Mini Split on the Cheap

[zhandfull]

Been wanting to try a mini split unit in my old tin can mobile home in Lake Havasu. Being a 1973 build it’s not really energy efficient. Currently has an old 3.5 ton ground unit that is probably same 1973 vintage. Well it can’t keep up on cooling the mobile on a really hot day. To try and keep the inside temps manageable think upper 70’s low 80’s. I also have three portable AC unit that I run to help the outdoor unit on really hot days.

Anyways with all the mini split discussion in other threads. Finally decided to dip my toe in the water. Found the cheapest 1ton unit on Facebook marketplace and bought it for $350. It’s new but has been sitting unopened in a garage for a few years.

Hoping this unit works out good for the back master bedroom area. If it does I’m thinking about adding another 1 ton unit to the front dining area and maybe a 2 ton unit to replace the original ground unit near center of mobile later.

Mounted the indoor air handler last weekend and poured a pad for the outside unit. Looking forward to getting this thing up and running on the cheap in the next couple weeks to see how it works in my old tin can.

Ordered a line set cover and Nylog for the flared line connections. Still need to install electrical and a disconnect. All in on equipment $500. Plus a $200 for vacuum pump and torque wrench tool that I should hopefully be able to use again.

It’s possibly this whole experiment may be a complete failure. The instruction manual says the outdoor unit will operate up to 109 degree Fahrenheit outside temperature. While it wouldn’t be unexpected now that I read it. I’m going to be really disappointed if it shuts off on a 110 degree day. Guess time will tell.

 

[TPC]

Keep us updated.

 

[DLC]

We added a mini split in our bedroom.

if we keep the house at say 75, we can easily get the bedroom down into the 60’s fairly easy! We don’t run it all day just in the evening towards bed time.

the supply / return is inside the bedroom so it’s isolated

maybe add a cover / shade to the outside unit so it’s not in direct sunlight

 

[Good Stuff]

Keep in mind if you are doing expansions that they have systems that can run multiple splits with one large outside unit. May be able to purchase the large condenser and be able to add additional splits as you get more funds and time for the rest. If I built a house I would try and have splits for all the rooms over a traditional ducted setup. Haven’t done a cost comparison between two house sized systems but super impressed with the split I had installed in the garage in Havasu. My upper temp threshold is 115 and it ran just fine over the past summer on the full day sun side of the house.

 

[Mandelon]

I put probably that same unit in my daughter's two bedroom place. Two years, working fine. It does heat and AC. I had to buy the airpump vacuum dealio, but it works fine. Easy to install too. Only 15' of tubing though, so you need to plan accordingly. I used two heavy duty wall brackets and mounted it against the foundation.

 

[outboard_256]

Keep in mind if you are doing expansions that they have systems that can run multiple splits with one large outside unit. May be able to purchase the large condenser and be able to add additional splits as you get more funds and time for the rest. If I built a house I would try and have splits for all the rooms over a traditional ducted setup. Haven’t done a cost comparison between two house sized systems but super impressed with the split I had installed in the garage in Havasu. My upper temp threshold is 115 and it ran just fine over the past summer on the full day sun side of the house.

That was my plan when adding a/c on my house and nexgen convinced me to go with a whole house setup instead. One reason I didn't go with the mini splits in every room was it only works if you keep the doors shut for those rooms. We have little kids and pets so keeping doors shut in the house is hard. They also said that if I eventually added a mini split to every room it would cost more than the whole house a/c. But of course that depends on how many rooms you have or want the a/c in., who is installing, and what units you put in.

 

[bilz]

I have very limited crawl space. 5 AC contractors were saying can't do a whole house, gotta open up interior ceilings on and on. I know it's very tight up there. Some wanted to remove the insulation.
I went with minis. Two compressors 5 handlers. Forget to put the ice cream away, no big deal.

 

[zhandfull]

Vacuumed the line set and checked for leaks. So far so good, released the refrigerant into the system and turned it on. Brought room temp down 10 degrees in 15 minutes. Seems to be working good. Ran the heat pump last night just because I could.

First impressions - very quiet. Both the indoor and outdoor units are quiet. Installation was easy, although a little time consuming being my first install.

Still need to bolt it down to the pad. So far really happy with the unit. The real test will be mid summer.