Need a new aircon-any suggestions

My 10+ year old Daikin has dieded & it will cost $800 & to repair & there's no guarantee that the repair will last. So I'm looking for a new multi-system aircon.
The aircon will have to cool 3 rooms.

Would be interested in hearing the opinions out people have on the various brands.

Who did you use to do the installation? I've heard of Gain City, are they good?

Better buy new one than repair. Get energy saving higher BTU/kw.

ok.my contractors got many experience doing commerical and home aircon.
they recommened mustisti

Mitsubishi the best. Any jap brands also fine. No korean brands, CMI.

Also make sure aircon capacity bigger than your house floor area. It save electricity as compressor only need to run at below 70% capacity to cool the whole house and also extend life of the compressor.

sleaguepunter said:

Mitsubishi the best. Any jap brands also fine. No korean brands, CMI.

Also make sure aircon capacity bigger than your house floor area. It save electricity as compressor only need to run at below 70% capacity to cool the whole house and also extend life of the compressor.

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Mitsubishi is easy to maintance and service

using mitsuibishi 3-1 inverter air-con,,, think about $3100 or $3300 last oct

I've heard that Dailkin only does aircons, that's why their aircons are good. Is this still true?

I read somewhere that there is a Mitsubishi Heavy Industry & Mitsubishi Electric. Are they the same company? If they are different divisions, which division makes the better product?
I've heard good things about Mitsubishi. The only negative was something about their models using higher standby power.

Any recommendation on a company which does a good installation i.e. a company that is not going to cut corners
The reason I've been reluctant to replace my aircon is because my current setup is that the pipes are hidden. A new installation will require making a mess :(

johnny333 said:

I've heard that Dailkin only does aircons, that's why their aircons are good. Is this still true?

I read somewhere that there is a Mitsubishi Heavy Industry & Mitsubishi Electric. Are they the same company? If they are different divisions, which division makes the better product?
I've heard good things about Mitsubishi. The only negative was something about their models using higher standby power.

Any recommendation on a company which does a good installation i.e. a company that is not going to cut corners
The reason I've been reluctant to replace my aircon is because my current setup is that the pipes are hidden. A new installation will require making a mess :(

Click to expand...

I heard from one Malaysia electrical appliance shop that the Mitsubishi electric air con is the better one while the Mitsubishi Heavy industry one is China made...

johnny333 said:

I've heard that Dailkin only does aircons, that's why their aircons are good. Is this still true?

I read somewhere that there is a Mitsubishi Heavy Industry & Mitsubishi Electric. Are they the same company? If they are different divisions, which division makes the better product?
I've heard good things about Mitsubishi. The only negative was something about their models using higher standby power.

Any recommendation on a company which does a good installation i.e. a company that is not going to cut corners
The reason I've been reluctant to replace my aircon is because my current setup is that the pipes are hidden. A new installation will require making a mess :(

Click to expand...

Mitsubishi is the best damn thing ever invented since the Ice Cube. I bought my house Resale and the seller/ex-owner had been using a Mitsubishi for several years. He threw it in as part of the deal. I continue to use his Mitsubishi today. I think it is more than 11 years now. Still going strong, chilling the whole house to Antarctica standard, and saving me electricity: $100-$200 per month for a 1,000 sq. ft. apartment.

If you are changing from Non Inverter to Inverter, you cannot avoid a mess. All the drainage pipes must be changed. Pipe gauge(size) for Non Inverter and Inverter are different.

As for MHI versus Mitsubishi Electric, some forums claim MHI is better quality because it is made for Commercial Property. Mitsubishi Electric is made for Residential property. But the same forums say Spare Parts are hard to get with MHI, easy to get with Mitsubishi Electric. Do your own research and decide for yourself.

When I first moved into my current residence, all the units had Daikin fitted but after 10 years or so I decided to change mine to Mitsubishi Electric Inverter series.
Four years later, still going strong and no complaints and my energy bill is down by about 40% due to the improved energy efficiency. Try and get a model with 4 green ticks.

Whoever you buy the aircon from, you should also get them to install, reason being is that you might get a better price on the deal. In my case, it was Gain City.

