Buying and installing an aircon

[Sarutaro]

Hi all FGs!

The wife and I are getting close to buying a house and I have some questions about air cons. I mean the wallhanged split kind where the compressor unit is outside connected by an ugly cable through a putty-filled hole in the wall.

Is it possible to install by yourself if you buy it at, say, Biccamera? Also, is the price they write just for the indoor unit, and I'm supposed to keep the old compressor?

I've only lived in a rented mansion before so I have absolutely no idea about these things. Anyone who has any experience?

Any input is appreciated!

[Taro Toporific]

Is it possible to install by yourself if you buy it at, say, Biccamera? Also, is the price they write just for the indoor unit, and I'm supposed to keep the old compressor?

You cannot "keep the old compressor" and buy a new indoor unit. That doesn't work. However, you can move both the old indoor and outdoor units with you and any neighborhood denki-ya with hook it up for you (20,000yen). Good moving companies handle aircon hook-up for you (and charge you the going rate). However, if your old aircon in older than 5 years, buying a new one will pay for itself in electricity savings in only one year (aircon tech has vastly improved in the past 5 years).

Almost impossible to install one yourself because installation includes filling/charging the fake-freon into the system and pressuring up the lines. You don't have the tools. If you are willing to buy the tools, the fake-freon gas can be purchased privately with difficulty (it's a controlled substance) and D.I.Y. installation will void the aircon warrenty.

[FG Lurker]

Hi Sarutaro,

Are you building or buying? I just built, but haven't bothered with aircons yet -- don't need them at this time of year and they get a helluva lot cheaper in January/February.

With regards to a self-install, no, this is not generally possible, and not worth it even if you wish to attempt. Also, the type of house construction will also determine how the external units have to be mounted. Some houses can have them mounted on the 2nd floor for 2nd floor units, but some can not, and you must run the hose for the compressor down to the ground.

You mentioned buying at Bic, and this might be a good idea, or might not... You'll want to shop around a bit. Most of the larger places offer cheap install options, and depending on the time of year you might even get it for free. This won't include special longer hoses to go from 2nd to 1st floor though, or mounting brackets etc if needed. Also, the Bic / Yodobashi points are not "free"... If you are getting 20% points it means you are paying about 20% too much for the product. The only time this doesn't apply is if you find things on sale there... But even then you have to watch. If you are buying a few of them I would hit Akihabara and get quotations from a few shops and generally shop around a bit. You'll almost certainly come out quite a bit ahead.

[Sarutaro]

It is an old house (by Jap standards) but I will be renovating it mostly by myself. The present aircons must be 20 years old and most likely not so energy efficient. I will be buying the new aircons in February and in total it will probably be 4-5 of them...

Thank you for your tips, guys!

[Big Booger]

http://www.eonet.ne.jp/~diyhelper/jirei/ja/acon1.htm

There is a DIY on how to install an Aircon unit in Japan. The procedure *should* be the same.

I wanted to install our two aircons in our apartment and save about 4man, but my wife was totally against it... so we had to pay a denki-helper to do it...

If you are ambitious and really research how to do it, I think an aircon DIY should be no problem. ANd if you fuck it up, you can always call in the big boys and have them do it anyway.

Another DIY aircon, but less picture and more wording.. not really a step by step guide:
http://www.incl.ne.jp/~t-mae/home3/home0305.html

Another seriously overworded (no pics) DIY aircon page: http://www.cc.toin.ac.jp/haya-lab/member/s2000/suzaki/aircon.htm

[madeira]

Are the old units heat plus cold air? If so, you need to evaluate your heating needs, too.

Have you lived through a year in the area? You may not need cooling.

We haven't had any need for cooling. Heat, we need. We have old-ish aircons, and they work for heating, too, but cost a bomb to run. Nevermind they're installed at the wrong height for heating. We're having gas points installed (this weekend!) (at ground level!) for heating.

IF your concern is heat, propane is more expensive to install than gas, but cheaper to run. My brother-in-law went for propane. (***Propane heaters have less area capacity, apparently. We'd need three or four for our living room, we were told. Two gas heaters are supposed to be OK for the job.) We'll find out if this is true, but that's what the propane guy said.

Another heating problem: Bathrooms. If you're thinking about re-doing the bathroom, talk to them about heating. Some boilers can recycle the hot air into the room. We didn't consider this when we renovated in the summer. Oops. Frozen wet people we are. (We can't put in any regular heaters; we made a Thai-style bathroom. Should have put in under-floor heat.)

Renovations are fun! Even more fun is realizing you did everything bass-ackwards and starting again!

Hope some of this was useful... Like I said, we haven't needed to use cooling machines. We're near Yokohama, if that helps.