[aravind.anand]

I am sick and tired of these con-men in the disguise of AC mechanics royally taking us for a ride. Every single time I shift my house, this AC removal and installation is the single most challenging and annoying part. Each guy blames the previous installer and gives lot of stories on why new gas filling, new copper tubes are all essential.

I bought my Whirlpool AC for about 38K in 2014, and I have spent at least 25K on the accessories and repairs till now!! Atrocious. Latest is a demand for 5K to change copper coils, fill gas, add a special sealant to avoid leakage and install the AC at the house I moved in last week. All this to re-install the AC which was working properly until he uninstalled it from my previous residence.

Being a 9 year old AC which has eroded my bank balance to its content already, I am now thinking of dumping this junk and going for a new 1 ton AC with free installation (offline store perhaps) and give this off for exchange.

[xotiq]

Anyone using portable AC, and can share feedback? Amazon has couple of models with mixed reviews, mostly imported chinese units.

[diyguy]

I have a 5 Star Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 1.5T ac and have never been happy with the cooling. It is a champ in power consumption but in the searing months of Chennai Summer it begins to feel deficient. I have a power monitor connected to it and it shows me that it runs at full power consumption for about 10 minutes (~1600w) and then starts to power down gradually over the next 10-20 minutes and settles at about 700-850w range. This is inspite of setting the temperature to 18° and blower at full speed. There is no other economy mode or anything that has been set on the remote. This is very frustrating because my non inverter Daikins prior to this would always suffice and we wouldn't feel the need to kickoff our comforters.
Is this par for the course for the inverter type of acs?
Cleaning the filter or the ODU or a water wash etc does not change this behavior of the power reduction that i witness.
I am considering swapping back a non inverter MHI model ac to my bedroom as this is affecting the quality of my sleep. My inverter MHI is about 3.5 years old now and the cooling deficiency has always been the same from day 1.
Is there something i can do to ensure the power saving mode sets in only after the room has reached the desired temperature?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by diyguy

Is this par for the course for the inverter type of acs?

No. I really don't think it is the technology itself that is at fault.

We have a 2.2-ton Mitsubishi Electricals inverter which, set at 28, usually keeps our hall at 26-27. I have no doubt that we would actually make the room genuinely cold with it, but that is not what we want. (Actually, it is in need of service/cleaning currently, and not producing good draught. But it will). We have another, 1-ton, which is actually a touch small for the room it is in, but still cools it.

[Rshrey22]

Originally Posted by diyguy

I have a 5 Star Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 1.5T ac and have never been happy with the cooling. It is a champ in power consumption but in the searing months of Chennai Summer it begins to feel deficient. I have a power monitor connected to it and it shows me that it runs at full power consumption for about 10 minutes (~1600w) and then starts to power down gradually over the next 10-20 minutes and settles at about 700-850w range. This is inspite of setting the temperature to 18° and blower at full speed. There is no other economy mode or anything that has been set on the remote. This is very frustrating because my non inverter Daikins prior to this would always suffice and we wouldn't feel the need to kickoff our comforters.
Is this par for the course for the inverter type of acs?
Cleaning the filter or the ODU or a water wash etc does not change this behavior of the power reduction that i witness.
I am considering swapping back a non inverter MHI model ac to my bedroom as this is affecting the quality of my sleep. My inverter MHI is about 3.5 years old now and the cooling deficiency has always been the same from day 1.
Is there something i can do to ensure the power saving mode sets in only after the room has reached the desired temperature?

There might be some problem with your unit's temperature sensor which is causing it reduce power consumption, ask your service advisor about this.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by diyguy

I have a 5 Star Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 1.5T ac and have never been happy with the cooling.

Does the AC have a wifi module built in? If it does, you can verify the room temperature via the phone Application. Inverter Units will spin down as the gap narrows between set temperature and room temperature. Is expected behavior.

I suggest trying the fan in full Auto mode and a temperature setting no lower than 22 degrees. Observe for a week.

More than temperature, your sleep will be disturbed due to noise from high fan speed.

[HereticHermit]

Originally Posted by Happysmiles

As per my Mechanic "Off late a lot of Inverter Ac's due to the complicated Pcb and various sensors, were going Kaput due to high voltage, and all new inverter Ac installations were suggested to have voltage stabilizer"
With no warranty on the Pcb repair and 7 years age of the Ac, we decided to get a new one which has warranty. Yes, I did get a V Guard Stabilizer

You might want to check if the PCB warranty cover 'both' PCBs i.e. outdoor unit and indoor unit. I understand it is only the outdoor unit.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by diyguy

I have a 5 Star Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 1.5T ac and have never been happy with the cooling. It is a champ in power consumption but in the searing months of Chennai Summer it begins to feel deficient. I have a power monitor connected to it and it shows me that it runs at full power consumption for about 10 minutes (~1600w) and then starts to power down gradually over the next 10-20 minutes and settles at about 700-850w range. This is inspite of setting the temperature to 18° and blower at full speed.

Is the refrigerant/gas pressure in the required range? If not checked, I suggest you check that and top up to bring it to the required level if needed. A slightly lower refrigerant quantity compared to the normal recommended also results in sub optimal cooling.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by diyguy

I have a 5 Star Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 1.5T ac and have never been happy with the cooling. It is a champ in power consumption but in the searing months of Chennai Summer it begins to feel deficient........................

