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[Omegadoha, Desert Member]

I am suspicious that my Air con has sprung another leak. The temperature has dropped off a bit and it is not so hot anymore, but still warm. I had the CC on low with the recirculation on, the a/c was blowing cool but not cold cold like it used to. Question is does the Omega recalcuate what should be cold over the winter months, i.e due to cooler weather should I expect the a/c not to be too cold? Or should it still be ice cold?

Also with the a/c on Lo and recirculation, I touched the filling point pipe and it didn't seem particulary cold.

It is likely I have another leak?

[Kevin Wood]

The only control of the air conditioning is the expansion valve which controls the flow of refrigerant into the evaporator based on its' temperature. Effectively it will try to maintain a constant temperature at the evaporator as I understand it.

I guess it might not feel as cold if the outside air is cooler, as the temperature difference will be less. The return pipe to the compressor will also not get as cold since refrigerant flow will be less.

Given that the air conditioning works at all, the refrigerant pressure has not dropped too far if at all, as this would result in the compressor being disabled to protect the system.

Vacuuming out and refilling the system is the only way to really know if any has leaked out. If a UV dye was used when it was last filled it might be worth inspecting it to see if there is any evidence of leakage.

It is also possible for the expansion valve to fail, which might cause poor cooling despite the correct fill of refrigerant.

Kevin

[Omegadoha, Desert Member]

Thank you very much for the reply. That might explain it. I have had a fair bit of pipework replaced and the expansion valve. I guess I'll have to wait until the weather warms up again before getting it looked at again.