[tush]

Originally Posted by mashmash

Finally after months of visiting malls, going through spec sheets of almost every model, we bought the Panasonic Cube 1.25 ton (CS-ZC15MKY-1 (With Remote) | CUBE | Single Split Air Conditioner | Air Conditioner | Home Appliances | Products | Panasonic)


Cost: Rs. 18,000/-. This includes Transportation, Installation, Stabilizer and a 2 year full machine service and warranty.

Congrats

Originally Posted by Deep Blue

Installed Panasonic inverter silver 1 ton for a frequently used room and a Panasonic Ivory 1ton for a sparingly used room.
But the inverter AC is not working!
When it is put on, it blows air for about 10-15mins and then shuts down by itself with the timer indicator on the IDU blinking orange light. Complex electronics causing problems.
I have informed the dealer and the technician will come on Monday. Machines were bought from the Panasonic brandshop and installed by their own technicians.
The only silver lining is I have not yet paid them for the AC.

The Ivory unit is working fine.

Both the outdoor and indoor units for both ACs are manufactured by Panasonic Malaysia.

Thats really bad to hear. Do update us on how things are being handled by Panasonic in your case.

Originally Posted by sanjayk

Installation of the split AC was done on Thursday(24/03). I found the outdoor unit to be bulky. I was asked to shell out extra bucks for wiring from the indoor to outdoor unit. Got to know that all the imported ones have their power drawn from the outdoor unit. I leave it to the experts to clarify.

@Tush, Best part of this is the silence. I can only imagine how silent the inverter models would be. As of now i am happy that i got the best for 27,900. I will advise folks from Hyderabad, on the lookout for an AC to consider Daikin. Bajaj Electronics was the one to offer this at such a low price, but the latest i heard is that most of the dealers are offering at the same price.

Thats really nice. Do put up some images of the install.

Was the installation done by the dealer or by Daikin ? The reason I asked you is based on the following -

I went to another showroom. The sales rep said its for 33000/-. I asked him the reason and he said "Sir its a premium brand, and the installation is done by Daikin techs, they apply some quote to the piping and then take a snap of the installation and send it to Daikin and are at rest only once they get a confirmation from Daikin that all looks good.

After telling him how others are getting it for 28000/- with stabilzer and installation included he took me to his boss.


Boss said installation 2500 + 2500 additional for piping etc is what would be required. He quoted 31000/- all and no stabilizer.

I tell him the same story that i told to the sales rep.

The boss took out his purchase price list.

Did some calculations. Said I can offer it to you for 28500/- inclusive of installation which includes 12 foot pipe. Additional Pipe would require 200 rupees per foot. And if there is no support(floor) to hold the ODU then I would need to shell out 800/- more for bracket that would hold the ODU. No stabilizer as he says its not required in Pune.

On asking about Daikin's tech coming and installing the AC. He said Sir thats not required. His guys will come and do the installation. Its all same and they are trained by Daikin. Said Daikin guys would charge me a lot as they dont have another source of income.

Crap. I am really not sure how this Daikin stuff is sold and the install procedure suggested by Daikin that would not void the warranty.

Contacted a reseller as per their website "Where to buy" section. The dealer said he will have to see my room first and suggest me if 1ton or 1.5ton is required as 154 Sq-feet is just at border range of 1ton he said. That dude has not reverted back on my three attempts.

This is what appears from the above.

1. Daikin has a policy of getting the installation of their AC done as per their standard(No wonder they reject the warranties if not got the product from the authorized dealer and installation from Diakin's own tech or whatever)
2. Dealers offer their own installation if you try to negotiate keeping the customers in dark about Daikin's installation option.(It was just the sales rep who spilled the beans)

[stefanm]

Originally Posted by khoj

Hey Stefanm,

Though you will find the answers to most of your queries in the preceding pages, however for specific recommendations one would need the room sizes, whether the roof is open to sky or has construction above, exposure of wall(s) to sunlight etc to arrive at an educated guesstimate. Also it was not clear as to what do you mean by 15 degrees of cooling. Do you want the machine to achieve an indoor temp 15 degree below the given outdoor ambient temp?? do clarify.

Finally your old machines could be just as efficient if not more than quite a few of the current machines. It is just that this star rating business was introduced only last season, so the old ones came without any stars etc.

