GENERAL AIRSTAGE Suspended Unit | 18,000 BTU | Montreal, Laval, Longueuil, South Shore and North Shore

GENERAL AIRSTAGE ABU18RULX 18,000 BTU Floor/Ceiling Heat Pump for Places of Worship and Community Halls

The 18,000 BTU GENERAL AIRSTAGE system pairs the ABU18RULX indoor unit with the AOU18RLX outdoor unit. These are exactly the two units we also sell under the Fujitsu AIRSTAGE name: same factories, same technical values, same warranty. The manufacturer used to be called Fujitsu General Limited; since January 1, 2026, its name has been GENERAL Inc. Both labels also share the same certification status, and we present it as it is: no ENERGY STAR listing and no AHRI certificate in the documentation, on either side.

This page is written for one specific kind of building: the church, the temple, the chapel, the parish hall or the community room of a recreation centre. These are places that stay quiet all week and then fill up all at once for a wedding, a funeral, a fundraising supper or a neighbourhood party. In July, the air turns heavy as soon as people take their seats, and whoever is running the event feels it before anyone else.

The manufacturer itself names places of worship among the applications of the ABU18RULX. Set low on the wall, under the stained glass, it stays lower than the pews. Mounted across the ceiling, it leaves the whole perimeter of the room free. One unit, two ways to install it: the layout of your hall makes the call, not the catalogue.

GENERAL or Fujitsu AIRSTAGE: the same machine

The new name comes from an acquisition. In August 2025, Paloma Rheem Holdings, owner of Rheem since 1988, bought the Japanese manufacturer, which was renamed GENERAL Inc. on January 1, 2026. The head office and the research and development centre stayed in Kawasaki, Japan. The factories, the AIRSTAGE line, the model numbers and the warranty program did not change. The Fujitsu brand is being phased out gradually, so the same machine is currently sold under both names.

We publish both pages so that a parish council or a building committee comparing quotes can see for itself that this is one and the same unit. Rheem Canada has handled Canadian sales since February 2026, and Groupe Master remains our distributor. The table lines up the two columns, row by row.

The Fujitsu version of this system has its own page: Fujitsu AIRSTAGE 18,000 BTU ceiling-suspended unit.

What it does, and what it does not do. Let us be clear: the ABU18RULX is not a cold-climate heat pump. The manufacturer’s heating operating range stops at −10 °C outdoors, and the documentation shows 13,000 BTU of heating at −8 °C. It is not on Hydro-Québec’s LogisVert list of October 27, 2026, so no grant is attached to it. For a parish on the North Shore, the conclusion is simple: the boiler, furnace or baseboards already in place stay in service through the winter, and below −10 °C, that system does the heating.

Its natural territory is the warm season and the shoulder seasons. It cools the hall during heat waves, then takes the chill off cool mornings in May and October, when firing up the boiler for a single service would be overkill. We see it as a comfort unit for gatherings, mainly for commercial and institutional use, and that is how we offer it.

Here are the manufacturer’s values that matter when the hall fills up:

• airflow of 459 CFM, directed by automatic louvers;
• dehumidification of 5.3 pints/h, useful when a crowd makes the air muggy;
• indoor sound level of 35 dB(A) at minimum speed and 43 dB(A) at maximum speed; at low speed, the unit stays discreet during a homily or a minute of silence;
• an AOU18RLX outdoor unit at 53 dB(A);
• 208/230 V power supply and maximum overcurrent protection of 20 A.

Under the stained glass or on the ceiling. Low on the wall, the unit tucks in under the window without rising above the pews: the stained glass stays clear and the congregation keeps its view of the altar or the stage. On the ceiling, it frees the walls, which often suits a community hall better, since folding tables and chairs get stacked against the walls between activities. In both positions, the front grille is permanent and the louvers direct the air automatically. The low position has one more practical advantage: the filter is within arm’s reach, no stepladder needed.

Installation by AirGreen. A refrigerant line, a power cable and a drain connect the indoor unit to the outdoor unit. The line can run up to 50 m (164 ft), with a precharge for 15 m (49 ft), and the height difference between the two units can reach 20 m (66 ft). On an older building, that margin helps place the outdoor unit at the back or near the parking lot rather than on the main façade. The piping is 1/4 in and 1/2 in. The manufacturer does not offer an optional condensate pump for this model, since its pump is reserved for the ABU36RSLX; we therefore plan the drain route at the quote stage. The outdoor unit sits on a base or a bracket, and a refrigeration technician handles the commissioning. AirGreen is an AIRSTAGE Elite Plus installer and an HVAC contractor holding an RBQ licence.

Controls. A remote control is included with the indoor unit. When several volunteers share the keys to the building, the optional UTY-RNBYU wired controller has the advantage of staying on the wall; it is enabled by setting a DIP switch on the indoor unit. Wi-Fi, also optional, lets you start the cooling before the guests arrive.

Maintenance and warranty. The air filter is washable: you take it out, rinse it and put it back. In a hall where dust from old floors and drapes circulates, regular cleaning helps the unit keep its airflow. The warranty is identical to that of the Fujitsu version: 12 years on the compressor, 12 years on parts and 6 years on labour.

This unit is particularly well suited to:

• parishes and religious communities that want to cool a chapel or a parish hall without touching the stained glass;
• community halls, reception halls and recreation centres where summer gatherings make the air heavy;
• organizations that keep their current heating for the winter and are looking for a unit for cooling and the shoulder seasons.

In a large hall, the load calculation will tell whether one unit is enough or whether several are needed, set low on the walls or spread across the ceiling. We do it before proposing anything.

Free quote in Saint-Eustache and across the North Shore

A parish, a committee or an organization in Saint-Eustache that wants cool air for wedding season can reach us at 514 316-2973. We look at the hall, the free space under the windows, the ceiling height and the possible path for the refrigerant line, then we provide a free, detailed quote.

We install this system in Montreal, Laval, Longueuil, on the North Shore and on the South Shore, under the GENERAL or the Fujitsu label, whichever you prefer: the machine itself stays the same.