Air conditioning - Any recommendations please?? - Part 2

[kleong]

Facing somewhat similar situation. Suddenly one room not cold. Called gain city and send technician down. Input gas but meter not going up. Conclude that the valve is either spoil or jam. As long is an old system (at least 10 years), he say cannot be replace. Need change external unit. The cost estimate isnt worth it. Either i get another technician or change the entire system

My current Midea System 3 has been 7 years old which is quiet and cool but a few days ago one room not cool.

$50 to call the technician check the meter (as in the photo) saying the gas is not enough; replace the valve for the room not cool and power on but the meter remain 0 (for about 1min, he say the internal part of valve stuck, trying to explain to me) then he suddenly switch off the power expecting the meter would go up to normal (but it remain 0 for 1-2min during which he saying "f**", after that the needle move very slow up).

His diagnostic is the internal part of the valve cannot move, to replace it need take the outdoor unit back for 1week with a cost about $350; he suggest replace the outdoor unit with a second hand one with $750 (6 months warranty). Plus to top up gas, $80.

After he left I felt the checkup is not sufficient, but not sure what is the best thing I can do now:
a. find another technician like Gain City (which this system bought from) to check up ($50 base)
b. replace the whole system 3 (that is why I am studying new aircon)

For any technical guru, another symptom is: when that aircon (B) is turned on together with master room (A), the indoor unit A would give out a sound like breathe out (release air?) for a few seconds every 13min.

PS. just find out cannot insert the photo, the meter has 2 plates which reading is 110 on the left and 360 on the right.

 

[wongminmin]

I am choosing which brand to buy for System 3 to replace my current one and at the GainCity store there are choices:

Mitsubishi StarMex FN10VE $3419 (1Y)
Toshiba RAS3M40U2AVGSG $3529 -$150 capital land voucher (1Y)

The pro for Toshiba is refrigerant using R32 and by 2022 no R410A will be sold in Singapore. Anyone can advise which one is better?

no1 can advise u on this.... this is really on own preference. it doesn't mean by 2022, r410a will gone from the market.... until today, still got people top up r22 gas....

The big company like GainCity price is so high in comparison with some online seller. Eg. ME System 3 FN10, $3419 (1Y) while letscoolaircon and airconguru is $2850/$2700 with 5Y warranty.
Meaning to get 5Y for Gaincity would need pay $1000 more. I am hesitating now ...
Anyone can share the opinions on the reasons?

gc
-cc payment/installment plan etc
-they won't shortchange on materials use.
-trusted workmanship
-extended warranty
-good after sales

there are hundreds of aircon companies in sg....which 1 can be trusted?
assume company can be trusted, but they got different kinds of technicians....so is about luck....... i got see technician very responsible...will come back to fix it. While some just like rushing their daily routine...if aircon got issue...not their problems...

no point fixing budget aircon....7~8 years is good enough to change. brand new midea system 3 is around $2200. U find it cheaper to repair part A...but after months, part B spoil....u going to spend anot sum....endless loop

To me,
-FCU = repair
-Gas leak/compressor = replace whole system

 

[happy345]

no1 can advise u on this.... this is really on own preference. it doesn't mean by 2022, r410a will gone from the market.... until today, still got people top up r22 gas....



gc
-cc payment/installment plan etc
-they won't shortchange on materials use.
-trusted workmanship
-extended warranty
-good after sales

there are hundreds of aircon companies in sg....which 1 can be trusted?
assume company can be trusted, but they got different kinds of technicians....so is about luck....... i got see technician very responsible...will come back to fix it. While some just like rushing their daily routine...if aircon got issue...not their problems...

no point fixing budget aircon....7~8 years is good enough to change. brand new midea system 3 is around $2200. U find it cheaper to repair part A...but after months, part B spoil....u going to spend anot sum....endless loop

To me,
-FCU = repair
-Gas leak/compressor = replace whole system

Thanks Minmin. May I know what FCU refers to? Indoor unit or outdoor unit?

 

[Alphas]

FCU = fan coil unit aka indoor unit.

