Tornado Air Conditioner: What You Get and Which Model to Choose

Tornado is a private Israeli company, Tornado Consumer Products Ltd. Per its About page, it was founded in 1992 by brothers Ronen and Oded Bazazi, who had earlier, in 1988, founded the Anak HaMazganim chain of AC stores.

What the company states about itself on its site:

• Inverter only: Tornado writes that it sells only inverter-technology ACs.
• Market share: the company claims about 33% of the air-conditioning market in Israel. This is the company’s figure, and we found no external confirmation.
• Service: a commitment to a technician at the customer’s home within a day of opening a call. Per the company, about 80% of inquiries are resolved on the phone, using remote diagnosis.
• Warranty: up to 7 years depending on the model, with an extension option.

Product lines per the site’s menu: wall-mounted ACs, mini-central, TO GO portable ACs, a floor-standing AC (STAND-INV), concealed ACs, multi-inverter and VRF systems. Under the “Tornado Group” menu there’s also a link to the Mitsubishi HEAVY AC site, whose copyright is registered to Tornado Consumer Products. We cover that brand in our Mitsubishi air conditioner guide.

The TOP J INV X WIFI EU series is the Tornado wall-unit series we saw in stores. All the models we checked include built-in WiFi, built-in Shabbat mode and an A++ rating, and are sold with a full 7-year warranty.

The figures per the store pages:

• TOP J INV 16: ⁦11,942 BTU⁩ (about 1.25 HP), SEER 6.4, SCOP 4.1, at about ₪1,700.
• TOP J INV 18: ⁦15,013 BTU⁩ (between 1.5 and 2 HP), SEER 6.7, SCOP 4.0, at about ₪2,590.
• TOP J INV 30: ⁦23,543 BTU⁩ (about 2.5 HP), SEER 6.6, SCOP 4.0, at about ₪3,790.
• Stores also list the TOP J INV 22, 35 and 42. We didn’t check their specs.

What stands out: on all the models we checked, heating is higher than cooling, and the upper inverter range is about ⁦5–15⁩% above nominal. That gives reserve on heat-wave (sharav) days and cold nights. On the other hand, prices are slightly higher than basic Tadiran and Electra models of the same output. The difference is partly offset by the long warranty.

Stores also list Tornado’s LEGEND and SMART series. We didn’t check their spec sheets, so we didn’t include them in the comparison.

At the same output, Tornado TOP J is slightly more expensive than basic Tadiran and Electra models, but gives a longer warranty and similar or better efficiency figures.

Comparison per the store pages we checked:

• About ⁦12,000 BTU⁩: Tornado TOP J INV 16 (⁦11,942 BTU⁩, SEER 6.4, 7-year warranty) at about ₪1,700. Tadiran Air One INV 180 (⁦12,180 BTU⁩, SEER 7, 5-year badge) at about ₪1,650. Electra Relax INV 170 (⁦12,355 BTU⁩, SEER 6.27, one year per the page) at about ₪1,250.
• About ⁦23,500 BTU⁩: Tornado TOP J INV 30 (⁦23,543 BTU⁩, SEER 6.6, 7 years) at about ₪3,790. Tadiran Air One INV 340 (⁦23,750 BTU⁩, SEER 6.3, 5-year badge) at about ₪3,550. Electra A Inverter 340 (⁦24,260 BTU⁩, 5 years) at about ₪3,700.

What this means: if a long warranty matters to you, Tornado offers 7 years across the series. If you’re looking for the lowest price, there are cheaper Electra and Tadiran models, usually with a shorter warranty. If efficiency is the priority, at about ⁦12,000 BTU⁩ the Tadiran Air One INV 180 reaches SEER 7. The comparison between Tadiran and Electra is in our Tadiran vs Electra air conditioner guide.

The TO GO series is Tornado’s portable ACs. These are real ACs, with a compressor and a hose that vents hot air through the window, not evaporative coolers.

What we saw:

• Tornado TO GO 20R EU: cooling in the ⁦15,501–⁦20,000 BTU⁩⁩ range, cooling and heating, rating A, single-phase, at about ₪⁦1,500–1,600.⁩
• A sponsored article on ynet (a major Israeli news site) also presented the TO GO 14 as a budget model with wheels, a timer and sleep mode, and noted it’s less powerful and not especially quiet.

What Tornado recommends on using a portable AC, per the guide on its site:

• Don’t place it where it gets a lot of afternoon sun.
• Leave clearance from the walls, so as not to restrict airflow.
• Ensure proper ventilation, so the hot air from the compressor leaves the room.
• In high humidity there’s more condensation, and you may need to empty the water more often.
• Check the filter every ⁦6–8⁩ weeks, and more often in a dusty home.

If you were looking for a Tornado portable AC without a hose, read our hoseless portable AC guide. The comparison with other brands’ portables is in our portable AC guide.

Tornado also sells mini-central ACs, including a single-phase model of about ⁦36,000 BTU⁩ that suits apartments without a three-phase connection.

Tornado SLIM SQ PRO INV 40 X 1PH, per the product page at Home Center: ⁦36,170 BTU⁩ cooling, ⁦37,000 BTU⁩ heating, SEER 6.2, SCOP 4.0, A++, a single-phase 230V connection and a running current of about 16.6 amps in cooling. The price is about ₪⁦6,500–6,700,⁩ before installation, ducts and diffusers. The warranty is 5 years, subject to activation within 30 days.

A current of 16.6 amps is a significant load on a single-phase connection. An electrician should check that the panel and household connection can handle it along with the home’s other appliances.

Installing a mini-central is much more expensive than a wall unit. Per pro.co.il (an Israeli contractors’ site), installing a ⁦3.5–7⁩ HP unit costs about ₪⁦4,000–5,500,⁩ and a full project with ducts and a dropped ceiling costs much more. The full explanation, including a comparison with VRF, is in our mini-central AC guide.

Tornado recommends cleaning the indoor unit’s filters about once every three months with home use, and running the AC for about 10 minutes once a week even when you don’t need it.

More recommendations from Tornado’s articles:

• Clearance: leave about ⁦30 cm⁩ around the unit, and don’t put a cabinet right up against a wall unit.
• Outdoor unit: don’t block the air intake and outlet. Blocking increases the current, and in extreme cases can cause a compressor fault.
• Odor: an unpleasant smell from the AC requires disinfecting the evaporator coil with a dedicated antibacterial product.
• Leaking: wash the filters in lukewarm water, against the direction of airflow. If the leak persists, the drain hose near the outdoor unit may be blocked.
• H1 code in winter: per Tornado, the code appears when the coil in the outdoor unit has frozen, usually at around ⁦5–6⁩°C (⁦41–43⁩°F). The AC defrosts on its own within about ⁦10–15⁩ minutes, and you don’t need to touch the remote.
• Remote not responding: in most cases it’s the batteries.

Full guidance on cleaning the filters and dealing with dripping is in our AC cleaning guide, and an explanation of the buttons on Tornado remotes is in our Tadiran AC remote symbols guide.