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

Quote:

Originally Posted by asheet (Post 3976259)

Hi
I have a 8 Yr old Carrier 2T Split AC with Hermitically Sealed compressor.
Below are the issues I am facing :-
1. Indoor Unit Fan Capacitor 2.5mfd (Just like ceiling fan's) goes bad within a few days. It had been changed by local AC mechanic. Now I don;t know what was rating of original capaictor. If anyone has any input for Cap rating, pl share asap.

2. When AC Compressor is running, cooling is good. But it makes a hissing sound (in indoor unit) which doesn't go away. Before Compressor comes on, the AC is silent. What could be making this hissing noise?
Thanks

1. Check online for similar fans.

2. The hissing sound is gas expanding in the front condenser. It is expansion of compressed gas that creates cooling. It is quite pronounced in older designs, nothing to be alarmed of.

General has been Fujitsu's brand since it's launch.

The O in O General is nothing more than their logo which shows the 'F' of fujitsu encircled in the round periphery.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anupam (Post 3971545)

General AC was acquired by Fujitsu quite some time back, and in India is manufactured in Chennai.

You have been very lucky with the brand, I have had poor experiences with them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan (Post 3971658)

Not quite sure why you say this. I own 3 Blue Star units, one which is probably a decade old and all of them work without a hitch. Post installation, I've never had to call their engineers even once. The upkeep and regular maintenance I do myself.

I can't speak for other parts of the country but considering the location of the FM, which is Trivandrum, the service support for Blue Star is excellent.

My recent visit to the market in Dilli says otherwise. I was offered the General inverter hot and cold machine for 63000/- and the similarly specced Mitsubishi unit was offered at 54000/-

Quote:

Originally Posted by ece2k2 (Post 3972476)

General Inverter units that I purchased 6 months back were fully imported ones from Thailand - not sure about the current situation. General is less expensive than Mitsubishi though and Mitsubishi still imports the units from Thailand I guess

This is typical of LG machines. They were not designed to operate at the constantly high (let's say 38C~40C & above) ambient that we have North of the Vindhyas. The machine trips to save the compressor from complete failure and remains in the safe mode. Nothing to worry about wait for the weather to ease up a bit, it will be back to normal.

The company claims to have resolved the issue in the current designs by providing better compressors and larger condensers with high speed fans. My money however stays on the Japanese.

Quote:

Originally Posted by barcalad (Post 3974298)

Folks, I have a LG 1.5 Ton Window AC on rent in my bedroom.

Since the past few days, the AC compressor shuts off and doesn't cool the room between in the region between 3 PM - 6 PM. Other than that, it works perfect on all other times.

It happened yesterday, so I cleaned the air filters.
It has happened again today and the compressor shut off with a thud barely 5 minutes back. The compressor isn't switching on now and probably will after a few hours.

Any solutions to this? Tried to search online but no plausible solution.

Hitachi, General, Panasonic, Sanyo, Videocon & Whirlpool are the various options, not posted in any particular order of preference etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VW2010 (Post 3975297)

Tried searching but couldn't find recent answer. Any suggestions on window AC 1.5 t.

Have to say that i have excellent experience with hitachi here in chennai including service.

With service out of question i have short listed hitachi, voltas and blue star. Any advice based on experience?

Capacitors are the most popular item for which fakes are sold across the country. With summer the demand goes up and availability of genuine stuff goes down and fakes flood the market.

Try and source a genuine product from a known source. Also try talking to some AC technicians regarding the correct rating. I think for the 2 tonner it should be 45mfd. Tag 'Anupam Mathur'. Mathur ji is probably the only one who would be able to help here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by asheet (Post 3976259)

So our faithful 8 years old Voltas conked off a few days back, the compressor is gone and i have no plans of spending money on it to get it repaired. My dad called me today to ask which new air conditioner to buy and since am not in India right now, i would have to rely on a little online research and help from fellow team bhp members.

So we need a 1.5 TR window ac, 5 star rated because this ac would run almost 24 hours for our sweet golden retriever and the difference between 3 star and 5 star ac's is not much.

Tried a little search and the only 5 star rated good window ac's are from Hitachi, have recently got a large Hitachi refrigerator and we are happy with it, the service seems fine in our area.

1. The Hitachi RAV518HUD costs 34k on Amazon and amazon is also running a 2.5k exchange offer + 1k amazon gift card.

2. There is another Hitach RAT518HUD at 35k and similar offer on Amazon.

3. One 5 star ac is from Voltas as well but not too keen on it as the units are very noisy and the ac has had its fair share of niggles when it was new.

What do you suggest? Split is not an option for us in this bedroom.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgiitk (Post 3979533)

@anupam; Eight years in my view is above the threshold for replacing the unit. So I agree taht he replaces the unit. I have a Hitachi 5* for three years, only issue is that after a wet service (same happened for my Daikin split as well) the motor had to be replaced. Otherwise it is excellent. Another point is though silent, my 12+ year old Videocons (0* I guess) are quieter.

Sir, excuse me for my ignorance,

we have refrigerator compressor running 24*7 with no issues, whereas AC runs seasonal and usually not 24*7

my own AC unit is now over 14 yrs old, running hail and hearty,

I am curious to understand what exactly goes wrong with the compressor in an AC vs Refrigerator

Sent from my iPad using Team-BHP

Sorry for just reading the last few threads before inputting my suggestions.

