[sgiitk]

Let me add my tuppence worth. Modern ACs on the R4xx technhanology work on about five times higher pressures than the old R22. Hence they have far worse leakage problems. Our Panasonic had these issues. Fortunately it was brand new so Panansonic took it and fixed it. I was expecting a new unit!

[dre@ms]

Originally Posted by neeraj0272

How old is your ac? If it's more than 7 year then I would have been satisfied with it.

Almost 6 yrs.. bought it in 2013-14. It has seen quite a few uninstall and re-install since i have been shuttling inside Hyderabad and to Chennai. Apart from this no-cooling issue, have been plagued by water leakages too

Originally Posted by diyguy

the first technician told me it is on the side of the IDU where the copper bends happen, the second guy told me he cannot find oil trace and so it should be ODU. This is in the study room so i have not had the urgency to get it fixed. Plan to get it done soon though. I think these leaks are easy to fix and scrapping easily is not my style, off late.

Its my style too, but due to the above issues taking this extreme step.


Update: Booked Mitsubishi 1.5T non-inverter AC and old AC is being taken for 6K. Installation scheduled on Monday

[neeraj0272]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Update: Booked Mitsubishi 1.5T non-inverter AC and old AC is being taken for 6K. Installation scheduled on Monday

6k you are getting is good price. We get 4k here.
I too have ME 1.5 T non-inverter. It's a good ac except for the fact that blower is noisy at highest speed. What I liked most about is that I never get to know when its compressor cycles.

[dre@ms]

Originally Posted by neeraj0272

6k you are getting is good price. We get 4k here.

LG quoted 2.5-3K, Croma 1K and the go to shop Rathna fan house is running an Aadi Ofer now wherein flat 3K for window and 6K for split. So grabbed it with no hesitation.

Originally Posted by neeraj0272

I too have ME 1.5 T non-inverter. It's a good ac except for the fact that blower is noisy at highest speed. What I liked most about is that I never get to know when its compressor cycles.

The blower is noisy when using turbo or something, because the demo unit was so silent and that is one selling point used by the Mitsu guy. I bought the JP series.

[neeraj0272]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Gas leak on my Blue Star outdoor unit is identified due to the fact that the coils are aluminium. Either get it replaced with Aluminium or go with copper is the solution. But the technician suggested to go for a new one since there are chances of the compressor going kaput in some months.

How old is your ac? If it's more than 7 year then I would have been satisfied with it.

[neo_narender]

Hello all,

I need some suggestions for my current situation.

Please do not mind my lengthy post.

Currently, I have a Samsung 1 ton inverter ac (AR12NV3HETUNNA), which I bought in 03/2018. I live in a second-floor flat. It ran fine for a year & a half maybe. Then it started with less cooling issues. While installing the ac, the people had installed the outdoor unit slightly higher on the low roof of my bedroom window outside, mounted to the walls. It was difficult to reach the outdoor unit unless one is a gymnast & somewhat a risk taker.

The low cooling issue, many technicians from Samsung, local just preferred to do a water wash using a pipe from afar & it cooled the room for three odd months & the issue persisted. I got to know from a local technician (say P1) that my ac takes R410a refrigerant which is a mix of two gases. He has topped up the refrigerant but to no avail. And he never responded to any of my calls later. This was the guy who couldn't reinstall my outdoor unit to a safer & accessible location as it was difficult to reach in the first place. ₹2800 (dt. 27/05/20).

Then came P2 from Urban Company. He was a daring chap when compared to P1. He managed to reinstall my outdoor unit to a safer location but told me many things can go wrong if it's a gas leak. At this point, I was ₹2800 out of my pocket without a result. So, I was skeptical about the things he was telling me & also he repeatedly asked me cash. When I had told him before he started the job that everything will be paid via my Credit Card on the app, he insisted for a long time, but I was firm. These things made me trust him less. He told me that R410a refrigerant cannot be topped up as P1 did, it has to be removed completely & refilled, then I realized I was fooled by P1. To check if there is any leak, he disassembled the outdoor unit & put soap water to see any bubbles came out. No leak in the outdoor unit determined. He then put Nitrogen in the outdoor unit at nighttime & told me if the pressure reduces the next morning, you are looking at a leak. At this point I wanted to change the technician, the next day I told him I don't like to move forward with the repair & would pay how much ever the cost was till now. He said, the pressure of Nitrogen has not reduced & there is no leak at all. I did not go ahead. ₹1438 (dt. 21/07/20), it was worth it as it was a difficult reinstall.