Charlie258 said:

Mitsubishi is the best damn thing ever invented since the Ice Cube. I bought my house Resale and the seller/ex-owner had been using a Mitsubishi for several years. He threw it in as part of the deal. I continue to use his Mitsubishi today. I think it is more than 11 years now. Still going strong, chilling the whole house to Antarctica standard, and saving me electricity: $100-$200 per month for a 1,000 sq. ft. apartment.

If you are changing from Non Inverter to Inverter, you cannot avoid a mess. All the drainage pipes must be changed. Pipe gauge(size) for Non Inverter and Inverter are different.

As for MHI versus Mitsubishi Electric, some forums claim MHI is better quality because it is made for Commercial Property. Mitsubishi Electric is made for Residential property. But the same forums say Spare Parts are hard to get with MHI, easy to get with Mitsubishi Electric. Do your own research and decide for yourself.

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My current setup is a Daikin inverter system so replacing the pipping is an option, not really necessary. I understand that inverter systems use a different coolant(R401) which runs at a higher pressures.
However since the original system is quite old 10+ years, I think it's prudent to replace the pipping & drainage right

I will probably have to redo my false ceiling & cornices:(

My main concern with Mistsubishi is the BTU rating. They person who services my Daikin(CTK25FVEN) tells me that it is about 10,000+ BTU??. The Mitsubishi units don't have sufficient cooling power. They seem to be in the 8,000+?? range. He's told me that eventually most people complain of "not cold" problems as the units age. He has no reason to lie. I've asked him if he would be interested in installing a new unit but he doesn't have the manpower, so only does servicing.

The funny thing is that when I visit the various sites the BTU rating of a model is not shown So it makes it diffcult to do a comparison.

Correction: the coolant used in inverter units is R410A & not R401

THE_CHANSTER said:

When I first moved into my current residence, all the units had Daikin fitted but after 10 years or so I decided to change mine to Mitsubishi Electric Inverter series.
Four years later, still going strong and no complaints and my energy bill is down by about 40% due to the improved energy efficiency. Try and get a model with 4 green ticks.

Whoever you buy the aircon from, you should also get them to install, reason being is that you might get a better price on the deal. In my case, it was Gain City.

Click to expand...

Definitely will invest in the more efficient units because in Spore the power rates are so expensive.

I've heard mixed reviews about Gain City, some good & some bad. I don't know what to believe

johnny333 said:

My 10+ year old Daikin has dieded & it will cost $800 & to repair & there's no guarantee that the repair will last. So I'm looking for a new multi-system aircon.
The aircon will have to cool 3 rooms.

Would be interested in hearing the opinions out people have on the various brands.

Who did you use to do the installation? I've heard of Gain City, are they good?

Click to expand...

Why don't you go down to gain city showroom in Ang Mo Kio near to Daikin HQ & take a look, & there is another aircond reseller at one of the Industrial shops facing the main road near the petrol station, where you can shop & compare..or even pop in Daikin & take a look?

My recent split aircond is from Gain City, their customer service is efficient & proficient, can not praise them, that they are that good. They came at appointed, day & time, installed the aircond professionally, but you can never get 100%. There are small things you have to watch for...like forgetting some small things, & in my case, did not tighten something. the gas leaked & one day after installation , all the units were not cold. Called Customer service, they came 4 hours after call were made, checked & rectified the mistake. But do not take things for granted,,run the units through & for almost every day...after a weak, the compressor, made extremely loud noises, called customer service again once again, the came on time. Here is something I learn, that is why test the system. The noise came from a part in compressor, the fault is known by the distributor & the reseller. If your compressor does not display that fault that soon or 'you are lucky' it never occurred, then, it is all right with them. For, under warranty, the replacement part from the distributor is free...so, they know that, somewhere after the warranty the fault will occur & they will be charging you FREE PARTS & services...do you feel lucky??

Other than that, Gain City Service is ok...at least you explain to the person who answer your phone,knows what you are talking about. But the aircond installer told me...get units that is at least assembled in MALAYSIA....the Vietnamese ones are not so good & those the PRC..he "SMILED" & they told me, my aircond is the last batch from "assembled in Malaysia"...the rest are from PRC. "do you feel lucky"?

