mistakes when installing and connecting an air conditioner in an apartment.
How to install and connect an air conditioner by yourself? Let’s be honest with ourselves and answer this question directly, even if we are talking about a low-power household variant. no way.
If you do not have special equipment (rolling, torque wrenches, a vacuum pump and more), skills to work with them, then make it the first time with your own hands, you are unlikely to succeed.
No matter how many useful advices and instructions from A to Z you read, you still can miss some imperceptible detail or do the job because of the lack of experience not qualitatively enough.
As a result, after a certain period of time, you will still have to call in specialists and redo everything.
Why this article then?? In order you could control by yourself and be sure that your conditioner will work long time without any problems, when inviting a conditioner or a team of conditioners.
Where does the work begin? First of all you choose a place for installation of conditioner and mark a hole for laying of interblock communications.
Next, you start drilling a through hole to the outside. You should use a drill with length not less than 800mm and diameter from 45mm.
For powerful air conditioners over 2.5 kW, an 80 mm drill bit may be required.
In order to avoid dust in the room, the economical option is to hang a plastic bag under the place of drilling.
Professional installers have long used a construction vacuum cleaner for this task.
But during the wet drilling of firm concrete walls, no protection or vacuum cleaner will save you.
This hole, after all the utilities are laid through it, is subsequently filled with foam.
In this case, the condensate will drain freely and the water will not accumulate and get moldy in the drain.
This is not correct. The fact is that when drilling in a predetermined place, you can accidentally hit the rebar.
As a result the hole will have to be moved. Because of this the conditioner itself inside the room will be displaced on some centimeters.
This will create the maximum slope for the main pipes, and will help avoid oil in the evaporator.
Align the mounting plate strictly on the level.
In this case the distance from the ceiling to the air conditioner itself should be not less than 10cm. It provides good air intake and free assembling-disassembling of the indoor unit.
For reliable fixation use quality nail plugs 640mm or 832mm.
Then you can proceed to installing the outdoor unit. Mark mounting points for brackets.
Use a 12mm drill to make the holes. After that fix brackets with stud nails 1280mm.
Fasten it safely, especially if the condenser hangs on the side of the house where there is a driveway or sidewalks.
The distance from the rear wall of the outdoor unit to the wall of the building must be at least 10-20cm. Although much will depend on the performance of the fan.
Where to place the outdoor unit, under a window or on the side, is a matter of aesthetics and usability.
Many people don’t like extra meters of cables and pipes hanging down the wall. In this case, choose the lateral location.
Though competent installers can lay the cable and freon pipe very beautifully. Here much depends on the level of professionalism of the executors.
It is a little bit easier to serve a conditioner under a window than on the side. Especially if, after a few years, its bolts are completely rusted. In this case you will not manage without the tower or the climbing equipment.
If you install the unit at the side of the window, it is not superfluous to secure. Here is the order.
Lifting conditioner on the window sill. You put a rope through the drilled hole, pull it from the street and tie it behind the unit.
Your partner insures a conditioner with this rope and you install it on the brackets. Until the bolts are tightened, it is better not to untie the rope.
After you finish installing the outdoor unit, proceed to preparing and laying the interblock communications.
For a standard air conditioner with power up to 2,5kW you will need the following materials:
You should measure the necessary length of freon pipeline, having left some reserve that will go on the ring behind the outside block.
At long lengths, the hydraulic loop creates additional resistance to the freon and only interferes the work of air conditioner! Although some still do it, allegedly to reduce noise.
Thus making a cut it is necessary to hold the end of a copper pipe strictly downwards in order to exclude any ingress of a chip inside.
Be careful not to scratch the skirt with the rimmer. Quality of rolling is one of the most important moments in installation of a conditioner.
The width of the flare should be such that the joint finally goes into the nut freely and without hindrance.
The height of installation of a tube in the rolling clamp is strictly regulated.
The easiest and most proven grandfatherly way to determine the quality of rolling, at least in the initial stage, is to see your reflection in the “skirt.
The flare of the pipes of the outdoor unit will have to be made in the street with the weight. Otherwise the line simply will not fit through the hole.
If you will bring them cold and open, then due to the effect of dew-point, condensate will form inside of the tube, which can lead to the sad consequences on badly vacuumed conditioner.
Move on to the wiring phase of the utilities.
You connect flared tubes with air conditioner’s internal block using adjustable wrenches.
If you are rich with a torque spanner it is better to use it.
