My not so fabulous as thought Mitsubishi split a/c

[petek]

Dammit. Just when it got real hot and humid again last Thursday I thought the house wasn't feeling as cold as it should and my new last year Mitsu split a/c didn't seem to be spewing a lot of frosty air out the front, it was quite weak in fact, like the fan wasn't turning too fast. It couldn't cool below 76 degs and was straining full force to do that.
Fast forward today and the cute as a button repairguy came by, took off the casing and appurtances surrounding the fan and we found that the thin fan blades were absolutely encrusted in a thick schmutzy gunk. No wonder it could barely spin any longer It's a cylindrical squirrel cage type fan almost 3 feet long and about 6 inches in diameter.
And yes I'd been cleaning the filters regularly but oddly enough they never seemed to have very much dust on them. So while the casing was on the floor with the filters in it it was plain as ever to see that the flexible filter frames could not in anyway sit "tight" against the evaporator coil/fins which means a lot of the intake air would follows the path of least resistance and just goes around them.. Very poorly designed,, there should have been channels that the filter slides along to keep them tight.
So I get a bill totalling $169 incl tax and the thing probably hasn't had 3 months of use. I'll be emailing Mitsubishi about this one.

 

[arbilab]

Have to agree, a product of this scale should not be costing $170 maintenance in 3 months. Nor bypassing muck around the filter.

Cute repair guys? You should have seen the hunk that came to look at my dishwasher. Yes he could benchpress it, I'm sure.

 

[countryguy]

Although I've had my unit for about 5 years now and haven't had any problems, I'll have to check it.  Mine is made by Climate-Aire but the filters are the same type of design as the unit you have.  Did the repair guy replace the fan blades or did he clean them?  If he cleaned them, what did he use - soap & water?  

 

Gary 

 

[sudsmaster]

I was wondering if the unit's guts were Mitsubishi but the framing was US-made?

It shouldn't take long for a reputable HVAC company to come in and beef up the filter frames so that they don't allow the filters to bypass anything.

Did the repair guy address that issue?

And if the unit is only 3 mos old, shouldn't it be under warranty?

 

[countryguy]

Although Pete's unit has only had 3 months of use, he did purchase it last summer.  Living up here we get screwed with warranties on products that are seasonal like air conditioners, boats, snow machines, snow blowers, lawn mowers, etc. 

 

Gary

 

[tomturbomatic]

The last made-in-the-USA Friedrich 8000 BTU models with a 10.7 EER I purchased sometime in the distant past had a surprising filter flaw also. The front screws on the unit and the only filter is a framed slide out thing with the white net stuff. I discovered when I took the front off that these filters were letting all kinds of stuff through into the coils and then the moist soil was gluing itself to the fan blades. I bought cut-to-fit framed foam filters that I wedged in against the coils to provide better filtration, but the units are going to need to be removed, fortunately they both have a slide out chassis, and blasted clean. I have to remove the front grill to clean these added filters, but they do a much better job than the original filters which I still use also.

 

[petek]

Tom: sounds exactly like what's happening here,, the filters are that fine white plastic mesh stuff, the gunk was moist and I could pull it off in strings. Each one is about 12w by 14 h and very flexible because they sort of slide up and curve over the top of the unit where the there is also some air inlets but being so flexible they just bulge out away from the coils on the front. I've taped them down on front now. Otherwise all the rest of the innards, the evaporator fins, inside casing etc were sparkling clean.

The repair guy did say that if it gets that way again his company will look into it to see what kind of fix can be done.. They are a very reputable company around here who do try and make things right for their customers.

 

[richardc1983]

I would perhaps use electrical tape to tape down along the edges of the filter where the dust is bypassing, this will give an airtight seal.

The filters are very poor though and fine dust does get through and then into the fan. I have the same problem with my LG wall mounted split units.

 

[combo52]

MINI-SPLIT ACs

These need to be viewed as supplantmental units and they are in the same group as window ACs in that they are very unrepairable and basically throw away units.

 

That said they do fill a definite need that real central AC units and window units can't always do. But I would never install the mini-splits if a real central system could be installed. A real central system can easily last more than 30 years and the basic duct work can last 50-100 years. My WP central AC I installed in 1975 and is still going strong with just a few minor repairs and still runs at a 13 SEER efficiency. I know that I will have to replace it one of these years and I will get the most efficient one possible as the more efficient ones have a much longer life. Thats way I got the super efficient WP in 1975, at the time it was the most efficient one on the market. 

 

The other big advantage of a good central system is just like forced air heat there is just no other system that really cleans the air as you can have a first class air cleaning with it. Forced air heat and AC can literately save your life. Almost 1/2 of all the people that die of lung cancer each year never smoked. And even though I am out in the dirty air every day and often work in dusty areas [ fixing clothes dryers ] it is always great to  spend at least 1/2 of the day in really clean indoor air. [ no gas stoves or even candles burned here ].

 

[countryguy]

I don't understand - why do you say they are unrepairable? The outside unit is basically the same as the outside unit of a central air system. And the inside unit is just comprised of the condenser coils and the blower. Why would this be unrepairable?

Gary

 

[combo52]

MINI-SPLIT ACs

Not many of these will ever be repaired for many reasons.

1 They are much more compact and physically hard to repair.

2 Like most Asian products they change constantly and there is little attempt made to stock or sell replacement parts.

3 The cost to fix these is the same as fixing a large central AC. Are you willing to spend $ 700 to replace a fan motor on a $1500 unit?

4 Just like window ACs and MW ovens you will be lucky to get many parts for these after they are 10 years old.