[diyguy]

Saw an O'G window in my barber shop. Was amazed at the throw and silence. It was 15 feet away but I was able to feel the push on my face. Don't know why my O'G window was so pathetic and died in 3 years! The staff there didn't know the capacity but thought it was 2T.

[JonSnow]

Originally Posted by saviouravenger

AVOID THEM.
My sister purchased one of these Reliance Reconnect Split AC's. She bought the sales executives pitch about warranty and efficency for a low price. She assumed it would serve her needs for a few years and then she'd trade up. But the unit conked off soon. Service was really bad. They repaired the damage rather than replace the faulty components. Got the unit working but it wouldn't cool below 24°C and power consumption spiked. Heard about similar product failures from a reseller when we tried to trade the unit in whilst purchasing a new AC. Guy told us he'd never be able to sell it himself.

Thanks. I did have my suspicions about it. Now I will definitely avoid it.

[Fillmore]

I am in for a 1 Ton Split A/c , the bed room that I plan to install it is just 12x12 ft.
so I assume 1Ton would suffice.

Now between Inverter and non Inverter, I did read up few recent posts where people had different opinions.
Question to those who were against Inverter, do you have any first hand experience of Inverter models failing / Warranty not honored Or anything else due to which you are suggesting against Inverter ?

[lurker]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Not a very useful response; little more than hearsay, but I seem to remember someone saying that they are not really interested in domestic customers. It was a year or three ago.

my gut instinct tells me that Blue Star VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow) types (1 outdoor unit connected to multiple indoor units) are commercial type and thus will have their commercial service engineer who are pretty good. For those with space constraints and multiple room requirements should consider this option.

VRF are also inverter types.

[Rajeevraj]

Anyone heard of/ uses this portable air conditioner

http://www.cromaretail.com/Super-Gen...30854-355.aspx

Saw it in Croma today and seemed to be interesting. It's a Croma branded product.

[iss1307]

Check our Sharp's AC. It is a real power saver. You can select whether you want to run between 600W, 800W or 1000W.
It also has an Ionizer which is a big boon.
Just search about it.

[JonSnow]

I came across an ad for Vestar ACs today. It seems to be from the same parent company as General but it's a cheaper range. Can't find any reviews anywhere. Anyone aware of this brand?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by iss1307

Check our Sharp's AC. It is a real power saver. You can select whether you want to run between 600W, 800W or 1000W.
It also has an Ionizer which is a big boon.
Just search about it.

Wonderful... until it goes wrong. Please see my posts on the last couple of pages.

Not recommended

[Bomi]

Recently purchased a Hitachi 1 ton 5 star Kampa split AC. Did not consider any other brand as my previous experience with Hitachi was very good. Turned out, to be poor judgement.

After installation the indoor unit was quite noisy even at the lowest speed setting, particularly in the night, when you really want silence. It was a like a steaming kettle going on and on. Called up the Hitachi service centre and as expected the rep gave the usual explanation that the noise level was 'normal'. When I narrated my previous experience of using really quiet Hitachi splits, he became more voluble and divulged that Hitachi has reduced the dimensions of the indoor unit to make it more compact. However, to deliver the same volume of air, they had to increase the fan speeds. Hence, the noise even at the lowest speed setting. Seems true, because the indoor unit is 30% smaller than my previous Hitachi.

I am stuck with a 'steaming kettle sounding split AC' now.

Truly pathetic of a brand like Hitachi to kill their reputation in the country by resorting to this type of cost cutting.

[Su-47]

Originally Posted by Su-47

Need recommendations for airconditioning two rooms (120 and 150 sqft). Priorities:
1. Hassle free ownership - preferably something that doesn't break down. If it does break down, should have great service support. Basically, Maruti Suzuki of airconditioners :-)
2. Quiet
3. I live in Bangalore, and the AC will not be used for more than 3 months, so presume efficiency is not a prime concern.

Also, the installation is somewhat complicated so recommendations about an installer who can treat my home with some empathy would be great.

Based on a friend's recommendation, bought a Toshiba Inverter AC and it is ridiculously quiet. The ODU is pretty silent as well. When it is silent outside in the nights, I can hear a Samsung ODU which is 3 floors down but not this one which is only 5 feet away.

To add a data point to inverter vs. non-inverted debate: Toshiba provides compressor warranty for 5 years for fixed speed splits, while it is only 3 years for inverter-ACs. It could be because the inverters are expected to be used more than fixed ones, or the fixed speed compressors are more robust. What do the experts have to say about this?

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by Su-47

... It could be because the inverters are expected to be used more than fixed ones, or the fixed speed compressors are more robust. What do the experts have to say about this?

Is that because inverter ACs do not cut off at all? Is that how they 'get used' more?
The warranty period tells you all you need to know, even if you are loathe to believe it. One more thing to bear in mind is that there is an expensive 'motherboard' that contains all the electronics to control these ACs. These boards are located in the outdoor unit, exposed to the extremes of temperature, dust and pollution! When this board goes kaput you are again looking at major expense. What is the guarantee on this piece of hardware?

