..............so i went and brought a darel

[marklones]

just been and brought a darrel a/c unit for my house only to find the manual is in every language but english. I plan to fit the unit myself i am a maint eng but have no experience with a/c basicaly my question is do i have a pope in hell of fitting it myself will be pre gassed (how do i tell) will 1200btu be enough to cool your average 3bed semi

thanks for looking and your help
mark

ps sorry for the doubble post

[Toosh]

Hi My answer is horses for courses. Get a professional to install it will be less heartbreak for you

Toosh

[Andy]

just been and brought a darrel a/c unit for my house only to find the manual is in every language but english. I plan to fit the unit myself i am a maint eng but have no experience with a/c basicaly my question is do i have a pope in hell of fitting it myself will be pre gassed (how do i tell) will 1200btu be enough to cool your average 3bed semi

thanks for looking and your help
mark

ps sorry for the doubble post

If you don't know if it is pre-gased you should not be fitting it.

Have you a vacum pump NO how are you going to get the air and moisture out

Have you refrigerant grade pipe NO well where are you going to get this and do you know how to select the correct grade of pipe for your refrigerant pressure.

If you want to fit it yourself go and do an install course in some of the training centres that train split installers, otherwise you will not be safe to install this

Why in earth did you

a/ buy cheap crap
b/ think you could install this youself

I wish you luck, but WHY

Kind Regards Andy

[marklones]

in response to your presumtions

1) i have a friend who is a a/c engineer but he is away with work so i was going to sort it myself
2) it runs on R407c refrigerant and i know the working presure so i can select the correct grade pipe
3)i have a vacum pump at work
4) i thought with a little help i could fit the unit, as i said im a aviation maintenance engineer
4) at worst i if its not pre-gased i will haveto get my mate round when he returns to gas the system up with .9kg of R407c
5)i brought cheep crap as you call it as i dont see the need to buy a top end system just to cool down 2 bedrooms


dont think if some one asks for a little help there is any need for the moderator of all people to be so snotty

[mick2me]

Mark

Is it a multi unit or Split?
Just wondered how you are going to cool 2 bedrooms? I'd like to do the same but I think all the cold air would leg it down the stairs.

[marklones]

hi its a split from makro thought for £199 if i get 2 years out of it i will be happy the bedrooms are oposite each other so i hoped the second room would get cooler ir i left the door open

im lucky i have a door at the bottom of the stairs so the cool air should be retained in the rooms upstairs as long as we keep the doors closed

ps its a single split

[mick2me]

hi its a split from makro thought for £199 if i get 2 years out of it i will be happy the bedrooms are oposite each other so i hoped the second room would get cooler ir i left the door open

im lucky i have a door at the bottom of the stairs so the cool air should be retained in the rooms upstairs as long as we keep the doors closed

ps its a single split

Be interested in how well it works on a landing.

Makro doing em now Huh?

Well at least you didnt spend £550 at B&Q!

[Andy W]

It wont cool 2 rooms as you would like, many variables which will prevent this, regarding installing it, if I was you install the indoor unit and position the outdoor unit, provide a 70mm hole to exit the pipes & drain etc, and wait for your mate to come back, if you can get hold of the correct grade copper tube and pipe insulation by all means install the pipework yourself but do not bend it and let your mate flare the ends make sure though that you leave the ends sealed and capped.

I am amazed that the market is been flooded with these and similar systems, only when some one is seriously hurt will goverment prevent them been sold to the general public, we all know what liquid burns feel like eh fella's and working in confined spaces with refrigerant gas, not pleasant and quite scary.

[Andy]

in response to your presumtions

1) i have a friend who is a a/c engineer but he is away with work so i was going to sort it myself
2) it runs on R407c refrigerant and i know the working presure so i can select the correct grade pipe
3)i have a vacum pump at work
4) i thought with a little help i could fit the unit, as i said im a aviation maintenance engineer
4) at worst i if its not pre-gased i will haveto get my mate round when he returns to gas the system up with .9kg of R407c
5)i brought cheep crap as you call it as i dont see the need to buy a top end system just to cool down 2 bedrooms



dont think if some one asks for a little help there is any need for the moderator of all people to be so snotty

Mark

I am not trying to offend you

but why in earth does every Tom **** and Harry think they can safely fit A/C.

