Reasonable lifetime of a Mitsubishi Heatpump

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networkn

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#288369 24-Jun-2021 12:11

In December 2014 we had a Mitsubishi 3.5KW Heat Pump installed and a few weeks ago it started malfunctioning.

We called BDT (Local contact for Mitsubishi) who gave us a service companies number.

They have quoted $900 for a new PCB and Labour, Truck Roll, Shipping etc.

Is it reasonable to expect Mitsubishi to come to the party here under the CGA?

Cheers

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#2733688 24-Jun-2021 12:17

Seven years is not long for this kind of appliance. Given the cost of repair or replacement it would be worth it to push them under the CGA. I would expect ten years at least even longer.

timmmay

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#2733689 24-Jun-2021 12:18

Check what consumer says, they often have expected lifespans for different appliances and such. I have been told Recently by someone in the industry 10 years is pretty good, 15 years is very good. 7 years seems a little low, But it might be stretching it for consumer guarantees.

dafman

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#2733691 24-Jun-2021 12:27

This from Consumer. I reckon you will be hard pressed to get CGA repair as Consumer quote seven years as a cut off for thinking about about repair or replace. At what age does an issue move from fault to maintenance?

Good luck, nonetheless.

Heat pumps

Life expectancy: 10 - 15 years

Repair or replace? Minor problems, such as noisy fans, should be fixed. Major issues like a broken circuit board or faulty compressor mightn't be worth repairing, particularly if your heat pump is older than seven years. Minimum energy performance standards were tightened up in 2013 – this means if you have an older system, upgrading to a more efficient model could be a better option than spending money on repairs.

networkn

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#2733692 24-Jun-2021 12:31

@dafman I'd say something like a pcb with no moving parts should last indefinitely ! Certainly in my mind 10 years doesn't seem unreasonable.

hsvhel

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#2733693 24-Jun-2021 12:31

Looking at their warranty period, 5 years which is a bit light I would have thought

https://mhiheatpumps.co.nz/consumer-help-centre/warranty/

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#2733759 24-Jun-2021 13:19

No idea but good luck and keep us posted

Kookoo

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#2733767 24-Jun-2021 13:37

A related question - do heat pumps need to be serviced? I mean, cleaning the internal unit filters and all that I'm fine with, but what about the outdoor compressor unit?

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#2733862 24-Jun-2021 15:41

we have had our Mitsubishi heat pump for just over 10 years and apart from me cleaning the filters every year have never had it serviced and it is going as well today as the day it was installed but we only use it 2-3 hours a day and 2-3 months of the year so i expect it to go for a few more years yet.

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mattwnz

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#2733863 24-Jun-2021 15:45

ianal, but it is also based on the quality and price of the product and how much usage it has had etc. This is one of the top brands, so it isn't a cheap Chinese one.

elpenguino

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#2733870 24-Jun-2021 16:01

$900? sheesh, has it got 128 GB RAM and Xenon CPUs?

That's an absurd price for what is probably a relatively low tech device made in bulk.

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snnet

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#2733873 24-Jun-2021 16:08

For a 3.5kW unit I don't think you can really expect BDT to cover this under warranty - we're halfway thru 2021 now - In saying that I would probably opt to install a new unit if they want $900, a 3.5kW wouldn't be too much more than that

snnet

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#2733878 24-Jun-2021 16:13

Kookoo:

A related question - do heat pumps need to be serviced? I mean, cleaning the internal unit filters and all that I'm fine with, but what about the outdoor compressor unit?

Should be checked over at least every few years - gauges put on to make sure refrigerant is the right level, some coil cleaner on the outdoor unit, make sure there's no insects getting into the boards, make sure the drain is free flowing so that you don't get condensation backed up possibly damaging the internal unit as well as the wall, lubricating valves if necessary (if you use it only on heating for example for a long time and then try to cool, sometimes the valve can stick, not major, but all of these things will help the heat pump run efficiently and not overwork - this is when problems start to happen)

Usually a heat pump company will say every year but you should be able to get away with 2-3 years if you keep things a little maintained yourself (clean filters now and then, make sure outdoor units don't have weeds and plants growing thru them (yes I've seen this!)

networkn

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#2733881 24-Jun-2021 16:17

snnet:

For a 3.5kW unit I don't think you can really expect BDT to cover this under warranty - we're halfway thru 2021 now - In saying that I would probably opt to install a new unit if they want $900, a 3.5kW wouldn't be too much more than that

Not sure why you think it's not reasonable for them to replace the PCB at no cost. It was a $3000 purchase and I'd expect any appliance in my house to last 10 years if it was of that volume, especially since it has no moving parts and there was nothing we haven't done in line with maintenance to have reduced it's lifespan. I have spoken to them and they are going to see what they can do. I am hoping they will provide the PCB free of charge and we will need to cover installation. That would be a reasonable solution to my mind.

The heatpump itself is not expensive, but installation usually costs more than the unit itself. I've never seen a heatpump installed for less than 2K and most of the HP in our home were ~2500 incl installation.

snnet

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#2733885 24-Jun-2021 16:24

networkn:

Not sure why you think it's not reasonable for them to replace the PCB at no cost. It was a $3000 purchase and I'd expect any appliance in my house to last 10 years if it was of that volume, especially since it has no moving parts and there was nothing we haven't done in line with maintenance to have reduced it's lifespan. I have spoken to them and they are going to see what they can do. I am hoping they will provide the PCB free of charge and we will need to cover installation. That would be a reasonable solution to my mind.

The heatpump itself is not expensive, but installation usually costs more than the unit itself. I've never seen a heatpump installed for less than 2K and most of the HP in our home were ~2500 incl installation.

Probably because my Mitsubishi 3.5kW unit cost me about $2,500 installed about 6 years ago. (I do find the cheapest way is to get the installer to supply the heat pump rather than buy it and arrange for installation - the installation portion of that was approx $700)

The installation can sometimes be the biggest price you'll pay, but if you're going for a similar size unit they can reuse the pipe, most likely the electrical supply, etc etc so it could be a pretty quick changeover. You could always try to find the PCB board yourself from overseas, I do that with a few vehicle bits and pieces (Nissan wanted $300 for a plastic handle from Japan, 12 weeks wait, I found it online for $60, genuine part from nissan [via another supplier] at my door in 2 weeks)

As I said I do agree $900 for the PCB is steep, but things in the environment can cause this like condensation from blocked drains, insects, etc - that's not in their control to be fair

When I used to work for a company that installed heat pumps as part of their offerings about 13 years ago, BDT were one of the better crowds to deal with for fixing things and making people happy, so hopefully you'll have a good outcome

mattwnz

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#2733943 24-Jun-2021 17:00

snnet:

For a 3.5kW unit I don't think you can really expect BDT to cover this under warranty - we're halfway thru 2021 now - In saying that I would probably opt to install a new unit if they want $900, a 3.5kW wouldn't be too much more than that

Installing a new unit isn't cheap either, I would expect it to be a good magnitude higher than that for a top brand. Plus it is such a waste, when we should be reducing the amount to waste we are creating. Also may depend on how it has been installed.

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