Thread: Renwhit air conditioners

G'day Jonty,

I have been meaning to reply with some information for you regarding this post but was waiting until installing one to give you a more accurate response.

A customer purchased an 18kW unit from eBay and I was to install the system for them in Sydney. Basically the systems are Chinese made with a few alterations for the Australian market. For the end consumer, you, the units work quite well and provide a decent solution for the lower price they are sold for. The outdoor condensing units are a little noisier than local or Japanese big names so just check that the location for that unit will not affect you or any neighbours. The remote control to operate the system leaves a little to be desired in terms of features and ease of use but it has the basic features and allows to heat, cool and run the fan for ventilation. Used with adequate ducting and fittings (I used minimum R1 rated Westaflex/uniflex duct for supply and acoustic for return air) and installed correctly, I was suprised at the amount of air transferred and pushed by the system. In terms of the end user, the system works quite well.

Where they do fall short is in the installation of the unit. I for one was not impressed as the internal evaporative unit is huge to say the least. Depending on the actual roof pitch (if the house is already built) there may be problems getting the unit into the ceiling space. Then we were allowed for a maximum 10m of interconnecting clip in cables from condensing to evaporative unit (each with 7 and 8 cables) that had to be extended to reach.

The copper fittings and connections leave a lot to be desired also as they are flared (were 7/8 and 1/2 inch) which is not too bad in the evaporating unit as you have plenty of access to do so though id prefer a solder joint myself. But the location for connecting and servicing on the condensing unit is right at the bottom facing the wall, so there is very limited access to work on a flare joint. To put it mildly, I was cursing quite a bit over the two days of installation (mainly the second as the first we allowed for all duct work to be completed), and vowed that the first Renwhit system would probably be my last.

Of course that is just my opinion and many others may have fared better. Just take note of the information if you like and use it to your advantage to be better prepared.

Thanks for that feedback, very useful!

The outdoor unit is actually going to be very near our bedroom, and our neighbors bedroom as well, so noise is an issue for us.

Sounds like it will be in our interest to pay a bit more for one of the more reputable brands.

Hi

reguarding Rehwhit , by their web site they mainly look like conditioning repair/ spare parts people, for commercal and transport refrig stuff, and well as domestic stuff ie the high wall splits look like rebadged toshiba stuff, which is really carrier...

noise is a big issue with most outdoor units, also are you only going to use it for cooling or heat/cool because running cost are high, gas is better for heating.

Well that my two bob worth

Thanks Don77.

The system will be used for both heating and cooling.

I have been trying to get quotes for inverter systems, which I believe will be more efficient and cheaper to run - it's not easy to get quotes out of people at this time of year...

The other alternative is for us to retain our existing ducted heating and just replace the seized addon aircon unit (I have been looking at new systems to replace the now defunct addon aircon and 17 year old Brivis Wombat heater).

Cheers,
Jonty

Originally Posted by exotiic

The copper fittings and connections leave a lot to be desired also as they are flared (were 7/8 and 1/2 inch) which is not too bad in the evaporating unit as you have plenty of access to do so though id prefer a solder joint myself. But the location for connecting and servicing on the condensing unit is right at the bottom facing the wall, so there is very limited access to work on a flare joint. To put it mildly, I was cursing quite a bit over the two days of installation (mainly the second as the first we allowed for all duct work to be completed), and vowed that the first Renwhit system would probably be my last.

Doesn't matter what brand your unit is, if it's a domestic/residential/light commercial split system with suction lines of less than 1" it will have flares. Flares are easy, no hot work required on annealed pipe and easy to fix if not done right first go. Remember domestic units aren't normally fitted with a drier so any hot work will require a constant purge of nitrogen while the lines are hot.

As far as noise goes, generally scrolls, rotaries and swing compressors are much quieter than dirty old recip's. There should be a Db rating on the specs to give you an idea.

Hi Jonty.

I was just looking at 21kw heat pump outdoor unit, ( heating/cooling ) big
1.4 x 1.4 x..4 m ( 3 phase ) about 72db...

My suggestion would be, Gas for heating in melbourne and add on
also you could up grade to Hi Eff gas ducted heat, to lower running costs..

But having said this yes the pay back period is about 5-7years... for saving in gas

Yes inverter systems ( varible speed compressers) are cheaper to run, becasue they are just not on or off .... same thing with some newer gas ducted heater varible gas valve and varible fan speed .

In general installion is the most important thing, its like buying an engine then somebody else put it in a car ( is got to the right enging for the car and put in so it works ) so you only get what you pay for

If you would like some more info please send us a message

Yes I do work in the industry ( making the product ( engines ))

Don

Thanks Don, message sent.