[khoj]

Originally Posted by icemanz

Thanks Khoj.

How about the Hitachi 0.9tonner, is it a good model? How reliable is Hitachi After Sales Service in India?

Hi icemanz, Hitachi a/c are good. I have an atom 1.5 in my bedroom in Delhi for the last 4 years and it works fine. I cannot comment on the A.S.S. as I have never had any problems. If you are referring to the periodic maintenance etc. their network again is quite good. Do note though that my experience is limited to Delhi.

The other point that comes to mind is that if you are spending 29K for Hitachi, you should take a look at Panasonic as well as OGeneral and Mitsubishi electric. The reasons being that these companies have their Indian operations based out of Chennai hence must have a good network in the South. Infact a Mitsubishi 1 tonner split should not be more than 27K with bill and warranty.

OGeneral has an excellent 1 ton machine that is priced around 28~29K and during my trip in april '09 to the backwaters in Kerala I found that almost 70% of the house boats had Ogeneral split a/cs installed.

Given the traffic between gulf and malabar, I will not be surprised that there exists a grey market in Cochin, TVM etc for O General a/cs. You might be able to pick up split 1 tonners for as low as 21~22K but without bill/warranty. You can get it installed by a good a/c dealer closest to your house and have the annual servicing done by them too.

Happy shopping keep us updated.

Originally Posted by montoo

i am in jaipur.last year i installed 5 panasomic splits in my home,model 18 hkf,1.5 ton.really i cherish my purchase.they are highly efficient and too good in cooling in harsh jaipur climate.

Great Choice montoo.
Sasta royae bar bar mehenga royae EkBar. You've proved the saying correct.

Originally Posted by just4kix

Guys, I have a small study room that's 10ft x 6ft, with a big window. What kind of AC would be ideal for this? Either split or window would do, but my budget is 15K. I was thinking of a 0.5 tonne unit, but none of the showrooms I enquired with had this in stock. The smallest they had was 0.75 tonne, which I think is overkill for a 60 sq ft room.

Hi just4kix, I think the place to hunt is the unofficial a/c market at Mohammed Ali road, Musafir khana/Manish Market or maybe even Crawford market if you are in town. If you are in the suburbs go to Alfa at Juhu Galli area, they may not have one ready but will be able to get one arranged pretty quickly.

[icemanz]

Originally Posted by khoj

Hi icemanz, Hitachi a/c are good. I have an atom 1.5 in my bedroom in Delhi for the last 4 years and it works fine. I cannot comment on the A.S.S. as I have never had any problems. If you are referring to the periodic maintenance etc. their network again is quite good. Do note though that my experience is limited to Delhi.

Khoj, thanks for the quick response. I would like to stick to bill and Warranty. Hence O'G, Pana and Mitsubishi are out of my budget.
Hitachi dealer has quoted 0.9 ton for 26,500 with Vguard stabilizer. Dealer will do the installation free of cost and also service will be taken care of by him. He said, no need to call Hitachi toll free for any service issues, just call me.

What is your views about Carrier? The Carrier dealer has quoted 25K for 1T durakool plus without the stabilizer. Their After sales service is also good here in cochin. Please advice.

[khoj]

icemanz, My experience with Carrier is about 6 years old and not a good one. We bought their top of the line window a/c and had to sell it after just two seasons. They might have improved.

Regarding the panasonic and mitsubishi these a/cs with b&w should be well within your budget. Infact I just spoke to a Panasonic dealer and have been offered a 1 ton for 21000/- + installation say 2500/- add a good stabilizer say 2500/- total = 26000/- and the model is CUPC12JKY Silver with a 2 star rating. Their 5 star rated m/c with air purifier is for 28000++ these are special prices for winters in New Delhi where this mornings temperature was 6 deg C and therefore a/c sales are like zero. Kindly note that I am not trying to discourage you from buying Hitachi but just informing you regarding other equally good choices in the market.

