The black R32 gas inverter model looks good and have indirect cooling (blows ceiling wards like Sharp Gentle cool function and Panasonic Skyaire). The champagne colour one is R410a and already 3 years old.

Try the AC filter from Daiso. Hopefully it can cover the intake without any gaps.

Hopefully, this is not carried over to the Hitachi? 😓

Cool, what's the model? Frost defrost cleaning of the fins sounds like the R32 Hitachi premium inverter as well.

Daikin next in step with Panasonic validating Coanda effect and incorporating it in their products.


What Sharp had been doing since the last decade by integrating it in some of their models esp the inverter. Sharp's biggest market share for AC is in India if not mistaken and they only sell inverter models there.


This post has been edited by halcyon27: Feb 7 2019, 09:23 PM

Get AC contractor to troubleshoot and fix the leak then purge (into capturing tank) and refill? Is the pipe leaky in the first place or poor workmanship ie leak occurred at flaring nut? The second is easier to fix. If it's the first, I suggest to replace the pipes with better ones like Inaba Denko paircoil. The insulated pipes are sturdier and high quality. All depend on how it's installed and if there are kinks where pipe are laid.

Wow, reading from your postings in this thread, strongly hints of poor worksmanship in the installation esp the existing piping if when you moved in or had the AC guy to install which to me is highly suspect. I recommend you get a good installer and redo the piping: take out and put in higher quality ones. Otherwise no matter what AC installed also will consistently face this issue. A good installation don't leak gas. In SG or even here, with regular maintenance by good AC guys, they last 10 years upwards and even 15 years or more.

Is your place landed or condo and are you located in Klang Valley? If so, depending on where you live, I can recommend an installer. You may want to contact forumer shadow_fax as he carries the piping I mentioned.

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Feb 14 2019, 08:11 PM

Is the unit inverter or non inverter?

I've had mine serviced by Sharp. They are ok. Quite prompt.

Old piping was running what aircon? See this post. The main concern rather is that if R22 was used, there would be residues of mineral lubricant of its compressor. The R410a and R32 would use something else. The R22 lubricant is not compatible and would somehow damage the compressor for R410a and R32. Usually pipe change is recommended but if can't the link above tells what you can do to reuse the pipe.

Efficiency is not everything. The other problem aspects that's never considered until Toshiba pioneered it are health and user comfort via their Daiseikai models (link). All manufacturers implement it in some form or another.

Sharp's been advancing this two aspect as their trump cards...
Health
1. Purify air and kills germs using plasmacluster...very useful for bed room esp when one is sick...lessen the chances of infection spreading to others
2. Clean function - dries blower and fan coil unit preventing mould from establishing....a common problem in all AC not equipped with plasmacluster. Can be mimicked via models with fan function being turned on for 2 hours and turned off via of timer. However these lacked plasmacluster efficacy to clean the inside the blower and fan coil unit.

User comfort
1 Coanda effect - air flow directed ceiling wards rather than at the occupants.
2 spot cooling - introduced since 2015, although meant for "blow it over here" kinda of use, this is also useful in rooms where without it there's no chance to avoid the AC not blowing at occupants when sleeping. Users can use spot cooling to direct the majority of the air flow elsewhere to alleviate this condition.

Hitachi R32 premium inverter also has Coanda, indoor unit clean (anti mould) and air purifying as well. Same with Panasonic R32. Daikin implemented Coanda in one (FTKC) or in a higher HP version (FTKV) but air purifying and mould proof operation in others. Only the high end one combines it.

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Feb 20 2019, 07:49 AM

If you're in Klang Valley, try Jetbox provided by The Dustbox. A readup on blogger feedback here They provide deep cleaning of AC with water jet. Similar to this...


This post has been edited by halcyon27: Feb 20 2019, 07:50 PM

It's both indoor and outdoor units. It's in the service package description. The other similar service can try is Airestec using their enzyme based cleanser as linked here.

Google: air cond cleaning covers
These are sold in Lazada etc

A correct installation don't leak gas. It's the taking apart during and reassembling after periodic cleaning that will introduce the chance of faulty connections thus leaking.

That's why it pays to use very good piping without any section joints along it's whole length connecting from indoor to outdoor. Also it must lay correctly and also bend without any kinks (bent blockages).

Don't underestimate the importance of piping and correct installation. These ensure gas volume remains constant throughout its useful service life. Thus it pays to use very good quality insulated piping and good workmanship.

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Feb 22 2019, 06:36 AM

In that case, your master will be in the same predicament as the living room. Very hot in the night except when raining.

AC point electrical placed where in each area? Piping installed? Where will the compressor be placed? Can give dimensions of each space...living including dining as well.

I avoid installers that is assigned by the electrical shops. I look for installers from AC parts suppliers. A few of them were discovered this way. Similarly, I tend to distrust developer AC installers and wish they let me get my own installers to supply and install AC electrical, drainage and gas piping. Get the properly trained specialist to do what they do best.

Good piping use Inaba Denko Paircoil (JP). The other one it's Smartco Paircoil (KR). Each pipe is insulated individually (correct way) rather than 1 insulation over two pipes (wrong way). See here.

