May 21, 2009 10:43 AM
38165 Views
(Updated Aug 29, 2010 08:20 AM)
Probably this is going to be the third of my reviews on airconditioners.we had to purchase an ac for our home in ahmedabad, as we had sold our old 15 year old bluestar wac.i was more interested in going for a split from panasonic, hitach or ogeneral, but since these, once installed, cant be shifted to different locations, we had no option but to go for a window ac.
now again, we had 2 hitachi quadricool tm and two ogeneral window acs for our home in delhi, i didnt want to spend that much on a window ac again.i had thought that this time the budget wont exceed 20000, be it anyway. now the companies that manufactured window acs in this range were carrier, voltas, lg, samsung, whirlpool etc.etc.
I was very much apprehensive about the performance of lg and samsung window acs, as I had heard alot about them breaking down in a couple of years, seeing the reputation of carrier, i went for it.though I knew, it wouldnt match the performance of my hitachi and ogeneral acs, i was rest assured it would still be a steady performer.but when I started using it and felt the cold blast of air, all the prejudices were turned down.
carrier has two models viz. estrella and durakool.since estrella was again for 22000, and I wouldnt have mind spending 3000 more for an ogeneral, i went for the durakool.
this ac has got a pleasant looking grille, and is smaller in size as compared to traditional carrier acs, the cabinet is having the same depth as that of quadricool, so a few might face difficulty in installing it if they have a cage pre installed for the ac.
this ac has got a cooling capacity of 17600 btu with a power consumption of 1889 watts. the airflow is good at 500 cfm.moisture removal is 2.6 lts per hour.the chassis is durable with aluminium parts in the evaporator.
now this came as a surprise, as I didnt know about anyother company manufacturing its acs with aluminium parts except for ogeneral and hitachi.the fanmotor is produced by carrier itself.
the features of this ac are-
1.high EER-high energy efficiency ratio of 9.31 makes it a goo buy.
2.low and high voltage protection-is an additional feature which allows u to use the ac without the need of a stabilizer.
3.slinger up fan system-picks up the water from the pan and splashes it onto the condenser to cool it.this increases the efficiency and the performance of the ac, as compared to aircooled machines.
4.turbo mode-this allows the ac to run on full fan speed for 20 minutes, for instant cooling.
5.intelligent sleep mode-now I consider this mode to be much better than that of the kaimin offered by hitachi.in kaimin, the temperatur is increased by 1 degree every hour for four hours, but here the temperature is increased by 2degree for the first 2 hours, and then the same temperature is maintained at which you had switched the airconditioner on.
6.filter cleaning indicator-is a good add on, and reminds when to clean it.
7.self diagnosis-error codes are displayed on the control panel for easy maintenance.
5.advanced dry mode-reduces the level of humidity in the room by automatically decreasing the fan speed.
6.advanced dust filter-though its of no utter importace for me, it has got four filters, one being the pre filter and three special filters.
7.easy access to the filter-makes it easy for maintenance .
auto restart is also there in this ac.
the condenser fins, as far as I could see are very durable and has got the original anti rust coating provided by carrier.the only let down point for this ac is the remote, its too small and without and lcd display.buttons are small, so it requires to be pressed hardly.this ac has got 2 star rating from bee.
the room size for which I am using this ac is 160 sqft.the cooling is superb.the ac is used for atleast 20 hours a day, and there are no signs of stress on the compressor.the tempertaure set by me is 22 degree, which is maintained within a span of 1 hour, after which the on/off cycle of the compressor begins.
the free services are yet to be availed, but I am quite reluctant on availing them, because the ac is always much better off as long as it stays away from these incompetent mechanics.i purchased it for 19000 inr from sight and sound, paldi, ahmedabad.
please rate this review, and let me know the short comings.
