Air Conditioner advice

[StevieAus]

Hi I am seeking some general advice/ comments regarding air conditioners with inverters it is an area where I have no expertise and have four Panasonic models with inverters in my home

Todate I have found them very efficient and certainly use less power than the traditional models

I have a friend who has a Mitsubishi inverter model which I think is 18 BTU and is a little over two years old which has recently required a new power board and motor and is now again malfunctioning

I am interested as to whether in a general sense inverter models are less reliable and are more problematic to diagnose and fix problems

Thanks in advance

[Naam]

53 minutes ago, StevieAus said:

I am interested as to whether in a general sense inverter models are less reliable and are more problematic to diagnose and fix problems

not necessarily less reliable but technically much more complicated plus the majority of the locals lack experience to diagnose and repair.

[Hereinthailand]

I think the biggest problem here with anything electronic is the unstable, dirty power supply we are fed. Digital electronics dont really like that. If I ran ac alot I would get an inverter only because i am able to fix it myself. And like naam says you are lucky if the service guy can make a good weld on your freon lines let alone diagnose anything.

[Crossy]

On 07/04/2017 at 0:25 PM, Hereinthailand said:

I think the biggest problem here with anything electronic is the unstable, dirty power supply we are fed. Digital electronics dont really like that. If I ran ac alot I would get an inverter only because i am able to fix it myself. And like naam says you are lucky if the service guy can make a good weld on your freon lines let alone diagnose anything.

 

Whilst we have all low-energy lighting the only inverter unit we have is the Samsung washing machine.

 

Last week the village transformer expired with the requisite fireworks, the only kit which died was the Samsung washer (and it wasn't even running). We were lucky, it was (just) in warranty, but Mr Samsung, having replaced the electronics module, said it was a common failure in Thailand.

 

It now has a 2-pole isolator which Wifey knows only to turn on whilst using the beast.

 

[Pib]

We've got a GE washing machine (a non-inverter type),  but have had to replace the main electronics board twice over 8 years.  We've always had a GE authorized repair service come out to repair it.  And that board never failed "while" washing; instead when it wasn't turned on. 

 

Both repair teams blamed it on power surges and just the fact the board always had power applied to it...he pointed out some diagnostic LEDs lite-up on the replacement board even with the machine not operating just to show the board had power going to it even with all the machines switches to the off position...it was kinda like that board was always operating in standby mode when turned off.  Or said another way, working to some extent 24 hours a day even when turned off.

 

They recommended we have the machine on stand-alone breaker we only turn on when using the machine; turned off when not in use.  Although the kitchen area where the machine is located is on a main circuit box breaker I installed a RCD type breaker just for the washing machine and located close to the machine to serve as an easy to reach on-off master switch, additional circuit breaker protection, and leakage current protection.   The RCD even has a LED to visually remind us and catch our attention whether the breaker is on or off.   This machine never sees power except when in use...hopefully this will extend the life of its main circuit board....time will tell.

 

But back to the air con question, I've got 7 "non-inverer" York split A/Cs in my house....they are around 9 years old...only really use 3 of them to any extent.  Only one has had serious failure over those 9 years where the condensor unit main electronics board smoked itself probably due to a small critter shorting it out.  The repair/replacement (labor and parts) was around Bt2,100. It was done by a Johnson Controls/York authorized techs....you know, fancy shirts and a pickup truck that didn't look like it came off a farm.  

 

Anyway, we asked the techs at that time about if it fails again what did he thing about getting an "inverter A/C and what brand they recommended?"     He pointed out they an be expensive to repair due to the more complicated electronics, the compressor costs significantly more than a standard compressor, are more sensitive to dirty power/power surges,  and he recommended Mitsubishi, York and one more branch....maybe it was Daiken.   And he stressed most run-of-the-mill A/C repairmen know much less about repairing inverter A/Cs compared to standard A/Cs which means they'll end up replacing things that don't need replacement.   

Edited April 9, 2017 by Pib