Review of Sharp AH-XP18MV 1.5Ton Eco-Inverter Air Conditioner

[rishiguru]

Hi Rishi, After remaining indecisive regarding selection of inverter AC between LG BS-Q186C8R2 and Sharp AHXP-18MV finally purchased Sharp AHXP-18MV today.

Congratulations for the purchase. May you enjoy long years of cooling bliss.

Although Cooling range and EER of LG model is marginally better but input power is higher than the Sharp model. Further the manufacturing defect in the OD unit in case of LG as posted on several threads has also been a deterant.

I am quite sad at LG's current build quality. It seems LG have dropped their Inverter AC's product quality from BEST to WORST in no time with a hefty reduction on price. It has been just about a year and a half that my friend got the LG 1.5 Ton (BS-Q186C7M1).

The older 1.5 Ton LG Inverter (Model No: BS-Q186C7M1) unit over which my previous assessments were based used to be 10 grand costlier than this new model and had much better build quality with no issues. My friend is super happy with this old unit. The indoor unit also used to be much more advanced than the current one in having double horizontal louvers to precisely control airflow and many more types of advanced air filters were provided. It also used to come with free installation kit.

The current models IDU is more of a knocked down version of the former model in having a single top hinged horizontal louver and Plasmaster. It seems a copycat of the unique top hinged louver topology of Sharp along with its Plasmacluster. Also it does not come with installation kit any more.

In other words LG have cut corners to be in the competitive Inverter market. Though LG have slightly better performance than Sharp in the 1.5 Ton category, no more can I say they come with equal built quality. We have seen issues with broken louvers of IDUs. Almost every forum member here or in other forums are facing some kind of manufacturing or design issue where the ODU fan grill is touching the fan which amazingly persists in almost all their current Inverter models and in extreme cases busted new ODU's !!!

Can you throw some light on the installation regarding the lenght of pipes from ID to OD unit . Is the whole lenght of Cu pipe provided in the kit is to be used or can be reduced if site conditions permit. Else if they are rolled and not cut will it affect the cooling.

The pair of refrigerant pipes as provided is of 4 meters in length. Ideally the pipes should traverse the shortest distance from IDU to the ODU having minimum number of bends. Shorter lengths are better. That being said the minimum pipe length for Sharp AH-XP18MV is 1 meter while the maximum chargeless pipe length can extend to 7.5 meters. Do not roll the pipe. Cut it to the minimum desired length required which should be between 1 ~ 7.5 meters.

 

[Coolharry]

Hi Rishi,
Thanks for responding so promptly.The Co Engineer insists that the refrigerant gas filled accounts for the volume of 4m pipes provided alongwith the unit. In case the pipes are decimented it would lead to loss in cooling as gas has to transgress 4m distance for proper cooling. What do you suggest?

 

[Coolharry]

Congratulations for the purchase. May you enjoy long years of cooling bliss.
The pair of refrigerant pipes as provided is of 4 meters in length. Ideally the pipes should traverse the shortest distance from IDU to the ODU having minimum number of bends. Shorter lengths are better. That being said the minimum pipe length for Sharp AH-XP18MV is 1 meter while the maximum chargeless pipe length can extend to 7.5 meters. Do not roll the pipe. Cut it to the minimum desired length required which should be between 1 ~ 7.5 meters.

Hi Rishi,
Thanks for responding so promptly.The Co Engineer insists that as per the Co design the refrigerant gas that is filled up includes the volume of 4m pipes as well.The gas has to transgress a distance of 4m for proper cooling.In case the pipe is cut I will have to compromise on cooling for which Co shall not be responsible.What do you suggest?

 

[rishiguru]

Hi Rishi, Thanks for responding so promptly.

You are most welcome.

The Co Engineer insists that the refrigerant gas filled accounts for the volume of 4m pipes provided alongwith the unit. In case the pipes are decimented it would lead to loss in cooling as gas has to transgress 4m distance for proper cooling. What do you suggest?

I suggest you you stick to the plan of shortest pipe. Mind you it must be between 1 ~ 7.5 meters in your case. The installers might not have proper tool to cut those pipes.

Anyway keeping the supplied 4 meter copper pipes will not be detrimental to its performance unless bend. The refrigerant gas will make two/three useless loops before reaching the ODU.

Here is an example:

 

[Coolharry]

You are most welcome.



I suggest you you stick to the plan of shortest pipe. Mind you it must be between 1 ~ 7.5 meters in your case. The installers might not have proper tool to cut those pipes.

Anyway keeping the supplied 4 meter copper pipes will not be detrimental to its performance unless bend. The refrigerant gas will make two/three useless loops before reaching the ODU.

Thanks Rishi !

 

[[email protected]]

After reading forums and specially this one, i have finalized Sharp 13LV. I am getting quotes of around 36500 from Shahs and 37000 from Viveks.

How is Sharp after-sales service in Chennai? A specific question to Sharp AC owners. I will be purchasing the AC next weekend.

