Tofer

25 minutes ago, Naam said:

Daikin flaws

-on high fan speed the units are extremely loud.

-fan bearings deteriorate when used continously after a few years.

 

positive aspect

-quite reliable and fair priced.

-availability of spare parts excellent.

 

summary:

but generally highly overrated by people who lack experience with other brands.

 

If, if I ever have to use them they will not be on high speed fan, we usually switch a/c on a bit before turning in to allow the room to cool down, and then run it at about 26/27* with low to medium fan. That's in our temporary rented home where they don't have ceiling fans or insect screens to allow windows to be left open.

I would only use high speed fan in a hotel room which you enter hot and need a quick cooling solution, many of which are quite noisy also when on full blast.

In which case I'm guessing you would give your blessing for Daikin!

5 minutes ago, Naam said:

actually the aircons are the only items in our home which are serviced twice a year by a professional company. any other maintenance and repair is carried out by an excellent  handyman (empoyed full time) and my [not so] humble self.

I was hoping to teach my lovely wife how to clean the filters once we've moved in, but she's already making noises about wanting help to clean and cook, so I guess that might be something I have to get up out of my recliner to see to, unless the maid can handle it :)

I can't complain as she's spending just about all day, every day on site whipping our plot into shape gardening, at least that will nicely frame the view whilst I relax on the terrace for the rest of the time......

1 hour ago, realenglish1 said:

Doesn't look like the cops are doing anything Sad Another reason people do not trust the cops in Thailand

According to the Thai news my wife watches / hears, the culprits have been apprehended and she assures me they will not be able to buy their way out of it. Let's hope so.

On 19 September 2017 at 7:49 AM, opalred said:

i am in my 70s and don't need glasses 

how many out there wear glasses 

should have taken notice of your parents

But are you blind?

On 19 September 2017 at 3:54 PM, Oztruckie said:

Installed Daikin reverse cycle ducted system in my house,on advice from couple of mates who'd been air.con installers for 50 years, in Melbourne back in 1998,sold house several years ago,Daikin system still working as good as the day the system was installed,never ever had a service guy come out to make any repairs.

Is a ducted system much more expensive than split units?

We only need 3 a/c's in the bedrooms of our house, 2 in a 1-bed apt. & 3 in a 2-bed apt.

1 hour ago, JAS21 said:

Mr Naam's ...modest family home is very nice. He does have a few helpers ... Mrs Naam is a very nice lady ... Mr Naam is okay but can be just a little prickly at times ... woops   

I guessed as much :)

On 19 September 2017 at 2:22 PM, ThaiWai said:

Since it is both shoulders it is possibly a compressed nerve between c6 and c7.  Pain or tingling can manifest in the shoulders and can go down the arms all the way to the fingers.  See my scan below.  For temporary pain relief skip the tramadols for a few days instead load on Tylenol.  By load I mean take 2 caplets every 6 hours while symptoms last. Do not take more than 6 caplets in 24 hours, unless directed by a doctor.  The level of medication needed to reduce swelling must be brought up and kept at that level to be effective.  The Tylenol should reduce swelling rather than mask the pain like the tramadol.  If it is a herniated disk don't rush to surgery.  I saw a top surgeon in NY who advised me to give the disk time to heal as the vast majority will on their own.  Mine in fact did.  See a specialist.

 

 

Wish I'd posted the question on here before I spent a considerable sum on our local physio practitioner. That's exactly the problem I have right now. 

I'll try your medication solution as after 7 visits to physo I'm still suffering,  albeit to a lesser degree. Thanks.

On 19 September 2017 at 9:23 AM, MarkusAUST said:

You should visit a specialised remedial therapist. The only one I know of is Nigel Kelsey in Pattaya, who is absolutely brilliant. My dad had the same thing and he spent a fortune trying everything. One visit to Nigel fixed it 80% and the second solved it completely. From someone who couldn't move his shoulders without pain, he is now playing badminton again. I will message you his details.

Hi Markus, would you please message me his details also. I'm no where near Pattaya, but if he's that good I'll travel.

There'll always be some lemons in any purchases but in general it seems the Daikin units are well respected.

Thanks again to all contributors.

20 hours ago, Naam said:

no, our home is just a modest single family dwelling but to keep it at a comfortable temperature we have besides the two units (one shown above) another 16 units with capacities between 9,000 and 24,000 btu/h installed.

I think you're mistaking your modest family home for a hotel! 555

Jeeze, it must be a full time job looking after 18 units, not to mention the running costs....

I appreciate all your input, thanks.

On 19 September 2017 at 6:51 PM, phantomfiddler said:

Daicon or Daikin ? First one sounds like a scam. I always get Daikin and have never had a problem :)

Funny guy, it was the auto spell check that caught me out. Thanks for the recommendation.

5 hours ago, Deli said:

OK, behavior sucks and you just can't do it.

But... some of the gas stations' attendants really should better do another job. Seen them even being too short to see when the tank of of a big bike is full, overfilling and spilling gas on the paint, banging the nozzle against the tank or bike, etc.  All normal and mai pen rai... it's not my vehicle, is what they might think. OK, not a reason to become violent but still thing to consider.

'Behaviour sucks'.... and 'still thing to consider' Your sympathy is touching!!

If you're not satisfied with the service and your bike is so precious get off your lazy a..e and do it yourself......

1 hour ago, VocalNeal said:

Tofer,

 

Have you scoured the interweb?

 

Stuff like?

 

 

Many AC marques and maintenance products are not available here but some of the general stuff will be useful.

Thanks VocalNeal, very informative.

