Anyone know anything about portable AC units?

I got one of THESE for FREE: NEW Royal Sovereign 12,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner | eBay

It doesn't blow cold air. The exhaust motor (where the heat is supposed to blow out) turns on (all though it sounds like veliciraptor), and the compressor kicks on but no cold air.

Any ideas?

 

check the filters make sure there not cloged that would prevent it from blowing cold air. thats what i would check first.

 

Filters are fine... I checked them

 

I talked to a local guy and for sure the compressor pump is turning on but it appears that all the refrigerant has leaked out. It takes R22 and he said it would cost $225 to recharge it (It takes 1.43lbs of refrigerant) - I found 30lb tanks of R22 on eBay for $175 but I don't have the right tools to do it and don't know how to do it :/

On top of the refrigerant the leaks would have to be fixed somehow too...

 

I have 1 lb of r22. Leaks are probably o rings or maybe a schrader valve. I say call around to a couple of different home a/c heating shops. If you try, I bet you'll find someone who will repair and charge it for a reasonable price. You put a small amount of refrigerant in with a dye in it. Then you use a blacklight / UV light to see where the leak is. You can try the light as it is now. A lot of companies put the dye in at the factory.
Newer cars use r134a and older cars use r12. Home a/c and refrigerators used r22.

 

I have been doing research here. My dad is a bit of an AC guru and has TONS of R12 and R22 laying around. He has an unopened tank (30lb) of R22 that he want's to recharge his home with and he said he'd give me some for free as once it's open he would want to use it all or it will just leak out and there goes his $50 (Although they are like $200 now lol).

He has to get the hoses and gauges from his buddy.

Additionally, I've read that this compressor pump is hermetically sealed... so wouldn't that mean that there is no nozzle/spot to refill it???? Am I SOL at that point?

Thanks Shawn!

 

The pump is hermetically sealed , but that doesn't mean the whole system is.
It has to have some sort of entrance point for the r22. Otherwise the factory could not have filled it. The big thing is to vacuum the system down after any repairs to eliminate any moisture before you recharge it.

 

I understand. Do you have a pic from the Google sauce showing what I'm looking for as to where I need to stick the R22 recharger hose into to recharge it?

 

Also, I'm assuming that it leaks, and what could I do to stop the leak?

Thanks

 

I suggest getting your dad to assist. You must connect it to the low pressure side. Not the high pressure. If you don't have a clue as to what you're doing, things can go real bad.
Depends on what is leaking. If it's a schrader valve(looks like a car tire valve) you replace it. Same goes for any o ring. If it's a tubing leak, well then it may be solderable or you may have scrap metal.

 

Huh??? Me confused

 

Google sauce = Google... Just me bing a nerd...

Thanks again for the help!

If it helps I can desribe this compressor pump as I've taken it apart further:

It has a main pump (about twice the height of a standard mini fridge pump) and then there is a little tubular thing coming out of it on the side of it too (mini/sub pump???). BOTH of those units were HOT after I turned it off after testing it for a half hour to determine if it was going to blow cold or not.

Thanks

 

Also, describe "really bad"?? As in KABOOM, Rob dies?

 

Getting warm isn't a big issue. One of the dangers is that the cans that you use to refill the system cannot handle the psi of the high side. They split or explode with shrapnel going everywhere. Chunks of metal in head means BAD day. Maybe last bad day. Also the high side is vapor and the low side / refill can is liquid. Mixing the two at 250 psi isn't always friendly.
Here's a basic a/c diagram to explain things a bit better.

Post some pics if possible. I can give more information then.

 

Pics: 10 chars

 

The smaller can is the dryer. It removes the moisture that condenses inside the system. I don't see the refill valve in those pictures, but it has to have one.


Shawn

 

Hi Rob and Shawn

It is common for portable AC units to be sealed systems. To service these you need install piercing-valves. The unit should be a tagged with the amount of refrigerant and type.

-Nick

 

It takes 650 grams and it's R22

 

Before you invest one more calorie in this project, you might want to see if there are parts (to fix a leaking compressor seal?) available.

