Has anyone remove a split system air con unit?

Now I know this should be done by a professional, but lets assume I don't want to pay a professional :)

I understand there are two ways to do this:

1. Bleed the system of refridgerant before disconnecting and removing.
This would involve turning on the unit, then turning off the high pressure pipe (the small one) until air from the unit is no longer cold. Then turning of mains power and disconnecting the pipes and removing the unit.

2. Turn off mains power, disconnect and remove, and be prepared for refridgerant seeping out of the unit.

This is the advice I've been given, so I wonder if anyone can corroberate, and/or advise of anything else to be careful of?

Note that I won't be keeping the unit so not interested in preserving it.

Thanks!
 
Gooram

I believe its illegal to let the gas escape to the atmosphere.

Otherwise here is how I believe its done

Switch to cooling mode.
Start up the aircon.
Close the little screw tap with an allen key (I forget the size)
Wait a while for the gas to be transfered to the outdoor unit.
Turn off little screw tap
Switch off the aircon and close the big valve
disconnect pipes
Some gas may escape but the majority should be stored.

You then list the item on ebay for collection and someone will pick it up.
 
Gooram

I believe its illegal to let the gas escape to the atmosphere.

Otherwise here is how I believe its done

Switch to cooling mode.
Start up the aircon.
Close the little screw tap with an allen key (I forget the size)
Wait a while for the gas to be transfered to the outdoor unit.
Turn off little screw tap
Switch off the aircon and close the big valve
disconnect pipes
Some gas may escape but the majority should be stored.

You then list the item on ebay for collection and someone will pick it up.

Thanks BV.

I'll have to have a closer look to find the "little screw tap" to see if its obvious. Stay tuned...
 
Aside from the disconnect of the refrigerant lines, you will still have an Electrical issue to contend with. I'm assuming the Evap unit (indoor side of the system) plugs into a power outlet close to the unit itself. Most older systems were hooked up like this, and not wired directly to the unit like they are now days.

The AC power outlet will either be rated at 10 amps or 15 amps and most likely have a seperate dedicated circuit breaker back at the distribution board. If the outlet and circuit breaker are rated 10 amp you wont have a problem. But if it's a 16 or 20 amp circuit it will need to be disconnected and removed if a new Air Cond isn't replacing the old one.

Why you may ask?
Reason is this - If something is plugged into a rated outlet and circuit over and above it's maximum rating, that appliance is not been safe guarded by the circuit protection it was intended to be rated at. You may say the outlet may never be used again and keep it live, but the potential is still there. Just keep that in mind when thinking about saving money on professional Trades people and re-newing your insurance policy when someone plugs something into that power outlet by mistake.

Not only is it illegal to dispell refrigerant gas to atmosphere, it is also illegal to carry out any connect or disconnect of fixed Electrical circuits if not Licensed to do so.
 
if it's a 16 or 20 amp circuit it will need to be disconnected and removed if a new Air Cond isn't replacing the old one.

Why you may ask?
Reason is this - If something is plugged into a rated outlet and circuit over and above it's maximum rating, that appliance is not been safe guarded by the circuit protection it was intended to be rated at. You may say the outlet may never be used again and keep it live, but the potential is still there. Just keep that in mind when thinking about saving money on professional Trades people and re-newing your insurance policy when someone plugs something into that power outlet by mistake.


Railglider

In the case of airconditioner outlets the problem is not exactly the rating of the outlet but rather the fact that it won't be going through a safety switch. I see this as a significant risk to human life and especially so if the outlet is easily accessible by kids.

Some may say that a 15A outlet left unused in a domestic situation is dangerous but apart from the safety switch issue (which I mentioned above) this is not strictly correct. The outlet will still be protected by a circuit breaker.

The current rating of the breaker is based on the device the outlet is powering up but the current consumption of the device can vary and lower than rated current consumption is fine. With this in mind, powering up a lower current rated device from this outlet is not an issue.

The main purpose of the circuit breaker is to protect the outlet's wiring and although the wiring in this case is protected by a slower acting circuit breaker (curve D? which is for motors) it will still be protected
It makes sense really and this is the reason why the 15A outlet is designed to allow you to insert a 10 A plug into it but not the other way around
 
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BV,
You are correct with all of the above, an appliance will pull only whatever current it requires. The fact that a Curve D circuit breaker is used makes this un-exceptable and not through any RCD - ELCB protected circuit. Under AS/NZ 3000 Wiring rules Curve D breakers are not to be wired with RCD in place as they are designed for initial high current loads on start up of motors. This is why the circuit should not be used for anything other than motors drawing high current, and because of the RCD issue.

It's a bit of a curly one, as the old arguement of caravan leads falls into question here. AS/NZ 3000 states only 15 amp 2.5mm sq leads are to be used for connection to the site power box. In reality a 10 amp 2.5mm sq is the same lead, but it only has a 10 amp plug and socket, but it's illegal to use a 10 amp lead.
 
To put your minds at ease, after fumbling around with the liquid input, the manual also indicated an allen key was required but I couldn't find it, so rather than turning random nuts on the connector hoses, I decided to get a professional in. $150 bucks to remove it which I am happy to pay after reading your comments about the electrical hazards.
 
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