 

[akb]

After reading forums and specially this one, i have finalized Sharp 13LV. I am getting quotes of around 36500 from Shahs and 37000 from Viveks.

How is Sharp after-sales service in Chennai? A specific question to Sharp AC owners. I will be purchasing the AC next weekend.

Thats steep. I bought it for 28.5k + (1.5K installation) in Delhi. I am not using any Stabilizer with it though which might be included in your price.

 

[[email protected]]

Thats steep. I bought it for 28.5k + (1.5K installation) in Delhi. I am not using any Stabilizer with it though which might be included in your price.

Yes that is steep, even though it includes installation and stabilizer.:sad:

 

[[email protected]]

Thats steep. I bought it for 28.5k + (1.5K installation) in Delhi. I am not using any Stabilizer with it though which might be included in your price.

How is your LV performing by the way? How big is your room

 

[[email protected]]

Hi friends, please let me know the Sharp service for ACs in Chennai. I need to buy this Friday/Saturday.

 

[udaykhan]

I am also going to buy 13LV soon. I got quotes of 39K in Viveks and 37K in a small shop near Perungudi tollgate. Both include stabilizer and installation.

Would like to know after sales service in Chennai if anyone is already using it.

 

[AD14]

Hi Akb, can u advise the source from where u got 1.1 for 28.5 as iam interested in buying on this weekend.thanks

 

[she_abs]

Good product. I enjoyed my summer with it.

 

[akb]

Hi Akb, can u advise the source from where u got 1.1 for 28.5 as iam interested in buying on this weekend.thanks

I bought it locally from a dealer in Delhi. You seem to be from Bangalore. You might not be able to purchase it at this price point in peak season now. I bought it in April.

 

[AD14]

Hi Akb I have just shifted to gurgaon so iam in process of setting up the home stuff-so thats when this demand for a new ac came up from my better half.can u share the details of the dealer.thanks

 

[akb]

I bought it from Kohli Brothers in Karol Bagh.

Phone: (011) 28727695, (011) 28722261
Mobile: 9811164610
Address: 13-A, DB Road, Karol Bagh, Delhi- 110005
Landmark: Opposite Khalsa College

 

[rishiguru]

Thanks Rishi !

You are most welcome.

 

[rishiguru]

Hey Rishi, Just finished reading your thread on the inverter ac's, very informative and meticulously laid down.

Thanks for the complements.

I have also read your thread on the HT amps comparison, again superb. You must be a perfectionist in life I suppose .

Thanks again. One can never reach the line of perfection in his life, but definitely can strive for it. I just intend to do that, but so much is happening in my life now I can no more devote time to my beloved forum as before.

Anyways, getting to the point. I'am looking to buy a 1 ton ac for my bedroom which is 110sqft big. I have shortlisted 2 of them, first one the sharp xp 13 LV 31,500rs purely upon your recommendation and a Mitsubishi heavy industries SRK 13YL-S which I'm told is a .80 ton 35,500rs.

Behruz, I am having some problem with the HiFiVisions inbox reply section on my damn phone, so providing it here. My Sharps for the last one year provided excellent service, running for long hours. Not a single hitch. This is all I can say. I found Sharp provides the best VFM among Inverter air-conditioners a year ago so I vouched for it. Mitsubishi Heavys are even better but they cost a lot more.

Sorry, I have goofed up on the model number of the Mitsubishi. It's SRK 10YL -S .. Link provided... Air Conditioning Online

I believe this Mitshu is a non-Inverter where as the Sharp AH-XP13LV is an inverter AC of higher cooling capacity while costing less. For me its a no-brainer, Sharp all the way. Yours may vary.

Did you happen to check out the Mitsubihi Heavy Ind. ac's while you were scouting for an ac? Anything I should be aware of?

I didnt check the Mitsubishis as their 1.5 Ton inverters are prohibitively costly in India. Local ASS is extremely important for air-conditioners. In Calcutta, Sharp have awesome ASS. But it is going to vary for other cities. Look for it while buying you AC.

 

[narcissus]

HeY Rishi,
Bummer your PM is malfunctioning, the Mitsubishi model is very much an inverter. I'am very well aware of the positives of owning an inverter tech after reading your thread and doing my own research over the net. I happen to own 4 mitsubishi ac's and am extremely happy with them ( I can challenge any test related to how quiet they are) But none of them have the inverter technology which i know is the future, keeping in mind the rising electricity costs...hence, my quest for owning an efficient ac!

 

[Santy]

I got Sharp XP13LV 1.1 ton inverter AC installed today. Damage was 34k incl of all.

The other option that I had shortlisted was Daikin FTKS35 which though more reliable (as many claim) was quite expensive and is 10% lower in capacity and EER.

Another reason I considered Daikin was it is one of the quietest ACs available (23 db on low). But I somehow believed Sharp had specified only the highest loudness (39 db) so went for it. As I hoped, it is much more silent at gentle flow setting (but still heard).