# Forum Home Renovation Heating & Cooling  Split Air conditioner help

## uavv

I have an old 30yr old Carrier QuietLine Reverse airconditioner which has had the compressor die and will cost $1,000 to fix. So Im looking to get a new Split airconditioner.
<O :Tongue:  I have a few questions for air conditioner mechanics
<O :Tongue:  Anyone know what Hp/KW ratting has my old Carrier QuietLine does? It was a pretty good cooler, it did 35+Sqm fine. How does it compare with todays splits?
<O :Tongue:  My house is pretty well insulated so I dont use conditioner often, Is it worth me getting a more expensive inverter or should I get the cheaper non-inverters? Is it just a matter of it costing less to run or is it older technology?
<O :Tongue:  Brands; I have seen some very cheap non-inverter Delonghi splits. Are these any good?  I dont trust stuff made by the Italians, ie Fiat. But people say their portables are good.
<O :Tongue:  Also there is Domain Air, but they dont have any stores in Adelaide, not shore how warranty will work.
<O :Tongue:  Is Electrolux/Kelvinator any good? We have a 1Hp window model running 24/7 at work for the last 5yrs, no probs.
<O :Tongue: </O :Tongue:  The high end option for me is 1.75Hp inverter Panasonic, the cooling power of this is almost the same than some other 2Hp models I have seen. But its about twice the price of the above.
<O :Tongue: </O :Tongue:

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## seriph1

Hi and a BIG welcome to the forum!  -  I think it really comes down to the application. We installed Conia 1KW split into our master bedroom. The thing runs very well, heating and cooling our bedroom. It cost $399 for the unit and we had in fitted for $350.  
I believe these days, almost all aircon units are made either in China Korea or Malaysia, so brand may be less important than the warranty offered. We bought ours from Clive Peeters in Melbourne and it had a 5 yr warranty. 
Your old Aircon unit will have its power rating on it somewhere  -  if not, then Carrier will be able to ID it .... the issue may be that the name 'could' indicate a series and not a model. 
Inverter technology is the way to go in my opinion  -  our fridge is an American made 820+ litre monster which, using this technology, uses less than a 40 watt globe's consumption to run it. 
Either way you go, I feel confident that any new unit will be vastly better than the 30 yr old one it is replacing..... a LOT has been done with technology in that time.

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## tricky4000

Mitsubishi Electric make one of the world's best invertor units and they're still made in Japan.  Diaken is good too but I've been told by my AC installer to steer away from the new models as they're not as good as they used to be.  I'm sure people have different opinions.  My Mitso Elec is great.  But, as Seriph1 said, anything would be better than a 30 year old model.  It really depends on the installation.  Make sure the installer is reputable and make sure they dry out the copper lines properly.  I think that is the most important part of any split AC install today.  There should be no moisture in the pipes whatsoever.  
Delonghi make good portable refridgerative ACs...not sure about split systems though.  
If you want quality and ones that will save you cash on lecky bills, go for Mitsubishi Electric, then Fujitsu, then Daiken invertors.  If you want more value for money on the initial purchase price, go for LG, Panasonic or Kelvinator.  I'm sure you can get those 3 in invertor models also.  But if you want a really cheap system, try a Mistral from Bunnings.  But, Mistrals are power hungry and I don't think they do invertors.

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## memphis

> <O Is Electrolux/Kelvinator any good? We have a 1Hp window model running 24/7 at work for the last 5yrs, no probs.<O</O

  The Electrolux units are quiet and good value for money; even more so when they had the $200 rebate. 
BUT: Almost anything will run fine if its installed properly (read: no backyard install jobs; this is what gave the cheaper units such a bad name), the cheap units cost a little more to run but give the same result: cold air

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## GraemeCook

At 30 years your old system was well and truly redundant technologically.  Modern stuff is much better. 
Inverter is certainly the way to go, much more comfortable, especially in heat mode as they virtually eliminate that cold blast when the non-inverters switch on and off. 
IMHO, there is not a lot of difference between the top brands - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Electric (totally different companies), Daikin, Panasonic, Fujitsu, Carrier, etc.   But there are more differences in the quality/competence/attitudes of their agents and installers.   I suggest that you talk to your neighbours & friends about their experiences with their dealers. 
When selecting a machine I would look carefully at the COP (coefficient of performance) as the electricity costs will soon exceed the purchase cost, and also look at the noise levels expressed in decibells - quieter is better, and most of the cheaper ones are not quiet or efficient. 
Cheers 
Graeme

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## tricky4000

What you mentioned Graham is true, noise levels are really important.  The lower the dB the better.  The cheaper of the units usually make more noise indoor and out.  And also, I have noticed that the indoor auto air deflectors (the flaps that move up and down and left to right to deflect the air) can be noisy too.  They make clicking and rattling sounds on some of the cheaper ones which can be annoying if you're trying to watch TV or something.

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## Claw Hama

Stick to Mitsubishi Electric or Fujitsu god value for money, good noise ratings etc after 25 years working on and selling air conditioning these 2 had the least amount of call backs and warranty issues. I did my apprenticship working on Quietlines generaly a 2.2hp, Mod no 50dy022, Nominal capacity 6450watts. Don't talk hp as each manufacturer has there own conversion so just go on cooling watts thats your best indication of what work it will do.

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