Regarding the installation just ensure that the gas pipe and the return pipe that run from the indoor unit to the external unit are well insulated using a pu foam based tubing. This is black in colour with some chinese markings on it and like a sleeve which is slid on to the pipes before the connections are made to the valves at the compressor end, the power cable can also run inside this tubing. Do not accept heatlon (black or white) wrapped around the pipes and then taped up. This is as bad as having no insulation and will throw the star ratings out of the window. Do talk to the dealer on this before closing the deal. In case a stand is required try and get a powder coated one as these are now easily available and better suited for areas with heavy rains compared to painted ones.

I just remembered some installers have a very nasty habit of cutting out the purge valve(s) that come along with the outdoor unit. For ease of installation they like to braze the pipes directly as to fix the pipe to the valves they have to tap the pipes. Which means that they have to make threads on the gas pipes and then screw these on the valves and then braze them. Do ensure this as the valves are required in case the m/c is to be repaired during its lifetime etc. Do not allow the valves(s) to be cut away.

[icemanz]

Originally Posted by khoj

Regarding the installation just ensure that the gas pipe and the return pipe that run from the indoor unit to the external unit are well insulated using a pu foam based tubing. This is black in colour with some chinese markings on it and like a sleeve which is slid on to the pipes before the connections are made to the valves at the compressor end, the power cable can also run inside this tubing.
I just remembered some installers have a very nasty habit of cutting out the purge valve(s) that come along with the outdoor unit. For ease of installation they like to braze the pipes directly as to fix the pipe to the valves they have to tap the pipes. Which means that they have to make threads on the gas pipes and then screw these on the valves and then braze them. Do ensure this as the valves are required in case the m/c is to be repaired during its lifetime etc. Do not allow the valves(s) to be cut away.

Khoj, thanks for the advice. I will ensure checking the insulation and valves are in place during installation. No stands will be required as the outdoor unit can be installed on the sunshade. Now the choice has to be made between Hitachi 0.9T(26.5K) and Carrier Durakool Plus 1T(Carrier Dealer called and said they will try to match the price given by Hitachi dealer). Both fit the budget and have good A.S.S in my location, features are more or less the same. The difference is that Hitachi is 0.9T where as Carrier is 1T, Air circulation for Hitachi is 773 M3/Hr where as for Carrier is 579 M3/Hr. EER - Hitachi:11.37 and Carrier: 11.90.

[khoj]

My reply will be biased because of previous experience with Carrier. I would suggest you to go with the Hitachi. Incase you are worried about the 0.9 tonner for your sunny room, I would recommend going for a 0.9 & 1.2 combo budget permitting.

I recommend that you take a good look at the outdoor units of both the machines. The fit and finish, quality of coating on the surface itself and the way the fins appear should tell you a lot. I also went through the specs for both the machines. The carrier Duracool plus range is talking about their 'Tropical Rotary Compressor' which they are not offering in the 1 ton machine. The one tonner comes with 'Rotary Compressor'. The Hitachi specs claim their compressors to be good up to 52 degree C including the 1 tonner.

As far as I know Carrier does not make their own rotary compressors and should be sourcing these from either Toshiba(in which case pick it up) or if there is no name on the compressor then the source is Chinese. Though you will be covered under warranty but the difference will be there in everyday running. Hitachi does make their own rotary compressors and even though they might have their manufacturing unit in China or somewhere in South east Asia their QA standards would be better than a private labeling OE vendor.

Further I would like to have the option of a higher cfm fan plus more speeds. The auto humidity control function may also be of interest to you given the extended monsoon season.

Rest, as I said please try and take alook at the outdoor units. The indoor units for both will be equally slick unless ofcourse you can open the filter cover and take a close look at the coils and fins. Infact you should do that too. Also if there are demo models, I suggest you get them to run them especially in the afternoons as there will be less crowd in the shop so that you can make out the air cutting noise from the fan.

I am attaching the literature for Carrier on which my response regarding their compressor is based. The size is 2.58 Mb so cannot up load the Hitachi literature which is 2 Mb. In case you need that too let me know and I will upload that too since single up load cannot exceed 3 Mb for pdfs.

[xbox360]

Over the weekend i checked out a couple of Split ACs for my house and most shopkeepers reccomended the Vertis Gold AC -- Product#
I was offered the above AC for 29k (excluding installation and stablizer). As i have to buy 2-3 units, can you please let me know if the above product is a good buy compared to other comparable options and if the price is right.

