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

Hi Everyone,

A couple of weeks ago I wanted to start using my Air Conditioner due to the rising temperature. I own a LG Inverter V 1.5 ton unit.
The AC hadn't been used for the last 5 months. And I wanted to have it throughly cleaned before I started it.

Roundabout this time last year the AC was still in the first year of operation and so I called the LG service people to clean it up. They charged about Rs. 600 for cleaning it but I wasn't satisfied with the job done. So I was apprehensive about calling them this time around. Wanted to do it myself. But my experience in cleaning a split AC only involved washing the filters every 45 days.So I looked it up on YouTube and found several videos about this type of cleaning...

https://youtu.be/DswSrqOHXsw

Does anyone provide this type of cleaning service for Split AC'S in India?
Does anyone know if we can get these cleaning supplies, especially the catchment bag, in India?

Soon as I started watching the video, I realised that this type of cleaning is the only viable option for prolonging Split AC life in Indian conditions.

I guess all of us would benefit if someone could shed some light on this type of cleaning service being available in India!

Quote:

Originally Posted by saviouravenger (Post 3960326)

Does anyone know if we can get these cleaning supplies, especially the catchment bag, in India!

this is so good and wish it were available here. Maybe a good business idea. We can try a DIY with a pressure washer and a customized bag!!
I got a deep cleaning done where they remove the IDU and clean it with a chemical/foam, costed 1500 and was offered by Daikin last year. It does a similar job but with a risk of gas leaks in the future due to repeated removal and fitment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diyguy (Post 3960431)

There are a couple of brands offering coil cleaning chemical/foam on Amazon.in but it's the catchment bag that really allows us to throughly cleanse the coils and fins in the IDU using a pressure washer.

In all the videos of this type of cleaning, they only remove the front cover of the IDU; what did Daikin do different to warrant concern regarding gas leaks?

Quote:

Originally Posted by saviouravenger (Post 3960456)

In all the videos of this type of cleaning, they only remove the front cover of the IDU; what did Daikin do different to warrant concern regarding gas leaks?

The gas is pumped back into the compressor and the pipes are disconnected. The IDU is then removed, taken for a wash, dried and reconnected back. There is usually some gas leak and if shoddy workmanship then you are in for trouble.

Hello

We are using three different Samung Split ACs from last six years and have been satisfied with them. This year, we are looking to buy Samsung 1.5T Inverter AC but the poor sales experience has put us off.

We are looking for Daikin Inverter ACs but it is entirely new brand to us. Also they provide 5 Year Compressor warranty whilst Samsung/LG's 10 years.

On Specs sheet, the Daikin M and P series look much more promising than Samsung.

Please share your valuable feedback on it.

Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by optimist (Post 3956189)

Here is where my evaluation table is. Its a consolidation of data from various catalogues for reference.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing
Hope someone finds it useful. Will try to keep it updated for this summer.

Edit:
The inverter quality and feature set are in this series order M>P>H

Thanks :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by procrastinator (Post 3961597)

Daikin is a good brand. Even I got to know about the Daikin brand much later(along with General). It is just that they are not too common and don't advertise much. Hitachi is also one such brand. It has built a good reputation for itself but it is easily available in multi-brand stores like Chroma and Reliance Digital, making it easy for the customers to go for it.
ACs of Daikin, General and Mitsubishi are a bit hard to find(comparatively).
Brands like Daikin and Hitachi should be preferred over LG and SAMSUNG.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AYP (Post 3961605)

Daikin is a good brand. Even I got to know about the Daikin brand much later(along with General). It is just that they are not too common and don't advertise much. Hitachi is also one such brand. It has built a good reputation for itself and more importantly, it is easily available in multi-brand stores like Chroma and Reliance Digital, causing many customers to go for it.
ACs of Daikin, General and Mitsubishi are a bit hard to find(comparatively).
Brands like Daikin and Hitachi should be preferred over LG and SAMSUNG.

We have 3 Hitachi - 2 window and 1 split and 1 Daikin Inverter. All are good, as long as the service backup is there.

For Daikin Inverter, you have to get them installed by Daiking authorised installers if you want warranty. Please make sure (from Daikin site) that the installers are authorised, as there are many sellers who are not authorised to install, but claim so. The pipe are of larger diameter than normal splits.