 

[happy345]

Yesterday I saw this

Here are some of the pointers I am looking at:
-1. Check equipments are brand new factory sealed with single seal tape
-2. Check materials are as quoted by the contractor
-3. Check pipes are to be individually insulated
-4. Ensure no leakage on fan coil unit or condensation on insulated pipes
-5. Ensure contractor uses vacuum to clear the dust from the compressor

for 4: just to turn on all aircon and let it run for 30min to check if leakage?
for 5: should inform them when put the order to buy? we may not know if they do so when installation.

 

[petetherock]

I ran my AC for 30-60 min at a low temp 20C
Yes you can, but checking equipment is hard if you aren't on site and it's a major reno..
Sometimes you need to have faith..

 

[Blackmane]

Hi,

Decided on a Daikin system 4. They called it a 9/9/9/9 system. These can only cool the rooms. However, if I wanted to, say, take one of these units and move it into the living room, I'm told it needs to be bigger. Way bigger. Like 18(au?) sized. My house is a 5 room resale, 33yrs so only one single compressor allowed. Living room's a bit of a distance (house is rectangular-ish, living room and hall is a long L shape).

Unsure if I should pony up the cash to get up to an 18. I don't really expect us to use the living room except mainly for guests as I'm a PC guy and would be in the study room most of the time...

 

[wongminmin]

Hi,

Decided on a Daikin system 4. They called it a 9/9/9/9 system. These can only cool the rooms. However, if I wanted to, say, take one of these units and move it into the living room, I'm told it needs to be bigger. Way bigger. Like 18(au?) sized. My house is a 5 room resale, 33yrs so only one single compressor allowed. Living room's a bit of a distance (house is rectangular-ish, living room and hall is a long L shape).

Unsure if I should pony up the cash to get up to an 18. I don't really expect us to use the living room except mainly for guests as I'm a PC guy and would be in the study room most of the time...

For bedroom/master bedroom 9k is enough....12k for some master bedroom.
For living room, at least 18k btu.....because factors like...number of person, air leakage, number of appliances etc....affecting the temperature.

ur worries should on the distance between compressor and living room ....this could be major issue/headache in the future.......e.g water couldn't be drained...aircon not cold etc......

Yesterday I saw this

Here are some of the pointers I am looking at:
-1. Check equipments are brand new factory sealed with single seal tape
-2. Check materials are as quoted by the contractor
-3. Check pipes are to be individually insulated
-4. Ensure no leakage on fan coil unit or condensation on insulated pipes
-5. Ensure contractor uses vacuum to clear the dust from the compressor

for 4: just to turn on all aircon and let it run for 30min to check if leakage?
for 5: should inform them when put the order to buy? we may not know if they do so when installation.

i did no1~3.....

no.4 if got any issue with the installation, it will surface within the first month. 1 of the case is water droplets formed on fcu at the third day.
no.5 not really....if any thing, u can coordinate when they are on site. Then u can monitor the whole installation process.

 

[Blackmane]

For bedroom/master bedroom 9k is enough....12k for some master bedroom.
For living room, at least 18k btu.....because factors like...number of person, air leakage, number of appliances etc....affecting the temperature.

ur worries should on the distance between compressor and living room ....this could be major issue/headache in the future.......e.g water couldn't be drained...aircon not cold etc......

Yeah that bit about distance was also mentioned to me before too. Is this something hte air con guys can advise only when they com down on site...? I was told they will come twice - once to site recce + remove old air con, second time to install...

 

[micgoh]

The distance = affects efficiency. So make sure choose a position where you can max the efficiency and allows water gradient to flow

Yeah that bit about distance was also mentioned to me before too. Is this something hte air con guys can advise only when they com down on site...? I was told they will come twice - once to site recce + remove old air con, second time to install...

 

[light84]

Got a question for ya'll. If 24000 BTUs ~ 7Kw, and 7Kw ~ 29Amps, how does one go about installing a unit of that size if we're limited to 40 Amps for the the whole flat. Also if the outdoor compressor is rated at 36000 BTUs how does that get installed as that works out to 43 Amps.

What am I missing here?

Cheers.

24000 BTU ~ 7kW

7kW is referring to the heat exchange rate, not the electrical consumption.

Using Starmex FN24 powered by 1 compressor 4G38VA2 only, it has maximum running current of 15.4A and nominal running current of 11.1A. 1 compressor is only connected to 1 mini circuit breaker of 20A.

