Service window openPre-summer tune-ups are being scheduled through October and November, with Saturday morning slots held for ducted systems.
Request a slot
Split · Multi-head · Cassette · Ducted
Elm Margin is a servicing-only aircon crew. We tune systems before summer, chase down the faults that make them quit halfway through an afternoon, and clean out the airflow problems you can smell on start-up.
What we take on
Every job falls into one of these. Pick the closest match when you enquire and you will get a written window and a fixed price for that scope, not a range.
The annual tune. Filters washed and dried, indoor and outdoor coils cleaned, blower wheel checked, condensate drain flushed and tested, refrigerant pressures logged, electrical terminals tightened and the remote paired back the way you had it.
60–90 min · once every 12 monthsNot cooling, icing over, tripping the breaker, or dropping out twenty minutes in. We test first and tell you what the part costs before touching it. If you go ahead with the repair, the test fee comes off the invoice.
Same-week windows · fixed test feeWeak vents, one room that never gets there, or a musty smell on the first start of the season. Barrel fan and drip tray stripped and cleaned, ducting checked for crush points, collapsed flex and leaking joins.
Split, cassette & ducted systemsCafés, studios, clinics and small offices on a rolling maintenance agreement. Visits are scheduled outside trading hours wherever the site allows, with a short written condition report after each one.
6-monthly · after-hours scheduling
The visit, step by step
The most common question we get is what a service actually covers. This is the order of work, and the technician leaves the written version of it behind.
You tell us which rooms misbehave and when. We note the system age, model and anything that has been repaired before.
Supply and return air temperatures measured at the head or the nearest vent, so there is a number to compare against at the end.
Filters, face panel, barrel fan and indoor coil cleaned. Outdoor unit fins washed down and cleared of leaf litter and grass clippings.
Terminal connections tightened, capacitor and contactor condition checked, running current compared against the plate rating.
Drip tray cleared, drain line flushed and water-tested, fall checked. This is what stops a brown mark appearing under the head unit.
Temperatures re-measured, findings written up with anything worth watching next season, and your settings put back as they were.
Worth booking for
Most of what we repair in January was visible in October. If one of these sounds familiar, a diagnosis now is cheaper than a compressor later.
Usually meansRestricted airflow from a blocked filter or dirty coil, or a low refrigerant charge. Running it iced up loads the compressor.
Usually meansA blocked drip tray or a drain line that has lost its fall. Simple to clear, expensive to leave alone once plaster is wet.
Usually meansBiofilm on the barrel fan and tray, or dust burning off an overheating component. The second one needs looking at promptly.
Usually meansA failing capacitor, a tired contactor or a compressor drawing hard on start. Stop resetting it and get it tested.
Usually meansThe compressor is not staging up, or the charge has leaked away. A pressure test tells us which within the first visit.
Usually meansA sensor reading wrong, a partially blocked coil, or a system sized below what the room now asks of it.
Planning ahead
How often a system needs attention depends on what it is and how hard it works. Use this to decide what to book and how long to set aside.
| System type | Service interval | Typical visit |
|---|---|---|
| Wall-mounted split | Every 12 months, ideally before summer | 60–75 minutes |
| Multi-head split, three or more heads | Every 12 months, all heads in one visit | 90–120 minutes |
| Ducted system | Every 12 months, return filter each season | Two to three hours |
| Ceiling cassette | Every 12 months, ladder access required | 75–90 minutes |
| Light commercial site | Every six months under agreement | Scheduled outside trading hours |
| Rental or strata handover | Between tenancies | 60 minutes plus written report |
Systems near the coast, in dusty streets or above a busy kitchen move to a shorter interval. We will say so in the report rather than quietly booking you in more often.
Before you book
Once a year for a system in normal use, and the best month to do it is the one before you start needing it. A yearly clean keeps airflow where the manufacturer intended, which is what keeps running costs sensible. If the system runs most of the year or sits in a dusty or salt-air spot, move to six-monthly.
A service is scheduled, priced up front and covers cleaning, testing and reporting. A repair fixes something that has already failed, so it starts with a diagnosis. If we find a fault during a service we finish the service, tell you what the repair involves and what it costs, and let you decide.
It matters more, not less. Most warranties expect documented maintenance and exclude failures caused by neglect, such as a compressor cooked by a blocked coil. We leave a dated report after every visit so you have the paperwork if you ever need to make a claim.
We do, but not as a standalone job. A sealed system does not consume refrigerant, so a unit that is low has a leak somewhere. We leak-test and repair first, then charge the system back to the plate weight. Topping up a leaking system just books the same visit again next season.
Yes, that is most of our work. We service all common wall-mounted, multi-head, cassette and ducted equipment regardless of who supplied it. If a unit is old enough that parts are no longer made, we will tell you that plainly rather than selling you a service it cannot benefit from.
Only at the start and the end. We need five minutes at the beginning to hear what the system has been doing and five at the end to walk you through the findings. In between you are welcome to get on with your day, and for strata or rental jobs we can work with an agent's access arrangement instead.
Clear a metre of space in front of the indoor head and around the outdoor unit, move anything you would rather not have drop cloths over, and put pets somewhere settled. If one particular room is the problem, leave the door open so we can measure it properly.
Booking enquiry
A few details are enough. You will get a written service window and a fixed price for the scope you have described before anything is locked in.