[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

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.

It is on the smaller pipe. It is not only at the joint but on the whole exposed area near the joint. Further on there is another tiny patch of exposed area and you find condensation there as well.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

It is on the smaller pipe. It is not only at the joint but on the whole exposed area near the joint. Further on there is another tiny patch of exposed area and you find condensation there as well.

Ideally, there should be no condensation on that pipe; in fact, the liquid pipe should be slightly warm to the touch.
However, if the liquid and gas pipes are running together (to sub-cool the liquid) in the same insulation there could be condensation visible on the liquid pipe.

[dre@ms]

Went to a multi brand showroom to check on the prices for 2 Ton inverter AC. Mightily impressed on Mitsubishi. But the sales guy informed that the copper pipes and other electrical wires should be procured separately since the AC is imported.
Copper tube per meter: Rs.700
Electrical wire per meter: Rs.95

How true is this?

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Went to a multi brand showroom to check on the prices for 2 Ton inverter AC. Mightily impressed on Mitsubishi. But the sales guy informed that the copper pipes and other electrical wires should be procured separately since the AC is imported.
Copper tube per meter: Rs.700
Electrical wire per meter: Rs.95

How true is this?

The extra cost is also there for Diakin.

Regarding price of copper pipe and cable, please inquire where the market for AC components is. Then go there and find the price of the pipes. Just inquire for Malaysian copper pipe and not other. For the specifications of the pipe diameter and wall thickness go to the Mitsubishi site. It will be there with AC specs. For length just ask the installer to estimate and get a couple of meters extra.

https://www.mitsubishielectric.in/ai...-gn-series.php

[hrman]

Originally Posted by Aroy

The extra cost is also there for Diakin.

Regarding price of copper pipe and cable, please inquire where the market for AC components is. Then go there and find the price of the pipes. Just inquire for Malaysian copper pipe and not other. For the specifications of the pipe diameter and wall thickness go to the Mitsubishi site. It will be there with AC specs. For length just ask the installer to estimate and get a couple of meters extra.

https://www.mitsubishielectric.in/ai...-gn-series.php

AFAIK, Daikin has started providing the installation kit with the ACs as most are now manufactured in Rajasthan The recent Daikin I bought came with 3m copper pipes. The electric wire provided was not sufficient so I had to buy extra. Even drainage pipe was extra as the length they provided was not enough for my installation.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Why don't you start a new thread with your Sonoff(?) smart home setup?

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

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

Will give this a shot, but these are very simple to use and not sure if it warrants a thread of its own.

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Copper tube per meter: Rs.700
Electrical wire per meter: Rs.95

find the right whole seller and you can get the copper tubing between 240rs a meter (set) and 375 depending on thickness needed. I recently moved home and purchased about 20+M at such rates. Electrical wire in a good store from a market should be about 60rs onward, depending on how many cores it has and it's gauge.

[dre@ms]

Originally Posted by Aroy

The extra cost is also there for Diakin.

Have only purchased Samsung and Bluestar, hence this is news to me

Originally Posted by Aroy

Regarding price of copper pipe and cable, please inquire where the market for AC components is. Then go there and find the price of the pipes. Just inquire for Malaysian copper pipe and not other. For the specifications of the pipe diameter and wall thickness go to the Mitsubishi site. It will be there with AC specs. For length just ask the installer to estimate and get a couple of meters extra.

Originally Posted by diyguy

Will give this a shot, but these are very simple to use and not sure if it warrants a thread of its own.find the right whole seller and you can get the copper tubing between 240rs a meter (set) and 375 depending on thickness needed. I recently moved home and purchased about 20+M at such rates. Electrical wire in a good store from a market should be about 60rs onward, depending on how many cores it has and it's gauge.

1. How good is Mitsubishi when compared with others.
2. Will the install guys accept the materials procured by us
3. Should I go for any other brand coming with their own installation kit rather than this pain of procuring materials ourselves.

My requirement is for 20x15 feet hall around 300 sqft with the windows facing the setting sun, hence the sunlight is very harsh and cooling would be ineffective. But for now thinking of using the AC just for couple of hours or at a max 5-6hrs.

[Brumby]

Originally Posted by hrman

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

With that kind of usage it is advisable not to invest in an inverter AC as it does not make any economical sense. The price difference compared to a normal unit is too high to gain the benefits of the inverter unit.