My apprentiship was 5 years, I am sure yours was something similar

I don't pretend to know anything about aircraft maintenace.

The unit will be precharged. Ask Macro for installation instructions, they should legally supply this with the unit or give you the name of an approved installer.

407c is a gas. If you don't want gased in your bed. I would advise you to have the installation properly installed (using the correct grade of pipe, pressure and strength tested).

Now if I had just bought a micro light from Macro and was asking you vague questions about building it what would your reaction be

We as tradesmen try to raise the standards to at least a safe level, the DIY market is not one which A/C should be sold into, there is risks involved with it's installation, if somebody damages his family from a in proper installation the whole industry is affected.

Kind Regards Andy

[mwh]

People are selling systems which need to be professionally installed on ebay which as far as i'm concerned is ridiculous and dangerous.
I know as I have bought one myself with the intention to get it installed by a pro.
The problem with this is that you won't have an easy ride when it comes to warranty work.
It would be better to buy the unit off the person you want to install it.
I have a lot of respect for what the AC engineers do now that I have read what needs to be done how dangerous it is all the tools you need etc.
If I was to buy one again I would buy either a portable or a DIY system. I think you should have a sticky on the top of this forum advising residential people what they should buy.
Luckily for me I am getting an engineer sorted out through work but what a pain in the ass it has been to get to this point.

[Abe]

Mark

We as tradesmen try to raise the standards to at least a safe level, the DIY market is not one which A/C should be sold into, there is risks involved with it's installation, if somebody damages his family from a in proper installation the whole industry is affected.

Kind Regards Andy

I totally agree with Andy, this forum is not about " wannabes" buying stuff and hoping engineers will bend over backwards to go thru a step by step guide to how to install your cheapo.

We are protective of our skills, and we aim to enhance the standards and skills of this profession.

Due to loopholes in the law, the likes of B&Q and Makro are offloading ac's into the hands of purchasers who are tempted to have a go.

It is not your fault, and you are only a victim of a situation. Many fall prey to this temptation.

It will only take one " accident" before the powers to be take notice and them impose a draconian, disproprtionate measure like they did with Part P.

The only advice I can give you is pay £500.00 to a competent engineer to install the kit for you. It will be beneficial for all concerned..........and also help global warming!!

[frank]

Don't know about you guys but I'm getting an average of 3 calls a week from people who have bought kit from the likes of B&Q and want it installed.

Personally, at the moment, I am tooooo busy to deal with the enquiries and the ensuing problems

[Andy W]

I went to a pub today to repair the cellar cooling and on the front wall were 2 badly installed B & Q air conditioners. I asked the landlord about them and he rolled his eyes, when purchasing them B & Q recommended a local electrical company to install them, I know of this company and they have no experience with a/c, this was probably there first, they said the machines do not come precharged so what happened to the original charge we can only guess, they problems from start to finish, the landlord got wise and kicked them off site and demanded that B & Q send a "proper" engineer which they did and the machines were left working, the wall mounts look totally lost in the room and obviously do not even take the edge off it, well undersized.

The electrical firm were charging £500 to install these machines back to back with gravity drains just dripping on the car park. Why don't I ever get simple back to back installations, mine are always through multi stories or dirty attic spaces.

[slingblade]

Don't know about you guys but I'm getting an average of 3 calls a week from people who have bought kit from the likes of B&Q and want it installed.

Personally, at the moment, I am tooooo busy to deal with the enquiries and the ensuing problems

LOL. thats because i give all the people who ask me the number for Daikin.

[US Iceman]

Don't know about you guys but I'm getting an average of 3 calls a week from people who have bought kit from the likes of B&Q and want it installed.

Hi Frank,

I've been through this several times with some refrigeration systems.

My response is.... You bought it, you install it.

If you help these "people" out with the install, you will have to chew your own arm off to get away from all of the problems. I think this falls into the category of "you just can't win" in this situation.

There used be a saying back in the middle ages that is still appropriate... I would not touch that with a 10 foot pole.


Must have been before SI.

[mick2me]

There is a seller on Ebay selling dozens of NETT make splits? Starting them at £1. He has sold lots, but I note that few people have posted feedback for them.

