[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by Jagann13

I'll attach a picture of the dusty fan here!

That is a excess dust build up on the fan blades, for a one year old aircon. You might want to clean out the filter more frequently than what is prescribed. Do it every 6 weeks or so, if you can. Takes 10 minutes to rinse it out. You can also vacuum the internal coils. Just be gentle when you do it.

I do not recommend the use of iFeel. The concept is good but plays havoc with the way the room can be cooled. Will result in the aircon working over time to bring down the temperature in the room as it will based off the sensor on the remote and not the indoor unit sensor.

[Aroy]

I do the following at least once a week

1. Clean the ODU coils with water. In dusty Delhi, the water dripping is quite dirty every time.
2. Clean the air filters. They are always full of fine fuzz, which does reduce the airflow.

Twice a year I get LG to service the AC. With extended AMC I get two free services a year.

In short with modern high efficiency heat exchangers the fins are very closely spaced and in Delhi dusty weather they get clogged pretty fast so unless you clean then regularly you are in for a lot of trouble - low cooling and in extreme cases fan failure (due to load of blowing through clogged condenser).

One thing the LG engineer told me while installing the ODU is to keep it in an accessible location so that it can be cleaned easily by user. Many a times we just locate the ODU in an inaccessible location just for aesthetic reasons, and that should be avoided.

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by MBond007

My recommendation Voltas or LG (with Black Ocean Technology). Voltas for its VFM and LG for the extended warranty. You can also consider Sanyo. A relative of mine bought Sanyo Inverter AC couple of months back and is happy with the performance.

Originally Posted by Aroy

As far as I know, the energy control kicks in when the temperature is achieved, by using the smaller compressor side. If the temperature is not reached it uses the main compressor part.

Hi,

I believe that many people are recommending LG because of its comprehensive service package. But I did not come across details of their service plan on Amazon/Flipkart. Can you kindly highlight how does LG's service plan differs from others? Or if you find the link to official manual, I will be glad to go through it.

I went to LG's official website and got thoroughly confused with so many options. I just want a simple 1.5 ton AC. Any recommendations?

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Hi,

..........................

I went to LG's official website and got thoroughly confused with so many options. I just want a simple 1.5 ton AC. Any recommendations?

Here is the link to extended warranty.
https://www.lg.com/in/support/warranty
Select "Annual Maintenance Contract TAB
Select "AMC PRICE (WITHIN 30 DAYS OF PRODUCT PURCHASE)"

14. The AMC shall cover the following parts under the AMC contract.
15. HA/AC Products: Compressor, Thermostat, Relay, OLP, Fan Motors, Timers, PCB, Heaters, Air dampers, Ice maker, temperature sensors, Evaporators, Condensers, Refrigerant charging, Driers, Capillary, Blowers, Fan Blade, Control box, Magnetron, Electrical switches, transformers (internal), Diodes, Capacitors, Wire harness, Wash & Spin motors, Gear box, Clutch Assy., Drum, Inner tub, Bellows, bearing & lip seal, Drain motor, Pump, Electrical valves, Buzzer, Suspension, Key Membrane, Remote PCB.

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Here is the link to extended warranty.
https://www.lg.com/in/support/warranty
Select "Annual Maintenance Contract TAB

Thanks a lot Aroy sir! This is really helpful! The charges for AMC for 4 years is about 7000. The LG ac will probably cost around 38k (on Flipkart/Amazon) and if I add AMC charges and installation charges, the total cost of an LG ac would come out to be 47k for 1.5 ton unit.

I am still wondering which brand to buy for my house in Mumbai. My current ac is from Panasonic and I want to try a different brand this time.

Do other brands also have comprehensive maintenance packages like that of LG?

[MBond007]

Check out the new range of ACs from Samsung. They are offering 5-year comprehensive warranty, including gas charging and the warranty is inbuilt in the price. One advice if you do decide to go with Samsung: opt for the copper one over alloy

[Saanil]

I have gone through tons of reviews on air conditioners from various brands. Majority of the negative reviews were attributable to poor installation work. Some customers were irritated by the extra charges levied during installation (support stand, copper tubes etc.) while some were unhappy with the quality of the installation. I also come across few reviews where the air conditioner stopped functioning within a few days after installation.

