Its been more than a few years since my last review, which of course was on airconditioners only.
The last review of mine was on the Daikin non inverter, FT50GV1G6, which was a 5 star rated model, and has been working relentlessly over the years without a break down.
Rest aside, with the onset of 2014 summers, I was already thinking into retiring my ogeneral window airconditioner(AXZ18GNN), which worked shamelessly for 9 years, and still was showing no signs of giving up, though with some cough ups.
Didnt want to go in for a window airconditioner this time, since the options are way too limited, and eventually I would have ended up having another ogeneral window ac, with a slightly better energy efficiency ratio. However, knowing that fact that the window space was hugely occupied by this heavy ac, I decided to lease some life into the room by getting the ac removed and thinking of split air conditioners strictly, since they have been more sensibler upgrades for the old airconditioners ive had.
The room in question is a top floor, 140 sqft west facing- in Delhi. Being in Delhi, with that room size changes the entire scenario and heat calculations, as I would have easily settled in for a one tonner, had it been any other place on this earth. But knowing that my room temperature reaches 35 during summers, and even a minute of the power cut makes the room like a inferno, I decided not to take a chance, and go in with a 1.5 ton split, well preferably with a lesser btu, as anything lesser than 18000 btu would have been perfect for that room size.
NOW, the main dilemma was again the same question looming. should I go in for an INVERTER or a NON-INVERTER? believe me, this delayed my buying for about 5months, though I had already in mind which brands I wanted to focus on. - daikin, toshiba and Ogeneral.
The inverters came in with the new refrigerant R410 and R32, however and due to obvious reasons, these gases were expensive to be refilled, and in anyway one has no escaping from the fact that R22 is going to be shut in business starting 2020. The replacement would be expensive and it would be difficult to find spares, since the machines incorporating r410 have sophisticated machinery and pipe work. Also the gas operates at a much higher pressure than R22( just for the knowhow), and needs heavy gauge pipework.
I had almost zeroed down on the toshiba daiseikai inverter, primarily because the quality was top notch as compared to the "new daikin machines", which somehow felt to me as if the company was looting its customers in terms of the pricing. Just look at them! the machines are so tiny, I doubted if it could even match the performance of the daikin I have, same capacity, but the condensing unit is twice the size of what is offered now, and YES, the new ones are MADE IN INDIA. An apology.
Ogeneral, though, rest assured of the quality, seemed way out of the budget as the machines start at 49990 inr. that too non inverters.
However, after much studying, I decided to go in for the general non inverter as the usage was lesser, plus the ac anyway came with the new refrigerant R410, and with the new sleek look. also my parents, wanted to avoid the complexity of the modern electronics( which was completely unvalid for the inverters now, which are very much reliable, sighs)
the price turned out to be 51990 inr, and the dealer( my trusted one) offered no discount on this machine, I dont know for what reason. He said take any other with a discount but not on general.
The machine has got an eer of 3.51, with 17800 btu and 1500 watts of running current at 6.8 amperes.
Needless to say, the machine was made in Thailand by fujitsu general ltd.
The installation was done the other day. Its necessary to decide where you want the ac to be placed, and it is definitely better if you do a small workout as to where you would want your indoor unit and the outdoor unit.
For me the outdoor unit had to go on the roof, along with the other 3 daikin units which were already there, and the indoor unit was center mounted on the west wall, since this ac was equipped with automatic horizontal and vertical airflow.
The machine is equipped with hyper tropical compressors from general, made for performing effortlessly at ambient conditions of 55 degrees, the highest of whatever is there available in the market.
Now the points which made this machine seem better technically to other brands were-
1>the four fold evaporator unit, which makes it better for cooling,
2> then the coanda airflow technology, where the airflow is directed up to the ceiling for better cooling.
3> the large independently driven air diffuser which effectively distributes air, and ensures that swing in not merely a swing of a plastic flap which solves no purpose- which is there in all the brands.
4>the unit is even more compact than the outgoing model, and surprisingly looks sleeker too- knowing the fact that ogeneral never cared for the aesthetics of the machine.
5> the high rate of airflow of the machine, plus the number of selectable fan speeds- that is 5. Though I run it on super quiet.
As far as the outdoor unit is concerned, it shouts loud- R410 refrigerant, and exubes quality even at a distance. Weighs a hefty 48 kgs as compared to other units from different brands- another reason why I was doubtful of their performance. Though the only thing I would have wanted with the outdoor unit was the terminal cover, which kind of hides the pipework at the connection ports. anyhow, the condenser coils are anti rust coated and the cabinet is polyurethane/ powder coated which makes it withstand the worst of the weather and sunshine. the compressor has a blanket around, so the machine remains silent too, though a bit noisier than the daikins I have.
The installation was done promptly and neatly, however since it was already dark, the flare nut from one of the pipes couldnt have been tightened properly, as a result of which a small amount of gas escaped which was obviously refilled the next day.
Finally, the next morning, after thorough checking and the finishing job, the aircon was turned on, and for a moment I doubted if it were even running. The machine is dead silent, soo silent that you end up hearing the refrigerant running back to the outdoor unit.This also because the machine is on r410, which runs at a higher pressure. The cooling is superb, and the remote controller is sturdy too, just like the old general. I use it at 22, and the performance is more than what I could have asked for.
The installation came down to an additional 9k. Though the entire investment was way too costly, and I could have easliy settled in for an other brand, but a reason why I stuck with general was the longivity of the machines it provides. though I had wanted to post the pictures too, but somehow I cant find that option anymore.
ill still try sharing them whatever way possible.
Hope you liked the review. do comment!:)