Should I Buy a Blueway Air Conditioner?


Right now we have a 24,000 btu Blueway Air Conditioner with 6000watt cooling capacity in our main living area that has been working very well. It manages to cool the area fairly well, given that the odd shape of the room. I’ve previously written a review of the Blueway AS24-VR, so you read the full review here.

Blueway Split Inverter Air Conditioner

We are now looking for a split inverter air conditioner to put in the master bedroom once it is finished. I was thinking about getting another inverter Blueway Air Conditioner as our other one has worked out pretty well.

The Blueway Air Conditioner is an excellent value

When we purchased the AC for our main living area the Blueway Air Conditioner was about half the price of similar better known name brand inverter air conditioners. The person who installed our other Blueway AC also stated that he hasn’t noticed that Blueway has any difference in reliability over other brands. Harvey Norman also stated when we purchased it that there is a local service agent if anything should go wrong.

The only reason that I have any reservations about getting another Blueway Airconditioner is because of a story I read about here (you will need to skip down to the 4th reply to read about their Blueway experience). It is one of the few things that I have been able to find online about Blueway (their own site doesn’t work), but the reply is from December 2004.

So all things considered I will probably look at purchasing a 9000 btu, 2.4 kilowatt Blueway Air Conditioner (if they make them) for our master bedroom.

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25 Replies to “Should I Buy a Blueway Air Conditioner?”

  1. Brendan

    We purchased the same unit , also from Harvey Norman ( Hardly Normal would be more appropriate), along with 2 houseloads of whitegoods, televsions etc, and have had nothing but grief with the Blueway aircon unit. Initially once installed it ran for less than 20 minutes then failed. The installer contacted Blueway who advised immediately what the fault was ( as it was an inherant fault with this unit) and said they would send the part, a soft starter) After 6 weeks we had to threaten to have A Current Affair drop in on them and eventually they sent the part. The unit operated reasonably for a few weeks and then failed continually to a point now where it does not operate at all and we have spent the past 2 and 1/2 weeks trying to resolve the issue with Blueway and Harvey Norman – I must point out that Harvey Norman have been very good here, and Blueway have been deplorable. We are now negotiating with HN to take the unit back at the price we purchased it for and buy a Fujitsu. Wish us luck

  2. Bill Hutchison Post author

    I’m really sorry to hear that you have had so much trouble with your Blueway Air Conditioner.

    Ours is still operating well, but I have read at least one other forum on-line (I can’t find it right now) where someone had a lot of trouble with getting service done on their Blueway Airconditioner.

    Good luck with it. It sounds like Harvey Norman is being pretty good to you about it. I hope that it continues for you.

    Bill

  3. Desley

    Hi,

    We have a Blueway BCR 35W which was already installed in the home when we purchased it. We are trying to locate a user manual for it if anyone can help. I’ve tried searching online but no luck.

    Alternatively it has an error message E3 and if you could advise what the error message means if you have a different model Blueway, I imagine their error messages would be consistent?

  4. Brendan

    We have a BLR-70 GWT and the book that came with it says if you get an error of E3 that is the indoor pipe temperature sensor failure. Good luck in getting a book. Also, the phone number for Blueway is: (02) 9632 3088. Good luck with them because most of the time they don’t answer their phone or lie to you. We now have to write a letter of demand to Harvey Norman to be reimburst for this aircon which has been nothing but problems. We also contacted the guy that installed the aircon and came out on numerous calls for warranty and he told us that he hasn’t been paid a penny from Blueway for the service calls. Good company eh? We didn’t expect any less from them because of what we had to go through with them in the last 2 years.

  5. Desley

    Thanks Brendan

    Believe it or not, I phoned Harvey Norman after posting this message yesterday (Saturday) and they gave me the number for Blueway.

    I tried the number (not expecting a response, but worried that I would forget by Monday) and, a lovely woman answered the phone! She is organising for a manual to be faxed to me and a technician to come out tomorrow, so I’ll keep you posted if either or both turn up!

    Thanks so much for your help.

    Kind regards,
    Des

  6. Suzie

    We have a blueways ac purchased from HN and have had nothing but grief. I have had several technicians out here and the unit will work when they leave, the next time I go to use it, either the fans doesn’t work, or it doesnt start at all. Now it is displaying E3 message. I have been calling blueways for about 4 weeks now and no-one will call me back. When I have been able to get hold of them, they say a technician will be out this week, or that they will call me back later in the day. Of course neither of these happen. The unit has a 5 year warranty and is only 3 years into it. I could honestly say this unit has had very minimal use (as it is never working!). I feel I have no other choice but to call consumer affairs to get them moving.

  7. Tony Mason

    Our Blue Way air conditioner died within the warranty period. They constantly made excuses as to why they had not sent a replacement outside unit. Two months we waited over the hottest summer in years. I rang every second day yes it is on the way, now it has gone astray via a courier, now we have to nbuild a new unit, etc etc. today I lost it and gave the guy Joe an ear full and he hung up on me. I think the whole thing wil go to the tip and I will buy a well known brand.