Both installations are for apartments, one is for a hall, ground floor of a 3 story building 6x3 metres and 3metres height, north facing, no walls exposed to the sun, around 500 metres from the coast line. The second is 3x3x3 metres bedroom south and west facing external walls, on first floor of a 4 story building, 2km's from the coast line, both only require a maximum of 15 degrees of cooling from the ambient temp. Both are located in Goa and the areas are not built up like cities, such as Bombay, so shade from tall buildings is not there, on the other hand we regulary get good sea breeze, hence useage will be minimal.

I'm asking for which brand is currently giving good quality and trouble free products, with a good lifespan. I was going in for Voltas as they are supposed to be good quality (but after owning a Tata Safari, i'm scared bits may randomly fall off) Also considering Samsung, they have good service over here, just had my LCD tv main board changed for 3.5k it had lasted 6 years and I had imported it from the UK, also have a Samsung fridge freezer with a lifetime warranty. So service is important, especially as I don't stay in a metro city, there is limitations to this.

Please advise,

Stefan

[coolclouds]

I am looking for two A/c's for office use (1.5 ton each) with basic features in Bangalore. The maximum usage will be 4/8 hours/day. Can anyone suggest a value for money model with low budgets.

[devarshi84]

you can try for the HItachi Logicool Office a/c's. Superb value for money.

[khoj]

@stefanm

Oh I thought you were looking for sizing etc. Well as far as brands go I have known General and Daikin to be firm favourites in coastal areas. Maybe they face up to the salty winds better than the others. You could check on their service availability in Goa and proceed accordingly. The other brands with good build quality and strong service networks are Whirlpool, Panasonic, and Hitachi. You were right in not going ahead with Voltas and I suggest that you avoid Samsung too. They do not have a sterling reputation as far as airconditioners are concerned.

[Deep Blue]

Originally Posted by Deep Blue

Installed Panasonic inverter silver 1 ton for a frequently used room and a Panasonic Ivory 1ton for a sparingly used room.
But the inverter AC is not working!

The technician came today and set things right. It is working fine now,in fact very well. The 1 tonner is quickly (5-10mins) cooling a 168sqft room and is super silent as wellEven the outdoor unit is very silent.
Hope it stays that way!

Originally Posted by UPS_Guru

1. econ Inverter Chrome CS-S12MKY - Rs. 38,000

2. econ Sapphire CS-KC12MKY - Rs. 26,000


Further, the price difference of Rs. 12,000 between the two models is primarily due to unnecessary sensors (at least for me), new refrigerant and finally the inverter hype. Therefore, I am opting for the econ Sapphire CS-KC12MKY 1ton 5 star rated split AC.

The price given above is for Mysore and is exclusive of installation (approximately Rs. 1,000) and electrical work (approximately Rs. 1,500 in my case).

You could try the Panasonic Inverter Silver(CS-PS12MKY) which retails for Rs34000. Check with Panasonic brandshops. Installation(Rs 1000) and stabilizer(Rs1600) were free in addition to three free services.

[sanjayk]

Originally Posted by tush

Thats really nice. Do put up some images of the install.

Was the installation done by the dealer or by Daikin ? The reason I asked you is based on the following -

Not by Daikin, but trained technicians of the dealer. By dealer, i am not referring to the outlet from where i had purchased.

installation is done by Daikin techs, they apply some quote to the piping and then take a snap of the installation and send it to Daikin and are at rest only once they get a confirmation from Daikin that all looks good.

Hard to believe any manufacturer takes such care. Did not happen in my case though. We are not talking about luxury goods here.

Did some calculations. Said I can offer it to you for 28500/- inclusive of installation which includes 12 foot pipe. Additional Pipe would require 200 rupees per foot. And if there is no support(floor) to hold the ODU then I would need to shell out 800/- more for bracket that would hold the ODU. No stabilizer as he says its not required in Pune.

Price Sounds decent. Here is what i had spent 27900+ 1950 (for pipe 650/mtr) + 650 (stand for ODU). This comes to Rs 30,500.

Your quote works to 28500+800+2000(stabilizer) comes to Rs 31,300. Looks like you did a hard bargain. Piping and bracket are a bit costly in Pune. See if you can bargain on that front too.

I feel the price war was started by Bajaj Electronics, here in Hyderabad and all the other dealers followed suit. They must have had a big inventory blocking their monies.