 

Typically, small sealed systems (ALL small household refrigeration is sealed system for like the last 30-40 years) like this will have a service tube.

It is a bit of copper pipe at the compressor or receiver-dryer (somewhere in the low-pressure side) that has the end soldered or pinch-welded shut and appears to go nowhere. At the factory they connect a fitting, draw a vacuum then backfill with a metered charge, after which the tube is pinch-welded shut or pinched and soldered with silver solder (It is specially made for this use; you have to use an oxy-acetylene or MAPP torch to solder with it. NOT the stuff you find at Radio Shack - that is for electrical use.) to close it permanently.

To service it you will typically place a self-piercing "service" saddle valve on the service line, draw a vacuum and fill it with refrigerant and dye. If you don't have a dye injection canister to use with your guages you can buy a small can with a premeasured dose of UV dye; you then charge to 3/4 to full and run the system to first validate that it can make cold, and to pressurize the system so that the dye leaks out.

You then inspect the system wearing UV glasses and a UV light; most often leaks are at a point of impact, a solder joint or a failed evaporator or condenser.

Once you find the leaks, you reclaim the refrigerant using a special machine (usually also used to draw the vacuum in the first place); then fix the leaks and if the system has lost all refrigerant or a compressor has failed, replace the Receiver-Dryer because the dessicant is spent or the receiver-dryer is contaminated with trash from the failed compressor.

After this, you can refill, retest and hopefully have solved the issue; many techs will inject a partial charge of refrigerant oil as well to replace any lost during service or removed from the system when the receiver-dryer is replaced. Once the system has been run-tested (I prefer a few days burn-in before I'll call it good) you pinch the service port shut with special pliers made for the job, cut the section of service tube off where you installed the service port, and pinch/silver solder the end of the service tube shut to make it a sealed system again.

No, there is NO amount of refrigerant loss that is "normal". It IS a sealed system, so any loss is cause for alarm.

I hope the above gives you some idea what you are getting into; it is not a job for the uninitiated to get into lightly. It requires care, and it requires special and expensive tools.

If you have never done this kind of work, take it to someone with experience and the right tools. You CAN do it, it is not HARD, but you do need the right tools and guidance. It is too easy to get burned, electrocuted from start/run capacitors, or breathe in cyanide gas created by careless soldering of an improperly evacuated system.

mnem<~~~Full of cold air~~~<<<

 

The dwagon has spoken! I will NOT pursue this any further!

Thanks

 

I thought you said your uncle had all the stuff for servicing refrigeration?

Or did you find out how much they cost, and realized you'll probably spend more tinkering on this one and still maybe not get it working? It's a common thing; you look at some useful little refrigeration device you think you can maybe fix and make use of; then discover that you can buy them new on clearance for $99.

A lot of these articles are now made to be disposable; I imagine your little portable cooler is more than $99, but I've seen 4 Cu Ft dorm fridges (Real ones, with compressor and freezer section, not those stupid peltier ice chests) on sale at HomeOwner Hell for $39. You sure can't do a lot of troubleshooting for that kind of money.

mnem
HummmMMMMMmmmmmmmm...

 

Rob,
You can figure this out. Just remember the high side from the low pressure side. Install a saddle valve as mentioned above, find a pump that you can pull a vac on it and see how fast, how much it loses vac. You might even be able to see or hear the leak yourself. One easy way to find out where a leak is to look all around the copper lines. You should see an oily film with dirt accummalating from the oil in the freon.
A radiator shop can repair the line if you find the leak. Think outside the boz with your creative mind.
If you didn't live so far, I would let you borrow my gauge set, dye, and give you some freon.
Or jut call an appliance repairman. Anybody that fixes a fridge can fix this. It's all the same basic function for the most point. They do this stuff all day long.
I had a U-Line Fridge/Ice machine that was doing the same thing. Compressor would come one, fan, etc. It ended up being the expansion valve. Installed a new one and it's cold as ice!

 

It's already gone... I dumped it in the dumpster last week... Gone as of Thursday