Install of Aircons
- Thread starter burty85
- Start date
This is why i pay more to have a good unit installed.
A cheaper unit may break down more frequently resulting on more expensive long term running costs.
You kidding me, I had two done last year at that price, he was out of there by lunch....
Im not to sure of the regulations in Qld.
But in Melbourne people who do splits by themselves are either a sparky who has done a short course so they can do the pipe work and don't have the same knowledge as a fridgy. or a fridgy who is being dodgy and wiring up the power illegally.
The reason why he was out of there by lunch time was cause of the price he was charging.
Also a lot of companies on the cheaper side send out the apprentice to do the work and the company signs of his work, so they can under cut the competition and still make money
Also the hourly of a sparky in Qld is a lot different then Melbourne.
But 500 could be standard in Qld.
But in Melbourne people who do splits by themselves are either a sparky who has done a short course so they can do the pipe work and don't have the same knowledge as a fridgy. or a fridgy who is being dodgy and wiring up the power illegally.
The reason why he was out of there by lunch time was cause of the price he was charging.
Also a lot of companies on the cheaper side send out the apprentice to do the work and the company signs of his work, so they can under cut the competition and still make money
Also the hourly of a sparky in Qld is a lot different then Melbourne.
But 500 could be standard in Qld.
$500 would be the minimum I'd charge without the sparkies connection to the power supply, usually about $150. At 35-45 bucks an hr, roughly 4-5 hrs is $145-175. Then you have the copper, insulation, trunking, screws, vac pump oil, fuel, phone, etc ontop you would not make any money on $500 as TAB_DR has also said.
Regards
Regrow
Regards
Regrow
That is spot on. You need a Licensed Electrician to run seperate 16 amp power circuits to each unit. That way each unit is protected with it's own circuit breaker and run in 2.5mm sq conductors which will easily handle the full 16 amps without any voltage drop over a long run back to the consumer board. Many people think it's a simple case to install these units, just plug it in to a 10 amp GPO and all will be fine. The truth is not everything will be fine. Modern A/C units have electronic controls and monitoring systems, voltage and amperage requirements play an integral part of the efficiency of how the unit will run. In summer when peak demand for power is required, your home can be forced to a reduced voltage, this altermately means the motors in the units have to work harder and if they work harder they also have heat issues. This in turn carries down the line they get their juice from (the socket outlet, and cable that feeds it) If that particular cable feed also feeds other outlets with appliances plugged in on it, it will become overloaded. Patential fire hazard been the result. This is why a seperate line is generally put in for dedicated use of the A/C unit only.
So - play it safe, call a qualified Electrician and have peace of mind as well.
I have a quote for a solar panel system(3kw) with the comment that the Powerboard outside is old but doable.
not sure what that means........... but if I wanted a powerful split aircon ( maybe 6kw or7 kw,,,,,,,is that powerful?) would that then cause a problem in any way ?
For something that size you would need to pull 3 Phase in off the street if not already on in the board. Pretty sure motors on single phase supply only go as large as 3.0kw - but would need to check that. I am a Licensed Electrician, but my knowledge of all things electrical is not that sound on single phase motors. I mostly work with industrial control.
An up-grade of an old board usually means modern circuit breakers, RCD safety switches new neutral and earth blocks, and a general re-wire of the back of the board. The Energy authority will up-grade meters if they are out dated. I would suggest a Mains rating of the Main circuit breaker at around 160 amps. Most homes have a 100 amp supply.
The 6-7 kW referred to above, for the AC would be cooling/heating output. Current draw would only be around 10 amps for a single phase unit that size. Equivalent to 2-2.5HP in the old measure.
If referring to 6-7 HP, then that is for a large system that does a whole house. May then need 3 phase.
If referring to 6-7 HP, then that is for a large system that does a whole house. May then need 3 phase.
It was much easier and less misleading when the old system of BTU (British Thermal Units) was used for thermal output. People think they are getting this huge unit that is a simple plug and go. If you think of motor ratings as apposed to Cool/Heat output - .75kw = 1.0 HP
So when you see 6kw of output that would easily be misleading as the rating of 6kw = 8.0HP in the old world.
Funny how the Air-cond industry has adapted to the metric equiv system and yet us sparkies still use something as old as Ohms Law.
Tell me about it, I mean there is bugger all cost in materials for the tradie, I am almost keen to do it myself with the help of a mate that has worked as a laborer helping install a/c for a long time....
Just stuffs me the price some ppl have the nerve to charge for a few hours work...
Some might say you have a nerve for not wanting to pay a skilled tradesman what he's worth.
Do you say the same thing about what your Accountant and Solicitor charge?
I fail to see the difference myself, then again if you and your laborer mate are so keen to give it go, risk losing the insurance on the property, and possible electrocution to either or both of you, losing the refrigerant gas through bad pipe connections and who knows what else. Then I say Best of British luck to you.
Some might say you have a nerve for not wanting to pay a skilled tradesman what he's worth.
Do you say the same thing about what your Accountant and Solicitor charge?
I fail to see the difference myself, then again if you and your laborer mate are so keen to give it go, risk losing the insurance on the property, and possible electrocution to either or both of you, losing the refrigerant gas through bad pipe connections and who knows what else. Then I say Best of British luck to you.
No I am quite happy with paying my accountant, its just that in small towns ie Townsville, Darwin I get jack of paying tradies that think they are all that and do crappy jobs and like to charge through the roof for a few hours work....
Burty
There is a skill to it if you want it done properly with a vaccum pump, meters etc. If you have someone who's got the tools and done it before then you can do it. Go for it. I've done a few installs myself but I only do them when I have time.
Don't be concerned with leaks. As long as the flaring is done neatly and the pipe connection is good before you do the nuts up you should be ok. You can use spray and wipe to look for leaks. The inverter types will leak easier because of the higher gas pressure but you've bought the cheaper units and they'll be using the old gas so you should be ok.
However, I don't know how a diy job will impact on your warranty. I personally buy decent brands so I don't care about warranty
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Really?
tradesmen are in general skilled people but their work by nature is not brain surgery.
Many tradesmen charge more than a job is worth.
A few months ago I had a plumber quoting me $800 for a job to replace a 4m downpipe and a plastic gutter joint. When I questioned his pricing and offered to give him the job for $400 he didn't agree.
His reasoning was that he's charging $168/h and the job will take him3 hours +parts +GST
He made the job sound a lot bigger than it was.
I gave the job to another guy, it took him half an hour to do and costed me $250 including GST.
In my eyes the first guy was a crook, the 2nd guy was worth every cent and has since got more work from me.