Which AC unit should I buy? Where should I buy them? Near Cabarete.

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SocialZealot

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2.5 years ago we bought these nice Samsung Virus Doctor split units. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTYl_YSp1Ak

We assumed they would last 2-3 years and they did. The inside part of the unit works, but the outside part is corroded and won't hold freon. We are directly on the beach so obviously nothing is going to last forever. No there is not a cover over the unit outside and we have done zero maintenance on them. The main problem is we can't find parts to repair them. Which we sort of expected when we bought them. To us they were worth it because they cut our electricity bill down by 3/4 and they helped with the mold. They definitely paid for themselves in reduced electricity bills alone.

So, now it is time to buy new ones.

Just looking for feedback on what to buy next and where to buy. We bought these last ones in La Sirena in POP.

Thanks!
 
W

windeguy

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The most common units used here are from TGM. I put an 18,000 BTU Dream Series model in my music studio. Purchased from Refripartes in Puerto Plata.
 
Cdn_Gringo

Cdn_Gringo

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You'll notice a significant savings on electricity if you install Inverter type AC units with a rating of at least 22 SEER and above. These are more expensive obviously but I was able to recover the extra cost in energy savings within 14 months based on my rather high usage rate.

I don't live directly on a beach and my maintenance routine consists of spraying down the fins with fresh water every couple of weeks to get rid of the bugs and any accumulated salt/dirt. I think based on the general atmospheric conditions in proximity to the coast it is not unreasonable to expect at least 3 years service for a decent AC. Quality of components being a rather important consideration.

My advice would be to buy a recognized brand (even a Chinese relabeled Dominican brand) inverter AC with the highest SEER rating you can find and afford. You may drop the SEER rating by a couple of points to account for living near the ocean and perhaps a reduced service life of the equipment. Go no lower than 22 SEER and you should be able to make the economics work out in your favor.

The more you use the AC the faster you'll recoup the extra cost to purchase. Obviously they still use electricity, just not as much to produce and maintain the same cooling results.
 
C

cavok

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Jun 16, 2014
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For the outside compressor unit, it pretty much doesn't matter what brand you buy. The salt air will corrode the condenser coil on all of them pretty fast. This last one I had I religiously hosed down the compressor coil once a week to remove the salt buildup and it made absolutely no difference at all in extending the life of the unit.

I'm on #4 after 12 years living here on the beach. The only exception is there are some brands that have a special copper alloy condenser coil that will last twice as long, but they cost almost twice as much. Refripartes in Pto. Plata seems to have the best prices.
 
JD Jones

JD Jones

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cavok said:
For the outside compressor unit, it pretty much doesn't matter what brand you buy. The salt air will corrode the condenser coil on all of them pretty fast. This last one I had I religiously hosed down the compressor coil once a week to remove the salt buildup and it made absolutely no difference at all in extending the life of the unit.

I'm on #4 after 12 years living here on the beach. The only exception is there are some brands that have a special copper alloy condenser coil that will last twice as long, but they cost almost twice as much. Refripartes in Pto. Plata seems to have the best prices.
Click to expand...

I agree on the TGM brand inverter A/C's I have two (seer 18) and my electric bill has not hit 1000 pesos yet.

Living next to the ocean I would be spraying my compressors down with WD-40 regularly
 
C

cavok

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JDJones said:
I agree on the TGM brand inverter A/C's I have two (seer 18) and my electric bill has not hit 1000 pesos yet.

Living next to the ocean I would be spraying my compressors down with WD-40 regularly
Click to expand...

I considered doing that, but I thought the oil film would tend to collect dust and reduce the cooling efficiency of the condenser coil fins(?).

My electric bill during the summer months tends to run about 7500 pesos a month. I have a small one-bedroom apartment, 12,000 BTU unit, and am paying 12 pesos/kwh. Just for my refrigerator, hot water heater, lights, etc. it costs me 1500 pesos/mo.
 
lifeisgreat

lifeisgreat

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In Sosua where caribe tours bus stops across the street place, they installed 2 inverter ductless splits approx. $1150 4 yrs ago still going no rust ... can’t recall name China Aux? Maybe ...how can you go wrong for price since everything seems to die in 3-4 yrs anyway
 
lifeisgreat

lifeisgreat

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Forgot to add inverter one is quieter... variable speed fan outside goes into low most of time...
 
