Hinari 12000BTU 4IN1 > Reviews > Hinari 12000BTU Air Con unit from Focus DIY

Author's product rating:   

Performance	Good
Ease of use	Very easy
Durability	Long
Noise	Low
Value for money	Excellent

Advantages:	Quiet (with mod), removable water tank, air direction control, cheap
Disadvantages:	Water tank could do with being bigger (I'm being picky here ! )

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I was looking for a relatively decent air con unit last Friday due ot the extereme heat. I was torn between the Focus 12000 BTU Hinari unit and the 14000 BTU unit I'd seen in a B&Q catalogue (NOT the split unit as seen on their website) and luckily I managed to test both of them so here is my review/comparison.

Cooling:-

The B&Q unit is rated at 14000 BTU's vs the Hinari unit which is rated at 12000 BTU's. From what I could feel in the store I'd say the B&Q unit does feel slightly cooler but not by a huge amount. In an average sized room I'd say you might get an extra 0.5 to 1 degree celsius off your room tempreture.

For reference, the Hinari cooled a 9sqm office I was working in from 30c to 25.2c in around an hour and also drastically reduced the humidity. This made the office competely bearable again.

Noise:-

The Hinari unit is rated at 52db vs 59db for the B&Q unit and I'd agree that these seem about right. HOWEVER, when I first got the Hinari it was much louder than it should be as the plastic casing was rattling against the A/C radiator near the bottom. Sticking a small piece of cardboard inbetween the two massively reduced the noise.

Ergonmics:-

The Hinari wins this hands down, first of all it has a removable water tank which makes emptying the water every two hours or so VERY easy, the B&Q unit has a built in water tank which must be drained via a pipe at the bottom of the unit into another container, a right hassle!

Both units can be run continously by ducting the water it takes out of the air via a tube to a sink or drain. However, the sink or drain must be below the pipe's exit on the A/C unit. On the B&Q unit the exit is right at the bottom of the unit making this very difficult, on the Hinari it is half way up making it MUCH easier.

The air is electronically directable with the Hinari meaning you can also redirect it from the remote control. The B&Q unit only pumps the air in one direction and you can't even change it manually unless you physically move the entire unit!

The Hinari unit is slightly lighter and also comes in white vs the B&Q unit which comes in Silver.

The only other thing is the remote control. Both have an LCD remote but the B&Q one "looks" better than the Hinari one.

Price:-

The B&Q unit is £300 and the Hinari Focus unit is £230