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(More customer reviews)**UPDATE** I have now provided an update below to my "first take" review...
**UPDATE 2011** see bottom of this initial review...
I just had a Friedrich Kuhl SS12M10 installed in my NYC co-op apartment. Since it is a brand new install, this is my "first take" or "very preliminary" review which I may update in the future. I hope you find it helpful.
My apartment is a 7th floor 500sq/ft co-op in Manhattan. I had a Kenmore 10,000 BTU window unit (75010) which worked great but was not programmable, and on 95 degree+ days, didn't seem to have enough 'oomph' to cool the 500 sq/ft adequately. So I opted to get a bigger unit, 12,000 BTU, which is programmable. Hence, I settled on the Friedrich Kuhl SS12M10.
Because I live in a co-op, we are not allowed to install our own window units for liability reasons (i.e., dropping onto the sidewalk below). Hence I had an HVAC contractor deliver and "install" (cough) a new SS12M10 unit. Suffice it to say, it was quite an ordeal as the contractor was extremely disorganized/forgetful etc. The 2 people he sent to install it were two 20-somethings with little more than a sawzall and duct tape for a "custom framed install" (which cost me $600). What a joke. And they showed up 5 hours late just as a bonus. But the 1-star contractor has nothing to do with the unit/Friedrich. I just miss the days when people knew what they were doing (i.e., a quality job) and didn't do a half assed job for twice the money. Anyway...
Of note is that almost all of the new Kuhl's the contractor has been receiving have been damaged or have a defective control panel backup battery (CR2450). He finally found one unit that wasn't damaged (dented/cracked, etc.) but that had a bad battery. I accepted that unit for the install.
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After the "custom framed installation" (another big hacking cough) I got to see how the unit performed (it was 92 degrees out). By this point, my apartment was up to 85.5 degrees inside.
First, I had to go to radio shack and get a new CR2450 backup battery, which was easy enough to install. I started up the unit, and frankly, was not overwhelmed with its performance. Rather the opposite; the new refrigerant certainly doesn't seem to push out air as cold as my 5-year old R-22 Kenmore unit. Also, even on high setting, the fan doesnt really push out a lot of air or "throw" it very far into the room (2-3 feet on high setting). Accordingly, whereas my Kenmore 10,000 unit would cool my apartment from 85 to 78 in about 45 minutes on medium, yesterday it took the Kuhl 12,000 BTU unit a full 3-4 hours on max setting. Very disappointing - but as a `high efficiency' unit, perhaps not shocking.
The programmable timer is nice, although I have noted two things. First, what the unit thinks is 78 degrees is really 80/81 degrees per the digital thermometer I own and have used for years. Second, in full "auto" mode (i.e., the unit selects fan speed), the fan never goes higher than two-bars, "medium" (out of low, med, high, and max). Thus, due to the temperature sway, if the unit shuts off after (finally) reaching 78 degrees, and the apartment quickly goes back up to 81 - the unit turns on again but with the fan only on low or medium, and thus it takes a good 45-60 minutes to get back down to 78.
I will say, on the plus side, the unit appears to be quite good at removing humidity from the room.
In terms of noise production it seems to be the same as, or a bit louder, than my Kenmore 75010. I would say it is typical window unit with fan noise + compressor noise when running. However, for a 'premium' unit, it would have been nice if Friedrich had 'rubberized' the top outside of the case so that you don't have to hear the constant PLECK PLECK PLECK PLECK of water dripping onto it from the dozens of window units in apartments on the 13 floors above me. It's odd how their promotional materials emphasize their dedication to noise reduction efforts - yet they missed one of the major sources of noise - water (unit drips or rain) hitting the top outside of the case. Clearly, none of these people have lived in a multi-floor complex below others' a/c units and experienced the constant (rain or shine) noise of water dripping onto a metal case.
I pulled the filter just to learn how. It is a bit of a hassle, and if you get this unit, be sure to read the instructions on how to do it since it is not intuitive (or particularly easy) compared to my Kenmore (I think I miss it already :( ).
SUMMARY: Overall, I am rather under impressed and probably should have saved the 1600$ and stayed with the unit I had that worked relatively well except on the super hot days. I really like the programmable feature of the Kuhl, but at least preliminarily, have found that this 12k unit performs seemingly not as well as my 2005 10k,000 BTU Kenmore 75010. The Kuhl doesn't push out air nearly (!) as forcefully as the Kenmore did, does not throw the air very far (NB: the top left grill puts out 2-3x more air than the top right grill), and the air is not nearly as cool coming out (probably due to the R-410A refrigerant). The unit takes a LONG time (a few hours) to cool down a 500 sq/ft space (which is actually less space since I keep my closet, bathroom, and kitchen doors closed, making it about 350-375 sq/ft). The unit produces typical window a/c noise, but for the price, could have been rubberized on the top outside to reduce water drippage sounds (I put two layers of rubber drawer lining on the outside to eliminate this noise). Finally, I found it VERY annoying to have a brand new $1,000 unit delivered but have to go out, buy, and install a $3 backup battery (the CR2450).
This review has been a bit wordy, but there do not seem to be many reviews about the Friedrich Kuhl series a/c's online. I may update this going forward if my opinion changes.
**UPDATE....
It is now about 5 weeks since my Kuhl SS12M10 install. It has been a very hot few weeks here in NYC, and I have a few modified impressions as set forth below:
Cooling: Initially, the unit didnt seem to cool my 500 sq/ft very well. However, it seems that the unit needed a little 'break in' period. I have found that it is now cooling the area quite well now, and in terms of cooling capacity, I am very pleased. My a/c bill also dropped significantly even in view of the 2nd hottest month on record in NYC. More cooling, less cost, thats good.
Auto-thermostat: Freidrich needs to tweak this a bit. In auto mode, once the room reaches the set temp, the fan turns on/off approximately every 30 seconds seemingly to 'test' the room temperature. The constant fan on/off every 30 seconds or so gets extremely annoying esp. when trying to sleep. It is best just to leave fan on "continuous" rather than "auto."
Noise: This is my biggest disappointment with this unit. And here is why - the unit (fan + compressor) is NOT noticeably louder than comparable a/c's. However, it is the KIND of noise that it makes. My previous Kenmore window unit, and almost all Friedrich units I have heard, make the fan noise + a constant "drone" when the compressor is running. However, my new Kuhl unit, when the compressor is running, makes a very rhythmical (and highly annoying) sound - like this: UuuWHAaaa-UuuWHAaaa-UuuWHAaaa-UuuWHAaaa-UuuWHAaaa-UuuWHAaaa (with about 2-3 'UuuWHAaaas' per second). In other words, the compressor doesnt make a constant sound, it makes this 'churning' up-down sound which is hard to sleep through, and hard to watch TV with it in the background. Whereas other a/c's constant drone fades into the background, the heavy and deep rhythym of this unit is ever present. Friedrich *REALLY* needs to work on this.
Final Analysis: before buying this or any other Kuhl unit, I recommend letting Friedrich work on it for another year or two. Their other units (in all of our work office windows) run supremely. The Kuhl series seems to have been kicked out of the nest a little prematurely. I regret not getting the prior Freidrich 12k type even though it doesnt look as nice. I would love it if Friedrich would take my ($1650) Kuhl unit back for lab testing, and comp me the prior model!
I maintain a 2-3 star rating.
**UPDATE 2011...
Read the thread responses to this review, where I added a revised assessment after firing up the unit last week. My rating drops to one star.
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