Sorry i forgot, i am looking for an AC with high star energy-rating and a proven brand with a good service network at a reasonable price.

[arjunrudra]

You should definitely check the lg range of air conditioners. They are really good and affordable too. I bought a 2 ton split and am really happy with it. You should also check out the onida thought hey are being really underrated.
I feel you should check them both out.

[xbox360]

Originally Posted by arjunrudra

You should definitely check the lg range of air conditioners. They are really good and affordable too. I bought a 2 ton split and am really happy with it. You should also check out the onida thought hey are being really underrated.
I feel you should check them both out.

Actually the salesman clearly told me to stay clear of LG, Haier and Onida. I am not sure if he was saying so out of some real data or if he gets more money from pushing Voltas units.

Most salesmen were advising either O-General, Hitachi, Blue Star, Carrier or Voltas.

[mobike008]

I have been using a 1.5 ton window AC from LG over 5 years and its performing excellently with no problems till now.

Its time now to get one installed in my living room. I am looking at a 1.5 ton split AC.

I am particularly keen on LG or Samsung. Can someone throw light which one of the two is better and whats the current pricing of 1.5 ton split AC's after discounts et. all.

[khoj]

Originally Posted by xbox360

Over the weekend i checked out a couple of Split ACs for my house and most shopkeepers reccomended the Vertis Gold AC -- Product#
I was offered the above AC for 29k (excluding installation and stablizer). As i have to buy 2-3 units, can you please let me know if the above product is a good buy compared to other comparable options and if the price is right.

Sorry i forgot, i am looking for an AC with high star energy-rating and a proven brand with a good service network at a reasonable price.

2-3 units during winter season should see you getting much better offer than the one in your post. MRP for this product is 30990/- for a 1.5 ton unit which I assume is the rating you are looking at.

IMHO Voltas, Carrier and Blue Star are best left for corporate purchasing. For personal usage go with companies that have better consumer focus such as Hitachi, Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Videocon, Godrej, Whirlpool, OG & Daikin etc.

Originally Posted by mobike008

I have been using a 1.5 ton window AC from LG over 5 years and its performing excellently with no problems till now.
Its time now to get one installed in my living room. I am looking at a 1.5 ton split AC.
I am particularly keen on LG or Samsung. Can someone throw light which one of the two is better and whats the current pricing of 1.5 ton split AC's after discounts et. all.

Traditionally Samsung followed by LG.

[arjunrudra]

Originally Posted by xbox360

Actually the salesman clearly told me to stay clear of LG, Haier and Onida. I am not sure if he was saying so out of some real data or if he gets more money from pushing Voltas units.

Most salesmen were advising either O-General, Hitachi, Blue Star, Carrier or Voltas.

They must definitely be getting a lower margin rate on the Air conditioners that i have mentioned because they already come cheap.
The ones the sales person has suggested to you are all the expensive ones as you can make out.
Its up to you.

[xbox360]

Originally Posted by arjunrudra

They must definitely be getting a lower margin rate on the Air conditioners that i have mentioned because they already come cheap.
The ones the sales person has suggested to you are all the expensive ones as you can make out.
Its up to you.

True. Thanks for the info. I will do some more R&D and also try and find better deals (but no luck so far).

[recshenoy]

People,

Monthly how much extra electricity bill you guys get after installation of airconditioners at home. what is your usage patterns and the star rating of the A/C?

Thank You.

[Lalvaz]

Currently use and would recommend Ogeneral, Daikin (really silent and small size as compared to others and surprisingly good performance) and National. These products last and do their job really well. Had a Samsung too, and that makes a lot of noise and is no where close to the cooling given by the other 3 brands mentioned above.

Heard a lot of good things about Hitachi, and placed an order 3 times. The company blokes were'nt bothered to show up for the installation on time all three times, and made me lose confidence in their product. Such bad sales definitely makes one worry about the subsequent service.

[anku94]

I have only Hitachi Quadricool Twin Motors so not anything to compare it to. But I can tell you that I've never had a 'Wish I had a better/more powerful product' moment. And they're aesthetically the best of all. And my bills stay well below the 'OMFG, I got Rs. xxxx' line.