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What's with the thud during cutoff in the Hitachi window AC which has grown a little louder in the last 2-3 days. I know that window ACs make this noise when they cutoff but its getting louder. Time to call the service guys or something that I can check myself?

@fine69; Could be a mount going soft. If it is normal otherwise then you can ignore it.

It may be that the mount is getting soft. Or (what happened to me once), the transportation bolts have not been removed. In either case get a competent technician to have a look.

badly in need of an ac to beat the scorching 'kathri' summer in chennai. based on preliminary research, i do understand the differences between inverter & star rated ACs. based on my budget and size of the bedroom, i've shortlisted the below ones:

1. 1 Ton Blue Star inverter - ~36K (including stabilizer)
2. 1 Ton 3 star General - ~35K (including stabilizer)
3. 1 Ton 5 Star Daikin - ~37.5K (including stabilizer)

looking for expert opinions on my choices. while General may be a better brand than Blue Star, how does it score when it comes to after sales service? please pour in your thoughts.

If you are open to other brands, do check out Sharp - their basic 1 ton Inverter cost me 39 in Bangalore, so it should be cheaper (due to lesser taxs) in Chennai.

--Anoop

If you plan on using the AC at least for the next 5 years then look for nothing beyond inverter. I had a Daikin inverter for my shop in Delhi, then purchased the same for my parents in Mumbai. The IDU, look-wise, wouldn't win any beauty pageants but overall the units are one of the best in the market.

Alternatively, I'd strongly recommend Sharp & Mitsubishi inverter ACs. Stretching the budget a little and getting an inverter instead of 3-5 star AC would be well worth!

can you share the model number?

The model I brought was AH-X13PET. This is 1.1T, Inverter.

My friend brought Daikin 1T Inverter for 44K last week. This again is the basic model, but unfortunately, I don't know the exact model number.

--Anoop

Recently picked up a couple of ACs for my parents' home in Mumbai. The bedrooms are fairly small and 1T capacity is all that's needed. We chose a Sharp inverter based 1.1T split AC for the master and a VISE 5* rated 1T split AC for the guest bedroom-cum-study. The latter is an in-house brand of Vijay Sales launched just this March. It is based on Videocon technology and the servicing is by Vijay sales themselves. We chose this purely on price considerations since at 26K it was the most affordable of the 5* rated ACs (my Dad was insistent on that point!)

The Sharp was a nice surprise: MRP of 48K but offer price of 38K plus 3K exchange price for our old Electrolux window AC made it a very affordable 35K. They claim the inverter technology allows them to consume only half the power that a 5* rated AC does. While this is yet to be proven, I was happy to choose a good brand and superior technology for the AC that would be primarily used.

Net-net we paid just 60K for 2 split ACs which is not bad at all, I think! My dad whispered to me that the old window AC that we had purchased in the late 90s and was noisy and just 0.8T in capacity set us back by 21K (in those days that was a lot of money!) Initial reports on both are good- will update if there is any issue.

Thanks noopster, theexperthand and fine69. So, I can see a lot of people inclined towards a Sharp, but the problem is I'm unsure of the Sharp dealer in Chennai. Went through Sharp India website and I felt it is the worst website that can be designed. Doesn't give much details about what I looked for, though I was able to shortlist a model that may fit my budget. Not many showrooms seem to have stocked Sharp ACs as they are not pretty renowned.

To add to the confusion, was casually flipping through Flipkart today and was damn tempted by an offer. Hitachi Kaze inverter 1 ton for a meagre 32.5 K - a steal for sure. When I almost made my mind to grab the offer, I was bothered by the poor after sales service of Hitachi that people have bitched about on Mouthshut. well, i don't blindly go by what's said on Mouthshut as any tom, dick & harry can just leave a review there. so, can any Hitachi owner throw light on the reality of their after sales service?

Also, are there any negatives of buying an AC through Flipkart?

I guess not since so many people buy electronics online these days. But in our case I was in town only for the day and wanted to close the deal, plus didn't want to put my parents through the hassle of arranging for the installation etc. separately. Plus if there was any issue with the delivery etc...you get the picture. But if you are buying for yourself it certainly is a great option. Just check the reviews for hidden costs.

Reviews are positive though very limited in number. The only reason I'm yet to place an order is the scary after sales service of Hitachi that is there all over the internet.

Before placing the order, please call the Hitachi Customercare and make sure that there is no difference in warranty if brought online. Also, you can check if you will get company authorized personal to do the installation.

In Sharp's website, it is prominently displayed that there will be no warranty for purchase through snapdeal.

--Anoop

the good news is that i confirmed with Hitachi customer care & they said no issue with warranty terms & conditions if purchased through flipkart. for installation, have to fix up an appointment with them & the service guys would get it done within 48 hours of registeration :)

Download the brochure: at least you get a table of the specifications and features.