[stefanm]

Originally Posted by khoj

@stefanm

Oh I thought you were looking for sizing etc. Well as far as brands go I have known General and Daikin to be firm favourites in coastal areas. Maybe they face up to the salty winds better than the others. You could check on their service availability in Goa and proceed accordingly. The other brands with good build quality and strong service networks are Whirlpool, Panasonic, and Hitachi. You were right in not going ahead with Voltas and I suggest that you avoid Samsung too. They do not have a sterling reputation as far as airconditioners are concerned.

Ok General, Daikin and Hitachi are out, beyond budget.
Samsung, Voltas and LG I'm led to believe have suspect quality issues.
Whirlpool and Panasonic are recomended, though i've heard whirlpool products can be troublesom (from my inlaws, who have a fridge/freezer of whirlpool)

What about the others, Onida, Godrej, Bluestar, Videocon/Elecrolux/Kenstar (same company) and other brands?

Most dealers here recommend Samsung because they have good service in Goa, I'm more interested in a trouble free a/c more than a problematic one with good service.

Any Idea? (please don't tell me to Get Idea, they suck too!)

[khoj]

@stefanm

Well going by the posts of various members from some of the hottest places such as Delhi, Hyderabad etc Whirlpool airconditioners had a great last season and kept everyone happy with nary a complaint.Too early maybe but from whatever little I have seen on their shop floors in Pune and Faridabad they do not skimp on quality either in raw material/component quality or on the assembly line/final testing. Having said that not every product is 100% A OK, like the case with the Fridge in law.

I believe you should be able to find your fit between Panasonic & Whirlpool. Another make you could look at is Videocon. Yes, they are good with QC too though not that much with the fit and finish. That said their plant at Paithan does churn out some good machines. Talk to the dealer and get those which do not have too much of the electronic mumbo jumbo and you will be good to go. Kenstar is an affiliate brand of Videocon and I believe these are imported from China etc, avoidable. Electrolux is to Whirlpool what GM is to Ford or vice versa. Somehow they are not many reports on their machines so cannot comment. Others mentioned in your post I would not even agree to install any of those for free forget about advising you to go for them.

[tush]

Friends have a question and need to clear the doubt.

My previous post mentions 154sq ft which is a bit inaccurate. I did the measurements again and considered the area taken away by wardrobe and added another 16 sq ft for the passage which was miscalculated before.

So its 154 - 39(Furniture) + 16 = 130 sq ft.
Room height - 8.74 feet

1. East facing Wall. With most mid part taken away by non transparent sliding glass window. Has cur-tuns.
2. Few hours of direct sunlight(Approx 2-3 hours)
3. Operating mostly during the Day 8 hours. From early morning till mid afternoon as of now.


In the process of searching for an idle AC for my room I came across information as - 1.2 tonnage is for 120 sq feet and 1.5 tonnage is for 150 sq feet.

While google says btu/hr is the determining factor for the AC.

Is tonnage and btu/hr one and the same?

I came across some good sites that have embedded calculators. The calculators have options like "Wall facing N/S/E/W, Wall is a 8" brick work, Wall exposed to sun etc"

I tried a few and none exceeded more then 9600 btu/hr as my requirement.

This is where I am not sure. Should I trust the above calculations and if not how should I accurately calculate my requirement and take a decision. I have almost extended the budget keeping in mind 1.5 Daikin/Pana/Hitachi. But the option of 1.2 Hitachi is holding my decision bcoz if its appropriate for my room then it would be beneficial as the consumption would be also less. But I am not sure about the btu/hr and tonnage difference hence the decision is pending.

1.2 Hitachi follow me is 14000 btu/hr - Quote price - 32200/-
1.5 Hitachi Follow Me is 18300 btu/hr - Quote price - 37840/-
1.5 Pana Saphire is 17800 btu/hr - 31600/-
1.5 Daikin FTE50K/FTE50L is 17750 btu/hr - Quote Price - 27200/-
1.5 Daikin FTG50 is 18090 btu/hr - Quote Price - 35000/-(can expect some more discount on this one)

This is just the product quote. It doesnt include installation/piping/wiring or stabilizer.