Speaking of Washing bags I picked up a wash bag on my recent trip to Singapore. Still havent opened it up or used it. I didnt buy the kit with the sprayer and cleaning liquid because it was bulky and weight issues.
I had seen this type of washing bags earlier and couldnt it here or for a resonable price with international shipping online so I bought some plastic sheeting to make a slide and splash cover sort of arrangement which would allow water to slide into a bucket while washing with pump sprayer. Also didnt end up using this and finally picked up the bag for about Rs 1800. Silly me realised later that I can use on other ACS in the house except mine because I have a wooden box covering the outlet hole in one corner of my AC so I will not be able to put the bag flush with the wall :P.

Im also planning on getting some micro/carbon filter sheets for the AC in case anyone is in for a group buy ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aroy (Post 3961625)

We have 3 Hitachi - 2 window and 1 split and 1 Daikin Inverter. All are good, as long as the service backup is there.

Think twice before going for Daikin. Visit Daikin India Facebook page and see the quality of their service. As I write this post, I have a Daikin 1.5tr Inverter AC sitting in my balcony, waiting for installation, which I bought from their authorized dealer from Bangalore on 15th April. And when I contacted Daikin support, I realized, customer support is worse than dealer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mortis (Post 3961838)

Im also planning on getting some micro/carbon filter sheets for the AC in case anyone is in for a group buy ?

Thank you for offering.

I have 3 kits coming in from Australia in a couple of weeks! I'm covered for now!

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmangat (Post 3961974)

Daikin are no longer worthy of the premium reputation of their past!

Started hearing from family and friends about how the quality of service from Daikin had fallen. Even more complaints after Daikin started manufacturing in India. Poor Quality control I guess.

My own experience with Daikin....
2 years ago, had a Samsung window AC conk off in the middle of summer. Out of warranty period and Samsung weren't responding to my calls. Had to hire a AC repair person from the classifieds. Guy was completely unprofessional and ended up with the unit worse than before. Blamed the whole fiasco on Samsung making bad AC's and left. Had to wait for Samsung to eventually turn up and fix the unit. Cost me quite a bit.
Same week, was at the main Daikin dealership in my city to purchase a Inverter split AC and ran across the same AC technician. Dealer introduced him as his most experienced technician. Cancelled the purchase and later went for LG Inverter V. 2 years down the line and still happy with my decision!

Really scared to go for a/c after reading the service stories of reputed brands like Daikin.15 days for an installation.. that is simply unforgivable. Most of the dealers mentioned in Daikin website at least in Bangalore are dingy looking shops with total unprofessional attitude. I think only Korean brands have somewhat acceptable service standards at least in this part of the country. This explains why you see brands like Daikin, Hitachi etc not popular outside this forum among general public.

Quote:

Originally Posted by procrastinator (Post 3961597)

We are looking for Daikin Inverter ACs but it is entirely new brand to us. Also they provide 5 Year Compressor warranty whilst Samsung/LG's 10 years.

On Specs sheet, the Daikin M and P series look much more promising than Samsung.

Please share your valuable feedback on it.

I swear by Daikin after having them for about 5 years in the house. We have 2 regular Daikins, and 2 large 2.5 ton inverter acs. The Daikins are silent and cool excellently. None have given a single issue. Also have a General window ac, which cools well but makes a lot of fan noise which seems to be the norm with general splits and window acs. Have one Samsung split which is surviving with less usage, though we had the coils replaced from aluminium to copper a few years ago. The Samsung is just average, and the lcd display conked off partially within 2 years of purchasing. Also have one 2.5 ton Mitsubishi Electric 2.5 ton which is great, very similar to the Daikin.

As for service, I have a local AC chap who is an authorized Daikin dealer who comes to service all the ACs.

So to sum it up, the Daikins are my personal favourite and I don't think I'm moving to any other brand any time soon.

I think the popularity of a brand varies from city to city and a brand cannot be generalized as good or bad.

The important factor is the AC unit as such must be well built and of good quality. That in itself will ensure that there will be less maintenance overhead.

I am using a LG split 1.5 ton for the past 7 years and it is used for nearly 6 months an year for 7-8 hours at night.It has given me zero niggles till date. No gas recharge, no parts breaking down etc. The blower noise is present but since i am used to fan noise it does not bother me much. The unit as such is built very robust. Probably the current gen AC's are not built to last and coupled with bad customer care(brand-city specific) the brand takes a beating.

From the experience of AC's used in my family in Bangalore, i can suggest the top 3 as

1.Mitsubishi
2.LG
3.Panasonic

They make excellent robust units(especially Mitsubishi) and are backed with sound customer care support in my city