AC cost savings check the excel sheet with alexander3133 as he came up with the stats in this thread. He'll update it time to time. Inveter already save from day 1. All boils down to how frequent in usage. The more it's used the faster the payback. If rarely used no point going inverter. If going 5 star, make sure you get good piping installed as described above.

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Feb 22 2019, 04:44 PM

What's now shown here is how they shield the electrical section from water spray. If it's inverter be try careful not to kena the PCB with water. Also turn off the electrical before attempting that. See how this guy does it.

The spray gun type is important. Cannot be too strong or it will damage or destroy the AC components. And must have 3 types for correct application: soaping, front wash spray, inside spray.

Also, it's not just the tool but the combination of good non corrosive biodegradable cleansing agent (sometimes have enzyme) there's able to penetrate deep into the area that needs cleaning. And water temperature e.g. some use slightly hotter than shower temperature. This is the difference it makes as claimed by Hydrokleen vs others.


Plus good flow rate.


This post has been edited by halcyon27: Feb 22 2019, 04:40 PM

This is living room-dining or whole unit?

Assuming living-dining, 760sqft x 60 BTUh/sqft = 45600BTUh
About 4.5HP. Most likely if they provide piping it would be for 2-2.5HP typically. The key is the piping sizes. If the living room pipings provided are 1/4"& 5/8" (typical for 2-2.5HP) a couple of models of 3HP are compatible from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) brought in by Trio in Puchong. Typical piping sizes used for 2.5HP and above are 3/8" & 5/8".

Even if the piping sizes are supported, you need to know the placement is by AC ledge/balcony or suspended on the wall accessed through the window. If it's the latter, the main limitation is how wide a compressor would the window admit.

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Feb 22 2019, 08:46 PM

Some AC subcon prefer to do their own wiring whilst electrical one is present and rightly so.

You may PM shadow_fax for the pipes as he sells. See his thread. Note that the drainage pipes must also be insulated otherwise the walls and floors will sweat.

Also, calculate the HP requirements expressed in BTUhr as posted here. From the HP, the typical pipe sizes can be estimated. As to their length, you need to measure and give allowance for extra if you think the bends may eat up extra length.

Ideally, there should be no brazing to connect two length of pipes for a single installation (e.g. Bedroom) unless it's longer than 20m. This is critical esp if dwelling is a condo with dedicated AC ledges. Otherwise, it introduce chance for leakages and it's the installer skills that makes the difference whether the AC will last a lifetime (assuming pepper servicing) or die prematurely over time due to a poor seal at the joint between two segments. Also the pipes can be thicker with their insulation more then the current method of 2 pipes under 1 insulation wrap. Make sure the open ends of the pipes are sealed to prevent dust infiltration u ntil your installer is ready to pasang.

The other peculiarity to note is even with the same HP, piping spec will vary between different models across brands. For example the R410a Sharp plasmacluster inverter wall mounted 1.5HP piping spec was that typically used for 2HP in other brands whilst many brands 1 and 1.5HP pipes have identical spec. It can be vice versa say living room 2 to 2.5HP installed but user find it insufficient in cooling performance and wishes to upgrade to 3HP. Certain 3HP models have the same piping spec as the installed 2 or 2.5HP. Thus, the user is a happy camper if he wishes to upgrade. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 3HP wall mounted are one example using piping spec routinely found among 2.5HP of others.

To summarise after calculating cooling load requirements in BTUhr and working out the HP of the AC, see the type of AC mounting ie Ceiling (11ft ceiling minimum) or wall mounted. Then from the mount type narrow down the model and determine its piping size both gas and their drainage. The larger the HP, typically the larger their pipe sizes granted there are exceptions. Ceiling even more so esp Mitsubishi Electric which is larger than similar HP of other brands.

Don't skimp by sizing HP too small esp in rooms where it's at the high end of one cooling load e.g. 14,500-15,000BTUhr (1.75HP) and below that of the next ie 2HP (17,500-18,000BTUhr). Round it upwards, hence size the AC for the bedroom as 2HP instead to prevent it overworking if the cooling load looks on the high side. If it's 11,900BTUhr, instead of 1HP (e.g. 8,500-10,500, 9,000-11,500BTUhr), go for 1.5HP (12,000-14,500). Inverters saves and once set temperature is reached they will cut off e.g. 150-200Whr to maintain set temperature (partial load). Unlike Indonesia, AC manufacturers dont bring in 0.5HP, 0.75HP or 1.75HP (Panasonic does but limited). Not many carry 3HP wall mounted which is useful for living and dining contained in a large open flow space. 3HP and above are typically ceiling mounted but ceiling height should be 11ft minimum to account for the slightly over 1ft drop.

Also large piping can be used if spec require smaller but not the other way round but keep it at spec.

Note that if dwelling is a condo and depending upon it's structural characteristics and features for AC compressor placement, owners may have to live with its limitations. Some condo have dedicated AC ledges accessible through a door or at the balcony, others require installing out of the window with safety harness. And windows limit what kind of compressor can pass through esp the middle divider plus the window handle (should be able to dismantle its handle and place it back after). I know one case and to this forumer's chagrin that the window admits only a 1.5HP compressor when the living and dining requires 2HP.

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Feb 25 2019, 07:28 AM

Can take picture of Acson piping?

R32 is the next replacement of R410a. R410a=R32 (50%) + R125 (50%)

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Mar 2 2019, 04:25 PM