Here are the recommended tightening torques for freon tubes of different diameters:
Then you take an interblock cable and twist it all together with freon line with the help of armored scotch or vinyl tape.
Don’t forget to tighten the insulation on the copper tubes to the proper diameter.
To prevent dirt from accidentally getting inside the tube, wrap the ends with electrical tape.
Otherwise, from the street side under the influence of UV-rays, during several seasons it will all turn into a dust.
If your thermoflex is lightfast and not afraid of the sun, think of the birds. Crows are very good at pecking and spreading this material on their nests.
Here the condensate will be gradually formed and finally a neat trickle of water will appear on your wallpaper.
The trunk itself wrapped with tape inside the room is hidden in a plastic box.
However if you have a short section and old wallpaper is left, instead of using a box you can cover the main pipe with it. You get an almost invisible picture.
Then pass the line through the through hole to the outside.
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Pay attention. the drainage hose must be located below the freon line.
Fix the inside unit on the mounting plate.
Connect drainage hoses of a conditioner.
To build up, many people use ordinary metal-plastic pipe d-16mm. Unfold the factory drainage tube and insert the metal-plastic, sealing the connection with electrical tape on top.
However, inside the metal plastic, after a while fungus can form, which will not allow the water to leave quickly enough.
That’s why other installers use only corrugated pipes as a drainage pipe.
Besides, corrugated drainage allows to connect directly to the tub without additional connections.
To finish with the indoor unit we move on to the connection of power wires.
Having opened the front cover of the indoor unit, unscrew the plastic plug for cable connection.
After putting the cable through, connect it according to the wiring diagram. To do this, look on the terminal block for the designations:
Check on the cable where you have a phase and zero and connect the appropriate ends to their terminals.
When you connect conditioner with small capacity (up to 2,5 KW) directly from the switchboard without socket, you should have three-core cable VVGng-Ls 32,5mm2 in stroe.
In the switchboard circuit breaker is set at 16A.
At low-powered conditioner with up to 1 kW you can of course use the cross-section 1,5mm2 automatic 10A, but 2,5mm2 is more universal variant and will allow in future to change without problems the split-system of bigger power.
If conditioner will be plugged in through the existing socket, use the wire with plug PVS 32,5mm2.
In the connection between the indoor and outdoor unit, there is also nothing complicated. Here, as a rule, a cable of 42,5mm2 or 52,5mm2 is used. The terminal markings on these units are the same.
Respectively throw between them a cable (not a wire PVS, namely cable VVGng)!) and connect the cores of the same color to terminals L1 on the indoor unit and L1 on the outdoor unit, N on the indoor unit and N on the outdoor unit, etc.д. Just follow the wiring diagram and the inscriptions.
Sometimes conditioner in a room is supplied not from the socket, but from the outside unit (most often at inverter models). In this case the outdoor unit will have a few more terminals.
It’s phase-zero-earth. Then a cable of power from socket or fuse box in the panelboard, you are laying exactly outside, but not to the indoor unit.
The connection of the freon line tubing outside is the same as the room connection.
But for the next stage of the work you will need a vacuum pump. It is necessary for vacuum drying of freon line.
If you do not evacuate the air, it will affect the pressure in the system (it will rise). The compressor capacity can fall by about 30-35%, and it will work under a constant load.
And the moisture in the air also causes the oil to quickly decompose and become more acidic.
This further leads to two consequences:
Therefore if the invited “expert” came without vacuum pump you know that very soon you will see him again. And you will meet him very often.
The running time of the vacuum pump depends on the length of the line. The minimum length is 2m. If you have received less, sooner or later oil from compressor will get into evaporator and your conditioner will not operate long time.
For a standard short section, the evacuation time is between 15 and 20 minutes. It is counted after direct creation of vacuum (achievement of pressure in 5 torr). You can check it on manometric manifold or you can hear it by the changed sound of pump running.
When the sound is almost gone, start the countdown from that point.
Be sure to check the drainage before the freon injection process. To do this remove the filter and pour some clean water on the evaporator of the indoor unit, simulating as it were the formation of condensate.
If the draining is done correctly the water will run through the tube and will not overflow over the edge of the internal sump.
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Also it is desirable to check pressure in system before opening of freon line ports. The manufacturer usually charges 5 meters of refrigerant and informs about it on the nameplate of the outdoor unit.
However there are also half-empty copies (they are saving freon).
Then they check tightness of all joints. Superprofessionals do it with nitrogen at a price of 38 bars. But are you willing to pay money for such quality?
