[lancer_maniac]

Guys im in the market for a 1.5 ton 5 star AC for my new renovated bedroom.Thought of Voltas initially but read some bad reviews about it hence decided to back out.I know Daikin and General are market leaders but due to budget constraints i cant consider them both.In fact i have a 1.5 Daikin split AC 3 years old in my brothers bedroom and till date it has not come out with a single issue even without a single service till now.
Now considering Panasonic and came across their Econavi models.it seems like a good technology in paper after the sales guy briefed me.But want to know how efficient it is in realtime conditions and if its worth spending the extra for this particular or should i say unique concept?

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by lancer_maniac

Now considering Panasonic and came across their Econavi models.it seems like a good technology in paper after the sales guy briefed me.But want to know how efficient it is in realtime conditions and if its worth spending the extra for this particular or should i say unique concept?

I rate Panasonic in the tier below General & Daikin (and Sharp). They should be Ok as long all plumbing is Copper and I will plump for R410a or R32, and not R22. You can look at Sharp, though they may be only marginally cheaper than Daikin or General. Efficiency wise most Inverter units are very similar.

[petrol_power]

Originally Posted by lancer_maniac

Guys im in the market for a 1.5 ton 5 star AC for my new renovated bedroom.
====
But want to know how efficient it is in realtime conditions and if its worth spending the extra for this particular or should i say unique concept?

We use three different models, LG (old one, bought 5 yrs before), Bluestar and Panasonic (Purchased 1.5 yrs before). LG has given us more than enough trouble on regular intervals. Bluestar and Panasonic has been error free till date. I somehow feel Panasonic to be very strong to cool the room and like Panasonic the most. Of course all these three brands are always below daikin and other tier 1 brands in terms of the sound levels and robustness.

[ece2k2]

Originally Posted by lancer_maniac

Guys im in the market for a 1.5 ton 5 star AC for my new renovated bedroom.Thought of Voltas initially but read some bad reviews about it hence decided to back out.I know Daikin and General are market leaders but due to budget constraints i cant consider them both.In fact i have a 1.5 Daikin split AC 3 years old in my brothers bedroom and till date it has not come out with a single issue even without a single service till now.
Now considering Panasonic and came across their Econavi models.it seems like a good technology in paper after the sales guy briefed me.But want to know how efficient it is in realtime conditions and if its worth spending the extra for this particular or should i say unique concept?

I recently purchased a couple of General 1 Ton inverter air conditioners for my office - fully imported kits. From my recent experience, General and Daikin are similarly priced while Mitsubishi commands a premium.

I already have half a dozen Daikin units running trouble free for more than 5 years now - every day 8 hours usage all round the year. But then a Carrier unit that I purchased 5 years ago is also running equally good. One common factor is all these units were Thailand manufactured ones. I would still suggest you to try to get a Thailand made AC and AFAIK General/Mitsubishi are still being imported from Thailand.

[lancer_maniac]

Originally Posted by ece2k2

I recently purchased a couple of General 1 Ton inverter air conditioners for my office - fully imported kits. From my recent experience, General and Daikin are similarly priced while Mitsubishi commands a premium.

I already have half a dozen Daikin units running trouble free for more than 5 years now - every day 8 hours usage all round the year. But then a Carrier unit that I purchased 5 years ago is also running equally good. One common factor is all these units were Thailand manufactured ones. I would still suggest you to try to get a Thailand made AC and AFAIK General/Mitsubishi are still being imported from Thailand.

Any idea where we can get imported General air conditioners?
Had checked out a store here but then its not imported and still commands a premium.Is the locally manufactured ones as good as the imported ones or should i go for the imported ones? Also is there a price difference between the two

[ece2k2]

Originally Posted by lancer_maniac

Any idea where we can get imported General air conditioners?
Had checked out a store here but then its not imported and still commands a premium.Is the locally manufactured ones as good as the imported ones or should i go for the imported ones? Also is there a price difference between the two

I bought the air conditioners from a local appliances retail chain called Girias. All the General units in the store were imported ones (official General India import). In my opinion, it is better to opt for imported ones.

[r_devakumar]

My 12 year old Hitachi Logicool window a/c lost its cooling power (it is 0.75 ton or 1 ton I am not sure). It happened some 6 years back once and the gas is filled. We shifted 4 houses so far, but there is no problem in the a/c so far. I am planning to get it checked and repaired as the a/c is still a/c is doing very good.

I have called the Hitachi customer care and registered a service request. They said, since the a/c is out of warranty I need to pay Rs.500/- as visiting charge. It is it better to go with the Hitachi service or better to check with local a/c repair shop? I am sure Gas filling is the reason for the issue. How much does this cost if I do this through Hitachi vs any local a/c mechanic?

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by r_devakumar

I have called the Hitachi customer care and registered a service request. They said, since the a/c is out of warranty I need to pay Rs.500/- as visiting charge. It is it better to go with the Hitachi service or better to check with local a/c repair shop?

I had a similar issue with my hitachi and ended up paying the 500 plus transportation charges which were 1500 please gas filling I think it was 2000. After this within 45 days it failed again and this time they told me the condenser coils need to be changed and that cost me I think 2800. I did that and after that it failed again with smoke in the room. I have now junked it and bought a split Samsung. Very very unhappy with Hitachi especially since it was only about 5-6 years old..

[sgiitk]

@diyguy; Yes, 5-6 years is a bit on the lower side. I expect ten years our of white goods at least. Touch wood, my 1999-2000 LG fridge is still going strong.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Not as keen as I was on Sharp as I was.

I mentioned replacing the IDU fan motor just a few months back under warranty, as it gave a loud buzz on anything but high speed. Now its buzzing again.

Super-techies: is there any chance this could be related to stabilizer/voltage/mains issues?

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Super-techies: is there any chance this could be related to stabilizer/voltage/mains issues?

Not likely, I think these motors are getting dicey / lower tech. Remember I had both the motor of my Daikin Split and Hitachi 5* replaced. Possibly service damage - water in the motors.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

... Possibly service damage - water in the motors.

That's interesting: It has been developing since the last service, but I don't recall them using water inside.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

That's interesting: It has been developing since the last service, but I don't recall them using water inside.

IS it not too much of a coincidence. They normally do a wet wash and obviously water must be seeping in. In fact on the split one service chap earlier had just switched on the unit, and then splashed some water from a mug on the outside, until the discharge was clean. No issues after this service.

Maybe we run the unit allowing the motor to dry.

[Aroy]

I suspect water ingress into motor after wet service. My DC fan motor of Hitachi stopped after a couple of days of wet service. Normally the technicians cover the motor with polythene, but this one did not. What I cannot fathom out is why it took time to go bad.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Hmmm... In the circumstances, it is going to be hard to convince the guys that they may have splashed the motor with water when our house has been half full of the stuff

(Not sure whether that merits a or a !)

Actually, the problem pre-dates the Dec-2nd flood, but we have had other things on our minds. We are yet to call them. Hopefully, AMC to the rescue.