I booked another chap from UC, P3. He also tested the leak with the Nitrogen method. Did not find any leak, he then emptied the nitrogen & filled with R410a. The result, The ac was chilling the room like never before. I thought it's done. ₹2998 (dt. 03/08/2020), I did not care one bit. ₹2400 for refrigerant, ₹450 for missing Flair Nuts, I do not know who the culprit was for those missing nuts, but I did not care as I had a positive result.

To my shock, the problem reappeared two days ago (03/09/20). I gave the benefit of the doubt on dirty air filters & cleaned them, even though there was no dust on it. But no improvement. I called for a revisit. As Urban Company provides a 90-day guarantee/warranty for Gas Charging. The guy came today, checked for gas pressure, it was 80 psi from 140 psi. He then opened the indoor unit & told me, I have 3 leaks on the coil. The solution he provided was, they take off the coil thing out, send it to the UC head office, they will weld & remove the rust & then put some chemical coat. I asked him, how long would that last? His answer was a 6-month warranty will be provided by UC, maybe you will be fine for 8-months. The quote was ₹3000-3400. One good thing was, there won't be any charge for gas refilling. He also told me the next thing a repair may occur from the two pipes which connect the indoor to the outdoor unit. I am speechless. I asked him for options, he replied if I want to cancel the repair, I will get the gas refilling refund of ₹2400 & can go with a newer ac.

My question is, do I go ahead with a repair, being uncertain of what repair may come next?
Or, buy a new ac?
P3 told me, if I am going with the latter option, I should look into an ac that has R22 refrigerant. On a quick google search, I found out R22 is outdated & is very harmful in depleting the ozone layer when compared to others.

What do I do?

P.S: I apologize for a lengthy post & any suggestions are deeply appreciated. Thank you.

Neo

[Gansan]

^^Buy a window unit with R22 and be happy. They are the least problematic, easy to self maintain, there are less things to go wrong. They are legal as of now, so don't worry.

[neo_narender]

Originally Posted by Gansan

^^Buy a window unit with R22 and be happy. They are the least problematic, easy to self maintain, there are less things to go wrong. They are legal as of now, so don't worry.

I have just been to Bajaj Electronics & back. The agent says that R22 based Air conditioners are no longer available & the government has banned them already.

Also here is the quote I have received:
O'General 1.5 Ton 5 Star Split Ac (ASGG18CGTA): ₹60,990
(Including shipping, pipes, installation)
Old Ac exchange: -₹5000
Employee discount 2%: -₹1220

Total: ₹54,770

How fair is this deal? Also when I pointed out that their own website has listed the same ac unit for ₹55,292 stating an 8% discount from ₹60,100.
I have received a reply that the unit listed on the site doesn't include the pipes, installation, shipping, etc. He also said it is the same case with Flipkart & Amazon as well. I find this hard to believe as I have purchased an ac from them 2 years ago & the price was inclusive of those pipes at the very least.

Neo

[Raj_RD]

Originally Posted by neo_narender

I have just been to Bajaj Electronics & back. The agent says that R22 based Air conditioners are no longer available & the government has banned them already.

Also here is the quote I have received:
O'General 1.5 Ton 5 Star Split Ac (ASGG18CGTA): ₹60,990
(Including shipping, pipes, installation)
Old Ac exchange: -₹5000
Employee discount 2%: -₹1220

Total: ₹54,770

How fair is this deal? Also when I pointed out that their own website has listed the same ac unit for ₹55,292 stating an 8% discount from ₹60,100.
I have received a reply that the unit listed on the site doesn't include the pipes, installation, shipping, etc. He also said it is the same case with Flipkart & Amazon as well. I find this hard to believe as I have purchased an ac from them 2 years ago & the price was inclusive of those pipes at the very least.

Neo

Any particular reason to consider O'general? Their service isn't the best. I'd suggest you to get a Lg/Carrier.

[neo_narender]

Originally Posted by Raj_RD

Any particular reason to consider O'general? Their service isn't the best. I'd suggest you to get a Lg/Carrier.

I was told by many of my friends that O'General & Daikin are the best in the business for ac, as they have a very long life.

We had an LG ac back in 2008. It had also troubled us to no end after just a year of purchase. Seems like I have not at all been lucky so far in ac department.

How is Carrier?

Perhaps anyone in Hyderabad who had better experiences with inverter acs can shed some light, on aftersale service? Any brand.

Neo

[Raj_RD]

Originally Posted by neo_narender

I was told by many of my friends that O'General & Daikin are the best in the business for ac, as they have a very long life.

We had an LG ac back in 2008. It had also troubled us to no end after just a year of purchase. Seems like I have not at all been lucky so far in ac department.