With standard variant, after disconnecting vacuum pump you just let some amount of a coolant (5-7 bars) flow and remember the value of pressure.
Wait 20 minutes and check if the readings have not changed. If the result is positive, using hex cocks, fully open the service cocks of the air conditioner and start all freon into the main line.
Then you give a voltage to a conditioner and test it in all modes. During cooling you measure the evaporator surface temperature with a pyrometer, or better yet with a contact thermometer.
After reaching the operating mode it must be not less than 6C. If it is too warm, it might need a little extra Freon charge.
In this case it is more used full refill of the system, rather than just topping up, because of the complexity of the process.
If all the stages of installation are passed without any remarks, you can enjoy the coolness and consider that your conditioner is installed correctly.
Installation tools and materials
We are not going to describe the principle of split-system functioning here. It is described in details on the other page of our resource. For general understanding: between the two heat exchangers. external and internal, the refrigerant (freon) moves through the pipes in liquid and gaseous state, transferring thermal energy to the street or to the house, depending on the selected mode (air conditioning or heating).
The task of the installer is to place and fix the units according to all the rules, to connect them by pipes and to connect to the electrical network, and finally to start and test the units.
Also there is no sense to include to the list every screwdriver or wrench, because such tools should be near the skillful owner. We will take into consideration only equipment and gadgets, without which it is unreal to install and start conditioner by oneself:
- Peorator with a diamond drill or corona drill (depending on the wall material) with a diameter of not less than 45 mm;
- A vacuum pump;
- pressure gauge manifold.
Note. If work is carried out during the repair of the apartment, then add to this list an angle grinder with a wheel on concrete. It is useful for concealed laying of pipes in wall furrows (collars).
Experts on refrigerating machines, who are engaged in installation of climatic equipment, at once will ask: and where is the set for cutting and flattening of copper pipes with a scraper for sweeping (riometer)? The answer is simple: for a beginner for one-time installation of split-system with the power up to 3 kW these devices are not needed. It is easier to buy a ready-made installation kit, which includes all the necessary elements:
- 2 copper tubes of custom length with diameter 6.35 mm (¼”) and 9.52 mm (3/8″) with properly flared ends and nuts on;
- K-Flex type rubber insulation (already tensioned on the mainline);
- Corrugated hose for drainage;
- electrical cable for 4 or 5 wires cross section of 1.5 mm²;
- bracket to fix the outdoor unit.
Why is better to use the kit for installation of air conditioner in the apartment. Firstly its price is comparable to the cost of forging tools and materials that are bought individually. Secondly, the ends of the lines are cut on a machine, not by hand, which contributes to a reliable connection. Poor quality hand expansion. mistake of the majority of inexperienced craftsmen, leading to freon leakage and compressor breakage.
Factory (left) and manual rolling (right)
Note. Depending on the conditions of laying communications will have to buy a plastic cable-channel, PVC wrap tape, installation foam and a visor.
Tools for air conditioner installation. SDS-max drill for penetrating openings (drill-through) are designed for drilling holes of large diameters: from 45 to 80 mm in concrete, masonry and silicate bricks, which is ideal for laying cables and pipelines.
You don’t need to get a permit for installation of air conditioner or any other equipment on the facade of the house in order to install it the agreement of the owners. Practice, court decisions: Noise of air conditioner exceeds permissible noise level, refurbishment and reconstruction were made, safety standards were violated.
Tools and consumables
Executing installation works, it is important to observe a lot of requirements and the main of them is full sealing of joints when blocks are placed strictly horizontally. In order to install an air conditioner by yourself you will need a definite set of tools and consumables.
Tools
Minimal set of tools looks like this
- drill;
- a device for calibration;
- sandpaper;
- files;
- peorator;
- pliers;
- expansion joint;
- Drills of different diameters;
- high precision construction level;
- Device for bending the pipeline;
A pipe cutting device or a metal saw.
In systems with a length of up to 6 meters it is possible to do with the listed tools. If its length is too long you will need a vacuum pump. It is also recommended to use it on short sections to get the best installation, but on long sections its use is mandatory.
Materials
To install a split system you will need to use certain consumables. The list of necessary components is as follows:
- Anchor fasteners;
- bolt connections;
- dowels;
- fixing the outdoor unit;
- Copper pipes used in cooling systems;
- plastic protection for communications;
- power cable;
- drainage tube;
- pipe insulation.