  8. Peter

    I brought a Blueway window cooling only in 2005 and it has brocken down and I have been trying to ring Blueway to find out what to do as it is still under warranty but nobody is answering the phone. I was given a repairers phone number in Adelaide rang them up and all they had to say was sorry we will not repair it as we can not get parts for it.

  9. Helen Reid

    My Blueway air con died just as the 2 week heatwave came upon me – 45 degrees inside the house! What has happened to Blueway/FortunaNetwork. I have rung the numbers but no response. I will contact Consumer Affairs to enquire whether there have been many more complaints about this product. i suspect there are hundreds of complaints – talk about a lemon!

  10. Bill Hutchison Post author

    Thanks for that link David. That article should help a lot of people to know what their problem is with their Blueway Airconditioner.

    Too bad it doesn’t tell them how to get someone out to then fix it …

  11. Peter

    Well I took my Fan motor of my air con and found that the bushes are oval shape as I thought that they was bearings and I have been trying to find some to replace them but nothing around I have been in touch with Blueway they was very polite that was all plus Harvey Normal got in touch with them as well. They said that they will repair it but that was six weeks ago so I will not be buying their rubbish again and i will not recommend them to anybody

  12. Stephen Hunston

    Don’t buy a Blueway airconditioner. They don’t work properly and the company at 2/200 Woodpark road Smithfield is the worst company to deal with. The air con doesn’t work at night, the ‘capacitor’ fails, the company doesn’t care, they don’t return calls, they don’t want to know and they fob you off with useless promises. I will persue a fix from them

  13. Nick

    Hi,I have had problems with my Blueway A/C it was very cheap but NASTY,anyway I might be able to help, I made a website with my manual that includes the error codes that I could not find on the net anywhere ,I have also sourced a company in sydney who has spares and have the contact details listed and started a forum that we can help each other out with

  14. Gem

    blueway is a joke!!! our a/c blew up 2 weeks before black saturday and did not get fixed untill April! we had to find our own tech n they didnt even pay him! we went to consumer affairs after they wouldnt return calls n continually hung up on us!! then they told us not to call again…. months later with the help of consumer affairs n our own tech it was fixed but still not working prpoerly. they are rude, ignorant, horrible people who should not be in customer service industry… DO NOT BUY A BLUE WAY!!

  15. Gem

    RE: TONY MASON
    we were told this exact same story word for word!!! unbelievable!!! we were called annoying customers by joe and also gave him an earfull. good luck with ur next air con 🙂

  16. Margaret

    I was given a KOCH Split Air Conditioner Model KFR-66W/AC can anyone tell me about whether it is OK or not and is it better than a Blueway.

  17. teresa zeaiter

    I WAS ALSO GIVEN A KOCH AIR CON. 2 YEARS AGO. HAVING MAJOR PROBLEMS AND CANT FIND ANYONE WILLING TO REPAIR. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOURS AND DOES ANYONE KNOW WHO REPAIRS KOCH UNDER WARRANTY, PLEASE ADVISE ASAP.URGENTLY WOULD BE VERY GLAD TO HEAR FROM ANYONE THANKS CHEERS

  18. Robert

    Hi All,

    I also have two KOCH and Blueway air conditioning units installed two years ago. I don’t have any problems with the air conditioners. Very happy with the units. You as a consumer must look after it by regular cleaning and maintenance. All you need is find a good and licensed installer who can perform the installation correctly in the first place. Then all these issues will be prevented. Regular maintenance will prolong the life of the unit.
    I have phoned Blueway in Smithfield and never had a issue with their customer services. I email the company and they respond to me with no hesitation. If you need help you can email to them ” sales@blueway.com.au or service@blueway.com.au

  19. Steve

    Purchased 2 x units from HN in 2005, used rarely in the hot weather and heating sometimes in the winter, installed a few weeks prior to Christmas on purchase, both units broke down 5 years and 10 days and 5 years and 20 days respectively, One was 10 days and the other 20 days out of warranty, Called BlueWay there were very keen to attend and replace parts, at out expense. Declined the offer to spend $300 plus on each unit and have purchase one replacement and will purchase the second one in a few weeks. (Not BlueWay !)

  20. Melissa Daniels

    Hi All
    I have found a universal remote that will actually work on a Blue Way! You can get it from Prime Electronics (offices Brisbane, Sydney, Southport on the Gold COast and Melbourne). Telephone 07 3252 7466. Cost is very reasonable.

  21. david and angela

    hi all if you have a blueway air con i have found a company call stareast that will seel all blueway part manuals there phone no 0297925988 hope it helps

  22. CHRISTINE LAWRENCE

    HI. I have just moved into a unit where there is a Blueway A/C installed. The indoor fan tends to be very noisy and I was wondering if anyone knew of a technician in the Maitland/Newcastle area that could look at it for me.
    Or does anyone know how to quieten the fan myself?

    Thanks,
    Christine.

  23. Leo Schuyt

    I have a Blueway A/C (asw-h24b4) installed in 2004. now 2017 and it is still going.Indoor fan is very noisy in the beginning but quit down later.still dos its job,its time for a checkup.Not bat for the price I paid $900. in 2004. I wander if one off the two (indoor or outdoor units) break down?Good I buy a different unit to connect too the good unit?

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