Team-BHP - The home / office air-conditioner thread

Inverter AC are designed to run in synchronization with room temperature. They are more efficient as
. The compressor runs continuously, so no energy is wasted while starting (the starting current can as high as five times the starting current)
. The AC compressor slows down/ speeds up in response to the room temperature. That gives the room an even temperature and most of the time it is working at 20-30% of full capacity. The motor efficiency is quite high so on the whole your electricity consumption is reduced.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aroy (Post 3451607)

... so on the whole your electricity consumption is reduced.

But I find it amazing that makers are now claiming 70% savings in power bills!! :Frustrati
When Panasonic first introduced inverter ACs they claimed 'upto 30%' savings, and even that was an unsubstantiated claim, highly dependent on specific conditions on where the AC was being used.
There is no magic in this world; the laws of Physics rule supreme.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fine69 (Post 3451493)

Then I think its gimmicks by the manufacturers because almost all say the same thing. I once did ask that if the valve is there to prevent the discharge then why would there be a recharge necessary to which they said there is some leakage always and if I run the AC without adequate gas I'm looking at damaging the unit etc. As per some guys the gas in the pipe is also significant quantity and during uninstallation that gas is leaked.

Probably that was all farce but I'm not sure how this thing works. I think a pressure check should help one gauge whether he needs a gas recharge or not.

Gas leakage is the most common bluff played by the ac technician, and like breeze he can make you 1000/- lighter, those of you with an engineering background know that ac and fridge have the same mechanism, so how often you fill gas in your fridge, never right?

Then why in an ac?, since you are on this forum I assume that all of us have technical bent of mind and hence please start questioning for everything and ask for validations and evidence, and do not accept answers based on lame excuse of experience

This gas filling con game had been popularised by auto mechanics a decade ago and now been adapted by residential ac technician

They can measure the gas pressure and you see the readings yourself, and check against the given rating in the manual, even 15% variation will not matter much, and if there is a frequent leakage, the he ends to tell you why? Gas is a not consumable item and cannot reduce just like that

Jagoo grahak jagoo

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Quote:

Originally Posted by diyguy (Post 3451321)

My Daikin 3 year old AC is not cooling. Reading here, decided to call for a service. The service team from Rathna Fan House are quoting 1200 for a dry service - indoor and outdoor unit and 2400 + freight charges for a wet service to take it to their service center and do a thorough wash and bring back.
I will have them check gas levels etc, but isnt this pricing excessive?

Call diakin service centre, they may be cheaper and also you will get accountability out of them

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Currently inverter air conditioners being sold here show 46 degree Celsius as the upper operating limit. Hitachi claims 50C for some models but I am sure that somewhere in the fine print it will say "non inverter" model.

Daikin and Sharp are both good. Currently Sharp is supposed to have the best service set up but then it was Daikin who was the pace setter in this arena. Can't go wrong with either. Sharp does come with a complete install kit, the Daikin does not. Sharp has an all aluminium heat exchanger, Daikin has copper tubing with AL fins.

Quote:

Originally Posted by saurabhb2000 (Post 3451584)

Hello Folks

I am considering buying an invertor split 1.5 ton.

How is Sharp AH-X18PET compared to diakin ftkp. I dont need fancy features , but an ac that can work in 48-50 C, and is durable, cost effective.
Any suggestions for brand/model?

thanks,

The charges are exorbitant. As suggested above call up a Daikin dealer and get it done from them. Am sure been Rathna Fan house will outsource the service to some neighbourhood Johnny and are merely adding their charges on top.

Here in Dilli, I paid 450 for wet service of splits and 300 for the window units at the beginning of this season(April). Even though we are in the middle of summers, the service charges have not moved much, maybe an additional 50 to 100 bucks depending on the service provider~customer equation. Do not see why charges should be any higher in Madras.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diyguy (Post 3451321)

but isnt this pricing excessive?

Why not switch the fan off and rotate it by hand as you go along. Will be a bit more time consuming but will leave you only with dirty hands besides a clean axial fan.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 3451786)

So I took the ladder and a paint brush, put each AC in fan mode, slow, and worked along the fan, getting myself and the rooms covered in quite a lot of black muck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anupam

Fridges do sometimes need a gas reflll, but it is important to remember that gas only needs filling because it has leaked, and to refill without the leak[s] being found and fixed is ensuring another bill for another fill in the near future.

Had a filthy day yesterday. Two split AC units, producing hardly any draught and reduced cooling. One of them icing up with the fan on anything less than full. I would have liked to be lazy and watched someone else do it, but our AC man is hard to get for anything but a complete breakdown, especially during the hottest days of the year.

So I took the ladder and a paint brush, put each AC in fan mode, slow, and worked along the fan, getting myself and the rooms covered in quite a lot of black muck.

Both machines are now quieter and giving good, cool draught.

Apart from cleaning the air filters (yes, I did that too) this is the simplest DIY job with the biggest effect. It is not fun to do, but the result is worth it.

(And I think I post this about once a year!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by saurabhb2000 (Post 3451584)

I was quoted 42k for this Sharp model against 43k for Daikin's FTKP. Of course Sharp comes with the kit which would be another 2-2.5k cheaper but I'm not sure if its a better model compared to Daikin's FTKP.

I being handed over a 1 tonne Samsung window AC. The room I intend to fix the AC is 13'X12'. I understand it needs a 1.5 tonne AC. I shall be using the AC sparingly. Keeping the temp around 25 or 26 degree celcius. Seldom less than that. Please help me understand if there are any gross downsides. My basic understanding of thermodynamics tells me that the AC will have to work harder (increased compressor running). I am not sure if window AC (4 years old) have an ambient temp sensor to plan the cooling. Which means that the AC will work assuming the room is 10'X10'. And therefore the cooling will be less effective. Your thoughts please.

The install kit will cost you nothing short of 5-6K

Quote:

Originally Posted by fine69 (Post 3451788)

In Bombay a 1ton machine would suffice for a 13' x 12' room.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dushmish (Post 3451941)

I being handed over a 1 tonne Samsung window AC. The room I intend to fix the AC is 13'X12'. I understand it needs a 1.5 tonne AC. I

Quote:

Originally Posted by khoj (Post 3452014)

The install kit will cost you nothing short of 5-6K

Are the installation charges also waived off in case of Sharp?

I paid the following -
Installation - 1500
Copper tube - 1950 (3 meter)
Drain pipe - 240 (3 meter)
Power Cord - 1000 (10 meter)
Power Plug - 60
Stand - 750

Then I paid 930 additional as I had to move the ODU the next day, 2 mtr extra power cord, 6 mtr extra drain pipe and fasterners for the stand

A total of 6430/- for the installation

Quote:

Originally Posted by khoj (Post 3439439)

Sharp best reported service; good machines, aluminium..

Panasonic next in service, good machines, copper. No kit (correct me if I am wrong)

Daikin expensive(you might be lucky to score R22 inverters that will fall in your budget),

General, even more expensive, well engineered machines

Mitsubishi Electric, again the quality is impeccable, service is on par with General and right now they are the only ones with fully imported machines.

Hitachi, Love to hate them. Mixed bag.

>>>

Bottomline :

1. General
2. Mitsubishi
3. Daikin

All with copper coils.

With the rising temperatures everywhere, performance at 40-45-50 degrees Celsius will count.

Regards