[anupmathur]

Thanks for your quick-review, Kb100.
My comments in bold, below.

Originally Posted by kb100

1. The out door unit is HUGE! - It totally dwarfs the LG/Samsung's etc on my terrace!
That's a plus point. Will help achieve unimpaired efficiency.

2. Its silent all right - The fan speed is about par for the course (480 CFM) . Hitachi on the other hand is 590 CFM.
Wow. That is a difference of almost 20%! But, is it required?
Is there a 'chaos cooling' mode for the blower? Kinda makes the louvres move randomly.

3. It has a nice display which can be switched off.
Nice.

4. It has a 'Surround' mode where the remote control works as a thermometer! The remote keeps communicating with the unit once every 3 minutes - the machine then maintains the temp set on the remote! The temperature displayed on the remote is the real time temperature where the remote has been kept. This is a nice feature! If the remote is unable to communicate with the machine for over 7 minutes, then it reverts to last used settings.
Nice.

5. It has an Ioniser that can be activated - clean air results!
So has my cheap LG!

6. It has an auto clean facility - where the evaporator is dried before the machine switches itself off.
Questionable benefit! True cleaning types (which can self-clean the exterior of the condenser!) have not made their debut here!

7. At an indicated 21Deg C - it had the room nice and chill! However my indoor unit is not ideally installed. Its offset towards the corner - A compromise we were forced to make since its a rented house with a duct provided there - did not want to make any modifications. I am sure properly installed this can cool more effectively! Another factor is that the out door unit is on the terrace of the apartment - a good 18 feet up. This is at the extreme of what the machine can handle (- the manual advises a max vertical separation of 5 mts - 16.21 feet)
With your mounting position, some capacity has been compromised.



Hitachi is quality can be considered better. One big advantage - the fan speed is much higher. Secondly those machines are known to run for 10 year or more without needing to be touched. I would definitely invest in them whenever I get one for our own house.

Higher CFM might not be needed by most setups.
The old GEs and Westinghouse ACs used to run for 20 yrs plus!

[kb100]

Originally Posted by black12rr

@kb100 , how many units of electricity does this consume per hour ? running at normal load or full load ?

According to the manual, the input power is 1650 Watts. Its has a 5 Star rating.. EER of 11.06 ( 18254BTU/1650W) translating to a BEE rating of 3.10. This is amongst the highest in the 1.5ton segment. Lets hope its not a paper tiger!

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by kb100

Its has a 5 Star rating.. BEE of 3.10 . According to the manual, the input power is 1650 Watts. This is amongst the highest in the 1.5ton segment.

Considering that a typical 1.5 ton window unit would take in close to 1400 watts, that does seem good.
How does this compare with, say, LG?

[kb100]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

Considering that a typical 1.5 ton window unit would take in close to 1400 watts, that does seem good.
How does this compare with, say, LG?

Other than the central AC's at the office, my experience with domestic ACs is limited to the LG window I bought 6 years back when we moved to Cochin from Bangalore. We did not find the need for one here in Cbe - till this year! So lets hope all those specs pays off, and hoping the experience will be different this time.

The 'National at my parents place is over 24 yrs old - still going strong!

I casually glanced at the LG brochure while I was in a popular domestic appliances showroom here. The salesman was hard selling LG like nobody's business - this is despite him having all other brands on display - including Godrej, Samsung, Onida, Hitachi, Voltas, etc etc. I did not pay too much attention to the details.

I found this other dealers address on the Hitachi Authorised dealers list and went there. I found they were a dedicated refrigeration/cooling services company dealing with all kinds of products includinf deep freezers etc. They apparently are the authorised service ppl for almost all the brands as well. The owner met me personally, sat me down, and personally walked me thru all the pro's and con's. It was he who suggested that the Onida will be more than enough for my needs. I had an opportunity to meet his staff - both at his unit and when they came for installation. They also were of the opinion that Onida's faliure rate is negligible - far below the LG's (This is their statement - pls dont flame me!) Acording to them LG is losing ground... and fast - in the reliability stakes!

I will try and put up snaps of the out door unit sitting next to a couple of Samsungs. I have already been asked by everyone in my building if I'd bought a 3-4 tonner!

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by kb100

The 'National at my parents place is over 24 yrs old - still going strong!
......

They also were of the opinion that Onida's faliure rate is negligible - far below the LG's (This is their statement - pls dont flame me!) Acording to them LG is losing ground... and fast - in the reliability stakes!

