New LG Unit Shows CH38: Undercharged at Install, Not a Leak
A new unit shows a gas code within weeks. Whether refrigerant is escaping or was never fully put in to begin with.
By Team Snowflake | Updated 24 Aug 2026
How this presents
A newly installed system cooling below what it should, with a fault code and no evidence anywhere of a loss. The evacuation was carried out and recorded. The pipe run is longer than the standard allowance covers.
- Setup
- LG Wall-mountedNew installHDBHougang
- Misread as
- A defective new unit, needing a warranty claim on equipment that has only just gone in.
- Check first
- Which individual commissioning steps were completed, not whether commissioning happened
What else produces this
A recorded evacuation is genuine evidence about the evacuation, and no evidence whatsoever about the charge. Those are separate steps performed at different points in the job, and a long run needs refrigerant added by weight once the vacuum has been broken. Establishing which steps were actually completed, rather than whether commissioning happened at all, is what separates a defective unit from an unfinished one.
A code alongside weak cooling on brand-new equipment points at unfinished commissioning rather than a defect.
A recorded evacuation confirms exactly one step, and says nothing at all about the ones that follow it.
A pipe run beyond the standard allowance requires a calculated addition once charging actually begins.
A charge measuring short of that calculated figure explains the whole of the shortfall by itself.
Why it happens
Equipment ships with enough refrigerant for a standard length of pipe. Anything beyond that holds more in the pipe itself, so a weighed addition is part of commissioning rather than an optional extra bolted on afterwards. The evacuation and the addition are separate operations carried out at different points, and the paperwork usually records commissioning as a single line. A run properly evacuated and never topped up therefore looks fully commissioned on paper.
What resolution involves
The calculated addition is weighed in and the system reaches its rating. What is worth insisting on is granularity. Ask which steps were completed and what each one measured, rather than whether the system was commissioned. A single line on a sheet covers four separate operations, and whichever one was skipped is invisible until the equipment underperforms.
How to tell it worked
Performance judged against the rating printed on the unit rather than against how it has been running. Equipment that was never right has no baseline of its own, so the label is the only figure worth comparing anything against.
Before you approve a quote
One completed step proves nothing about the next
- Commissioning is a sequence, not an event. Each step is separately skippable and separately checkable.
- A recorded evacuation is evidence about the evacuation. It says nothing about the charge.
- Ask which steps were done and what each measured. One line on a sheet covers four operations.
Questions this case answers
Can a brand-new aircon show a low-refrigerant code without a leak?
How can a new system end up undercharged from day one?
What happens if a leak repair gets quoted for this?
How do I check the charge was completed properly at install?
Ready to get started?
Tell us what’s going on. Symptoms, setup, photos, anything we should know. We’ll assess and come back with the right next step.