The longevity of an air conditioner seems to be directly proportional to the quality of initial installation and the subsequent maintenance work. I am not sure how I can judge the quality of after sales service of a particular brand in my area. I can ask people living in my building about their experience with the brands they are using but I doubt I have the inclination to perform such a survey. I am also planning to go through Urban Clap to see if I can find out a technician with positive reviews and get my installation done via him/her.

I went through the twitter feeds of the major brands (LG, Voltas, Daikin) and was surprised to find plenty of customers complaining about shoddy after sales service. I think majority of the people are not able to get the required service as companies do not have the adequate number of technicians currently.

[vikasshu]

My one year old LG split AC (model KS-Q18KNXD) has gas leakage issue. I bought it last year in March 2019. It worked fine last year.

This year in March (2020) we got it serviced and it was working fine at the time of service.

3-4 days back we thought of using it as humidity in Delhi has increased. But it was not cooling at all. Today the technician visited and they touched the pipes from external unit and declared there is no gas in the unit. Now I need to pay INR 4500 for this. He also mentioned there can be some other issues besides gas.

What surprises me that even in a year old AC this problem can happen? Or I am being taken for a ride? Any opinions from Gurus is really appreciated.

I really want to pass on this feedback to LG as well.

[Gansan]

I had one window and one split unit previously, both Samsung. The split unit had gas leakage issue four years after installation and the cause was found to be leakage in aluminium coil, which was replaced with copper coil before refilling. Recently the window unit went kaput after twelve years and I replaced it with a Whirlpool split unit. During installation and AMC discussions the the "refilling gas" kept cropping up and I bluntly asked the technician why should the gas leak, since the new unit has complete copper coil, and also since my previous window unit never had the issue in twelve years.

He said it never happens in a window unit with copper coils because it is a completely sealed unit, unlike the split unit which has exposed copper tube connections outside the unit exposed to the elements, the joints of which degrade over time and cause a leak.

Had I known about this earlier, I would have bought another window unit and remained peaceful for a decade.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by Gansan

He said it never happens in a window unit with copper coils because it is a completely sealed unit, unlike the split unit which has exposed copper tube connections outside the unit exposed to the elements, the joints of which degrade over time and cause a leak.

Had I known about this earlier, I would have bought another window unit and remained peaceful for a decade.

Not true. Window units too have gas leaks. My parents room has a Carrier window ac and we just got its gas refilled. In fact last year too it had the same gas leak issue. My rooms split also had a gas leak last year. Seems these new age AC's aren't that robust like older ones and keep developing issues. I Don't think any of these products will see a 10 year usage like old ones.

@Vikasshu- Also the price quoted by LG is quite high. We paid only 2200 for gas refill and at max 2500 is taken by AC repair guys. My recommendation will be to get it done from outside. Do complain to LG as I have heard they have a good customer service.

[neeraj0272]

My understanding of this whole gas leak/refill issue:
1a. Newer refrigerants like R410A & R32 operate at higher pressure compared to earlier R22.
1b.To increase efficiency wall thickness of copper tubes has been reduced.
2. AC technicians are generally careless lot who are always in a hurry to complete the job. Also I have personally observed many of them to be unscrupulous including company people like from General, Daikin & Hitachi.
3. As AC repairing is a very profitable business for the companies , these companies do not care for the plight & financials loss to the customers. That's why these companies give only one year warranty!
4. As customers are not alerted to points 1a & 1b and thereby not getting to know that these AC manufacturers are the ones to blame for gas leak issues, these companies also are not modifying their designs of coils so that these coils do not leak easily.
All in all its a network of looters in between manufacturers & service technicians.

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by vikasshu

My one year old LG split AC (model KS-Q18KNXD) has gas leakage issue. I bought it last year in March 2019. It worked fine last year.

He also mentioned there can be some other issues besides gas.

What surprises me that even in a year old AC this problem can happen? Or I am being taken for a ride? Any opinions from Gurus is really appreciated.