Why would I flame you?
Recall what I had posted earlier about my LGs:

Originally Posted by anupmathur

I have been using two of them (a 2 ton split and a 1.6 ton window-unit) for the last four years. Very good service so far. I am almost expecting to have to replace one or the other soon, unlike my Hitachi and National units that have put in an honest decade's work already!

This expectation is based on what I have seen happening to Lgs owned by friends. OK, I've been lucky so far, but the day is not far!

[kb100]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

Why would I flame you?
Recall what I had posted earlier about my LGs:


This expectation is based on what I have seen happening to Lgs owned by friends. OK, I've been lucky so far, but the day is not far!

Oh.. I didn't mean you Anup!

I intend to fix one in my living room.. That will definitely be a Hitachi - if for nothing else just to try it! Only waiting to see if my shift is confirmed..

[harry10]

Originally Posted by kb100

According to the manual, the input power is 1650 Watts. Its has a 5 Star rating.. EER of 11.06 ( 18254BTU/1650W) translating to a BEE rating of 3.10. This is amongst the highest in the 1.5ton segment. Lets hope its not a paper tiger!

Congrats KB. SO finally its done. Was busy on the weekend so couldnt check updates. So 3 days of usage and i feel you are quiet happy and content with it rite?
Am using an LG 1.5ton for last 3-4 years and well its not bad but it take some time to cool the room and i am left wanted some more(mind you my room is not very big and imo is sufficient for a 1.5ton). So am looking to buy the same Onida unit which you have bought in april. As mentioned earlier i found the ratios of Onida at par with Hitachi and also the compressor is same so wont like to spend 7-8k more. Also i like Onida's shining display.
Can you post some pics of the AC to give us a better picture how it looks(though i rem vaguely its all glassy kinds)

[bblost]

Originally Posted by bblost

A little OT but.

Does spreading a layer of white paint or plaster of paris on the terrace help in keeping the top floor cool?

MY Update.

I bought a 5 kg bag of Surya Cool cement.
Cost 175/-

Instructions on mixing and preparing are printed on the bag. Its very simple.
There is a bag labelled Part A. It is added to 9 L of water. Part B is the remainder in the bag. Add that to the water and keep stirring it dissolves completely without any lumps. You may need to use your hands. Its washable and leaves no stains.

Part B is very dusty and so has to be added slowly. If you try to empty it directly you will end up with dust in your face.

Sweep the terrace area before application.
To apply I used a Sponge mop. Dip and apply.
Took me a good one hour to finish.
Some portions of my terrace were smooth cement. A part of it was rough.
The smooth surface was very easy to apply. For the rough area I simply poured the contents and spread it around using the mop.

Definitely recommended.

For less than 175 (cement) + 50 (Mop, I had a old one that I used) the effect is a good loss in the heat.

The joy of working with your hands. Priceless.

[Technocrat]

Last year around the same time I was hunting for an AC & after reading & going through one & all decided on Bluestar 1.5 ton one. I must admit I am satisfied customer as the ac cools well & the electricity bills didnt pinch either

A few technical guy whom I talked to later said there are 3 level\categories in AC

Top Level

- O General, Hitachi & Diakin

Middle Level

- Voltas, Bluestar, Carrier

Lower Level

- LG, Samsung, etc

A few of the Indian Brands use Hitachi Compressors in some of their high end models. I believe Onida too uses them.

[esteem_lover]

I would not put voltas in the middle level

[harry10]

Voltas should be in lower level and LG in middle level.

[9thsphinx]

O General, Panasonic and Samsung are good ones...

[Technocrat]

Even I was surprised to hear that Voltas is at a higher level than LG Samsung. Anyways I have not categorized them myself, just posting from what I heard from a few technicians(atleast 3, each from different company) whom I spoke to.

[extreme_torque]

I havent had good experience with my LG 1.6 ton and this isnt regards to the cooling. Its cools fine but my lord is it noisy and the reason for that is there is absolutely no damping at all. The AC components are just placed on the chassis with no thermocol or any other damping material. I have improvised and have put in eraser pieces at strategic places to make it less hysterical while running. Also within a year the infrared receiver has gone bust. Can anyone tell me where can I get the receiver for the infra-red on the A/C unit replaced or repaired? If I call up LG they will change the whole unit and it will cost me a bomb.

[harry10]

Have broken my LG a/c remote. Can i get it after market from somewhere?