Unlike the bikes he sells which have got lots of positives... So if you want a good bike?

[ispens]

just been and brought a darrel a/c unit for my house only to find the manual is in every language but english. I plan to fit the unit myself i am a maint eng but have no experience with a/c basicaly my question is do i have a pope in hell of fitting it myself will be pre gassed (how do i tell) will 1200btu be enough to cool your average 3bed semi

thanks for looking and your help
mark

ps sorry for the doubble post

There seems to be a lot of these Darel units about units and they seem to be well constructed and they have a 2 year garantee. As for the reliability who knows? I am curious to know how they ended up dumped on the UK market at thr ridiculously low price of about £100. Wouldn't mind a chat about this if you have the time.

[The MG Pony]

Learn the rops of installing it is what I say as well.

But dryer duct is the secret to doing 2 rooms takes longer naturaly but it works (it takes longer due to two rooms being cooled as a-posed to its design capacity)

[thebigcheese]

while on the subject this week we have been having a heat wave and have had all sorts of inquiries about ac, but when
u gave the price its always the same old line now... sure you can get them in b and q for...... any 1 else have this problem?

[Andy W]

A customer of mine rang me last night asking how to make an air conditioner go lower than 16oC on the controller as "a" machine wont cool, when I enquired what "a" machine was the guy in the shop next door has just purchased an Hinari 9000 btu wall mounted a/c and had it installed by an electrician, last year I carried out a site survey on the shop and my Adacam software told me he needed 14.1 kw, a bit of a difference me thinks, trying to explain to the electrician why it would not work as the owner of the shop was too embarassed to speak to me, I offered the guy advice as I would anyone. People are always trying to save a few quid.

[mick2me]

while on the subject this week we have been having a heat wave and have had all sorts of inquiries about ac, but when
u gave the price its always the same old line now... sure you can get them in b and q for...... any 1 else have this problem?

B&Q

You get what you pay for.

I wouldnt pay £549 for that unit?

[Diver Dave]

Hi,

Try this link!

http://www.global-cooling.co.uk/kit.php


Stay cool

David

[verbo]

Here some feed back on the darel Air units from Macro's. I bought it last year and only just had it fitted as I was building a workshop in My garden. It was fit by a Air con Company, he used all the correct poipe work, and evern use a Vac pump, ect... Look like he knew what he was doing.... All went well. that was about 1 month ago and I only just started to use the Air con.

On Using the air con I find t spits water out the air flow and dont not why,, I check the drip external gravity tray and water is flowing out ok (Buy taking the front cover off, The acual water is coming out and being blow outby the fan, water is runing out via the back.

Can any one advise? (other than I should not have bought it from Macro. I agree.....

Verbo

[paul_h]

1)Icing up, it's short of gas, ie the installer probably did crap flares.
2)or you're running it too long and too cold,
3)or it has an "A" shape coil and the back drains blocked,
4)or it had a faulty weld/pipe inside and has a legitimate warranty leak.

4) is unlikely, but you never know, 1 in 1000 might have this problem, but because they're pre charged, you normally spot in at time of install.
3) is unlikely on a new unit.
2) you can answer for yourself
1) happens all the bloody time here with dodgey installers about.


Anyone want to install there own aircon, don't bother.
With all the stuff you need to do it right, it would cost you more anyway, and be a hassle getting it all (tools: vac pump, flaring kit, pipe benders, refrigeration gauges, masonary core drill for the pipe hole. Materials: copper pipe, insulation, flare nuts, drain pipe, electrical cable, brackets etc.)

Installers get all this stuff at trade prices in bulk quanities, and buy the tools and make money back because they do more than one or two of them.

You're either going to have to buy it in quanity and be left over with a lot of stuff, or pay so much in retail after hours of shopping around, it's not worth it.

Secondly, these cheap brands normally have no warranty to speak of. They are cheap for a reason, some of those reasons are if they can legitimatley get out of honouring a warranty, (not licenced installer, not istalled how they stipulate), they will. Leaving you high and dry, down heaps of money and and a shed of of tools and equipment.

[verbo]

this is within 10minuits of turning on. the book say it trying to cool the room down to quick, but I not heard that before?