What other problem did the technician mention apart from gas issue? Maybe he is quoting a higher figure because he wants to change some other parts too.

Originally Posted by neeraj0272

My understanding of this whole gas leak/refill issue:

All in all its a network of looters in between manufacturers & service technicians.

I think the only way to deal with this is to buy extended warranties from these AC companies. One can also try to find out a well trained and honest technician (via recommendations, trial and error) but it can prove to be a difficult task.

It has been mentioned several times on this forum that the inverter AC's these days are quite complex and a single failure can cost a lot. I purchased an inverter AC from LG few days back and I am planning to buy the extended warranty plan.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Gansan

He said it never happens in a window unit with copper coils because it is a completely sealed unit, unlike the split unit which has exposed copper tube connections outside the unit exposed to the elements, the joints of which degrade over time and cause a leak.

I think that this statement would lead me to doubt his experience and competence.

Originally Posted by harry10

Not true. Window units too have gas leaks.

And, whilst a joint may not have been properly made or otherwise fail, leaks don't seem common in the outside piping anyway. It is, in my experience, the copper piping inside the units that leaks and gets repaired.

The lower-pressure gasses had simpler pipe connections, mad with an olive (pressure ring), and were simpler to make. The new, higher pressure pipes have to have flanges formed with special tools. I was very interested to see this for the first time.

[neeraj0272]

Originally Posted by Saanil

I think the only way to deal with this is to buy extended warranties from these AC companies. One can also try to find out a well trained and honest technician (via recommendations, trial and error) but it can prove to be a difficult task.

It has been mentioned several times on this forum that the inverter AC's these days are quite complex and a single failure can cost a lot. I purchased an inverter AC from LG few days back and I am planning to buy the extended warranty plan.

Last year I junked a ₹65k General 5 star heat pump ac after less than 2 years of use and sold it to General technicians for ₹8k. I replaced it with a Mitsubishi Electric 2 star fixed speed primarily because it claimed coated IDU specially for gas leaks problem in India.
This year I junked a Daikin 4 star heat pump ac after 2 years of use and again sold it to Daikin technicians for 4.5k. I replaced it with Voltas 5 star inverter primarily for its 5 year warranty. I have to say that build quality of Voltas is nowhere near Daikin.
Mitsubishi Electric is very well built.
I also have 3 star Hitachi inverters bought for their 3 years comprehensive warranty. Their build quality is average. However they are doing their job alright.

[vikasshu]

Originally Posted by Gansan

I had one window
Had I known about this earlier, I would have bought another window unit and remained peaceful for a decade.

Thanks Gansan. But in my case my luck with ACs has always been bad. My window AC from Hitachi also gave me loads of gas leaking trouble.

Originally Posted by harry10

Not true.

@Vikasshu- Also the price quoted by LG is quite high. service.

Thanks Harry for your advice. I already gave them advance money and now can not go back. But I definitely called up LG customer care and confirmed the charges for gas refill and they gave a quote in the same range. Initially I thought that engineer who came to service it (possibly from a LG Business partner) is overcharging me. I also took an email id from their helpdesk and wrote a long anguish email. Not sure if anything will happen on it. But I will try and see on how to pressurizing them.

Originally Posted by neeraj0272

My understanding of this whole gas leak/refill issue:
1a. Newer refrigerants like R410A & R32 operate at higher pressure compared to earlier R22.
1b.To increase efficiency wall thickness of copper tubes has been reduced.
2. AC technicians a very profitable business technicians.

Thanks Neeraj. I fully agree with you. This whole thing looks like a big scam.

Originally Posted by Saanil

What other problem did the technician mention apart from gas issue? Maybe he is quoting a higher figure because he wants to change some other parts too.I purchased an inverter AC from LG few days back and I am planning to buy the extended warranty plan.

Hi Saanil, congrats for your new purchase but I will surely recommend you to go for extended warranty. A Roy recommended it to me as well but because of some financial pressures, I considered it as additional cost and deferred the plan. Also, engineer has currently told us about this gas leak only.