Air Conditioning

Agencies and other headaches, keys and cleaners, running costs and contracts...in short, all the things we spend so much of our time doing behind the scenes.<br>
Guest3
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Air Conditioning

Post by Guest3 »

As is the norm...whenever my husband is in England things always happen in the villa that need a plumber or an electrician! The garden lights kept shorting the lights inside the house, so the electrician came to fix the problem this morning.

He happened to notice that the airconditioning compressor has a gas that is now illegal..(it's a Fujitsu model). He was Spanish and spoke incredibly fast, but from what I understand I need to get it changed. Has anyone come across this problem before and if so, do I need to change the whole A/C unit or can I just have the gas replaced. I'm sorry for sounding thick..but this is well above my head. I don't want to phone any A/C engineers until I can find out what I need to do...just incase I get ripped off in buying a totally new unit (which may or may not be necessary).
alexia s.
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Post by alexia s. »

Crystal, can't you just put the AC to sleep till your husband comes back?
I know what it is like: every time, without exception, that my husband goes away for a few days disaster strikes. Even if it's small it's a disaster, because I am totally incompetent around practical things. That's why I said, in another thread, that I buy a new fridge if the old one breaks down: if the first one can be repaired (husband will know when he comes back), it will be saved till the next one breaks down.
Best,
Alexia.
Guest3
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Post by Guest3 »

Alexia, he's gone back to work in the UK..so next time he's down is when he can get time off.

I don't think the gas can harm the people inside the house..maybe it is to do with emissions into the air..i.e. the ones that can cause global warming?
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

Crystal,

The heat exchanger in an air conditioner is a completely sealed unit. In normal use there are no emissions whatever. If the gas leaks the air conditioner will stop working. In theory the gas can be evacuated and replaced by one which is supposed to be environmentally friendly - that can wait until your husband's return. In the meantime, keep using it.

Alan
Guest3
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Post by Guest3 »

Many thanks Alan...just what I needed to know!
What would I do without this forum!
PeeJay
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Post by PeeJay »

If it is an oldish system it will have CFC refrigerant gas (the one that depletes the ozone layer). These are now banned for new units, but not heard any legislation that affects existing units or requires you to change it.
alexia s.
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Post by alexia s. »

Crystal,
If your only reason for changing it is to conform to the law make sure that the law exists - ask for the reference and then check it in a library (or on the web).
Best,
Alexia.
janskov
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Post by janskov »

Just like Allan said - keep using it.
I do not believe there is any law anywhere that can make you change the gas in a working unit.
The only problem is when you need a new air conditioner. Then the old one must be disposed off by people who can handle the offending gas.
As long as it works - it will harm nobody and the ozone layer.
Guest3
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Post by Guest3 »

I was thinking the exact same thing....it's been working perfectly without any problems....I'm sure that there must be loads of properties in Spain with A/C units that contain (what I assume is) CFC gas.

I was checking the internet and the problem arises when the unit has to be disposed and I think there is a law now in Spain where if a company renews any electrical equipment they have to take on the responsibility of safely disposing or re-cycling the old one.
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