Most people in Singapore complaint about their aircon leaking. These leaks can damage the efficiency of your aircon if not checked and repaired as soon as possible. There are two types of leaks in an aircon which can affect its efficiency one is leakage of water and the other is leakage of its refrigerant. In this write-up reasons and their possible solutions for both the leakages are briefly discussed or the sake of your knowledge and information.
Leakage of water in an AC system
Reasons of water leakage in an aircon
Leak in overflow pan:
The leakage in overflow pan can be detected easily. In fat overflow pan collects the water caused by any condensation for the aircon unit. Your aircon leaking can be due to some damage in its overflow pan which you can detect by checking all of its outside edges, corners and the spots where the water mostly gathers in it. These cracks or small holes can be fixed by using epoxy glue but if the hole is bigger then it is better to replace this pan as soon as possible.
Clogged filter:
Aircon leaking can be due to clogging of its air filter. This problem can be resolved by changing the air filter of your AC regularly after one or two months. In order to avoid any problem you should check this filter regularly every month especially when it is used consistently. Its filter gets chocked with the dirt it collects from the outer air. It should be replaced immediately if it appears dirty otherwise it may cause ice on the evaporator coils of your aircon which drips when the ice melts.
Blocked condensate line:
The most common cause of aircon leaking is the blockage in its condensate line. This line is used to drain out condensation from overflow pan to the outlet or drain pipe directly. This water backs up and floods the overflow pan if the condensate line is blocked due to any reason. Proper working of the automatic cut-off switch of water overflow is another reason to keep its condensate line clear as this switches off the aircon automatically when the condensate line is blocked. This switch also helps in preventing the damages caused by water leakage. You can clear the clogged condensate line in different ways like use of dry/wet vacuum or a powerful hand pump to suck out the cause of blockage.
Thus most of the causes of aircon leaking water can be detected and resolved easily without any or much technical knowledge but mostly people call technicians for such minor defects.
Leakage of refrigerant in your aircon
Signs of leakage of refrigerant
A refrigerant is the lifeline of your air conditioning system. It may not work efficiently to give you comfortable life, especially during sweaty summer days, if its refrigerant level is not up to the mark. Along with it the low level of refrigerant in your aircon can cause serious damages to it as low blood pressure can damage human body. So it becomes necessary to recognise aircon leaking refrigerant so that it can be resolved as soon as possible. You can recognise this leakage through the tips given here under.
Take longer time to cool the space:
If your aircon takes longer time than usual to cool your room then it can be due to low refrigerant level. In fact the refrigerant in your AC absorbs the heat of the air it sucks from outside. So your AC will not be able to absorb this to provide you cool air if it does not have enough refrigerant. In this way the refrigerant works like a sponge that sucks heat. It will suck lesser heat if this sponge is smaller in size.
Worm or lukewarm water is blown out by the supply vent:
The supply vent of your aircon will blow out lukewarm or warm water if your aircon is really low on refrigerant. This is the main reason why it takes longer time to cool your room in such situation.
Higher power consumption:
Your aircon will have to work for longer time to cool your home due to lack of refrigerant which will also increase your power consumption.
Accumulation of ice on refrigerant line:
If your AC takes longer time to cool your home then you can check its outer unit where its fan spins. If you find ice accumulated on its refrigerant line made of copper then you can conclude that refrigerant is low in it. The evaporator coils in the inner unit of your AC gets too cold due to flow back of cold refrigerant to the refrigerant line causing accumulation of ice on it, when it is low on refrigerant. It can also damage the compressor, the heart of your air conditioning unit, if not detected and refrigerant is not refilled well in time.
Create a bubbling or hissing sound:
If your aircon starts creating bubbling or hissing sound then you can easily conclude that the refrigerant of your aircon leaking. The liquid refrigerant remains as it is in your aircon for long unless it leaks out as it is not consumed like the gas in your car. So the refrigerant creates bubbling or hissing noise when it leaks out badly.
Fixing the problem of leaking refrigerant
Unlike the problem of water leakage in the aircon the problem of refrigerant leakage cannot be fixed through DIY procedures unless you are a trained technician. So you should immediately call the technician to diagnose the problem and fix it whenever you suspect the leakage of refrigerant in your AC.
The technician should first of all detect the cause of aircon leaking and fix it before refilling the refrigerant otherwise it can leak again and you problem will remain as it is. Moreover refrigerant used for this purpose is also an expensive item and refilling it again and again will cost you dearly.
Thus after knowing the things discussed in this write up you can easily detect the causes of your aircon leaking in Singapore and try to resolve them through DIY methods or call a technician for this purpose as soon as possible.