[Su-47]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

The warranty period tells you all you need to know, even if you are loathe to believe it. One more thing to bear in mind is that there is an expensive 'motherboard' that contains all the electronics to control these ACs. These boards are located in the outdoor unit, exposed to the extremes of temperature, dust and pollution! When this board goes kaput you are again looking at major expense. What is the guarantee on this piece of hardware?

One year! Well I knew about the electronics being exposed, but couldn't resist the temptation of owning something with vector control .

Jokes apart, the ability of the inverters to run on half/quarter power allows them to be usable on DG power in places like mine that don't have full power backup. Then there is the aspect of quietness and lesser temperature fluctuations as the compressor can run at lower speeds instead of only on/off.

Even though I wanted ease of ownership, I couldn't ignore the comfort aspect of inverters. Fingers crossed and hoping it doesn't cause too much trouble!

[TheIndian]

Originally Posted by TheIndian

2 Bedrooms - 125 & 130 sq ft - Is 1 Ton enough or 1.5 ton required? I may go for Inverter ACs though these will be used only for 4-5 months a year (8-10 hours a day) due to uniform temperature levels that Inverte ACs maintain throughout. If not inverter, then 3 star

Originally Posted by Jaggu

1 ton is more than enough for cooling and maintaining the chill level, 1.5 ton would help in faster initial cooling by couple of minutes.

I would say go with 5 star rated ones since you save power and use AC less than 6 months, which may not make a financial sense for inverter types additional cost.

Inverters for 2 bedrooms are ruled out though I still like the comfort it can provide by maintaining uniform temperatures throughout the time without cutting off. However, I've read so many reviews about higher probability of issues cropping up in Inverters in PCB in outdoor (& also indoor) units & decided to give it a pass as of now.

So, decided to go for 5 Stars in 2 bedrooms as Jaggu mentioned. 2-3K price difference over 3 star and in that I get the "highest" star rated AC as of now & about 15% electricity saving.

Living room / Drawing Room/ dining/ Kitchen - it's all open and total area comes to 400 - 450 sq ft. Thinking 2 no.s of 1.5 Ton 3 star ACs

Originally Posted by Jaggu

This is what i meant, ideally you need some physical partition to keep the cooling effective with just one AC since it won't be able to efficiently cool the entire open area. It will cool but area away from unit would be less cool and technically over working the ac/wasting energy. Easiest way out is to have a roof level curtain that can be drawn, this is not 100% efficient but easiest to create some physical block.

Now other option is to have a tower but that is an expensive and cumbersome one. Or look at a powerful single unit cassette AC (at the center) doing duty.

I'm told that Cassette AC may be difficult to fit in a residential flat as it requires more than 1.5 foot height below ceiling.

In case of 2 AC's on both the sides, I'm told that it'll be advisable to start both the ACs first and then after half an hour turn off the AC on the other side that you're not occupying (Drawing or Dining)

So, still contemplating - It's either 2 units of 1.5 T each or a 2 T on drawing room/ Living room side & 1.5 T on Dining / kitchen side. All 3 stars

Blue Star, Voltas & Panasonic with Blue Star currently leading the race.

Blue Star is almost final now

[khoj]

Hi T E G, that was me and nothing seems to have changed up until now.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Not a very useful response; little more than hearsay, but I seem to remember someone saying that they are not really interested in domestic customers. It was a year or three ago.

Originally Posted by sgiitk

How can Blue Star command any respect. At one time they were rebranding locally assembled window units? Old memories last a very long time.

Originally Posted by harry10

Had blue star split Ac's in my last gym. The cooling was nothing short of pathetic. Panasonic is much better and have heard good reviews from people using it.

You should seriously reconsider the decision.

Originally Posted by TheIndian

Blue Star is almost final now

I read in an earlier post where you were lamenting Daikin being manufactured in India. I do not understand why that is perceived to be such a bad thing. The ODUs are of same if not better quality than those that were/are being imported. It is the fit and finish of the IDUs that is yet to catch up but then the models with indigenous IDUs are positioned at the price conscious customers who want a better quality machine overall and an aspirational brand to boot. There are models that come with imported IDUs, the local dealer will be better able to guide you.

If fit/finish and quality are a major focus, you should consider their Ururu Sarara range with the 1.5T model priced at 1,31,000/- and before you start on the pricing, be informed that it was retailing @ 1,63,000/- last season and has a heat pump to boot along with a fresh air vent feature that actually works.

I am not advocating that you buy Daikin, however you can do better than going for BS.

If you are buying 6 machines, in todays market conditions that makes you a prize catch for all brands. Recommend that you get in touch with the companies directly and get them to put you in touch with their lead dealers(sales cum service) in your neighbourhood for a competitive deal and hopefully above average installation & service.

BTW what is an AC consultant?

[su_madness]

The Sharp service story scares me. Though so far the competent service guy has showed up promptly for regular service here. Has anyone tried Lloyd? Have seen them in a few places. Prices are really good. 1 ton 5 star at 26.5k, inverter ones also around 30k with 5 years full warranty(not just on compressor) that too with copper. Heard Videocon is also giving such an offer. Mouth watering prices - 27k for 1.5ton 5star.