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We have a Haier fridge and service has been exceptional so far, so we blindly went with this Haier 1 Ton 5 star split last week at INR 33k, despite Daikin 3 star being just 1000 more. Brackets and tape were add-ons. We are happy with the purchase. Installation folks were good too.

Hi! What should be the ideal AC size, i.e. 1.5 ton or 2 ton, for a 9.6 X 18 feet room? Approx 175 sq. feet. Curtains will be used to block an open area adjoining the dining space.

Ground floor, north side facing room with no direct sunlight. Has a floor above.

Thanks.

Judging by the conditions of the room you've specified, a 1.5 Ton AC would be more than enough.

Is it worth repairing a 12 year-old General Inverter Split AC ?

The AC in my room needs a new indoor motor and PCB which comes upto Rs. 15000 inclusive of GST. The unit is already 12 years old so I'm wondering if it makes sense to replace rather than repair as a few more parts may fail down the line.

The unit has been fairly reliable over the years however Fujitsu General service is the worst I've experienced and I say this having dealt with Skoda! So I'm thinking i'll switch brands. Any recommendations on a good 1-ton unit ? My usage is only during the 3 months of summer.

Customer care for almost all the brand today is just... pants. Buy any brand that fancies you but cheaper one will die much sooner. In premium segment, look into Daikin FTKF series if longevity is your concern. It is bit under advertised series but it is their most efficient and frugal on consumption model. Doesn't have any bells and whistles though.

I gotto say, thats some good life you got out of it. Inverter AC's lasting 12 years, thats unheard of! Unless the unit has failed at some point earlier that you have not mentioned here.

This is a tricky one. At Rs, 15,000, you are not going to find a new AC. Heck I doubt if you can buy one at double that spend.

I'd say fix it, provided the unit gets all the right parts put in. It should run for another few years, minimum.

Fix it if the service center has diagonised the problem correctly.

It is a General AC. So it is built robust in terms of hardware. You will not get another AC with the quality of General in the 30-40k price range.

It is definitely going to be difficult to find a worthy product today which can last so long or is as robust as your existing General AC. However, considering the product has already completed over a decade of service and is now bound to cause niggles more often than not, you would be well served by purchasing a new AC. There are some good options in 35k-45k bracket. Best to avoid ACs with too many unnecessary features.

A query. Do we need seperate stabilizers for non inverter and inverter type Ac or any stabilizer sufficient for the tonnage will do? Looks more like a hype to me.

Most current inverter Ac do not need stabilisers unless

. The voltage goes outside the input range - generally 170 to 280 volts
. There are sudden voltage spikes

Consistent low/high voltage can be taken care of by normal stabilisers, while spikes require spike protection devices.

^^ Thanks. We constantly get a supply of 250 +/- 5 vots. I have been using the stabilizer from an older ac for the new inverter ac too for the past few years, hoping it can't hurt and will provide some additional protection.

But now the stabilizer needs to be replaced and when I search online it throws up "stabilizer for 1.5 ton ac" and also "stabilizer for 1.5 ton inverter ac". Hence the query.

Thanks for the responses! I trust the diagnosis and the technician is willing to put all the parts in and test the unit before charging me so I don't think that's an issue. I thought over it and I'm still inclined to replace rather than repair. 12-15 years is the max life one can expect from Split ACs so if I spend a decent amount now, I'll anyway need to replace the unit in another two or three years at best.

However, the only failure before this was a spindle motor which was replaced sometime in 2014-15. The unit ran just fine and didn't even require a gas recharge. SO perhaps it'll last another 4-5 years with a new PCB and motor who knows.

I asked around and the most recommended was Mitsubishi ACs which are built well and can run for 12-15 years like my General AC did. I'm wondering if I can get by with a 3 star unit or should I spend the additional 4-5k and get a 5 star unit ? My usage is 7-9 hrs a day but only for 3 months a year.

You're good with a 3-star. There's Mitsubishi Electric, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Go with Electric as the parts are easier to procure. Both are proper workhorses.

Considering the occasional and limited usage you've mentioned, a 3-star AC will work just fine for you.

I can vouch for ME A/C. This is my 9th year of using this A/C and absolutely no issues so far. Even my usage is almost similar to yours. Last year, I had asked the technician to check the refrigerant levels. He checked and told me that I need not have to worry about it ever. The performance of the A/C has been top notch. The room turns cool within 10 minutes of turning it on (at 26 C) with ceiling fan turned on. I switch off the A/C after one/two hour(s) just before I go to bed and it remains relatively cool till the morning.
Only thing that I did not like is their remote control unit. You can hardly operate it when it is dark. I have resolved this issue by using a mobile app.