Oct 04, 2012 09:16 PM
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HItachi iClean RAU514ISD 1.2T split ACWe already had another Hitachi split AC which we considered good. So when looking to replace our Carrier Window AC in main bedroom, we decided to go with another Hitachi split unit. We felt that 1.2T would be sufficient even though sales guy advised 1.5T to be safe. Here are the main review points after 6 months of use.
Performance: Excellent! Even 1.2T seems like over capacity at times! Cooling is quick and always silent though we always have fan at max setting. Electricity bills have been reasonable, though one always cribs :-)
Looks: Looks good though definitely not a standout. I found some BlueStar, Voltas and Samsung ACs to be really good looking. However, this will never be a big factor for us. As long as the AC works well, and doesn't cause one to avert eyes, it is good enough.
Features: Apart from usual filters etc, iClean is the killer feature. Though we are usually not big on features, we decided to try self cleaning feature as AC installation was going to pretty close to the ceiling. Though we were pretty skeptical, I am happy to report that this is an outstanding feature. Works really well and AC is always clean. I decided to check manually after about 3 months of use and was surprised to find that the dust collector was almost empty. Filter screens were clean. There are cleaning arms which move sideways at the top. These will need cleaning from time to time as dust clogs up from outside there.
Service: Have not used so far, but based on prior experience, I do not consider Hitachi service to be anything special.
Installation: Horrible! The person installing was on calls most of the time. In between he seemed to have lost track of the cabling. I was watching and tried to correct him. However, he ignored me. His boss (shop owner) turned up after 3 hours as he wanted to get some other installation going. He also paid no heed to my advice to check the cabling. So after installation, AC doesn't work, and the guy is ready to go off saying, 'you need to call up Hitachi engineer to get this unit checked'. I said fine but I will not pay. Then he started opening panels and tried to pull part internal wiring. By this time I was pretty upset and asked his to switch cables. This he did with much reluctance. And the AC started working fine :-) Net result: he lost any tip he was going to get!
Price: Hitachi is always pricier than the usual competition. We paid around 37000 for just the unit. Seems OK.
Recommendation: Based on my experience, I would recommend a buy if your budget extends to this price and you are looking for a dependable, silent, well cooling unit which pretty much cleans itself.
