Cab air conditioning fails in the build-up, when every machine on the Tablelands is working and nobody has a spare day. A system that was weak at the end of last season has not fixed itself over winter, and a leak found in October is a repair. The same leak found in January is a lost week.
October is the right week for this, January is the wrong one
Nobody rings about cab air con in July. The weather does the job for you, the machine is comfortable enough, and a unit that is a bit down on gas feels fine. Then the build-up arrives, the humidity sits on you from about now through to the wet, and the first long day in the cab tells you exactly what state that system is in.
The problem is that everyone finds out in the same fortnight. Parts have to come up from Cairns or Brisbane, every operator on the Tablelands is already booked, and the machine you need is the one sitting in the shed. Getting it checked while there is still slack in the calendar is the cheap version of this job.
What "not cold enough" usually turns out to be
On a tractor or a header it is rarely one dramatic failure. It is usually something that has been building quietly since last season.
- A condenser packed solid with chaff, dust, grass seed or cane trash. The system cannot dump heat into air that cannot get through it, so it cannot make cold. This is the most common one by a long way, and on some machines the condenser sits right where the rubbish collects.
- Blocked cab filters. You lose air flow rather than temperature, and the air that does come through is dusty and stale. On a machine working in dry paddocks these clog far faster than the service interval assumes.
- Gas lost through the year. Machinery air con lives on a vibrating, flexing platform in heat and dust, so hoses, O-rings and seals have a harder life than they do in a car. Slow loss over a season is common.
- A tired compressor clutch or a glazed belt. The compressor stops engaging properly, so the system cycles oddly or simply never kicks in.
- Blower motor, switch or wiring faults. Plenty of machinery air con jobs turn out to be electrical, not refrigeration, which is handy when the bloke looking at it does both.
- A poor earth or a chafed wire on a roof mounted unit. Vibration plus years of movement works a loom against a bracket until it finds metal.
The ten minute check you can do before you ring anyone
- Look at the condenser and the screens. If you cannot see daylight through them, clean them out and run the machine again. Some of these jobs end right there.
- Pull the cab filters and look at them. If they are grey and matted, that is your air flow.
- Listen for the compressor clutch engaging when you switch the air con on. A click and a change in engine note is a good sign. Silence tells you something.
- Note whether it is weak air or warm air. Weak air that is cold points at filters and flow. Plenty of air that is not cold points at gas, the condenser or the compressor. Telling us which saves time on the phone and often saves a trip.
Why we leak test before we put gas in
Refrigerant sits in a sealed loop. If it has gone, it got out somewhere, and that somewhere is still there after a regas. On machinery that matters more than it does on a car, because the next time it empties you are usually mid job. We find the leak, tell you what it takes to fix, then charge the system properly. Paying once beats paying twice.
We come to the machine
Most of this work happens on the property. Floating a tractor or a header into town costs more than the repair does, and it costs you the machine for longer. We carry the diagnostic gear, the common parts and enough wire and connectors to get a machine going again on the same visit where that is possible. Where a part has to be ordered, you will know what it is and what it will cost before we leave the place.
We fit, service and repair roof mounted air conditioning on tractors and headers, and we work on 12V and 24V systems, so the machinery and the farm ute can get sorted in the one visit. Atherton, Tolga, Walkamin, Malanda, Kairi, Herberton, and out to Mareeba and Dimbulah.
Common questions
- Can you repair air conditioning on a tractor or header out on the farm? Yes, and that is where most of this work happens. We fit, service and repair roof mounted cab units on the property rather than asking you to float the machine into town. Give us a ring and we will tell you straight when we can get to you.
- My cab air con was fine last season, why is it weak now? Usually a blocked condenser or cab filter, or gas lost slowly through the year. All three build up quietly over a season, which is why a machine that finished last wet working fine can be poor on the first hot day of the next one.
- Is it worth just getting it regassed? Only once we know why it is empty. A regas on a leaking system will feel like a fix for a few weeks, then you are buying the same gas again, usually at the worst possible moment. Leak test first, repair, then charge it correctly.
- Do you work on 24 volt machinery and trucks? Yes. A lot of heavier machinery and most trucks run 24V, and it is a normal part of the work, along with dual voltage setups, isolators and battery banks.
If the cab was uncomfortable by the end of last season, now is the week to get it looked at. Give us a ring and tell us what the machine is and what it is doing.
Workshop in Atherton and mobile across the Atherton Tablelands. If you want it looked at properly rather than guessed at, give us a ring.
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