We had the same problem with an LG AC. The diagnosis
. When the IDU is choked, then less air flows through the fins
. With less air flow the IDU cpoil temperature decreases
. Then the inlet temperature decreases (as it is near the outlet)

All this results in the AC thinking that the set temparature is reached, hence it throttles down.

The remedy
. Check if the IDU is really choked. I check it by the outlet airflow. If it is choked the airflow is quite low and is not felt beyond a few feet.
. If choked, then it is best to dismantle IDU and pressure wash it.
. Choking is a regular afair in one of my LG AC's, hence I get it pressure washed every alternate year. Luckily all that is included in my extended warranty.

If the IDU is not choked, then the temparature sensors (there are at least 4 in an Inverter AC) are acting up, or te MB is kaput.

[Mortis]

Where can I get a some sort of cap or circular stopper to cover the hole in the wall made for the AC pipes ? I can only find solid covers on Amazon to seal the full hole, not any partial ones.

I had made a small wooden box to cover it but need to get it removed since rats are having a party trying to crawl in since the building is being painted and they can climb the bamboo

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Mortis

Where can I get a some sort of cap or circular stopper to cover the hole in the wall made for the AC pipes ? I can only find solid covers on Amazon to seal the full hole, not any partial ones.

I had made a small wooden box to cover it but need to get it removed since rats are having a party trying to crawl in since the building is being painted and they can climb the bamboo

If it is circular hole, then try plastic bottles of relevant diameter.

If it is an irregulr hole, made with chisle, then
. Use plaster of paris or
. Use Rags and plaster of paris or
. Use stones mixed with plaster of paris

In short use rags/stone for filling and plaster of paris to seal it.

[Everlearner]

Originally Posted by Mortis

Where can I get a some sort of cap or circular stopper to cover the hole in the wall made for the AC pipes ? I can only find solid covers on Amazon to seal the full hole, not any partial ones.

I had made a small wooden box to cover it but need to get it removed since rats are having a party trying to crawl in since the building is being painted and they can climb the bamboo

If you are looking at closing in a non-permanent manner, you can insert a small length of PVC pipe of same diameter and put end caps on both sides of the wall to prevent entrance of rats. This will also be easily removable in future when you want to install an AC.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

No. I really don't think it is the technology itself that is at fault

I am unable to feel the comfort levels with inverter acs unless i upsize maybe. Instead of a 1.5, a 2 T may do the job but defeats the purpose of energy saving. I am probably not going to go in for an inverter ac again.

Originally Posted by Rshrey22

There might be some problem with your unit's temperature sensor which is causing it reduce power consumption, ask your service advisor about this.

I called the company engineers in the first month after purchase as the cooling i felt was insufficient. They said nothing wrong this is how inverters work.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Does the AC have a wifi module built in?

No wifi but i have a room temperature thermometer if needed. However the cooling is definitely inadequate to my perception.

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Is the refrigerant/gas pressure in the required range?

Yes it is, my energy monitor shows it starts at 1800w (post pressure wash) and gradually decreases to run at 700w or thereabouts within 30-45 mins.

Originally Posted by Aroy

We had the same problem with an LG AC.

I performed a pressure wash yesterday. While the effect and throw was better, however it did not change the behavior and still went down to 700w in about 45 mins or so. I have now swapped my dining and bedroom acs and hoping for better cooling. Unfortunately i notice the swapped ac now may be leaking gas as it was at 1500w in the morning and now it is at 1363w now. Being a fixed speed this indicates a slow leak due to the switch of the acs.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by HereticHermit

You might want to check if the PCB warranty cover 'both' PCBs i.e. outdoor unit and indoor unit. I understand it is only the outdoor unit.

I have 3 year AMC from Onsitego, which kicked in after the first year company warranty for my Whirlpool inverter ac ended. It covers gas filling and both pcbs, apart from most parts. They do one general service a year, which is not much. Just clean the IDU and filters, and the indoor fan by a "flask cleaner" type of brush. They also check the gas and fill if required, and have already filled twice for me. If their technician feels it requires any repair or part replacement, they log a complaint on our behalf and send the brand technician. In this way a "chemical wash" of the IDU was carried out once by Whirlpool technician, and that was not covered under the AMC. I had to pay for it. But he replaced the indoor PCB as well as the LED display, and those were reimbursed.

The current AMC ends next January and I plan to extend it for two more years. After that I will scrap the inverter split Ac and go back to good old 3 star window Ac!

[Mortis]

Originally Posted by diyguy

I am unable to feel the comfort levels with inverter acs unless i upsize maybe. Instead of a 1.5, a 2 T may do the job but defeats the purpose of energy saving. I am probably not going to go in for an inverter ac again.

What temperature are you setting it at ?

With inverter ACs you need to set it a couple of degrees lower for the cooling effect, especially if your set temperature is close to ambient temps.
For example in Mumbai night temps are usually 26-30 degrees in summer. If i set the temp to 24 then the room gets to that "comfortable" temperature quite quick and then it "cuts off" in the equivalent term for inverter ACs and will keep throwing out 24 degree air to maintain that temperature. You won't get the cooling effect. For sleeping I normally turn it down to 22 which keeps the room cool. Similarly in winter it cuts off at 22 quite quickly so for sleeping i need to turn it down to 20 degrees.

Try it out