This site also has the Btu chart I referenced - Air Conditioners: How to Choose an Air Conditioner - Chart of room types, size, and air conditioner BTU's needed to cool a space

[maxmachine]

Hi Guys

I recently bought a Hitachi 1.5 ton split. Had chosen this keeping in view the "GOOD QUALITY" tag associated with it and I also found it not very expensive compared to LG and Samsung, infact was cheaper than a Whirlpool of the same configuration. Now comes the bad part. Within a week of AC installation started to hear a cracking sound after the AC was operated for 10 mins. Called the service centre, was assured the service engineer would be there in 48 hours. After numerous calls to them a guy turned up after 3 days. He checked the AC and tells me there is a gas leakage from the part where the gas pipe coming from the outdoor unit fits into the one from the indoor unit. Since he wasn't equipped with all the proper tools and a "Freon" gas cylinder, he told that he will come the next day and fill the gas. Another 4-5 calls to him and his supervisor the next day no one turns up. The day after he turns up late in the evening and fills the gas and tightens the joint and confirms there is no leakage now. A week of good operation the AC again lost its cooling ability the last night and ice formation was observed on the evaporator grills coupled with the cracking sound again. An early call to customer care, the service centre guy has booked a slot for tomorrow(ofcourse after 25 calls to him and m not kidding on the number here), lets see what happens. The gist of the story is Hitachi might have a good product but a pathetic installation team and a more pathetic service centre.

At this stage I am not sure if this issue has got something to do with the product or the improper installation, howsoever the product is not even one month old and has required 2 services and I being a consmer is suffering even after paying so much. By the way the installation was done by a Hitachi engineer.

Questions I have:
Is it normal for a new AC to loose gas so frequently?
Can anyone help me with the contact details for some senior authority in Hitachi home appliances service department? There website doesn't lists any escalation mechanism.
In case I am not satisfied after the make all their attempts to fix the issue and I need to go to consumer court with this, can someone describe me what the process is?

[huntrz]

Onida are the most VFM ones. For a given tonnage and energy efficiency usually ONIDA is the cheapest.

Originally Posted by coolclouds

I am looking for two A/c's for office use (1.5 ton each) with basic features in Bangalore. The maximum usage will be 4/8 hours/day. Can anyone suggest a value for money model with low budgets.

[Spotty91]

The Panasonic Cube has been launched with a 3 speed fan rather than the earlier 2 speed fan. The MRP has also increased by Rs750/-.
The 1.25 tonner is now available with installation and remote for Rs17250/- in Thane.( Friends Electronics).
Was thinking of buying it but unfortunately it cannot be installed in my place, since the walls are made of RCC bricks and drilling a hole will cause the whole RCC brick to collapse and also that the walls are very hard.
My room size is 165sq ft. East Facing. Ac to be used for 4 hrs during the nights only in the months of summer. 4 persons in the room.
Tonnage calculations at the Daikin and Bluestar site suggest a tonnage of 1-1.1 Tons for my application.
Therefore I am now planning to buy a 1.1 tonner from the following brands.
1) 1.14 T O General. AMG 13G. Price please anyone
2) 1.1 T Hitachi RAV513ERD or RAT413HRD or
3) 1.5 Ton Onida W18TRC3.

Will a 1.1 tonner suffice for my apllication? Which of the 3 will offer the best reliability and low noise?

Please suggest.
Regards,

[Buffetfan]

I bought the Panasonic, 2 Ton, 3 star CS-YC24MKY-2 model for cooling a west facing 400 sqft room that is not open to sunlight apart from a french window/door that opens in a covered balcony. Cooling is pretty satisfactory till now in the 37-38 deg Hyderabad weather. Some Pics

[Wimwian]

Originally Posted by Spotty91

Therefore I am now planning to buy a 1.1 tonner from the following brands.
1) 1.14 T O General. AMG 13G. Price please anyone
2) 1.1 T Hitachi RAV513ERD or RAT413HRD or
3) 1.5 Ton Onida W18TRC3.

I'm also thinking of going for the Hitachi RAV513ERD model... on the face of it, seems to offer a good set of features for the price. Any reviews/thoughts would be most welcome.

Originally Posted by Buffetfan

I bought the Panasonic, 2 Ton, 3 star CS-YC24MKY-2 model for cooling a west facing 400 sqft room that is not open to sunlight apart from a french window/door that opens in a covered balcony. Cooling is pretty satisfactory till now in the 37-38 deg Hyderabad weather. Some Pics

I bought the same AC last year... has given me really good service till date. It chills really quickly and is super quiet too. How much did you pay for it?