Users are not often faced with the need to replace the tubes of the air conditioner. The tracks are usually hidden under boxes or walled up in the wall.
Replacing the tubes of the air conditioner
Replacing the tubes of the air conditioner is a very expensive undertaking. Especially when the highway is walled up in plaster. The need for such work is most often associated with the purchase of a new air conditioner, more modern and powerful. If the equipment has been in operation for many years, oil mixed with wear products accumulates in the line. Gradually, the sediment cokes and turns into a fairly dense mass. It is very difficult to clean thin, long and crimped tubes. Therefore, you have to completely change the track.
Unfortunately, in household systems, it is impossible to replace the air conditioner tubes with hoses.
Therefore, you need to purchase:
- copper pipe of the required diameter (usually 1/2 inch);
- insulation of air conditioner pipes.
The old track is filmed very carefully.
Copper tube rolling
Rolling is the deformation of the ends of the tubes in a certain way to attach to each other.
This method allows for a tight and very precise connection. Copper is soft and ductile enough to give it the desired shape. But it takes a certain skill and special equipment.
Rolling technique:
- the end of the tube is cleaned;
- a clutch is pulled over it;
- the end is tucked into the flare for the air conditioner pipes, the tool handle is turned to reach the desired edge.
Not very experienced craftsmen leave a pipe stock of up to 2.5 cm, which is used in case of unsuccessful expansion.
There are several types of expansion joints for air conditioner pipes. The most inexpensive ones are in the form of resistance bands and templates. However, such flaring does not allow to give the pipe walls the same thickness; dents or bulges often remain on the surface. The best results are obtained using electrical or mechanical tube bending machines, often combined with tube benders.
They allow the operation to be carried out quickly and accurately.
Flare selection criteria for copper:
- hole diameter;
- pipe wall thickness;
- grooves in the pipe;
- the size of the protrusion;
- flaring depth;
- welding seams.
Cleaning the freon line
Engineers from Mitsubishi Heavy took care of cleaning the refrigeration lines of the air conditioners, saving the owners from replacing the freon line. They created Refresh equipment that connects to the track and flushes the tubing. Tubes of any diameter can be cleaned. This preserves the insulation of the air conditioner tubes and saves money. Flexible hoses are stretched from the Refresh block to the route. Replacing the tubes of the air conditioner is thus not required.