C

cavok

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lifeisgreat said:
In Sosua where caribe tours bus stops across the street place, they installed 2 inverter ductless splits approx. $1150 4 yrs ago still going no rust ... can’t recall name China Aux? Maybe ...how can you go wrong for price since everything seems to die in 3-4 yrs anyway
Click to expand...

You only have to be 1/4 mile or so off from the beach and rust caused by salt air is reduced dramatically.
 
S

SocialZealot

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Cdn_Gringo said:
You'll notice a significant savings on electricity if you install Inverter type AC units with a rating of at least 22 SEER and above. These are more expensive obviously but I was able to recover the extra cost in energy savings within 14 months based on my rather high usage rate.

I don't live directly on a beach and my maintenance routine consists of spraying down the fins with fresh water every couple of weeks to get rid of the bugs and any accumulated salt/dirt. I think based on the general atmospheric conditions in proximity to the coast it is not unreasonable to expect at least 3 years service for a decent AC. Quality of components being a rather important consideration.

My advice would be to buy a recognized brand (even a Chinese relabeled Dominican brand) inverter AC with the highest SEER rating you can find and afford. You may drop the SEER rating by a couple of points to account for living near the ocean and perhaps a reduced service life of the equipment. Go no lower than 22 SEER and you should be able to make the economics work out in your favor.

The more you use the AC the faster you'll recoup the extra cost to purchase. Obviously they still use electricity, just not as much to produce and maintain the same cooling results.
Click to expand...

Yep. The samsungs are "digital inverter" and they saved us a ton of money. I will probably buy them again, just seeing if there is anything else out there. Thanks!
 
S

SocialZealot

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cavok said:
For the outside compressor unit, it pretty much doesn't matter what brand you buy. The salt air will corrode the condenser coil on all of them pretty fast. This last one I had I religiously hosed down the compressor coil once a week to remove the salt buildup and it made absolutely no difference at all in extending the life of the unit.

I'm on #4 after 12 years living here on the beach. The only exception is there are some brands that have a special copper alloy condenser coil that will last twice as long, but they cost almost twice as much. Refripartes in Pto. Plata seems to have the best prices.
Click to expand...
This is what I was thinking. We are happy wit how long they lasted and their efficiency. I'll check into Refripartes. Thanks for that info!
 
melphis

melphis

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I just bought 2 Benelux split AC units from Plaza Lama. They are amazingly quiet and burn less than 1kw each per night. We only use them at night in the bedrooms and keep the temp at around 78 to 80F (26C) as we don't like heavy blankets to keep warm when your spending money to keep cool.
Check back when they are 2 years old and we will see if they are still working.
 
Wishing you well

Wishing you well

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melphis said:
I just bought 2 Benelux split AC units from Plaza Lama. They are amazingly quiet and burn less than 1kw each per night. We only use them at night in the bedrooms and keep the temp at around 78 to 80F (26C) as we don't like heavy blankets to keep warm when your spending money to keep cool.
Check back when they are 2 years old and we will see if they are still working.
Click to expand...

You happen to have a link for the model, prices?
 
melphis

melphis

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I don't have a link but the model is a Benelux EV1447 (12,000 BTU). It also has a built in inverter. I researched them and they got their start doing IT rooms. I figured if they can be trusted to cool multi million dollar computers they can probably cool my bedrooms without to much trouble lol
 
melphis

melphis

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Thanks for the info. I found the Action Clear in Canada for $74 per can. Can you say ripoff
 
melphis

melphis

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Wishing you well said:
You happen to have a link for the model, prices?
Click to expand...

As far as price goes they where approx $50,000 peso for both installed. Part of the install was the condenser units are on the 3rd floor and I am on the first. Also they had to do some creative electrical as someone stole the electrical cable off one of the old units and we couldn't snake a new cable to it. I think we paid just under $20,000 pesos for each unit.
The rest was labor.
Hope that helps.
 
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