All of these must be purchased in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications for the installation of specific equipment.
How I installed the air conditioner
In reply to the post:Can not earn so much or on the other side of the barricadesDecided to tell how I myself put an air conditioner, given the as described by the author, it may be useful to someone, even if not all the installation to do myself, but the line will lay most of the forces.The heat came, the windows of the apartment face the south side, it is very hot in the apartment, we bought an air conditioner, began to look for installers of the from 7-9 thousand, (the case in Omsk if that), but all have a turn from 2 weeks to a month, and you do not write down, and asked to call back after this time, it was obvious that clients are and talked to the sod, privateers were ready to put for the same price but the guarantee on an honest word. I have the tool, I know how to work with it, my hands are not too crooked, much doing myself, mostly interested in something new, somewhere to save money.Looked at YouTube, searched for on materials decided to set myself. The first thing we determine the place of installation, taking into account the convenience of installation and maintenance, do measurement of the route I got 3.5 meters and I added another 1 meter.5 meters for the bends and a loop to reduce vibration (following the manufacturer’s instructions).Next I found a line of air conditioning in Samara with delivery to Omsk 3000 for 5 meters. There are two copper flared tubes with nuts in thermal insulation, drainage corrugated hose, 5-core cable for on-off compressors (usually not expensive condensers), 2-core cable if you have an inverter, bracket and all fasteners, as well as metallized tape for winding lines (protects against ultraviolet radiation like, also have Teflon bands such). Picked up in 4 days at the post office a weighty box.
The next step is to make a hole in the wall diameter of 40-45 mm, I have a brick wall 70cm, it needs peorator with a chuck sds-max, I took at work, if the lease 800 days, the drill took in rent, in the presence of a long 1.2m costs 1200 for the evening of 700, the hole is made in 30 minutes, taking into account the pasting of walls, do not forget to make the slope to the condensate flowed into the street, I have already finished trim, but the cable for power laid at the stage of repair. The route will be placed in a box did not try to screw through.
Now install the plate according to the instructions, there are distances from the ceiling, walls, for the internal unit and hang it (I violated the instructions a little bit made close to the ceiling, I do not know what would affect it, but then the internal unit would be too low) if necessary bend the inner tubes towards the hole in the wall (read the instructions because it sometimes necessary to twist the tubes). There is a photo only of the already installed unit.
The most difficult thing with the outer unit, you need a safety net, without it, do not even try, as anything is not safe without it. I took a safety belt and a climbing rope at work, secured to the fence of the balcony.Mark the future holes on the outside wall with a level and a marker, before that, we measure the distance between the holes of the fasteners of the external unit. We make 4 holes with a pen, and using anchors from the kit set the bracket to the level, I have a curve of the brick wall, I put three washers under each mounting point.(I don’t know if you can do it that way, the fulcrums are supposed to change).The most difficult and responsible stage (for me), install the external unit, it must be wrapped with a rope for insurance and not the one that insures yourself). I put it alone, so a rope wrapped it not in the center and moved it to where the compressor stands because the center of gravity of the external unit is offset, thus we can lift it with one hand and it will not repaint on one side, I do not quite understand how I put it, one hand holding on to the window frame, the other went out the window and carefully did not weight but leaned on the ledge down and put first on one bracket then grabbed and installed it on both and aligned with the holes.
All fasten it with bolts. Screwed with improvised spanners.
There is not the most difficult but responsible thing left, we pass copper pipes, a drainage hose and a cable in one bunch in an aperture (the drainage hose below), as they are flared we cannot undercut them in place, we connect at once to the internal block (not tighten), then we connect a drainage hose, all now it is possible to fix position of all pipes by ties or a scotch from the complete set. Outside carefully bend the tube coming out of the house is not immediately at right angles to the wall and smoothly with a large radius (on YouTube you can see it in more detail).Then lead the route to the outdoor unit where necessary bend carefully with a large radius, for the external unit do a loop and bend to the outputs of our unit so that they were neatly opposed and docked without straining. Here you need to bend carefully I had a tube 3/8 “popped” but I was able to straighten it with a homemade device from Plexiglas and clamps. Now you can carefully pull out the entire line and wrap it with tape or Teflon at home or wrap it in place, I used the second option.If the route is laid at the stage of repair and further conditioner will be connected by the masters, it is better to find a spring pipe bender, you can cut a pipe bender and then you can bend at smaller radiuses only leave pipes with reserve for the masters to cut them on a place already.All connect the cable according to the diagram in the instructions, or on the outside unit, do not supply power yet. Next, I called a few companies and private individuals and found a man who for 500 came tightened the nuts trace, (since they need either the experience or torque wrench, I initially tightened himself but the master said he was very weak and tightened the appropriate force based on his experience), connected the vacuum pump tested for leaks, valves were opened, freon was running, turned on the automatic conditioning line and actually all in 5 minutes went cold air.On all about all it took two days, on the third already finished the master, critical remarks on installation wasn’t critical, for money 4200 for all, costs already three weeks all perfectly. I’m not sure I want to repeat it, in general, it is interesting there is nothing too complicated, it is better to do it together. Such sets are on sale and the price plus or minus the same, in general the price for independent installation is much lower, it is also possible not to vacuumize a line and to push air with freon (look instruction on YouTube) but it not quite on technology and can reduce service life of the conditioner.To this information is treated with caution I am a layman put for the first time on the information from a network, all at your own risk.
