A/C quote experience quite an eye opener.

[Baht Man]

I posted and read earlier on A/C cleaning and the need to buy a new unit for my build.

Went to Nimitz, plans in hand.
"Ok, well we'll have to come out". Good answer.
Clean existing...500 baht to 19,000 btu. Fair enough.

On to Standard on ring road, plans in hand.
"Ok, well you need 110,000 btu's so we can sell you 3 x 36,000 units, and mount them all on the same wall, down the length"
Never asked about windows, sun direction, or insulation.
Then she said.... "Well, maybe we should come out and look"
Same cleaning price as above and scheduled next am.
Arrived at Thai time, did a good job on a 10,200 btu bedroom unit. 2 guys, 30 min. 500 B.

Nimitz came out as planned, did a proper measure and commented on insulation, sun travel and windows and came up with 36,000 btu's cassette, roughly 50,000. "I'll send you some selections today"
Got the quote that PM. 50,000B as quoted, but the also added in an additional 2-12,158 btu units for the bedrooms, which we never talked about. (Ok, they're in the sales business)

Their quote was for a (3) "Midea" units. Diliglent as I tend to be, Google.
Midea is Chinese made with a 1 year warranty, and no good comments at all.
I thought I'd get choices from them as told, but pushing a Chinese clunker on me

Standard came out that same day. 2 nice ladies, tape in hand, a little chatter and "We'll send you catalogs to your email". Fair enough.
3 days later, got the info and quote... 2-Mit. Mr. Slim cassette units rated at 44,700 btu's costing 88,000 each
At least they came down from the office quote of 110,000 btu's to only 89,400.

But such a difference in what seem to be the 2 biggest a/c supplires here????

36,000 from Nimitz to 89,400 from Standard??

I've read here all good from both companies..........but WTF?

[parrot]

bm......when I went shopping for 3 new ac's a few years ago, I did most of my preliminary research online........settled on either Daikin or Carrier as the brands I wanted, but went to the Mitsubishi store on the ring road for grins as well.
As you said, Nimitz asked about insulation, windows, sun exposure, whereas Mitsubishi only asked the size of the room (not even ceiling height).
I've learned over the years that if you don't know the brand you want beforehand, most stores will try to sell you the brand either they 'think' you want or the brand that has the highest profit margin.....doesn't matter whether it's rice cookers, hot water heaters, tv's, or ac's. That being the case, I've found it best to do some goo-search beforehand (I usually query the forums for input). It's not 100% effective, but it's better than going straight into a store unprepared.
However your situation works out, please post the results for others to follow. Thanks

[rick]

Being from the UK, i know nothing about air-conditioners. Only needed one, for a bedroom, so just did the rounds of the big stores to see what was available. I 'guessed' that i needed about 12,000 BTU (room about 24 sq. m.) and that seems not far off - the room suffers from poor insulation (roof, walls and windows) and maybe a little bit more would have been better, but in normal operation seems to achieve a 12 degree centigrade cooling compared with outside temperature (just a rough observation) which means late afternoon it may be a little warm but fine for evening and night time. I am hoping to upgrade insulation/shading in the future.

As for makes - well cheaper ones were about 1 baht a BTU - but they were all makes i never heard of. Known names were about 1.25-2 baht a BTU (e.g Samsung, Electrolux, LG, Toshiba). Didn't see Daikin at these stores.

Ended up with an Electrolux 12,000 BTU for 15,000 baht iafter haggling including installation and 5 year guarantee (for what it is worth). Now just see if it will last 5 years.....

[jackspratt]

Ended up with an Electrolux 12,000 BTU for 15,000 baht iafter haggling including installation and 5 year guarantee (for what it is worth). Now just see if it will last 5 years.....

If you are looking for a correct installation (ie earthed) I recommend you keep an eye on them when they are putting it in.

My experience has been that the earth wire is generally ignored - even if it is staring them in the face.

[rick]

Hmm, earth. i should be so lucky. it is an old THAI house.... and the wife wants an electric shower. That's not going to happen (I hope).

[Baht Man]

As you said, Nimitz asked about insulation, windows, sun exposure, whereas Mitsubishi only asked the size of the room (not even ceiling height).

Nimitz wanted to look at the room before quoting and came out the next am followed by a pm quote. =D>
Standard quoted off the sketch, later to send someone out to have a look see.
Both are sellers of various brands, with Nimitz quoting a Chinese modal, Standard quoting Mitsubishi


I've learned over the years that if you don't know the brand you want beforehand, most stores will try to sell you the brand either they 'think' you want or the brand that has the highest profit margin

I agree and was prepared to do some comparitive shopping for Daikin or Carrier or the likes once it was sized out, but what puzzles me is the dispariage between needed BTU's. regardless of model, from 2 "knowledgable" dealers.

I have a house build going on now and sparky was out for a preview of the work ahead and told the Ms. he has in the past and still does A/C install and sizing for residential and commerical bldg's. I'll wait and see what he comes up with

[maaka]

I would go and look at some hotel rooms..say your thinking of staying, or have family arriving, and so you want to check the rooms out to see if they are suitable...see what brands they have, and what sizes..

[mak]

On to Standard on ring road, plans in hand.

Where is this shop?

[parrot]

Considering the wide spread in building methods here.....from low tin roof with cement board ceiling......heavy cement tile roofing, no insulation or some or lots, roofs with no vents, shade or no, overhangs or not.....and then tack on a few homes with double walls.....my guess is most of the shops will err on the high side. Even Nimitz wanted to install a 24k btu in our bedroom, but we opted for an 18k, after consider our insulated steel roof, ceiling insulation, and double walls. The 18k works like a champ.
What I've read says.....better to err on the slightly low side than the high side.
You could do some calculations at a site like http://www.fairair.com.au/Calculator.Size.aspx, then see how the individual shops match up.
Judging from what I've seen on your building thread, your home will be much better protected from radiant heat than 95% of the homes being built in the area.....maybe more.

[Peter USNR]

I bought Midea for my House LR, 3Br's, 1 Kitchen Dining room. Had numerous problems with 13,000 btu unit as the compressor would never stop running. They changed themo but still same problems. Midea also uses old type Freon. Would never recommend to anyone.