Huge difference between AC and refrigerators. In both case a temp control decides the switching on and off the compressor unit. A fridge is usually required to cool a fixed volume of space hence the compressor will be adequately sized for efficient cooling.

An AC on the other hand has to be sized based on the volume it needs to cover. I forgot the calculations and if any of you remember pls post it here. But in general I noticed that in India we usually go for the cheapest AC we can afford. The problem with this habit is that the AC will not be rated to provide the cooling capacity to cover your room. The temperature controller will hardly ever reach its cutoff point and hence the compressor will be required to run overtime.

My point here bring not surprised that your fridge outlives your AC. I have a kelvinator refrigerator at home that's older than me and still in working condition.

As for recommendations for an AC capable of running 24/7 I recommend you have a look at Carrier AC's. I speak from experience of the Rajasthan climate where one of this unit was installed on a container that is used as a control room for an oil and gas plant. Due to some reason only one AC was acquired and to keep all the equipment cool, this AC has to run 24/7. I was truly impressed by its performance. This unit I believe costs 35k plus and the best part is it has a 24vdc converter which results in power savings I'm told.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anupam (Post 3979887)

I have seen a refrigerator going strong after 50 years, even though it was very noisy. One of my own LGs is past its 16th birthday.

The issue is that While Goods have a decent life span of ten years, so if it fails after 7 years or more, might as well as replace it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by subarufan (Post 3979922)

Huge difference between AC and refrigerators. In both case a temp control decides the switching on and off the compressor unit.

Inverter type ACs do not switch off, are just slowed time.

Let me add another piece of information - if you have an old R12 refrigerator the refrigerant is a big issue - under the Montreal protocol R12 manufacture stopped ages ago. So the stuff you get will be recycled.

Modern refrigerators use Butane-Propane or (in some cases R134).

So my old LG whenever it calls it a day, will have to be scrapped.

Motors conking off after, actually it is more a case of "being damaged during" wet service is solely due to the sheer callousness of the servicing crew. All they need to do is wrap the motor nicely with plastic sheet/shopping bag and tape it up before spraying water. 10 out of 10 service guys will not do it and at least one out of the 10 customers will be stuck with a damaged motor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgiitk (Post 3979533)

I have a Hitachi 5* for three years, only issue is that after a wet service (same happened for my Daikin split as well) the motor had to be replaced. Otherwise it is excellent. Another point is though silent, my 12+ year old Videocons (0* I guess) are quieter.

As a private consumer or even a small/mid size corporate do not even think Carrier. They have some very good models but their service for the above sectors is nothing to write home about. They are best left for companies like Cairn/ONGC etc

If you want a rugged window unit, then ask your dealer to get you a 'GELF' specced 1.5 ton General AC complete with the old style reciprocating compressor. This unit will keep you chilled even at 50+. The front panel will have stuff printed in both English & Arabic.

Of course the General window now being sold locally with bill/warranty & the star rated rotary compressor is not bad either. It's far ahead of it's competition, very rugged and able to cool with ambient remaining stuck constantly in the high to very high 40s.

A General AC will only be let down by poor installation as I learnt first hand when I bought my first 1 tonner window complete with Arabic et all only for it to conk off on the first night itself. Of course that was a few eons ago and since then I have made it a point to stand on the head of the installers as well as service guys.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenjiRoss (Post 3980074)

Do you remember which Carrier model it is?

Quote:

Originally Posted by barcalad (Post 3974298)

Folks, I have a LG 1.5 Ton Window AC on rent in my bedroom.

Since the past few days, the AC compressor shuts off and doesn't cool the room between in the region between 3 PM - 6 PM. Other than that, it works perfect on all other times.

....and the compressor shut off with a thud barely 5 minutes back. The compressor isn't switching on now and probably will after a few hours.

Any solutions to this? Tried to search online but no plausible solution.

The compressor has an Over Load Protector (OLP) on its body which tries to protect the motor inside against over load. The OLP will trip usually when the compressor continues to draw high current. Check the mains supply for the normal supply. When the compressor is running it should be at least 220 V. If this is the case, then hook up an AC Ampere meter set at 20 A and check the current. If it is less than 10 A and stays steady, your OLP needs to be changed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prowler (Post 3980315)

The compressor has an Over Load Protector (OLP) on its body which tries to protect the motor inside against over load.

Quote:

Originally Posted by khoj (Post 3976833)

This is typical of LG machines. They were not designed to operate at the constantly high (let's say 38C~40C & above) ambient that we have North of the Vindhyas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EFF-EIGHT-BEE (Post 3974442)

Well the problem might be with the thermostat or either the compressor is overheating.

Thank you very much for your suggestions and help. Appreciate it.

Got the Air-Con serviced and they did a chemical wash. The amount of grime and dirt that came out can't be described in words. It was astonishing!

The coils, filters, compressor, fan and other components were washed, cleaned and dried. Post that, the AC has worked perfectly, even at the 3-7 PM window it used to earlier shut down on.

Guess it was the immense dirt and grime that caused the issue.