Oct 04, 2012 08:45 PM
124617 Views
I am sure I had put up a review for my Hitachi FollowMe 1.5T split AC last year. However, I cannot find it . so writing a new one.
I bought this AC in May 2011 after much research. We(a friend and I) went with Hitachi as we perceived it to be a cut above in terms of quality, features and service. So are we happy after more than a year of usage?
Quality: I find build quality to be fine. After one year of usage, there are some small issues. Filter clean indicator is now always on! I clear the filter, reset the indicator and a minute later it comes back on! The panel used for covering input wire is loose and has to be taped up. Apart from this I feel that AC is still the same as new.
Performance: Cooling is good. This AC is installed for living+ dining room which is the largest part of our apartment and is used mostly during day time. Though the area doesn't get chilled within couple of minutes as other rooms, cooling is pretty good. Operation is almost silent even though we always have the fan level at max. Our electricity bills are also very reasonable.
Features: Main feature is FollowMe. The horizontal swing blades are supposed to change direction if people move to different places. This feature has never worked for us, maybe because we are not much interested in it:-) But this works for my friend. However, even he admits that he uses this maybe couple of times a season to show people what is FollowMe! IMHO it is not worth buying this AC for this feature.
Price: Hitachi ACs are pricier in general. This one cost us about 43000 including the stabilizer, stand, piping, installation etc. Please note that copper pipe is included. I am talking about water drainage pipe.
Service: As usual, this is a sore spot. First thing a service person will ask you is whether this is under warranty. If yes, then they immediately lose all interest. The service guy didn't even wipe the interior unit clean. He asked for a water pipe and just hosed down the exterior unit from a safe distance. That's it! No checking to see if filter etc are fine, cooling gas is satisfactory or not. I have been told that next service(out of warranty) will be different:-)
Problems: Like I said, apart from some small issues, I have not had any. However, my friend had some major issues with his unit. These were related to water dripping from the interior unit. I suspect that it was due to long piping they had to use because of his apartment design. For us it was drill a hole right underneath the unit. Service people took about 5 visits over 2 months to finally rectify this problem. It has not recurred since then. My friend also bought a window AC from Hitachi and that has even bigger issues. He is not at all happy with the service and is now using non-Hitachi servicing.
So, all considered, I would say that from a cooling perspective, the AC has worked well for me. No major issues so far. Value for money may not be right as the AC is pricier than competition without any extra/outstanding feature. However, I value core competencies far more than extra features, and as the AC does its job well, I would recommend it.
