well unless Spain has stopped being in Europe, you are now covered by the same regulations as we are here, like i said have a look at what is required under Fgas regulations. I really won't go into my opinions of people who flout these regulations as we would be likely to fall out very quickly...

On a more practical point, you can't charge modern ac kit with just gauges, pressures are meaningless with inverter technology. Even old school stuff needs charging to within a few gramms.

[Gideon Beddows]

why not offer to put up a UK fridge bloke and his family for a couple of weeks for a Bussmans holiday?

This board would be a good place to start?