Air conditioning - Any recommendations please??

[tminus]

Anyone recommend me a good company to buy PanasonIc air con? Need experienced n reliable ppl for installations.

Thanks

 

[LocalGod]

Hi Terumo
Can recommend aircon model and make for sys 4?

 

[tek888]

I just got a quote for a System 3 Panasonic at $1870.

Is that cheap?? Its replacing my old unit..Just change the compressor and blower unit.. Rest retain..

So good deal?

mind sharing where you got the quote from? Gain City quoted me 2.7k for a 3 split inverter system and they mentioned this is promo price.

 

[tek888]

Yes .... Was quoted 1870 for 3 unit and compresser cheap?

mind sharing where you got the quote from? Gain City quoted me 2.7k for a 3 split inverter system and they mentioned this is promo price.

 

[Ulupandan]

Any suggestion/recommendation?

Hi everyone,

My existing setup is 3-bdrm aircond running all at the same time at night. Using Mit Starmex with 38,000btu. Main bdrm is 12k FCU & 2 other smaller bdrm is 9k FCUs. The isolator allows 20amps.

Now, the Main bdrm is not cold. The Main bdrm size is about 3.5m x 6m. Base on this size, an estimate calculation come to (3.5 x 6 x 650 = 13,650btu), initially thought that the 12k FCU will be good enough.
Question 1: Did I under-estimate the cooling capacity of the Main bdrm FCU?

But through various setting, example, selecting the room temperature on the remote control all the way down to 16 deg C, but can only achieve 24 to 25 deg C. Room temperature did reach 23 deg C once on a night that was raining.
Question 2: Could this be due to low refrigant in the compressor? How can we check or need to specialist to check. Any recommendation or contacts?

The other 2 bdrms do not have any problem with the temperature setting, one being set at 24 deg C & other at 26 deg C. Both occupants said that their rooms are cold enough. Both these bdrms are halve the size of the Main bdrm.
Question 3: Could the setting of the other 2 bdrms cause the compressor output to reduce and affect the Main bdrm cooling? Could it be that the is some cross wiring or cross connection of the piping?

I do not think it is the Outdoor unit that is not able to achieve the cooling, but rather is the Main bdrm FCU too "small"? I am hoping that the room temperature can come down to about 21-22 deg C.
Now, I want to "upgrade" the Main bdrm FCU to either 18k or 24k FCU (prefer 24k FCU). But I understand that the existing pipe size will need to change as well.
Question 4: Will this help with the cooling requirement? Will using the 24k FCU now affect the 2 smaller bedrms cooling capacity?


So, now I have the following 2 options and am hoping that anyone can help to advise:

1. I am thinking of replacing my existing piping, which are mostly "hidden" in the false ceiling. This will require the false ceiling to be cut open or some portion of the false ceiling remove for access to the exisitng piping.
Question 5: Not sure if any aircond installer does this "cutting" and re-patching of the false ceiling. This is the tricky part as my previous aircond installer advised that it is very difficult to be done. So I am hoping that if any of you have any contacts of aircond installer have the skill & resources + willing to do this "extra" job, pls pm me. Thks.

2. Alternative, if not able to get the aircond installer willing to "cut" false ceiling, then will need to run the piping+trunking outside and along the false ceiling, of cos this will not look good but may be good enough for the interim until re-renovate the house again. Also, some length of the "old" pipe may need to remove to free up the space within for the new piping, so that there will not be 2 trucking running next to each other.
Question 6: So, if you know of any aircond installer that have done similar job or willing to at least do this, pls do pm me.

Preferably, if the aircond installer can come by my place and view the existing setup, he may then be able to provide a better advise and recommendation? For info, if can come by on Saturday or weekdays evening, it will help alot. The actual work will be on weekdays only, between 9am to 5pm.

Sorry for the lenghty writing. Thanks for reading and in advance for any advise/inputs.

 

[terumo]

To ulupandan,
How old is ur existing MIT aircon?

Factor of 650 is quite high for btu conversion, 500 should be enough.

 

[terumo]

To localgod,
Can consider MIT electric 4a28 or Daikin 4mkd75.

 

[Ulupandan]

Hi terumo, my MIT is about 1-month old...

Looks like I'd used the wrong figure in my estimation, so with this current FCU (I think the model is 13va for the Main bdrm [12k btu?]) works out as = 3.5 x 6 x 500 = 10,500 btu, seems like this FCU should be enough.

But, again "trial" last night, with remote control setting at 16 deg C + Fan = Auto (3-circle symbol) + Vane = Auto (also 3-circle symbol), check the temperature in the morning was reading 24 deg C.

I also did a "trial" on one of the smaller bdrm last night, just running one AirCond for that one-room with temperature set to 16 deg C + Fan set at Auto + Vane set at Auto, I found out that in slighly less than 45-minutes, the room temperature has come down from 28 deg C to 21 deg C.

A shorter "Trial" was also done for the 3rd bdrm, with the same setting as the 2nd bdrm, temperature come down from 28 deg C to 24 deg C in about 15-minutes.