How is Carrier?

Perhaps anyone in Hyderabad who had better experiences with inverter acs can shed some light, on aftersale service? Any brand.

Neo

Our daikin fixed speed split ac gave up after 2 years. There were repeated gas leakage and the build quality was also not good. But the carrier is going strong for 5 years, no gas leakage till now. Don't have any experience with Mitsubishi but have heard good things about it.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by neo_narender

I have just been to Bajaj Electronics & back. The agent says that R22 based Air conditioners are no longer available & the government has banned them already.

I just checked Amazon and it is available. Available at Croma too. R22 Ac production might have stopped, but available stocks will be sold. Even if R22 is not available, buy a window unit with some other refrigerant if your room can take it. The chink in the armour of split Acs is the connection between indoor and outdoor units.

I had one split and one window unit, but recently replaced the window unit with a split on a whim. Though the unit is running fine as of now, I regret the decision because the company technician who came to install it told me all split units will lose gas every few years. So I purchased onsite amc for four years. But what happens after four years? Looks like spending on regular gas top ups for split units over their service life is a given. Which will be about 7-8 years at least.

Gas leaks may occur in window units also, but very very rare. It is a sealed unit within an enclosed box.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by neo_narender

I was told by many of my friends that O'General & Daikin are the best in the business for ac, as they have a very long life.

The Daikin on my bedroom wall had done a few years before I bought it second-hand. It is still silent, and has quite a few more years life left in it. It is a very heavy-weight build, and impressed me so much that, when the time came to replace another AC, I went out to buy Daikin. Sadly, the build of the new units does not begin to compare.

General (No "O." It is Japanese company, not an Irish one . Look carefully at the trade mark, and you will see that it is a logo before "General," not an O. You can also see the company name as published by them.) and Daikin used to be the RR and Bentley of ACs. Out of the "high end" machines of recent years, I have bought Mitsubishi Electric.

There is a lot to be said to getting a lower cost of ownership from LG, with their long warranty terms. Maybe the lifetime might be shorter, but what I am paying in AMC could be saved up for a new machine! Please see Aroy's comments on this in this thread.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by neo_narender

The solution he provided was, they take off the coil thing out, send it to the UC head office, they will weld & remove the rust & then put some chemical coat.

Don't do this. You need to dump this problem on Samsung India. How can the indoor unit coil have rust on it, in just 2 years! That is just bad part quality. I have never come across rust on the indoor unit evaporator. Its usually the outdoor unit condenser body that rusts. We've got 3 Blue Star units at home and in high heat and humidity conditions (80-85%), not one of them has suffered a fault like this. At least not at a component level.

If Samsung do not respond, I would replace the indoor unit itself or put in a new evaporator part. These weld jobs are not known to hold up. You'll just keep bleeding money on constant maintenance and repairs. If you can, dump the unit after the weld job and get something else.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by neo_narender

I was told by many of my friends that O'General & Daikin are the best in the business for ac, as they have a very long life.

We had an LG ac back in 2008. It had also troubled us to no end after just a year of purchase. Seems like I have not at all been lucky so far in ac department.

How is Carrier?

Perhaps anyone in Hyderabad who had better experiences with inverter acs can shed some light, on aftersale service? Any brand.

Neo

The General and Daikin are way ahead of LG, still I bought 2 Inverter AC's from LG for the following reasons :
1. I have a Diakin 1.5T Inverter (7y), Hitachi 1.5T Split (13y), Hitachi Window 1.5T (9y), LG 1.5T Dual Inverter (2y) and LG 2T Dual inverter (1y). My son had 2 general inverters in Mumbai.
2. The after sales service for Daikin, General and Hitachi is pathetic. They have practically no warranty for parts (1 to 3m) and do not repair but replace all parts. In most cases their technicians have very little diagnostic knowledge.
3. LG has a 5 year warranty for now 10K. That includes 2 service per year and all parts and labour except a few plastic parts. I find that their technicians are much more knowledgeable, and their service is no questions asked.

Every AC needs regular service and at times parts replacement. I would always go for better service with average AC, rather than poor service with an excellent AC. For example
. In my case the Daikin packed up in 5 years and the authorised service centre stated that the MB has to be changed, It was 12K last year so I delayed it. When I finally decided to get it replaced they had jacked up the price to 30K!! with no warranty.
. My LG AC started cooling less. I called the company and the came and diagnosed it as a clogged indoor unit. They cleaned it thoroughly and the AC was fine. This year they came and again the IDU was clogged so the pressure cleaned it and the AC is good for at least 4 months.
. When I enquired about major parts, they were all 50% of the Daikin .