Freon Evac & Refill renewed my split AC

[Rooster]

My 10 year, 2HP Panasonic Split AC was not performing well. I almost bought a new one. Instead, I suspected The Freon needed replaced even though the owners manual states The Manufacturer claims the Freon will last the lifetime of the unit.  AC workers Evac'ed the Freon, it was like a thick Green slime then refilled it with clear watery Freon. It now cools like when I bought it. AC tech said manufacturers want you to buy a new unit when it stops cooling properly and AC techs make money on new installations.  Cost was P4k compared to almost P50k to replace it. A tip to consider if AC is not operating properly.

[Tommy T.]

1 hour ago, Rooster said:

My 10 year, 2HP Panasonic Split AC was not performing well. I almost bought a new one. Instead, I suspected The Freon needed replaced even though the owners manual states The Manufacturer claims the Freon will last the lifetime of the unit.  AC workers Evac'ed the Freon, it was like a thick Green slime then refilled it with clear watery Freon. It now cools like when I bought it. AC tech said manufacturers want you to buy a new unit when it stops cooling properly and AC techs make money on new installations.  Cost was P4k compared to almost P50k to replace it. A tip to consider if AC is not operating properly.

I hope the tech evacuated the system correctly and completely. They can also shoot liquid freon through the system to purge any gunk leftover. Evacuating the system properly can - and should - take a while....possibly hours. Just my experience with refrigeration. And they should put vacuum on it with a gauge, then cut the vacuum pump and check for dropping vacuum which would indicate a leak.

Also, not so sure with a/c compared to refrigeration systems, but refers also have "dryers" in the line that absorb moisture and any gunk. I believe he should have changed that too or your system may not work well for long... Just another thought.

Edited January 29 by Tommy T.

[Freebie]

I used a company called Teko in Manila ( like Uber for technicians )... as  large one aircon wasnt  cooling at all.

Had hardly been used in past 4 years  but they diagnosed it needed refill of whatever they use as coolant ( I thought freon was banned ? ) .

Refill administered , they showed in the gauge that it was full of coolant and the aircon worked wonderfully well thereafter.

Not sure what happens to the coolant if aircon rarely used ?

[Possum]

1 hour ago, Rooster said:

My 10 year, 2HP Panasonic Split AC was not performing well. I almost bought a new one. Instead, I suspected The Freon needed replaced even though the owners manual states The Manufacturer claims the Freon will last the lifetime of the unit.  AC workers Evac'ed the Freon, it was like a thick Green slime then refilled it with clear watery Freon. It now cools like when I bought it. AC tech said manufacturers want you to buy a new unit when it stops cooling properly and AC techs make money on new installations.  Cost was P4k compared to almost P50k to replace it. A tip to consider if AC is not operating properly.

The manufacturer is correct, the refrigerant will last the life of the unit IF the unit is installed correctly. 90% I've seen installed here are not installed correctly. The slime you saw was due to moisture in the lines which is caused by loose connections/incorrect installation. Moisture exists in all new installs. The standard is purge with nitrogen, vacuum and repeat this 3 times. Measure vacuum with a micron gauge. The last vacuum should be down to 350-500 microns and rise very little once the vacuum pump is stopped. Pulling a vacuum properly removes all the moisture and of course insures there are no leaks. Additionally, most installers do not ground the units which can cause early failure of the PCBs, not to mention it is a violation of the Philippine electrical code.

90+% of AC installers I've encountered do not own a micron gauge and are unaware of any electrical code.

Sorry for the rant but I have had bad experience with AC 'experts' in the Philippines, all the way up to the national distributor level.

[hk blues]

Our 7-year old Panasonic stopped cooling - the fan was working fine but just not pumping out cold air.  We called a tech and he opened up the compressor and said the Freon was gone - there was a leak due to a rusty connection.  He welded the connection etc and refilled the Freon - cost pretty much the same as Rooster - 4k.  Working as good as new now.   

[Viking]

Our 10+ year old aircon wasn't working good and I thought the same as the OP, that it was time for a replacement.

Turned out that a good cleanup fixed all issues, 600p 👍

[Possum]

15 hours ago, Rooster said:

Evac'ed the Freon, it was like a thick Green slime then refilled it with clear watery Freon. It now cools like when I bought it. AC tech said manufacturers want you to buy a new unit when it stops cooling properly and AC techs make money on new installations.  Cost was P4k compared to almost P50k to replace it. A tip to consider if AC is not operating properly.

The green slime was a combination of compressor oil, moisture and refrigerant. Combining moisture and refrigerant oil can cause an acid to form which will damage components. That is why it is so important to remove the moisture inside the lines. Sadly, most techs here are using techniques from 50 years ago. The suppliers don't insist on proper installation because...they make their money selling new units. A properly installed split AC unit should cool effectively for 20+years with the only maintenance needed being the occasional cleaning.