What do you know about topping up your aircon gas? Although you don’t top up the gas everyday, do you struggle choosing between doing it yourself and getting an aircon servicing company or enlisting the help of an aircon repair service to help you? If your gas levels are low, all you have to do is fill it back up… right? Doing this isn’t as easy as it sounds. In the first part of this series, we debunk some common misconceptions that many homeowners have about topping up their air conditioner’s gas. Let’s go! It’s Simple and Easy No, it’s not as easy as A, B, C, and you most certainly cannot get any unprofessional to help you with it, nor DIY it yourself. Topping up gas touches on many different aspects of your appliance, including the gas itself, the compressor, evaporator and more. It’s certainly on a whole other scale than simply washing your air conditioner or performing simple troubleshooting. In fact, it’s so complicated and a delicate job that it can take up to a few hours to complete the process. This depends on the condition of your air conditioner as well - older units that are more susceptible to damage can take longer. This is why we always urge owners to find a reputable aircon company to do it. You Can DIY With Some Knowledge Possessing mechanical knowledge and experience doesn’t mean you can undertake this difficult job yourself. Professional help is required because an expert understands the entire workings of the procedure and makes sure that it is in line with all the relevant safety requirements. DIY-ing this can pose very real and serious safety hazards that you put yourself at risk to. While the exterior parts of the air conditioner can be easier to deal with, like cleaning or replacing the air filter, the electrostatic and central components are more fragile and tricky to work around. Any slight damage caused can stop your air conditioner from running. Before you even get to the part on topping up your gas, you need to check the gas coolant’s pressure. Getting a qualified technician’s help usually costs a fair bit, but attempting to do it yourself can be a huge and expensive mistake you may regret later on. It Is Unlinked to Your Unit’s Efficiency Topping up your air conditioner gas involves the gas itself and your compressor. From this alone, you can tell that it is related to some of the most vital parts of your unit. Hence, in the case of gas leaks, it can affect the efficiency of your air conditioner. It Is Unnecessary Air conditioners used a closed loop system, but does this mean that the aircon gas that first comes with it does not need to be replaced? Even though the closed loop system means that it is a cyclical system where minimal external effort is needed, you still need to perform topping up of gas. This is because the metal used in your appliance can corrode over time. This can lead to tiny holes to form and cause refrigerant gas to seep out. When this happens, you need to replace the eroded parts and top up the gas.