Those Mistral air conditioners

[Arron]

I've recently had a couple of PM queries about Mistral air conditioners - due to an old post I put on this forum a year or so back. I thought I would reply to everyone together.

Firstly - are they good heaters/coolers
yes - they heat and cool a small room well - if properly installed. Their performance seems to be consistent with their horsepower rating.

Secondly - are they well made and reliable
answer - they dont compare with a big name brand, but good value at $299. Mine have been running for a couple of years with no problems and if they clap out after a few more then I wont be too worried. You get what you pay for. Their main problem is probably more that they are old technology and power hungry. In our case we dont use them much, so I'm not too concerned about the power usage. I'd probably limit their usage to rooms that dont get used much - like a study, not somewhere where they are going to be used every day.

Secondly - are they quiet.
Yes, they are not bad, but not as quiet as a big name brand.

Thirdly - should you install it yourself.
Definitely. It is not difficult and everything needed comes in the boxes. They are pregassed. I'd go as far as to say definitely do not buy these things and get them professionally installed - you'll pay $400+ to get them installed and they just dont justify that. If paying someone else to install, you should buy a better quality unit as that will justify the installation expense. Also, bear in mind that the 5 year warrantee is (arguably) conditional on a professional installation - although we bought ours from KMart and I cant really imagine them arguing if I took them back.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is that after you install them you MUST get them tested by a qualified air conditioning person. I got someone to look over my installation, test pressure and regas for $60 per machine (we have two). He also manually inspected the piping and tightened a few things up. I think I paid that amount because he was working next door and didnt have any travel time. I think the chances of you installing your own machine and getting the pressure right at the end of it are fairly slight - so even if you think you have done a good job, I would still get it tested. Bleeding out the air is not too difficult - the main problem seems to be getting all the pipework leak free. You might be best to install, wait several months and then get it tested, that way any leaks will be apparent. The fellow who checked ours said that Mistral often does not put enough gas in to start with.

Finally, bear in mind that having a leaking air conditioner, or an inefficient one that requires too much power, has an environmental impact.

If you want to contact the guy who tested/regassed ours then PM me as I dont like posting other people's names and numbers on the web.

Arron

[jimmyjimmy2]

I had a problem to loose the pipe nuts on indoor unit. They are extremely tight. Do you have advice?

Many thanks
Jim

[Tas_Dean]

I had a problem to loose the pipe nuts on indoor unit. They are extremely tight. Do you have advice?

Many thanks
Jim

They are tight as the indoor unit is nitrogen charged in the factory. Well it is in quality brands, not sure about the cheapies.

You need two open end spanners that fit properly. Set them on the nuts so they are about 15-30 degrees apart. Use one hand to squeeze the spanners together. Works every time.

[Timmo]

They are tight as the indoor unit is nitrogen charged in the factory. Well it is in quality brands, not sure about the cheapies.

By law they are charged with nitro.

[Tas_Dean]

By law they are charged with nitro.

If they cared about the law they wouldn't come with an installation manual telling you how to purge them! The law says that only a gauge hose can be purged.

[Timmo]

If they cared about the law they wouldn't come with an installation manual telling you how to purge them! The law says that only a gauge hose can be purged.

Purging is quite legal in most other countries, especially in asia where they are built and where the manual is printed. If you check the fine print you will see the bit where it says to check with the appropriate authority for local requirements. I know the cheapy Arlec ones do. All i really touch now is Daikin and Liebert gear but will be putting in a mistral for the old man in a few weeks.

The charging of a system to be re-opened with nitro comes under the design and manufacturing requirements of being able to sell the units in Australia.

Basically If they aren't up to Australian design standards then how can they sell them here?

Don't get me started on instruction manuals though, how many people here have a Chinese translated manual that makes perfect sense? The manual does not have to be scrutinized to be accepted into the local market.

Anyway there's nothing wrong with a properly installed mistral unit.

[pcal]

I also have two of these units. One 2.5 horse, the other 1 horse. I am a licensed electrical worker, and so did the electrical part of the install myself. All the "gas" part was done by a mate who is a salesman now, but had 20+ years experience as an aircon installer who knows what to do, but no longer has a current license.

Both units failed (with different symptoms) with only a couple of hundred hours operation between them. Mistral won't even answer the phone to take an enquiry. It's an automated phone system and If you can't give them a current gas license number from the installer (it's a while back now - I think they even wanted it faxed through) then it's not their problem no matter what has happened. Their website doesn't even give an e-mail address to plead your case. No license number - they just don't care!

I know it was installed right, and the problem was in manufacture. But the units are just hanging on the wall as a bad picture and reminder of my promise to never again even think about supporting anything with Mistral printed on it. I can't even pull them down without leaving holes in the wall! Argh...

