The technician has been, looked at the outdoor unit, and said the words: "gas leak". Then a number. Sometimes it is a single figure on the spot, sometimes a message the same evening. You cannot tell whether it is a fair price for a small fix or the opening bid for a big one, and the aircon is not cooling, so there is pressure to say yes.
The quote is hard to judge because "gas leak repair" is not one job. It is up to four different jobs that get priced in different ways, and a single figure can hide which of them you are paying for. This guide takes the published aircons.sg prices, shows what each one covers and what it is charged per, and gives you the questions to put to any company, including us, before you approve anything.
A "gas leak quote" is really four possible jobs
These are the published aircons.sg figures. The point is not the numbers themselves, but that each one is a separate line, charged on a different basis.
| Job | What it is | Published price | Charged per |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visit and diagnosis | 9-point pre-check including a gas pressure check | $45 | Visit (waived if you proceed with a top-up) |
| Gas top-up | Refilling the refrigerant | R22 $115, R410A $130, R32 $170 | Outdoor circuit |
| Pressure / leak test | Dedicated test of the piping set to pinpoint the leak | $180 | FCU (indoor unit) |
| Piping replacement | Replacing the copper piping set | $450 | FCU (indoor unit) |
| Coil repair or concealed pipe work | Corroded coil, or piping buried in trunking, ceiling or wall | Quoted after the test | Depends on access and length |
Most leaks on our jobs end at the second line, because when you proceed with a top-up the $45 is waived and you pay only the flat top-up price. The other lines apply when a top-up alone would not hold.
The units trap: per circuit versus per FCU
The top-up is priced per outdoor circuit. The leak test and the piping replacement are priced per FCU. An FCU is an indoor unit. A single split has one of each, so the difference never shows. A multi-system is where it matters.
A System 3 has three indoor units on one outdoor unit. That is one condenser and one refrigerant circuit. So a top-up is one charge, not three. But a test or a piping replacement is counted by indoor unit, so the total depends on how many of the three runs actually need testing or replacing. If a quote for a System 3 says "gas leak repair" with one number, ask how many indoor units that number covers, and whether it is per circuit or per unit.
The same applies the other way. If you have a System 3 and were quoted three top-ups, that is a question worth asking: the published price is per outdoor circuit, not per indoor unit.
The test should come before the price
Refrigerant is not used up. It circulates in a sealed loop, so a system that is low on gas has lost it somewhere. That means the honest first question after "it is a leak" is "where?". A pressure test answers it: the circuit is pressurised and watched on gauges, and a steady reading means it is sealed while a falling one confirms the leak.
So ask the technician what they actually measured. "The gas is low" is a finding. "The pressure fell and the leak is at the flare joint on the bedroom unit" is a diagnosis. If you are told it is a leak and offered a price for a fix without either a reading or a location, you are being asked to approve a guess.
On our jobs you get the finding and an exact quote before any work starts. A re-made joint, a corroded coil or concealed pipe work is quoted after the test, and the quote depends on where the leak is, how easy the pipe is to reach, how long the run is, and whether it is a joint or a coil.
How many top-ups before the repair would have been cheaper?
This is the arithmetic that makes the "just top it up" option look different. It uses only the published prices, and it applies to a leak in a piping run that a replacement would cure, not to a joint or a coil, which are quoted separately.
| Refrigerant | One top-up | Top-ups it takes to pass one piping replacement ($450) |
|---|---|---|
| R22 | $115 | 4 top-ups = $460 |
| R410A | $130 | 4 top-ups = $520 |
| R32 | $170 | 3 top-ups = $510 |
A very slow leak that loses gas over a year or more can make an occasional top-up a sensible choice, and we say so when that is the case. A leak that empties the system in weeks is the opposite: you are paying for gas that leaves again. If your last top-up lasted a month, it is time to test rather than top up a third time. Our guide to why an aircon keeps losing gas and where the refrigerant actually escapes goes through the usual places, and how to tell if your aircon needs a top-up or a leak repair covers the signs that separate the two.
Six questions to ask before you approve
- What did you measure, and where is the leak? A pressure reading and a location, or at least a clear statement that the location is still unknown and a test is the next step.
- Which refrigerant is in this system? It is printed on the nameplate sticker on the outdoor unit or the side of the indoor unit. The top-up price depends on it, so check it yourself and do not rely on a verbal answer.
- Is this price per outdoor circuit or per indoor unit? And how many of each does it cover?
- Is the test included, or extra? On our published terms, if a repair is approved on the same visit the test fee is offset against that repair.
- What do I pay if I say no? You should pay for the visit and any testing already done, and nothing towards a repair you did not approve.
- Is the repair covered by a written warranty, and is the price final? Repair work at aircons.sg carries a 90-day workmanship warranty, and quoted prices are final.
Get the answers in writing on WhatsApp rather than over the phone. A message you can scroll back to is the easiest way to compare two companies on the same footing.
When to slow down
- A compressor diagnosis with no readings. Compressor and board replacements are quoted on site and are a large decision. Our guide to replacing or repairing a failed compressor lists the checks to ask for before you accept that one.
- A figure that arrives before any test. If the price is fixed before anyone has located the leak, ask what happens to that price if the leak turns out to be somewhere else.
- "Gas ran out." Gas does not run out. If that is the explanation given for the top-up, it is not a full explanation.
- A deadline to decide on the spot. The unit is not going to get dramatically worse in the hour it takes you to compare. You can switch it off or run it on fan mode in the meantime.
What you pay at aircons.sg, step by step
The visit and 9-point pre-check, which includes a gas pressure check, is $45. If the finding is a leak and you proceed with a gas top-up, the $45 is waived and you pay only the flat top-up price: R22 $115, R410A $130 or R32 $170. If a dedicated test of the piping set is needed to pinpoint the leak, that is $180 per FCU. If the piping needs replacing, it is $450 per FCU. A joint, a corroded coil or concealed pipe work is quoted upfront after the test. Nothing starts until you have seen and agreed the figure, and repair work carries a 90-day workmanship warranty. Unrelated faults the pre-check finds, such as drainage or electrical issues, are standard repairs from $80.
The full breakdown is on the gas leak repair cost page, how the test itself works is on the pressure test page, and every price sits on the pricing page.
What to send when you WhatsApp
- Which unit or room is affected, and how many indoor units are on the system.
- A photo of the nameplate sticker on the outdoor unit, which shows the refrigerant type.
- When the gas was last topped up, and how long it lasted.
- If you already have a quote from another company, the figure and what it says it covers, so we can tell you whether it is per circuit or per unit.
WhatsApp us on 9107 2601 with a photo of the sticker and the quote you were given.