Planning on purchasing and installing a single zone, wall mounted mini split in my home for the central LR/DR/Kit of 660 sq ft. Primary use would be to supplement the present wood stove while I'm at work or out for the day. I'd rarely use AC unless it gets over 85* in the house, which is maybe a week or two at the most. I was a HVAC tech for a year, 2005-06, in between my engineering jobs. Installed dozens of systems, so knew the procedure. Have EPA cert but not a licensed HVAC tech.... I realize I'd be voiding the warranty if the install isn't signed off by a licensed tech. Considering having the final pumpdown/startup done by a pro to retain warranty, cost would be $475 for the service. Looking for a 12k system with hyper heat for operation down to 0*F or so. Considering the following systems, which do the pros prefer? A good service manual and parts availability would be a concern if I void the warranty. Mitsubishi MZ-FH12NAH Fujitsu 12RLS3H Panasonic XE12SKUA Gree SAP12HP230v1A Daikin FTX12NMVJU / RXL12QMVJU
Mitsubishi is the caddy of mini splits and also probably more expensive. Keep your lines clean. contaminates are this systems worst enemy. Make sure the tech does a pressure test with nitrogen and a triple evac before charging the system. Id do the start up for you for 250.00.(if I was within 100 miles) Never had a wire set go bad. use shielded 4 strand 14 gauge mini split wire.
Yeah, the Mitsubishi is highly regarded, and the most expensive at about $2100 just for the unit. Fujitsu seems to come in second place in desirability at $1840. Panasonic looks great on paper but Has limited reviews. Cost about $1600. Wish I knew more about this one. Lineset and other stuff adds another $200. By 'triple evac' do you mean a N2 purge/pumpdown cycle and repeat 3 times? I work with vacuum chambers for optical coatings, and know how tough it is to get H2O off of surfaces.... it has quite a tenacious grip on every square mm! I'll need to shop around for a pro to sign off the install. The one I mentioned will sell me a unit for close to online price, but their signoff service was $475.
Yes pump it down to -29.9. break the vac with N2. repeat. I think your getting hosed on the price. Recently installed the same unit for under 3K. and made a grand on the deal. Do you have a Gemaire or Baker dist. near you?
Well, in Virginia..... over 200 miles away. Trying to find a distributor that will sell to a homeowner is more of a challenge than I thought.
If one of my suppliers were close to you I could order the system and have it picked up there and you'd pay cash at time of delivery.
I think I first saw these on 'this old house' or similar. I am very curious myself because I have found my forced-air heating to be rather inefficient. Can you detail a bit more about where you're planning to install and what your goals are?
I should clarify... I keep forgetting the new board layout omits our locations in our avatar! I'm in eastern Pa.The closest Gemaire or Baker distributors are in Va, or 200 miles from me. Thanks for the offer tho!
Sure. My house, built 1989, has oil burner and forced air heat. Worked ok, but it looses a lot of heat due to uninsulated ductwork in the basement and trying to heat unused bedrooms (mostly used for Buick part storage!). It's been 10 years since I relied on it for heating, but was somewhere around $600 of oil for the season. I installed a wood stove in the central LR/DR/kit area as I have a source of firewood on my property. Fills 100% of my heating needs as long as I'm around to feed it. I've gotten weary of having it burning while I'm out. A wall mounted mini split heat pump is very efficient, often 26 SEER+(cooling), 12.5 HSPF (heat) for a higher end unit. Much more efficient than an oil burner. My goal is to use it to warm the central area while the wood stove is not burning, and maybe even enjoy some low cost air conditioning in the summer. It'll be installed in the LR. The DR and kitchen is part of the same area as house has an open floor plan. Master bedroom is adjacent and about 10*F cooler in the winter. I may eventually add another unit to the BR if necessary. Units with 'hyper heat' or equivalent will produce near 100% of their heating capacity down to approx 5*F and will continue to produce heat at lesser efficiency down to near -15*F. Normal units are good to 15*F or so. The old outside heat pumps of a decade ago were useful to around 40*F (Briz?) These units are ideal for heating/cooling single zone areas, whether it's the main living area, an out of the way bedroom, an addition, or even a garage. Multi zone units are also avail for conditioning several rooms, but efficiency drops on those, it may be more effective to use several smaller single zone units. I became more aware of these units over at the garagejournal forums. They've become very popular for garage cooling. Professional installation is generally recommended or required to maintain manufactures warranty. However there are units targeted for the DIY'er that have valved, pre-charged line sets that don't require the usual HVAC specialty tools and procedures for installation. See the 'Mr Cool' line.