Pcal

[kompsj]

How to install split system air condition- My review is Mistral, Fujitsu, Fuji, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, are great if you ask me. Sorry Kelvinator and westinghouse are crap cause they are not energy efficient and have some catching up to do and cost more money(so whats the point). When opened I find there are about 5 main compressor manufacturers on the market.

I'm quite happy for customers to hang them on the wall, make all the penetrations and to call me to come and commission them for a small fee. As long as they are secure and level, thats both indoor and outdoor unit. I live in Preston, Jim Komps 0417 209 552. That way you get support and warranty from the manufacturer. I perform this service in all areas as long as your prepared to pay for travel time. I am extremely reliable and professional.

Note: I have had zero failures with all the units I have installed till date, and thats because I do the job properly in accordance to the refrigeration manual. Don't tale the caps off the copper. They are there for a reason. One of the biggest problems when doing installs is to keep the pipes SUPER clean AND to VACCUM the lines. This requires special machinery. That means NO contamination whate-so-ever like a surgeon. Manufacturers know this and thats why they insist on a licensed fridgy to perform the refrigeration side of the install at a minimum. Sorry folks, I'm a handy man and ENJOY doing stuff myself. BUT, Its to protect their brand and stop people saying "I bought a Mistral, installed it myself and now it does not work" attitude. They are just trying to protect their brand. I would have to say, I installed about 50 Mistral's last year with no problem what so ever. They are actually very quiet and very cold summer. I can get these units so cold that they just about blow snow. Get them to 1 degree celcius.

POINT: Fridge technolgy is usually extremely reliable if done professionally. Tends to run forever if done PROPERLY, like my garage fridge. 35 years old, still going. Those beers are soooo cold.

[q9707418]

I purchased a Mistral 1.5 HP/3.2kW reverse cycle unit in January. It was installed by a licensed professional. The unit is crap. The reverse cycle does not work and is now 'spitting' drops of water out when i first turn it on, and every now and then while it is on. I am about to find out how good/bad their warranty is, but am not holding my breath. The person who installed the unit actually used to be the local mistral service agent. (He is a friend of mine and I have had him back to inspect the unit). They gave mistal the flick as they would not pay and would regularly send the wrong parts (and in general they were crap units and a crap company). They were owed thousands of dollars by mistral. I suggest that you do not support such a company by buying any of their products.

[Uncle Bob]

G'day guys, first time poster here.
Anyhow, Bunnings had/have some of these at pretty good prices. I was interested in a reverse cycle one (6.8Kw IIRC) and asked one of the Bunnings staff about them. He told me to stick clear of them as their service is terrible. The main thing that put me off was what he told me about them icing up at anything below 0 degrees (heating mode of course) so really they ain't much chop in Canberra then

[memphis]

I purchased a Mistral 1.5 HP/3.2kW reverse cycle unit in January. It was installed by a licensed professional. The unit is crap. The reverse cycle does not work and is now 'spitting' drops of water out when i first turn it on, and every now and then while it is on. I am about to find out how good/bad their warranty is, but am not holding my breath. The person who installed the unit actually used to be the local mistral service agent. (He is a friend of mine and I have had him back to inspect the unit). They gave mistal the flick as they would not pay and would regularly send the wrong parts (and in general they were crap units and a crap company). They were owed thousands of dollars by mistral. I suggest that you do not support such a company by buying any of their products.

The reason its spitting is the drain is blocked, or the inside unit is not level. does any water come out of the drain outside when its in cooling mode?

[pom79]

Mistral no longer advertise split systems on their website, just portables, evaps, fans and kettles etc.... All Bunnings stock must be 'old stock' and therefore no longer manufactured.

I have a 3.5kw unit that has performed OK for 2 years now, we got it in Kmart in the 30% off sale for $399, or thereabouts and had it installed for a further couple of hundred bucks. Basically, it was the cheapest way of getting cooling without having to go to DEC.

Would 'Conia' now be the new budget choice ?

[Janny]

We bought a Mistral split system last year and I find they are making a lot of noise we often have to turn the tv up to hear it. If I had know all of this before hand I never would have bought one

[ReP0]

Would 'Conia' now be the new budget choice ?

I believe so from all the hunting and talking I've done. They seem to have a reasonable level of recommendations for a budget unit.

I'm thinking about buying an air-con but have a feeling it'll be in next summer rather than this summer. Just don't have the spare cash atm given I've decided to go for a name brand. I'd rather be able to get parts and service years down the track and more importantly I'd like to be energy efficient.

[elkangorito]

What's the old saying?

"Pay peanuts...get monkeys".