Just make sure you don't consider having one to be installed by Hong Tar Engineering. You will get hot in no time and I'm not even talking about the temperature of the air con system.

halsey02 said:

... There are small things you have to watch for...like forgetting some small things, & in my case, did not tighten something. the gas leaked & one day after installation , all the units were not cold. Called Customer service, they came 4 hours after call were made, checked & rectified the mistake. But do not take things for granted,,run the units through & for almost every day...after a weak, the compressor, made extremely loud noises, called customer service again once again, the came on time. Here is something I learn, that is why test the system. The noise came from a part in compressor, the fault is known by the distributor & the reseller. If your compressor does not display that fault that soon or 'you are lucky' it never occurred, then, it is all right with them. For, under warranty, the replacement part from the distributor is free...so, they know that, somewhere after the warranty the fault will occur & they will be charging you FREE PARTS & services...do you feel lucky??

Other than that, Gain City Service is ok...at least you explain to the person who answer your phone,knows what you are talking about. But the aircond installer told me...get units that is at least assembled in MALAYSIA....the Vietnamese ones are not so good & those the PRC..he "SMILED" & they told me, my aircond is the last batch from "assembled in Malaysia"...the rest are from PRC. "do you feel lucky"?

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Looks like Gain City has cornered the aircon market in Spore. The guy who services my aircon & my neighbour recommends them for their "prices".

I'll be sure to do a burn-in once I get the new unit. It is something I didn't know about. Thanks for the tip. When I got my current home the aircon was already installed so I didn't have the teething problems

Err. just curious which aircon did you get?

Debonerman said:

Just make sure you don't consider having one to be installed by Hong Tar Engineering. You will get hot in no time and I'm not even talking about the temperature of the air con system.

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Ok, no Hong Tar Engineering

This one right
www.hongtar.com.sg
1 Bukit Batok Crescent
#03-23 Wcega Plaza
Singapore 658064

my current 3 in 1 is LG

plan to upgrade to an inverter unit

do i need to re-pipe?

called 2 dealers and got 2 diff advise

was advised to hv a good insulation

can anyone advise what is this insulation all about?

rambo22 said:

my current 3 in 1 is LG

plan to upgrade to an inverter unit

do i need to re-pipe?

called 2 dealers and got 2 diff advise

was advised to hv a good insulation

can anyone advise what is this insulation all about?

Click to expand...

ok.in lay men term

u have a machine A in your room.
you have machine b OUTSIDE your room.
to cool your room, make use of machine A to remove the heat out of your room.
how machine A and machine B talk to each other?
of cos through piping.
Machine A remove heat from your room
machine B generate ice water to machine A
B pass ice water to A through pipe.if the pipe not insulated, then condesn and loss will occur.
A after using up the ice water will throw the warm water back to B to be recycled

how does a huge builing like mbs supply aircon to few thousands cubic sq?
on the rooftop, they have a few giant machine A (cooling tower).
on the groundfloor, they have few machine C ( giant chillers)
C make ice water,in the process generate tonn of heat.
heat must pass out of teh builing to A through pipe.
C very stressful, must pass the ice water to machine B ( call ahu and fcu ), must pass warm water to A(colling tower)

rambo22 said:

do i need to re-pipe?

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I visited Courts to look at the models they carry. I did ask about re-doing the pipes. He told me that copper should last 25 years. I am a bit dubious that things lasts so long
Will visit the showrooms of Daikin and Gain City & one of the things I'll ask them is their opinion about this. Suspect that the only way to tell is to do a visual inspection.

For me I will go with a re-piping. I actually want to ask them if there is an option to have larger drainage pipes. Does anyone know if using larger pipes will help avoid the common problem of water leaking This usually happens when the drainage pipes get clogged & water leaks the wrong way. Hoping a larger pipe will reduce the problem of clogging

From my visit to courts I found out that almost all the aircons they carry are made in Thailand. Only the Panasonic brand is still made in Malaysia.

rambo22 said:

do i need to re-pipe?

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Realised that your situation is different from mine. I am replacing an old invertor unit with another invertor model, while you are upgrading from a non-invertor model to an invertor model.
From my understating, an invertor unit puts more pressure on the pipes i.e. more stress. It also uses a different type of gas, R-410A instead of R-22. For these reasons it is probably a good idea to simply re-pipe.