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Team, need your inputs.
I have a Voltas and Godrej split AC which was not in use since last 4 years. They were boxed up since in my previous rented house they had ACs already installed.
Now I have shifted, installed these two ACs, but both are low or nil on gas.
The AC technician says it will be around 2500 for complete filling for each unit. Is the amount correct?
P.S. I am in Chennai.

I got the gas filled in my LG A/C thru their service & yes they charged me 2.5K for one but he(A/C mechanic) said if I were to go directly to him, it would be about 1,500. So anything from 1-1.5K if done by a independent mechanic.

Please also consider that the main cost is of gas which is around Rs.1800 per Kg. Refilling might involve just topping up of gas (20%-30%) or a complete refill (90%-100%). I am assuming that your case is the latter, which means the cost of gas incurred is much more. Just my two cents.

There was no cooling & it hadn't been used since 9 months & he claimed that it was empty. But that is what LG charges for a recharge. There is no way to know how much gas they fill is there?

Bought a replacement AC for our 14 year old LG, went for Panasonic inverter.

Panasonic

Just went for the basic model, usage pattern: almost daily during summer other times its sporadic.

Price 40,900 + 1000 for installation.

Congratulations! That's what I want.

There are a lot of bells and whistles available from Panasonic. Not only does the top-of-the-range stuff (and I see there is new model since I was looking before) have stuff that is unneeded, some of it may even be unwanted. For instance, I dislike sitting in a direct draught --- so why would I want an AC that follows me around the room! I don't.

Thanks. This is the replacement for the AC in the master bedroom. Last month we have used the AC(14 year old LG) in the master bed room for approx 6-7 hours daily. There was a spike of 204 units in our electricity bill, approx 1 -1.1 Units per hour. Not bad for a 14 year old unit, eh.

The main reason to go for the inverter model is the comfort, dad is pretty happy with the one in the clinic.

Speaking of the top of the range, Check this one, ~75 K INR.

This was our last purchase.
The above one is used regularly (dad's clinic), till Dec 2015 approx 40-45 hours weekly after that ~10-12 hours weekly. So far, so good.

The 14 year old LG will help revive her sister(retired in 2012 to guest bed room) who once performed the above duty. Currently the compressor is so loud that no one can sleep peacefully. But it is hardly used, 10 - 15 times every year.

@ecenandu; You can replace the compressor of the old AC with a new one, if it is mechanically sound. You will also get substantial power savings. Most probably the compressor and the capillaries will have to be replaced.

Thanks for the suggestion. But now it will be hardly used, sir and as per my calculation it is consuming ~1-1.1 Units per hour for a set temperature of 24C.

Finding a competent and trustworthy AC mechanic is also a challenge for us.

Aren't there any 5 star inverter ACs? I seem to find only 3 star ones.

Nope there are 5 stars one, like this one.

3 to 5 star price delta is around 12 to 15K INR with similar feature. Some stats from 3 star Vs 5 star (Panasonic).

Annual consumption (kWhr) (1600 hrs, I believe) - 846.86 (5 star) Vs 1110(3 Star).

Thanks for the inputs guys.
Got it filled yesterday from a local mechanic.
Total for 2 units came to Rs.4000/-.
Both had to be filled completely.

Does the flap on these machines go to pointing right down? This is essential, as my wife sits near the machine and needs her blast of cold air.

When we were buying our used local-street combo special, at first we had an LG indoor unit. It froze me at the other end of the room, but did nothing for Mrs G, as the flap only went a few degrees below horizontal.

Rating an inverter system is tricky. Most have a maximum rating above the stated tonnage. Also, one other parameter is the turn down ratio or whatever it is called. This is the minimum rating the unit can run at. One good parameter is the EER which is essentially the ratio of the cooling and the power (max). gives you a good idea. So the star ratings may not be the best parameters. Yes, I have seen some 4 and even 5* systems, but this has to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Really fed up of the AC repair business. We have Panasonic AC's at our home. One of them has stopped functioning. We called up the repair guys and they said it requires a gas filling. We did that. It worked for another 2 hours and again stopped working. Now the repair guys are saying that the compressor has gone bust and he is charging 11k to repair it.

I think the quality of AC's has really gone down. I am thinking what to do - replace the compressor which comes only with few months of warranty or buy a new AC altogether.