I brought 1.5 ton split ace follow me last week, after reading lot of review, visiting dealers, local service mechanic shops, and finally narrowed down to Hitachi(Quadricool tm 1.5 window & Ace follow me split)
Window model has 45db sound & Ace follow me 35db,
Finally after speaking with hitachi sales dept, I found the dealer in my place, negotiated & took it with v-guard vg-400 single boost stabilizer
On delivery: found ODU fan grill(plastic) broken, On the day of installation informed to the executive & replaced it free, price(Rs 500)
Installation: Its the worst part, if installation not done by hitachi, then warranty is void, they charge Rs1550, fine
First Visit: 2 guys came with hitachi ID did all the jobs, I gave them 50% of the tools, spanner, insulation tape, multimeter, thermometer(temp monitor), tie, etc finally installation completed & started in evening, didnt come up, Stabilizer o/p to ac wire not connected properly, fastened it & started, IDU was smooth, ODU was like a generator, same day night 2 of my neighbours complained( scolded) me, I checked other brand ODU in my apartment, found zero noise, installer guys said they will install rubber bushes, its a new compressor, will take 1 week time to get free, blah blah,
Second visit: next day he visited again 1000hrs installed rubber bush(forgot to tighten bolt), I downloaded installation manual & found that there are some packing thermocool pieces 2 exactly in the compressor bed for transportation safety, if not removed, it creates huge noise & vibration,
Third Visit: Same day evening 1600hrs he came & removed 1 thermocool piece(still bolts are not tightened), I checked it found noise reduced by 50% but still high
Fourth Visit: I called up service centre & blasted CRO(Customer Relationship Officer), asked them to send senior most guy, again the same guy came back at 1900hrs, i blasted him, he completely removed the doors & found another piece, removed it & went away, in the night I found there was jerk in the wall when the compressor cuts off & starts again, went outside to balcony, observed that bolts are not tightened, also when I touched ODU observed mild electric shock, called him at 2130 & informed abt that, he said he will come tommorow & correct it, waited for 1 day no use, slept 2 nights without ac, horrible, new ac sleeping silent in front of me, I was awake & watching it
Next day morning, I gave stop payment to cheque, informed the dealer, spoke to atleast 10 people in hitachi, even dealer escalated from his side, finally the senior most guy in the breakdown team visited my place
Fifth Visit: At last the person is having 8+ years on hitachi & well trained came, I explained him every thing, he took 2 hours, re done all the job to the best once again
Corrected Stailizer wire(both i/p & o/p)
Checked the IDU installation, opened front panel of IDU, verified the wires from ODU connected inside IDU, checked for all the screws in IDU, tightened it
When he went to check the ODU he got tensed & asked who did this job
Removed all the doors
Connected earth wires properly( shock is not there now, it will affect the machine if there is a lightning thunder)
Removed another sponge packing(extra inserted by installer)
Re fixed the doors & fastened all the screws
Now starts the fun bolts which mounts bracket to wall were loose, bolts which connects the L section of bracket too were loose & finally bolts b/w ODU & bracket also_, Retightened everything & started the machine
Now I felt the real performance & smoothness of hitachi, he checked the current( 240v perfect), grill temperature 13.1deg, room got cooled in 15 min to 18deg, he explained that if there is gas leakage, there will be ice formation in both indoor & outdoor unit at certain points near condensor, gave full demo of machine, why every 4 months service is mandatory, if not how the blocked fins increases current consumption as compressor needs to run for more time & decreases cooling performance, various modes of operation in remote etc.
Also took a complaint letter from me to submit it to their manager
So at the End: I still suggest people to go for hitachi, if they need a machine to serve for years, but be aware of the above story, as a product its too good, there are good engineers in the service team too, before purchase itself try to collect the senior sales & service people ctct details in hitachi(even dealer/shop will be able to provide u), even u can clarify with them for any doubts before purchase, they are quiet good in support