Any one can advise?

Thanks in advance.

To ulupandan,
How old is ur existing MIT aircon?

Factor of 650 is quite high for btu conversion, 500 should be enough.

 

[terumo]

To ulupandan,

Since its under warranty, get ME guys to come and check.
I suspect,
expansion valve faulty, or cross wiring or piping or bent piping.
Just my guess...

If u on your master room one unit alone and off the other 2. Is it cold?

 

[Ulupandan]

Hi terumo,

I did try the Main bdrm alone with remote control setting at 16 deg C + Fan = Auto + Vane = Auto. But room temperature come down from 28 deg C to about 26 deg C after about 45-minutes. Kinda long but I thought that was due to the bigger room size. And if run the AC from night till morning, lowest temperature seems is 24-25 deg C.

Also, will the ME guys able to tell if the wire or piping is cross or bent? Do they use some test equipment to identify these problem? My worries is that they may want to put the blame on something else by using these as the cause of the problem, and as I am not able to "open" and check the pipes to see if it is bent nor do I have the equipment to test whether if the wire or pipe is cross connected...

Okay, I will get the ME guys to check out the system.

Thank you for the pointers. Will ask them to look into these as well. I hope that these problems will be easy to be fix.

To ulupandan,

Since its under warranty, get ME guys to come and check.
I suspect,
expansion valve faulty, or cross wiring or piping or bent piping.
Just my guess...

If u on your master room one unit alone and off the other 2. Is it cold?

 

[sakuraplush]

Please all, avoid Mitsubishi Heavy Industry. The official agent Wo Kee Hong is a piece of f***ing s***.

They don't know what they're doing, are not very responsible and the aircon they "fixed" for me last Sep 2011 has now run completely out of gas(!!) and they want more of my money to "test further".

More details
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Air Con Malfunction - RenoTalk .com ™

Am now looking for reliable air-con repair. Any recommendations? Heard coolserve is good?

 

[terumo]

To ulupandan,

Call ME and see what they comment.
They should be able to find cause of fault, if piping is @ fault, your installer have to come back and settle it. Not ME.
ME only warranty the equipment.
Gas level should be ok, as the other 2 rooms is cold (IMO)

To sakuraplush,

Most likely your system is having gas leak.
Need a pressure test to determine leaking area.

 

[m_o_c_c_a_82]

21btu or 28btu for system 3?

Hi all,

I'm getting a Midea Sys 3 x 9k btu 9A5 for my new 4rm hdb flat. I was recommended a 21k btu compressor & all grade A installation (1/2 Armaflex + G23 copper). The salesman says 21k btu is sufficient for my 3 x 9k btu aircons. Most likely all 3 rooms aircons will run 8hrs daily.

But based on logic, 3 x 9k btu should use a 28k btu compressor mah since total adds up to 27k btu?

If i use a 21k btu compressor:
1) Wouldn't the compressor work harder to support all 3 x 9k btu aircons & electricity consumption goes up?
2) Can any guru explain if 21k btu or 28k btu better for my home?

Thanks a million for reading my post...guys!

 

[sakuraplush]

Hi terumo

Could you give me your opinion on whether the gas leak was caused by bad installation or poor repair? My story is as follows:

I don't use air con very often, only during the hotter times of the year, and only at night. After the warranty was up (1 yr), my system (2 aircons, inverter) started having the problem of not being able to keep blowing cold air. After 2-3 hours of use the air would end up warm. The aircon would make noises like gushing air sounds.

Called the WKH people in. After feeding me BS about the remote control settings, they finally admitted there may be a tech fault - The pressure in the gas tank was wrong or something, according to them. They proceeded to charge me to change some circuit board in the condenser. That didn't work. They then swapped the thermostat sensor, which also didn't solve the issue. Eventually they took the entire condensor / compressor back to their shop and didn't return it until 2-3 weeks later. They never told me what they did. That was in Sept 2011. Air con was cold again after this. Not Freezing, even though I have tried the lowest temp setting. But cold enough for my comfort needs. Still had air gushing sounds from time to time though.

In May 2012 the aircon stopped being cold again. Called them in and they said the cold gas tank was completely empty.

To me, it sounds like they may have sold me some useless hardware changes, but fixed something in the end. I suspect they screwed up something in the re-installing of the condenser unit. Not sure if that's correct. My logic is - I had the aircon running for 2 years where the gas didn't empty itself, but now 9 months after "repair" the tank has gone to zero.

 

[terumo]

Hmm...
8 months n the gas is now empty.
Get them to check the nut joint connections ESP the outdoor unit area as that time they dismantle and fix back.
If no signs of leak, might have to do pressure test to determine leaking area.

