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Within about two hundred metres of the sea, the outdoor coil needs washing every three months. Further into Malé, twice a year is enough, and four times if the unit runs more than eight hours a day.

Salt is the reason. It settles on the fins, holds moisture, and forms a crust that stops the unit rejecting heat, so the compressor runs longer for less cooling.

Filters cleaned, indoor coil washed, drain line cleared and flushed, outdoor coil washed, electricals checked, gas pressure read and the air temperature measured at the grille.

350 rufiyaa for one split unit, 250 each for three or more in the same visit, 450 for a ceiling cassette. Every visit ends with a written note of what we found.

For three units or more, usually yes. 1,200 rufiyaa a unit a year covers four scheduled visits, a four hour response in working hours and the small parts.

The real value is that the visits are in the diary rather than requested. A contract you have to remember to use is a contract where the coil gets washed the week after the unit stops cooling.

No. A sealed system does not consume refrigerant. If a unit is low, it is leaking, and topping it up is a way of postponing the conversation rather than a repair.

We pressure test with nitrogen and leave it on a gauge. That hour is the test that settles it, and it is the hour most companies will not spend.

In Malé, with concrete walls, reckon on about nine thousand units of capacity for a small bedroom, twelve thousand for a normal one and eighteen for a living room with a west facing window. Add for glazing, for people and for equipment.

Bigger is not safer. An oversized unit cools quickly, switches off, and never runs long enough to take the moisture out of the room, which is why it feels clammy.

Above the height people walk past, with free air on three sides, out of direct afternoon sun if there is any choice, and not under a window somebody sleeps beside. The air coming off it is about forty degrees.

On a wall facing the sea, expect to wash the coil four times a year and expect the casing to show rust within three. It is still usually the only place available, and knowing it is different from being surprised by it.