I must confess to being a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to the Internet, I must try to get into the habit more. Always been used to having expert consultants around me on major projects for instant advice, now I'm on my own minor domestic project I'm not convinced I get the best or impartial advice from local tradesmen and sales staff.

My reason for this platform enquiry was to get personal experience specific to what people have used here in Thailand and by the sea. 

The very useful general / maintenance advice is also very helpful and much appreciated from all who have chipped in, thank you.

12 hours ago, amvet said:

Twice a year before the hot season as the tech are less busy then.  This year it was once because I forgot and the guys cleaning it the first time were incompetent and because of that I had to replace a sensor 850 baht.  The AC's diagnostic program found the problem and I checked on line with my smartphone as did the tech.

Thanks for the practical advice.

14 hours ago, trd said:

14 hours ago, Tofer said:

Thanks for sharing your experience. 
 
Judging by by the other posters it sounds like you've been particularly unlucky, sorry to hear that.
 
Are your Mitsubishi units performing well?

Yes, I've always been very happy with Mitsubishi. The build quality is better than Daikin IMHO. The Diakin had to be cleaned at least every three months because the airflow would start to make an annoying whooshing sound. I just came up to a year for a clean with a Mitsubishi Mr Slim with no airflow problems at all. One Diakin I had kept making a lot of annoying clicking sounds as the badly designed plastic enclosure made expansion and contraction noises. The Diakin installer had to strip it down and line the insides with tape to get rid of the noise. He said it was a common problem with them. Six months later the evaporator motor packed up. Never again. Daikin is an Indian company. Mitsubishi is Japanese. Enough said!

Thanks for the detailed information.

At least nobody has trashed Mitsubishi yet.

Our temporary rented accommodation has Panasonic and they are not performing well, don't know how old they are though.

6 minutes ago, trogers said:

My advice to my tenants would be run them for 40 minutes at least once a month.

Thanks, I will bear that in mind.

3 hours ago, amvet said:

Nothing but Daikon for 10 years.  No problems.  Cleaning is important.  They need to be torn down to the basics, nothing in the wall except frame.  If the cleaning service does not know what they are doing you will have problems.  My Daikon dealer was not as good as the contractor I have now. 

Thanks amvet. How often do you strip them down for cleaning?

2 hours ago, kokesaat said:

We've had 2 Daikin 18.5000 btu inverters for about 4 years.  Problem free, quiet, great dehumidifier as well.  We have them cleaned each year and I clean the filters each month.

 

Thanks for the practical advice.

2 hours ago, transam said:

My chum in the UK is an A/C guy, he advised me to buy Daikin Inverter cos very few call outs. So I did, 10 years on and still going strong, only the accepted fan hum, no clicking on and off either..

PS. Never been gassed up.

Very encouraging, thanks transam.

3 hours ago, trd said:

Personally I would never buy Daikin ever again. Had two units, both became very noisy. Even the main Daikin dealer couldn't fix it. Mitsubishi is all I would use now.

Thanks for sharing your experience. 

Judging by by the other posters it sounds like you've been particularly unlucky, sorry to hear that.

Are your Mitsubishi units performing well?

18 minutes ago, trogers said:

Not much difference when the air-cons would be seldom used.

 

Not advisable to leave them unused for long periods. Lubricant for the compressor is in the refrigerant. Even an expensive brand can sieze up.

 

Inverter units only make sense when used frequently.

Thanks trogers.

How often and for how long should the units be run if generally stood dormant for a while?

Many thanks to all contributors. I really appreciate your input.

I would appreciate any advice regarding which a/c units are considered good and which should be avoided.

We are building next to the sea and have been advised by an a/c installer to use Daikin as he claims they are the least prone to rusting.

Other than the rusting issue, we would hope to install units which are reliable, relatively low maintenance and quiet in operation.

Homepro are pushing the Samsung units at the moment, claiming they are low maintenance with some special filtration system,  and they claim the Mitsubishi condensers are very durable against rusting.

I have designed the house with good passive ventilation and lots of fans, and with decent sea breezes we would hope not to have to use a/c very much at all, but no doubt visitors will struggle without, and the humid wet season in the South will probably send us running for the on switch also at night time, or we may yet spend those months away with the house locked up. Would this low usage create any problems, i.e. should we run them periodically to prevent the mechanisms seizing up?

Thank you in anticipation for your input.

On 15 September 2017 at 5:17 AM, Homburg said:

There's money to be made from business owners over Walking Street signage.  No money to be made from any of the other issues. 

Lots of money to be made from fines OR expensive blindfolds on all the issues!

Either way. It can only be good for the potential improvement in traffic law compliance and educating litter louts.

4 hours ago, silent said:

Not on their own doorstep

Sadly, that's not true. 

They litter their own and their neighbours doorsteps indiscriminately. Then they are the first to complain when tourists numbers drop off, scratching their heads and wondering why..... Blaming the bad weather or anything else, other than their own obvious lack of civic pride.

We drive past homes on our island that are piled high with junk and rubbish, that tourist are also subjected to when supposedly visiting the 'paradise' islands of Southern Thailand. We occassionally then drive a shortcut route on the mainland through a place of particular note, Lam Thap - North East of Krabi, where it is clear there is a sense of civic pride. The area is clean and tidy with well manicured frontages to their homes and businesses where few, if any, foreign visitors call into or even transit. Every time we travel this route I am bemused by the completely polar difference in attitudes of Thais towards their environment.

A campaign to highlight the negative impact of all this pollution on tourism, and hence their direct income, in a lot of places around Thailand may just hit home. That is, optimistically of course, assuming there is a measure of logical thought in the indigenous population. Hmmmm.