 

[Ulupandan]

Hi terumo;

ME Tech came by to check. They did 2 kind of check, one for the outdoor and one for the indoor. The check was done focusing only on the Main bdrm as that was what I complaint about that was not cool enough. The AC was allow to run for a while (abt 15-20mins before they start doing the check). They also set the Main bdrm FCU to 16 deg C and FULL fan speed (ie 4-bars=maximum)

Outdoor:
1. They check the compressor (think that's what they call it) and said that the reading was stable (one of the equipment used was a ring-like meter with numbers shown on the display). They mentioned that the current drawn was within the ME spec. Hence, they concluded to be ok.
2. They check the gas with some kind of gauges and was ok, no overcharge or undercharge.
3. Ask them about the cross or bent pipe, ME Tech advise that since there is no fluctuation from the measurement, it can be concluded that there is no cross or bent pipe.

Indoor FCU:
1. The ME Tech use some kind of equipment to measure the "cold-air" coming out from the the FCU. The equipment was place very near to the running fan. Was shown the reading abt 14 deg C. Was told the technical spec for the FCU was in the range of 10-15 deg C. The reading "improve" to abt 11.7 deg C after about 1 1/2 hours. Based on this, they concluded that the FCU and the sensor to be ok. I was told that there was an opening on the side of the FCU for the temp sensor and that the opening should not be block for proper function of the FCU.
2. ME Tech concluded that as the FCU in the Main bdrm is giving the "cold" air according to the remote control input, there is no cross wire or cross pipe connection.

However, the Main bdrm temperature was able to come down to abt 21 deg C using the "equipment" that I'd previously been using to measure the other bdrms. The only difference now is that the "equipment" was place facing the FCU (abt 3.5 meter away and in front of the FCU) as compared to the previous occassion of placing it directly below under the FCU, about 1.5 meters below. They then set the remote control temperature back to 18 deg C and the room temp is able to maintain at 21 deg C.

So, since that the equipment & FCU are found to be ok and within the ME tech spec, there is really nothing they can do or fix. At least, there is no cross pipe and no cross wire, and no gas shortage and no bent pipe issue. So, no installer issue.

Now thinking back, I should have requested that they check the Main bdrm with all 3 FCUs running and see if able to achieve the 21-23 deg C for all the 3 bdrms that I was wishing for.

But at least now, in order to achieve the room temperature that I want, my understanding is that I need to run the fan at maximum speed+lowest temperature setting until the require room temperature is achieved and then reduce the fan speed and increase the temperature to the required temperature for the FCU to maintain.

So, in my conclusion, the possibility of "under-size" on the FCU for the Main bdrm keeps ringing in my mind. But, if you have any views or input or advise, do share with me. Thanks in advance.

Did ask for the ME Tech advise/input on the size of the FCU for the Main bdrm, based on my requirement of running all the 3 FCUs together and to achieve a room temperature of 21 deg C. In their own opinion (not ME) and purely on tech spec, the 18k FCU is prefer over the 24k FCU. This is because the 24k FCU may affect the 2 other smaller bdrm when all the 3 FCUs are running, while with the 18k FCU, will have the "ideal loading", ie the outdoor match with that of the indoors requirement. This will also save the haste from future complain that the other rooms may not be cool enough. Any comments?

Also, they rather I check with AC installer with better knowledge on sizing of the Room to FCU requirement.

Meanwhile, will continue to monitor over the next few days and see if I can "re-adapt" and adjust to this "new" expectation of the FCU, or any new discovery.

To ulupandan,

Call ME and see what they comment.
They should be able to find cause of fault, if piping is @ fault, your installer have to come back and settle it. Not ME.
ME only warranty the equipment.
Gas level should be ok, as the other 2 rooms is cold (IMO)

 

[terumo]

Ur Me fcu 12k and 9k pipe size is the same.
If upgrade to 18k, need to change piping.
So quite hassle.
Use the methods the ME tech suggested and monitor first ba.
If the fancoil can give out temp of 14, it's considered normal.

 

[innerlight10]

Make A/c sense?

Hi, I'm getting an a/c system for my new flat soon.

Please enlighten me what works better.

1 Mbr(3x4m) + 2 Br (3x3.8m) + LR (3.5x8m)w corridor (4X1m) to be airconditioned

Mbr (12 or 18 btu) will be used whole night, every night and some afternoons

2 (2x 9btu) other bedrooms will be hardly used. Maybe one bedroom sometimes during the hot afternoons.

LR (24 btu) - during hot afternoons and evenings or when i have guests.
but should be hardly used category as well.

I'm tempted to get 1 split (inverter) unit for MBR and a System 3 inverter for 2 BR + LR.

If my Mbr screws up or needs frequent servicing, at least i reduced the cost to just one split unit and its compressor.

Does this make sense? Or i should get the typical all bedrooms to have system 3 and LR on its own?
Thanks!

I

 

[Frederick84]

Hi, my casement unit Sanyo SAC-88G recently spoil.. my model seems like eol alr.. anyone noe whr can get one ?? or any other good model recommendation ??

 

[terumo]

To innerlight10,

Mbr 9k btu, br2 and br3 9k btu.
Living 18k btu.

If your house can install 2 compressor.
Then mbr get a single split is a good idea.