So 40A is insufficient for 2 compressors assuming maximum load of 2 compressors running at 15.4A x 2 = 30.8A and you would still have other consumer units such as heater, oven etc. Heater is easily more than 10A.

So you need to get the compressor which has a current limiter of 8.5A.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Managed to fully cover the tubes up with aluminum foil before the rain

Posted from PCWX using Jedi mind trick.

How u did that? Mine didn't cover up zzz

 

[light84]

Hi,

Decided on a Daikin system 4. They called it a 9/9/9/9 system. These can only cool the rooms. However, if I wanted to, say, take one of these units and move it into the living room, I'm told it needs to be bigger. Way bigger. Like 18(au?) sized. My house is a 5 room resale, 33yrs so only one single compressor allowed. Living room's a bit of a distance (house is rectangular-ish, living room and hall is a long L shape).

Unsure if I should pony up the cash to get up to an 18. I don't really expect us to use the living room except mainly for guests as I'm a PC guy and would be in the study room most of the time...

Dun get the 9k for the living room unless your living room is the size of a bedroom. It is penny wise but pound foolish.

9k will take very long to cook the room and if you have guests, it will take even longer since humans give out heat.

The price difference between 9k and 18k is maybe at most $200? Outdoor unit is the most expensive item in the system, not the indoor unit

 

[OneMantou]

then, this is the timeline for r32 & r600a

I thought R410a was the incoming one! Googled quickly and found R470,R466 to be possible replacements (non SG sources), but it seems like there are no current A/C models using refrigerant other than R32 and R410.

Edit: the incoming refrigerant is R600a?

 

[zheng]

Gree ac good? its r32 with 5 ticks?
anyone install this brand? i hardly find any information about this brand..

what are the r32 ac to install?

 

[Alphas]

Hi,

Decided on a Daikin system 4. They called it a 9/9/9/9 system. These can only cool the rooms. However, if I wanted to, say, take one of these units and move it into the living room, I'm told it needs to be bigger. Way bigger. Like 18(au?) sized. My house is a 5 room resale, 33yrs so only one single compressor allowed. Living room's a bit of a distance (house is rectangular-ish, living room and hall is a long L shape).

Unsure if I should pony up the cash to get up to an 18. I don't really expect us to use the living room except mainly for guests as I'm a PC guy and would be in the study room most of the time...

Daikin do have a system 5, so you can have 2 9K FCUs in the living room. My 4RM resale has a configuration 9K/9K/12K/18K and cooling is still great with living room and bedroom FCUs turn on. One 9K BTU in the living room will not be strong enough, since there are many electrical devices (heat emitting) and windows. Min of 18K or even higher depending on the floor area.

My installer also did the aluminum tape shielding and additional foam insulation as instructed. This helps to prevent the disintegration of the insulation on the piping from UV and improve efficiency by reflecting IR from sunlight.

 

[delson_tan]

Daikin do have a system 5, so you can have 2 9K FCUs in the living room. My 4RM resale has a configuration 9K/9K/12K/18K and cooling is still great with living room and bedroom FCUs turn on. One 9K BTU in the living room will not be strong enough, since there are many electrical devices (heat emitting) and windows. Min of 18K or even higher depending on the floor area.

My installer also did the aluminum tape shielding and additional foam insulation as instructed. This helps to prevent the disintegration of the insulation on the piping from UV and improve efficiency by reflecting IR from sunlight.

Whom did you engage as installer? The add on FOC?

 

[Alphas]

I engaged Fortuna Air-Conditioning & Electrical, they are the authorised Daikin Proshop installers. I wouldn’t comment on the charge but the additional materials are not expensive, you can get a roll of aluminium tape for 5 bucks and a sheet of foam for less than 10 bucks at CCM.

 

[cstanhwz]

I engaged Fortuna Air-Conditioning & Electrical, they are the authorised Daikin Proshop installers. I wouldn’t comment on the charge but the additional materials are not expensive, you can get a roll of aluminium tape for 5 bucks and a sheet of foam for less than 10 bucks at CCM.

Hi bro, CCM is?

 

[Alphas]

Choo Chiang Marketing, they have lots of such stuff there.