Do-it-yourself air conditioner disassembly

Sometimes there is a need to dismantle the split system installed in the apartment. The inside of the air conditioner may interfere repair work in room. Sometimes, when moving, it is a pity to leave a well-proven device, for which a lot of money was paid. There is an idea to dismantle it and install it in a new apartment. Is it possible to do the dismantling of the split system with your own hands or is it better not to take risks and not waste your time, but to turn to professionals immediately?

Is it worth it to dismantle the air conditioner on your own?

Before you start to remove the air conditioner yourself, you should carefully weigh the pros and cons. First of all, it is worth finding out how much the services of professionals for dismantling a split system will cost. On average, prices can be calculated using a simple formula: each watt of air conditioning power will cost one ruble. Thus, specialists will have to pay between 2500 and 4000 rubles for dismantling the split system in the apartment.

Professionals, among other things, have all the necessary tools. It will have to be purchased or rented if you dismantle the air conditioner yourself. The manometric manifold required for the dismantling operation will cost no less than 1,500 rubles, possibly two to three times more expensive. Plus a set of hexagons and a pipe cutter. It is impossible not to take into account possible malfunctions that the air conditioner can get during dismantling. The cost of repairing a split system will also be expensive.

Risks of self-dismantling the air conditioner

If you are going to dismantle the split system yourself, be prepared for possible unpleasant consequences.

1. Leaking refrigerant from a split system is the smallest nuisance that can happen if the air conditioner is improperly removed on its own. To fill the fluid will have to call the master and pay not only for his work, but also quite expensive freon.
2. A vacuum pump is the most delicate part of an air conditioner. To preserve the split system during the sale, it is charged with inert gas, which is vented during installation. The slightest scratch from a speck of dust or ice condensate will break it. Replacing the sediment, which costs a considerable amount, also means adjusting the entire system, which also has to be paid for.
3. It is strictly forbidden to transport freon-filled air conditioners. The fact is that the dismantling process, which will be described below, involves the transfer of all the refrigerant from the split system to the external unit. In this case, a pressure of several atmospheres is created there. During transportation, the design of the device may not withstand the load, for example, if the machine is shaken in a pit. Then, at best, the air conditioner will leak, and at worst, an explosion will occur.

In apartments located on the upper floors, building mountaineering skills are required to remove the outside of the air conditioner. Without them, risking your life for the sake of saving several thousand rubles is simply stupid.

In general, you should try to remove the air conditioner in the apartment yourself only if it needs to be removed at the time of repair. Moreover, when dismantling, you need to do everything according to the instructions and extremely carefully. If you are not confident in your abilities or are going to completely remove the split system, then it is better to call professionals.

How is the air conditioner dismantled?

The first step is to ensure the safety of freon for the split system. For this, two fittings should be found on the outside of the air conditioner. On a thinner basis, liquid freon is pumped into the indoor unit, while a thicker one is used to remove gaseous refrigerant. The protective caps should be removed from them, and the hex wrenches inserted into the slots.

Then you must clearly follow the instructions.

• The air conditioner turns on at full power in cooling mode. In this case, it is necessary to set the lowest temperature that is provided for this model.
• A pressure gauge is connected to a nipple located on the inlet pipe.
• After the split system works for ten minutes, a thin valve is shut off, through which liquid freon is supplied.
• As soon as the pressure gauge shows that a technical vacuum has formed in the system - pressure minus one atmosphere - the thick fitting is closed, and immediately the air conditioner is disconnected from the network.

If there is no pressure gauge, then you will have to act “by eye”. The nut of the steam fitting is tightened one minute after shutting off the supply of liquid freon. Naturally, in this case, the risk of breakdown of the vacuum pump of the air conditioner increases significantly. He can not stand it, if you delay a little. If the steam nipple is shut off too soon, refrigerant will leak.

• Unscrew all the tubes that connect the inside and outside of the air conditioner. And immediately hermetically sealed. This can be done using plugs, tape or electrical tape. The main thing is to prevent dust from getting inside the split system so as not to get into trouble with the vacuum pump described above.

All tubes and electrical wires that are disconnected during the removal of the split system must be marked, and for reliability also carefully sketched. This will help to connect everything back and not mix anything up.

• If it is planned to move the air conditioner to another place, then it is easier to cut the tubes with a pipe cutter from the inside and outside of the split system at a distance of at least 15–20 cm from the fittings. The ends must be chased, you can use a small bench vice for this, or you can use a special rolling press.
• All electrical wires and terminals are disconnected from the air conditioner.

• If necessary, the fastening nuts are loosened and the outer part of the split system is removed from the brackets. Such work may require special equipment if the apartment is located high and it is not easy to get to the air conditioner.
• The protective cover is removed from the indoor unit. It is important to correctly understand what system the latches that hold this part of the air conditioner work. Usually a block is enough to pull up a little and on yourself. Most often, in order to get to the latches, you have to remove the evaporator cover. In this case, you must be extremely careful: you can damage thin tubes that are located in the immediate vicinity of the latches.

Often, the heads of the air conditioner mounting screws face the wall. In this case, you can unscrew them using a piece of a Phillips screwdriver, rotated using pliers. It is clear that with such an attempt to unscrew the bolts almost blindly, the risk of damaging something in the split system increases many times.

• In addition, this work alone will not be possible: someone must hold the entire block of the split system so that it does not crash to the floor after being released from the mounts.
• At the last stage, the mounting plate is removed from the wall, and the entire air conditioner is packaged for storage or transportation.

Thus, it is possible to remove air conditioning in the apartment on your own. But because of the high risks, it is more reasonable to entrust this work to specialists. When moving to a new place, it is easier to leave the split system to new owners for an appropriate fee than to risk its possible breakdown when moving to a new apartment. Moreover, the service life of such systems rarely exceeds 6-10 years.