AirCon Problems

From the moment they step through the door your bookings become guests, and their experiences determine whether they ever come back.
gozokerry
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Joined: Tue Jan 31, 2012 1:55 am
Location: Gozo,Malta

AirCon Problems

Post by gozokerry »

We have guests in our apartment now and the bedroom aircon has stopped working, we have called and called around to try and get it fixed ASAP but do not know if it will happen soon enough. (we are sleeping without aircon, no problems!)

The guests are agitated, and can see a walk out, anyone been in a similar situation, if so what did they do ?

Suggestions?

Thanks
Kerry

As Hamlet said ;-"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so"
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PW in Polemi
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Location: A village in Paphos, Cyprus

Post by PW in Polemi »

Silly question, but have you checked the battery in the remote control? And have you checked they have not turned off the isolator switch? (We had guests who phoned at 9pm at night to complain there was no water pressure. We turned up, hoping the water pump had not failed, to find they'd turned off the isolator switch marked "water pump, do not turn off"!!!! :roll: )

Or could they have run the a/c so cold that the water in the drip tray has frozen?

If it's not working at all, try a new 13 amp fuse in the isolator switch. Running the a/c too cold can in some circumstances cause the unit to fuse. If that is, indeed, the problem, tell the guests not to run the air con below 25C. 17C is far too much for most units when the outside temperature is in the 30C range.

I sympathise with you - here in Cyprus, it is impossible to get hold of an air con engineer in August - they are soooooo busy.
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gozokerry
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Location: Gozo,Malta

Post by gozokerry »

Thanks PW, no there is a definite fault and error code.
Yes with the general August shut down Santa Maria ++ the few available are all so busy.
Kerry

As Hamlet said ;-"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so"
declanja
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Post by declanja »

We had a similar problem this year. We live away and our rep was arranging for it to be repaired. I phoned guest and asked them to buy a fan that would ease the situation. I left it up to themselves what to buy. They bought a small fan, I reimbursed them the cosy(€25) and they were happy. Aircon repaired next day. Guests left fan for further use if required. Declan
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Mouse
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Post by Mouse »

I sympathise.

I had this last year (I mentioned it somewhere on a thread). I got the engineer out but it was a part we had to wait for. I was praying that it just needed re-gassing (easy job) but it wasn't to be :cry:

So......I hunted down a mobile a/c unit from my neighbour who owns a holiday complex. We had been in heatwave mode since May so there wasn't one to hire or buy for love nor money. I also couldn't get fans as every shop had sold out.

We had 8 days wait before it could be fixed. Guests really unhappy. Thankfully not with me (long story).

So
1. Try and hire in a mobile unit
2. Get tall stand fans in the room x 2
3. Keep trying for a technician.

You can't do any more.

Mousie
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Casscat
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Post by Casscat »

If you don't have them already get a couple of really good, quiet floor standing fans. I have air con but also 'silent' fans in each bedroom. Guests will often book air con (I charge extra, payable locally) and then hand the remotes back because they find the fans more than adequate. We've had several blasts from the 'Terral' this summer (the 'hairdryer' scorching wind coming from the north across the parched and fiery interior of Southern Spain bringing day time temperatures around 40C and night time about 32C) and I've not had one set of guests keep the air con remotes. An open window and a fan is much healthier! :D
gozokerry
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Location: Gozo,Malta

Post by gozokerry »

Thanks guys and Gals for your input.

Yes we have a floor stand fan but that wasn't enough for them also it was 'noisy' (it is an ordinary fan) . I was also hoping the company had a portable unit but they did not say anything, we are in such a small place.

Anyway after fretting all day and several terse phone calls the guy arrives at 1700 hrs and here the tradesmen generally start at 0600 and finish around 1500 hrs so we were beginning to have doubts. The man knew his stuff and fortunately the problem (temperature sensor) was fixed in 15 minutes, huge sigh of relief.

But for future reference, what if it was more serious and needed a few days downtime, how much is Aircon worth if we felt we had to give a refund?
Kerry

As Hamlet said ;-"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so"
Sunbeam
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Post by Sunbeam »

Glad the aircon got sorted out - I can imagine the stress.

With regards to PW's advice about not running aircon too cold when the temps outside are in the 30s - this is a very good reason for us to ask guests not to run the aircon at 16 degrees.

We try to ask 'nicely' that the aircon is used 'responsibly' and that it's more comfortable to run it at 21 ot 22 degrees. Of course, when we do the change-overs and check the air-con remotes - most people have it set at 16 degrees.

If we can legitimately say that the units may malfunction if the aircon is run too cold - this may be more of an incentive to properly run them responsibly.

Also good advice from Casscat re the silent floor fans - we have a small children's room without aircon and not sure ceiling fan does that great a job at keeping it cool - so will probably get one.

Thanks, as always, for the great insight and advice.
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Casscat
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Post by Casscat »

Sunbeam I cannot promise that this is the exact model I have, but it really is quiet and non-rattly: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B01891LZBY/ref ... w=g&hvqmt= What I like about floor fans compared to ceiling fans is that you can position a floor fan where you want it to get the required 'waft' across the bed :) The version I had included remote control and an 'anti mosquito' setting which basically involved turning the fan on to 'wind tunnel' setting!! :D
Sunbeam
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Post by Sunbeam »

Thank you Casscat - quite reasonably priced too - and like the option of an anti mosquito setting :-)
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Casscat
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Post by Casscat »

I bought mine from Worten. I think the Rowenta 'Turbo Silencio' suite of products has a number of options within the range, but they certainly are quiet :)
gozokerry
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Post by gozokerry »

Nice fan I too like the 'anti mosquito' effect !
Kerry

As Hamlet said ;-"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so"
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