[Aroy]

Originally Posted by diyguy

Came home tonight to realize that my bedroom Daikin was not cooling. Checked my wifi switch monitor and realized the compressor when starting was drawing power way above the normal 1700w and kept rising till 3500w and finally turning off...........
Any idea what could be wrong? Busted capacitor?

Seems that the compressor is not able to start. It is trying and then gives up when the current drawn is excessive.

The reasons can be either capacitor blown, or motor seized. In either case you will need expert opinion.

[sgiitk]

@diyguy; I think Aroy is right. First get the capacitor checked out.Otherwise you are looking at a big expense.

[diyguy]

Thanks Aroy and sgiit sir. It was the capacitor and replacing it worked fine. However I am now noticing the ac running at a higher wattage than earlier. My ac used to consume around 1700w. How it is around 1800+. Don't know if the capacitor will have any effect on running as it is a startup capacitor only. He also mentioned he used a 50 microfarad rated one.
The second and third pics is of the one he removed from the Daikin.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by diyguy

.... My ac used to consume around 1700w. How it is around 1800+. Don't know if the capacitor will have any effect on running as it is a startup capacitor only. ....

The running current of an AC is never a constant number that can be committed to memory. The current varies depending on the ambient conditions. The variation can be as high as 20%.

[itwasntme]

diyguy,

Why don't you start a new thread with your Sonoff(?) smart home setup? I have just started with 4 basic switches with 4 more enroute from Aliexpress. Would be useful for us newbies!

[Aroy]

The running current will also depend on voltage. The higher the voltage the larger the current and faster the cooling. It is true the other way also.

[sgiitk]

@diyguy; Could be the other capacitor (running) also nearing the end of its life. If the starting is gone then can be the other also coming to the end of its life. Check it out.

[chaudh2s]

Originally Posted by Aroy

The running current will also depend on voltage. The higher the voltage the larger the current and faster the cooling. It is true the other way also.

Wrong! I think its the other way around. For fixed speed compressor, rated at say 1600W, if the voltage is higher, the current drawn would be less and if the voltage drop, the current increases. That's the reason why, for most electrical circuits low voltages are more harmful, as the current increases and blows off something or the another. Am no electrical engineer, but i guess i know the basics. W=pf*V*I

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by chaudh2s

Wrong! I think its the other way around. For fixed speed compressor, rated at say 1600W, if the voltage is higher, the current drawn would be less and if the voltage drop, the current increases. That's the reason why, for most electrical circuits low voltages are more harmful, as the current increases and blows off something or the another. Am no electrical engineer, but i guess i know the basics. W=pf*V*I

You are partially right.

Current increases as you move out of the designed voltage.
. At higher voltage the current rises (upto a certain limit), but so does the speed of the motor. The nett effect is marginally higher cooling in an AC, which may result in lower over all power consumption.

. At lower voltages, the current rises monotonically till the motor stalls. The motor efficiency also takes a hit and the temperature rises. This results in over all lowering of efficiency in AC.

The whole idea of using DC motor in appliances is to circumvent the above behaviour of motors to voltage fluctuations. While converting AC to DC, you use regulation circuitry to stabilise the DC Voltage.

A further benefit is that DC motors can be designed to operate efficiently in a wide band or RPM compared to AC motors.

http://www.ecmweb.com/design/highs-a...-motor-voltage

[hrman]

So I was on the lookout for a 1.5 ton AC for my living room.

I stay on the top floor with a terrace above my flat. The area of the hall just below the Fan does not have any outlet for letting hot air escape. The result was that in peak summers, the heat from the ceiling penetrated to the hall and the fan kept circulating this, causing an uncomfortable environment. My society people were not ready with painting the roof with coolpaint etc. so the only option was to install an AC in the hall.

I do have a Carrier 1.5 ton inverter in one bedroom and a Voltas 1.2T inverter in another bedroom. These are used sparingly (read 20-30 nights in a year). So was on a lookout for a similar one.

I didn't want Carrier as I already have it and I felt the sound from the AC is reasonably high at low levels and goes even higher at higher blower speeds. Wanted an AC which is relatively quieter so looked at Daikin and LG. The price was at similar levels, so decided to go with Daikin.

I bought FTKH50SRV16, Daikin 1.5T inverter 3 star from Paytm. It cost 35600 after cashback. The amount I saved on Cashback was spent in installation. The delivery was from Paytm, delivered in two days. Installation was done the next day. The charges were high. Since the distance of the IDU to the ODU was more it required the PVC drainage pipe, electric wire and 2.5 Mts of copper wire additional.
The technician was experienced and did a neat job. Am happy with the performance as of now. It is not as quiet as I expected. But much better than Carrier.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

diyguy,

Why don't you start a new thread with your Sonoff(?) smart home setup? I have just started with 4 basic switches with 4 more enroute from Aliexpress. Would be useful for us newbies!

I second this. Even i want to use these switches and monitor power consumption.

@diyguy, please consider starting a separate thread to share your knowledge on setting up and using this setup.

[Lobogris]

I have a couple of questions for the experts here:

1. When I first turn on two of my split ACs, I hear a hissing sound for a few seconds as presumably the refrigerant starts to flow. I always assumed this to be normal. The car AC in my Passat does the same as well. Today I was told by a senior technician that this means low refrigerant in the unit. Online advice indicates this means a leak. The ACs in question are Panasonic 1.5 ton split one year old and Koryo 1 ton split 3 years old. Both cool quite well with the vent temperature measured at 9 to 13 degrees. The Panasonic just got a gas top up last week under warranty but the same sound remains. There was a minor leak at the outside joint which was fixed. Do I need to worry about this or is it normal? Both units have R22.

2. Another split AC one ton Koryo inverter about two months old, has a little moisture/ condensation develop on the smaller (return) pipe joint that connects to the ODU. No issues and cools well. This was also stated to be a sign of low refrigerant. I know if that pipe has ice then it means low refrigerant but is a little moisture with the pipe being a little cold also a problem? This unit has 410a. The Panasonic near it has no such moisture.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

....
2. Another split AC one ton Koryo inverter about two months old, has a little moisture/ condensation develop on the smaller (return) pipe joint that connects to the ODU. No issues and cools well.....

The 'smaller' pipe is the liquid pipe and is the 'supply' pipe to the evaporator (IDU). The return pipe is the gas pipe and is the larger diameter one.
Hissing sounds should not normally be heard from any AC.
It is indeed not normal for an AC to need a top-up of gas within a couple of years! There is something amiss here.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

The 'smaller' pipe is the liquid pipe and is the 'supply' pipe to the evaporator (IDU). The return pipe is the gas pipe and is the larger diameter one.
Hissing sounds should not normally be heard from any AC.
It is indeed not normal for an AC to need a top-up of gas within a couple of years! There is something amiss here.

The hissing noise only occurs for a few seconds when you first turn on the ac. The ac in point number 2, which you replied to doesn't have the hissing sound. It only suffers from the moisture at the pipe joint. As far as the need to replenish the gas, as I stated, there was a minor leak at the joint of the pipe with the ODU which led to a little bit of gas depletion.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

.... The ac in point number 2, which you replied to doesn't have the hissing sound. It only suffers from the moisture at the pipe joint. ....

Condensation on the return pipe (larger diameter pipe) is normal but is not normal on the smaller pipe. You mentioned it is only at the joint. There could be a tiny leakage there. When gas leaks there is a marked cooling at that spot and moisture in the air is likely to condense there.