You are correct for the most part. A standard 14 SEER HP will heat very well down to about 40* after that the OAT sensor will bring on the heat strips or back up heat to supplement. Around here I'll install a 10Kw (42 amps) back up strip. When I lived 250 miles south it was a 5 Kw strip @ around 20 amps. Muliti zoned systems really dont lose that much eff. but I usually don't recommend any more than a 3-1 system as if any one of the evap units on that system goes down for any reason it shuts down the condenser and nothing works until its corrected. If I was to redo my house I'd install a separate unit for each Br and a multi zoned unit for the common living areas.
Thanks for all that info, wkillgs. Really interesting. I looked into a new gas in-wall unit, and the costs were astronomical. The heater guy wouldn't install anything costing less than 4 or 5k, then you need new ducting for intake/exhaust, plus brickwork and drywall. All adds up to about 10k. Ridiculous.
I ended up getting the Fujitsu 12RLS3H, $1576 at a nearby Johnstone HVAC supply. It's $1994 on the online sites, so I couldn't beat the price. Various accessories and sales tax added another $400. Spent $366 on tools and did my own install. After a $175 rebate from the electric company, and another $200 from a new credit card sign-up bonus, my total is just under $2k. Finished the install today!
Ceiling Height: If your ceilings are higher than 8 feet, you should increase your number of BTUs. 20% Area To Be Cooled Capacity Needed (BTUs Per Hour) 150 to 250 square feet 6,000 BTUs 250 to 300 square feet 7,000 BTUs 300 to 350 square feet 8,000 BTUs Do y'all agree with this chart ?
Just bought a 12K Mr. Cool from Costco at special price that ends today. Same unit on Amazon was $1230.00. Comes with great reviews and it is a do-it-yourself unit with copper tubing sealed with gas and ready to bolt up and install. Condenser outside, unit on wall anywhere you want it inside. Has WiFi if you want to control it long distance. Since we had 108 F today and 110 Fpredicted by Sunday I figured I would replace the window unit I have had for 6+ years in a 400 SF converted garage space with high ceiling and well insulated walls and ceiling. Mr Cool DIY 12K BTU Mini-Split Heat Pump with WIFI Item # 1236485 $ 899.99
LOL @ "Mr Cool" I had a guy call me last fall to install a unit he purchased online. Said all excited Its Mr Cool all new, redesigned best thing on the market. I thought OK, Lets see it.. Few days later he calls me and says the truck just delivered the unit and how soon can I come. I get there and open the box. Its a ICP package unit! Same thing one of my local distributors sells as "Grandaire"also seen em as 1/2 a dozen different names. I thought it was pretty funny and when I told him that was even better.
Great deal Chuck! The Mr Cool units are real popular with the Garage Journal crowd, and the Costco price is tough to beat. While a window air conditioner can be had for much less money, they don't provide heat, and the mini splits are soooo much nicer with their super quiet operation. The Pioneer is another lower-cost brand that has become quite popular for garage use. I've been real happy with the Fujitsu in my home. Cost about $50 per month in electric for wintertime heat, but only used it for a week for the A/C.
Wow, that was a good deal! I need to watch Costco for their next sale. I could use one of those in my basement and one in the garage.