The inverter units do not do a cyclic start/stop at the set point for cooling, the compressor in these units runs at a lower capacity (read as lower speed) due to the frequency control available on the inverter unit. The only benefit is steady cooling and lower power consumption.

The lower power consumption will be beneficial only when the unit is going to run more than 12 hrs a day, else its just a premium that we pay for a feature which hardly provides benefits in real sense. On the contrary an inverter unit is highly beneficial and recommended for a commercial establishment where the additional premium paid will breakeven within a year or two and the saving on electricity bills will help.

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Went to a multi brand showroom to check on the prices for 2 Ton inverter AC. Mightily impressed on Mitsubishi. But the sales guy informed that the copper pipes and other electrical wires should be procured separately since the AC is imported.
Copper tube per meter: Rs.700
Electrical wire per meter: Rs.95

How true is this?

All split AC units need to have additional piping (copper tube and PVC drain pipe) and cables depending on the distance of the outdoor unit from the indoor unit.

It should be best left to the installation guy to bring his stuff as it helps with the warranty issues, if any.

There are a few requirements for copper tubes like, pressure rating, thickness and diameter. These parameters depend upon the rating of the unit, usually pressure rating is same for one kind of refrigerants throughout the capacity range, its just the dia of the copper tubes that may be different on different units (depends on cooling capacity).

Two different dia tubes will be required, one for liquid refrigerant from outdoor unit to the indoor unit (smaller diameter), and one for vapour return to the outdoor unit (larger diameter).

Originally Posted by 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.

Hissing sound at start means the the liquid refrigerant is expanding in the cooling coil or Evaporator (in technical speak), which is due to lower pressure in the evaporator. This can be a design function as well. There are some units which run the outdoor units and collect the refrigerant in the condenser before stopping. In such a unit, hissing noise is very normal at startup. The refrigerant is collected for various reasons, loss due to leaks during standstill periods is one of them. If you see a drop in cooling efficiency then you have a reason to believe that there might be some leak somewhere.

Cheers

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Brumby

With that kind of usage it is advisable not to invest in an inverter AC as it does not make any economical sense. The price difference compared to a normal unit is too high to gain the benefits of the inverter unit. ...

Saving electricity is only one potential reason to buy an inverter AC. Another is that they simply work better, giving much more comfort. Bank balance allowing, therefore, it is a valid option to buy as a luxury purchase.

(Hmmm... "they simply work better," assumes long-term reliability, of course.)

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

....

(Hmmm... "they simply work better," assumes long-term reliability, of course.)

And how many on this thread can seriously make that claim about long term reliability?
More than perfect temperature control I place more importance to the AC being available whenever I need it - no down time.

[dre@ms]

Originally Posted by Brumby

All split AC units need to have additional piping (copper tube and PVC drain pipe) and cables depending on the distance of the outdoor unit from the indoor unit.

It should be best left to the installation guy to bring his stuff as it helps with the warranty issues, if any.

I was not referring to the additional materials. The installation kit itself needs to be procured separately along with the indoor/outdoor units.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by diyguy

Will give this a shot, but these are very simple to use and not sure if it warrants a thread of its own.

I totally agree. But where have you sourced your collection from and at what rates? AliExpress is cheapest but the delivery timelines are terrible. Amazon is great but pricey.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

AliExpress is cheapest but the delivery timelines are terrible.

Everything from AliExpress. My recent order of 5 basic devices reached me in 11 days.

[nik0502]

My one month old Daikin inverter AC which has not run for more than 10-15 days so far stopped cooling yesterday. Tried changing modes but did not cool in all the modes available. Gave up after few restarts and called up Daikin who promised a technician visit in 4 hours. 6 hours gone and no one showed up. Called them again to fix an appointment for today since I was leaving for work. Tried starting the AC today and it started cooling again. The technician came and refused to look at the unit since it was cooling now and asked me to raise complaint again if it stops cooling. Really confused at this moment. Does anyone know what could be the issue.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by diyguy

Everything from AliExpress. My recent order of 5 basic devices reached me in 11 days.

Amazing! Using paid shipping or free? Please list out your switches / plugs / devices for our benefit.

Will request mods to move these posts to a new thread shortly. Here is my motley collection: