Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted January 14, 2014 Volunteer Posted January 14, 2014 Large evaporative unit on the roof is great to cool the whole house in weather like we are currently having in Melbourne. Far more pleasant and relaxing than the two split system Daikin inverter air-cos we have at Inverloch. Of course the evaporative units lose some effectiveness when it gets very humid, but I still prefer them for all day cooling. The Daikins are great for when you just come back from the beach all hot and flustered, though... Yep agreed. Much nicer than aircon. Nice not to have to shut the house up. As you say, the only problem is when it's humid.
gainphile Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 I wonder at what humidity level the evap cooler starts to fail? From reading 30-40% is ideal. I notice Melbourne hovers around 60-65%. Will it work let's say 70% and above?
gainphile Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 (edited) Today was 42 deg outside and the Magicool cooler kept the temperature in my living room to stable 33 deg. It's quite a feat for 63w. But then 33 deg is not cool enough so I fired up the split AC. Cool 24deg now . That's what 1.5kw of electricity juice can give you. I am convinced now that you need both! Edited January 14, 2014 by gainphile
manchu Posted January 14, 2014 Author Posted January 14, 2014 So I've decided to get a split put in. I wont get done until end of next week unfortunately. Now to decide what brand. The installer I'm planning to use is offering either Mitsubishi Heavy Industries ($1500) or Toshiba ($1300). both are 5kW. they apparently did a bulk buy of the Toshiba so they're discounted. Anyone have any experience/comments on either of these? http://mhiaa.com.au/index.php/DXK-ZJ-Series.html http://www.getcoolfast.com.au/files/brochures/Split_System_Brochure.indd.pdf
Addicted to music Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 Id go for the biggest capacity unit available that i can afford and fit into the area, both brands are good but the major deciding factor is noise for me. I have evaporative up stairs because it was thrown in the package when I was building and if i take it out them i would get no refund so i was stuck with it. Once it gets to the the temps we are experiencing now in Melb it looses its effectiveness because the water inlet is also warmed up. Evaporatives only goes so far where refrigerated will take it further. The down stairs is always cooler but with evaporative upstairs it changes that.
Zaphod Beeblebrox Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 As others have stated, spend a few extra Bucks and buy a larger capacity unit. It won't work as hard and will be quieter. Both my MHI units are 7.2kW (cooling) and barely tick over, even on the hottest days. Thanks to the inverter system and modern refrigerants, they consume small amounts of power.
Iano Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 We have a 7kw fuji downstairs and it does the job beautifully. Their wall units and outside compressors are tiny as well compared to a Mitsu, Kelvinator, Panasonic etc. Like someone mentioned before, them or Daiken would be the only brands I'd touch. Get a decent installer as well! It will bite you in the ass years down the track if the job isn't done properly. We had a Delonghi 2kw portable AC for our bedroom and it went for years until it sprung a massive internal leak in the drainage reservoir. I also see that Kogan has one for sale at only 300 bucks, but apparently the heat chute is crap and needs to be secured with gaffa tape.
manchu Posted January 15, 2014 Author Posted January 15, 2014 As others have stated, spend a few extra Bucks and buy a larger capacity unit. It won't work as hard and will be quieter. Both my MHI units are 7.2kW (cooling) and barely tick over, even on the hottest days. Thanks to the inverter system and modern refrigerants, they consume small amounts of power. yeah I reckon going a little bigger is a good idea too. especially seeing as oversizing is less of an issue with inverter. Hopefully with an extra couple of kW I can push a little cool air down to the rest of the house (wishful thinking probably). I just spoke to an old family friend who's in the business (but in Shepparton) who's going to send me a quote. He's also suggested MHI so I'll probably stick with the that. The Toshiba is probably fine, but they seem much less common which gives me a bit of doubt.
manchu Posted January 25, 2014 Author Posted January 25, 2014 (edited) Just bought myself a 7.1kw Fujitsu for $1380. CHOICE mag #1 so should be ok. . Now just need to wait a week for the install. Hopefully next week isn't too hot. Thanks for all the advice. Edited January 25, 2014 by manchu
Saxon Hall Posted January 25, 2014 Posted January 25, 2014 In modern life bigger is often seen as better. TV's for example. Not such a good idea with Air-conditioning. If you actually do a proper assessment of the area you wish to cool you will come up with a figure expressed in watts.Purchasing a unit no more 20% greater than this figure is recommended. Factors taken into account include floor area, height of ceilings, insulation or lack thereof, size of glass areas and the direction in which they are facing. Needless to say retailers will often steer you to a larger unit as the profit margin will be greater. The drawbacks in a larger than necessary unit are Higher initial outlay, Higher Running Cost. Higher Installation Fee. In any case you have already purchased the unit so I hope it works out well for you and does the job as intended BTW as I have a background as a Refrigeration Mechanic I would recommend the following brands without hesitation (in no particular order) Fujitsu, Daikin, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
manchu Posted January 25, 2014 Author Posted January 25, 2014 Cheers HC. I'm probably a little over what I need, but not too much. I checked a few sizing calculators and they varied wildly. (5 to 8kw), so I picked around the average. I'm hoping the extra grunt might benefit the bedrooms down the hallway too. Pretty happy with the buy. Fujitsu seems pretty highly rated, but very expensive compared to some. I got it for less than 50% of RRP, which is the only way I could really afford it.
Juicester Posted January 29, 2014 Posted January 29, 2014 I got it for less than 50% of RRP, which is the only way I could really afford it. good one. you'll find the resale value is pretty decent when you want to move it on as well. we bought one for a hot summer and a year later sold it for only 20% loss or so....
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