Installation of air conditioners in apartment houses demands observance of certain rules, norms of SanPiN and sometimes approvals. Placing a split system unit on the facade of an apartment building can be considered illegal, it depends on what rules are in force in that or another region.
Outdoor unit must be installed strictly horizontally. Even small misalignments are not allowed. It negatively affects the circulation of freon (refrigerant). It is recommended that the external unit is blown by the wind. The most suitable place for installation of outdoor unit of split system is a balcony or a place under a roof.
Permission for the installation of the air conditioner is not necessary To install an air conditioner, other equipment on the facade of the house requires the consent of the owners. Practice, court decisions: Noise of air conditioner exceeds permissible noise level, refurbishment and reconstruction were made, safety standards were violated.
- One must not exceed the limits of the location of indoor and outdoor units in height
- When laying drainage it is necessary to observe the angle of slope to let condensate freely flow into the sewer
- The distance from the ceiling to the top of the indoor unit should be not less than 10 cm.
Installation of air conditioner with your own hands: rules, tools and mounting stages
To provide continuous operation of the conditioner it is very important to install it correctly. We want to tell you about the order and methods of installation of wall-mounted climate systems with your own hands and talk about the tools necessary for this.
Is it possible to install a wall split-system by yourself?? You can, but it is necessary to have the necessary tools, to understand the general rules and carefully study the instruction for installation, which is attached to the technical documentation of the air conditioner.
Installation of the old used air conditioner
What is installation of used air conditioner, when it is possible to install old split-systems and when it is not, what is the difference between installation of used units and installation of new ones? Let’s speak about this service in details.
Mistakes of the independent dismantling of the old conditioner
The first thing we ask when making a request “How did you dismantle the air conditioner??”. It is important for us because there is a huge chance of freon leakage at self-dismantling. Refilling of conditioner with freon costs the same as dismantling (the price is from 3 500-4 500)! So if you think that by removing the air conditioner yourself, you are saving money. it is not true. Besides the Freon charge, while dismantling by yourself you can get a chemical burn, and if you do not calculate your capabilities you can drop the outside unit.
Complete set
When installing the old air conditioner can be lost parts. Some of them can be easily replaced, for example, instead of the former remote to buy a new similar. But the plate for the installation of the indoor module is quite difficult to find. Therefore, when installing a used air conditioner must be available:
- Both modules of the conditioner;
- Installing plate of the inside module;
- It is desirable to have a remote control.
Difficulties of installation of the old conditioner
If you want to install an old conditioner, for example from the 2000-s, you should know that there are no instructions on their installation. But this problem can be solved by reading the characteristics, specifics of connection and other details of this model. Also when installing a used air conditioner it is advisable to:
- Perform a complete diagnostic and maintenance work on the air conditioner;
- To clean the outdoor and indoor unit;
- Top up with freon, if it is necessary.
How to secure yourself?
If you do not have the opportunity to install a new air conditioner, then you need to perform a complete diagnosis of both air conditioner modules. Our specialists will help you with this! They will make a qualitative inspection of your split-system and check its work. There is a charge for this service, but it will definitely give you a true picture of the condition of both modules.
Our specialists know that it is very important to pay special attention to the installation of a used air conditioner. We will responsibly perform:
- lengthening the drainage system;
- soldering of the freon line;
- Refilling or refilling the refrigerant;
- vacuumization of the copper circuit.
For expert advice on installing your old used air conditioner please contact us by phone or via the feedback form on our website.
