Checking the amount of gas in the air conditioner is extremely important and necessary. But using the air conditioner for a while, you wonder if the air conditioner is short of gas ? How do you know that ?

Air conditioner gas is running out or not enough can affect the cooling ability of the machine, causing you to turn on the air conditioner without turning on or the room is not cool enough causing discomfort. You can completely overcome and prevent the problem is air conditioning gas running out by referring to the article shared by the P69 company below. Let’s follow the instructions for checking air conditioner gas!

Why is it necessary to check air conditioner gas? 

When he amount of gas in the adjustment will help the air conditioner work efficiently, heal quickly and stably, and better protect the compressor and other components. On the contrary, the amount of air conditioning gas is not stable, for example, an excess of gas will affect the durability of the compressor or if there is a shortage of gas, it will affect the cooling efficiency, durability and life of the product, especially consumes a lot of power.

There fore, experts refrigeration and air conditioner manufacturers recommend checking air conditioner gas every 3-6 months.

Signs to recognize when the air conditioner runs out of gas?

Air conditioners the need to be charged with gas will show signs of concern as follows:

The air conditioners is weak and cold: When the air conditioner is short of gas, the first sign that can be recognized id that the air conditioner is not cold, it takes a lot of time to cool the room .

Flickering error light : For some air conditioners that have a notification function when the machine has a problem, flashing the error light is also a sign that the air conditioner is short of gas.

Automatically turn on and off: The air conditioner works for about 15 minutes and automatically turns on and off, which is also a sign that the air conditioner is short of gas. When the air conditioner automatically turns on-off first of all, you need to check the modes on the remote to see if they have adjusted correctly. If the remote has adjusted correctly, the cause may be damage to internal components

Leaking water of the indoor unit: When the air conditioner is short of gas, it is likely that the machine is showing signs if leaking, causing the indoor unit to cling to a lot of snow or even freeze inside the indoor unit. Therefore, a leaking indoor unit is also one of the signs that the air conditioner is definitely having a leak problem and gas shortage.

Snow on copper pipes: When the copper pipes are covered with snow or leak water your air conditioner is definitely having a leak problem and gas shortage.

When there are these signs, we should quickly check and refill the air conditioner properly.

=> Immediately refer to the following article: Instructions for recharging air conditioning gas

Instructions for quickly and accurately checking air conditioner gas

If the gas tank has a problem or the gas is not enough, the cooling capacity of the air conditioner will be gradually reduced and you will no longer feel cool even thought the air conditioner is running. So to day P69 Company will show you 2 simple ways to check air conditioner gas !

1. Instructions for checking common air conditioner gas

With the normal way of checking, you follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the switch and turn on the air conditioner at the temperature you want to set. In addition, you should also check that the correct cooling mode is selected

Because some people, instead of turning on a regular air conditioner to cool, may mistakenly choose some other functions of the machine such as fan mode, heating mode (for 2-way air conditioners), … making you not feel cool when you turn on the air conditioner .

Step 2: Check the fan unit of the heater is it spinning and the heat is emitted from the heater when the air conditioner is running or not?

Besides, check the copper pipe connected to the outdoor unit for frost phenomenon? Because this case is due to lack of gas. Even if you load a lot of gas, it will also become a cause of poor cooling efficiency of the air conditioner, so you need to discharge less gas.

2. Instructions for checking air conditioner gas by measuring air conditioner gas to check

Note: This method should only be done when you have professional knowledge about refrigeration, so as not to affect the normal operation of the machine .

Preparation tools:  Air conditioner gas meter: 1pc, wrench: 1pc, screwdriver: 1pc

Steps to take:

Step 1: You use a screwdriver to remove the protective cover of the heater circuit. Then unscrew the screw heads at the gable and ejector locking pins one by one.

Step 2: Turn on the air conditioner, set it to the coldest temperature for stable operation.

Step 3: Attach the gas meter by screwing one end of the meter wire into the gas pipe on the heater. Next, you wait about 60 seconds for the air conditioner to run stably .

Step 4: Observe and read the gas pressure parameters on the display screen of the gas meter to determine if your air conditioner is under or over gas ?

• Each type of gas will have a different rated (standard) gas pressure:

Type	R32 (PSI)	R410A (PSI)	R22 (PSI)
Rated gas pressure when the machine is running	125 – 150	110 – 130	60 – 78
Gas pressure when the machine is not running	240 – 245	250	140 – 160

• In addition, each type of air conditioner needs a different amount of pumped gas:

	AC 1.0 HP	AC 1.5 HP	AC 2.0 HP	AC 2.5 HP
Amount of gas	0.85kg	1.15kg	1.3kg	1.9kg

How much gas is enough for air conditioning?

How much air conditioning gas is enough depends on many factors, Here are some important factors to consider

1. How much refrigerant gas is enough depends on the type of gas in the air conditioner?

Depending on the type of gas, the amount of gas loaded into the air conditioner is also different.

Currently, there are 3 types of common refrigerant gas used for most types of air conditioners, namely: R22 gas, R410A gas, and R32 gas.

With R22 gas, the standard gas pressure is 70 PSI. You can charge about 60-70 PSI and should not change more than 70 PSI of gas to avoid damaging the air conditioner.

With gas R410A and gas R32, the standard gas pressure is about 140 PSI. You can refill the amount of gas in the range of 130-140 PSI is most suitable.

2. How much refrigerant gas is enough depends on the refrigerant capacity and standard gas pressure of the air conditioner

First, it is necessary to distinguish the two concepts “cold capacity” and “electrical capacity”. Refrigeration capacity is the cooling capacity of the air conditioner (unit is BTU/h). Electric capacity is the level of electricity consumption of the air conditioner (unit is KW).

Unit: 1 KW = 0.0034 BTU/h.

When calculating the problem of how much to charge the air conditioner with gas, we rely on the cooling capacity, to avoid confusion with the electric capacity of the air conditioner. Each type of air conditioner has different cooling capacity. Normally, residential air conditioners, used in the household range, have a cooling capacity ranging form 9000 – 18000 BTU/h. To know how much cooling capacity your home air conditioner has, you can check in the machine’s specifications.

Each refrigerant capacity is equivalent to a different standard gas pressure.

• For example: the machine has a cooling capacity of 9000 BTU/h, equivalent to a standard gas pressure of about 75 PSI, refrigeration capacity 18000 BTU/h equivalent to a standard gas pressure of about 80 PSI.

Compare the available gas of the air conditioner with the standard pressure of the air conditioner, you will calculate how much refrigerant gas is enough for your home air conditioner.

You should fill up with enough gas with standard gas pressure. Filling gas with less or more than the standard gas pressure is not good for the air conditioner.

How does poor quality gas affect the air conditioner?

To answer this question, we researched online and consulted many experienced plumbers about the effects of poor quality gas on the ability to operate or damage the air conditioner. Most refrigeration electricians say that poor quality gas (usually Chinese gas)has almost no significant effect on the air conditioner. The main impact of poor quality gas is adverse effects on the environment such as the destruction of the ozone layer. How to check air conditioner gas

To distinguish what is cheap gas form China and where is good quality gas form India or the UK, Germany… you can base on the origin listed on the gas cylinder.

How much does it cost to change gas?

The price of additional gas R22 is only about 200000 VND or more, depending on the amount of additional refills required and depending on the store. how to check air conditioner gas

R410A air conditioner gas refill price is quite expensive, about 1 million VND or more depending on each machine and each store

Contact information P69 – M&E Contractor