Mini-Split Recommendations?

[PAToyota]

I'm looking at a mini-split for the woodworking shop. A neighbor does HVAC work and is recommending a Friedrich Floating Air Select Series 12K BTU setup. I can do the legwork (mounting the units, providing power, and putting in a chase for him) and he'll do the hookups, charge the system, and such.

Researching it a bit online and I find that they're based in Texas, but they moved manufacturing to Mexico. As with anything, reviews are mixed and I'm seeing a lot of reviews with problems. However, I realize that someone with problems is much more likely to write about it than someone who can only say "Installed it. Works exactly as it should."

Any experience, opinions, or better recommendations?

 

[crispins]

My guy put in a Gree for me.

10 year warranty

He has had no problems from them been putting them in for a few years.

Mine works great!

Was a cheaper option as well.

Also the lines come precharged so you can hook the entire system up yourself, no contractor needed.

 

[4Eyedturd]

I put in a Mr Cool DIY 18k setup last year and haven’t had any issues. Lines were precharged, I did it all myself and it barely looks hack.

 

[Projectjunkie]

I bought 4 for a project for $1700 from a guy that gets them in Mexico, mirage brand, sold for a Mexican market, but made in China. It's weird, I'm not sure if there's some tariff or environmental thing, but most of the ones installed in Tucson seem to be bought in Mexico

Anyways, my understanding is that they are all pretty much the same components and quality, just sold under different names.

I know you can run multiple heads off of a single compressor condensor unit

I chose to run 4 completely separate systems so that if there is a failure, I'll run on 3 units while just replacing a $425 unit instead of fucking around looking for parts

 

[PAToyota]

I'm not sure that's an option up here in Pennsylvania. We're a bit further from the border... 😉

 

[ironman_gq]

I've had good luck with Senville units. Installed an 18k at home by myself in about 3 hours and helped the BIL install a 2 head unit in about the same amount of time. The compressors are pre-charged so you do need a vacuum pump to evacuate the line set but other than that it's a pretty simple DIY project.

 

[vetteboy79]

I put in a Mr Cool DIY 18k setup last year and haven’t had any issues. Lines were precharged, I did it all myself and it barely looks hack.

I did the Mr Cool 24k setup in my garage in 2017 and it's been great. Last winter the furnace took a shit so I ended up running it in heat pump mode, to the point where the outside unit turned into a block of ice, and it still held up fine (it's got multiple levels of self-protection). Easily installed in a few hours by myself.

 

[ThePanzerFuhrer]

Anyone have a recommendation for a ducted mini split? I need to install one in my theater. I’m gonna put the condenser in the house in the other half of the basement instead of outside. That way I’m not pumping heat out of the house in the winter time.

 

[arse_sidewards]

I know you can run multiple heads off of a single compressor condensor unit

And what does that entail? Plumbing/wiring the indoor units in parallel? I don't see how any one indoor unit would care if the compressor is running when they don't ask for it (i.e when another unit turns it on) so long as it does run when they ask for it.

 

[CarterKraft]

I bought 4 for a project for $1700 from a guy that gets them in Mexico, mirage brand, sold for a Mexican market, but made in China. It's weird, I'm not sure if there's some tariff or environmental thing, but most of the ones installed in Tucson seem to be bought in Mexico

Anyways, my understanding is that they are all pretty much the same components and quality, just sold under different names.

I know you can run multiple heads off of a single compressor condensor unit

I chose to run 4 completely separate systems so that if there is a failure, I'll run on 3 units while just replacing a $425 unit instead of fucking around looking for parts

Those are all over the place on FB Marketplace, cheap too.
The ones I have seen are all on the smaller side 12k and down but that's not really a bad thing.

 

[Projectjunkie]

I'm not sure that's an option up here in Pennsylvania. We're a bit further from the border... 😉

For sure, I guess I was suggesting to shop hard knowing the markups

And what does that entail? Plumbing/wiring the indoor units in parallel? I don't see how any one indoor unit would care if the compressor is running when they don't ask for it (i.e when another unit turns it on) so long as it does run when they ask for it.

I'm not sure, initially I thought that if you bought a multiple head unit, it was built that way, but, around here there's always surplus compressor condensor units on CL and FB, so maybe it's simple to hook them together. For my purposes, I'm happy with multiple single units

Those are all over the place on FB Marketplace, cheap too.
The ones I have seen are all on the smaller side 12k and down but that's not really a bad thing.

I'm guessing also Mexican imports in the $500 range? Mirage, Lennox etc?

 

[PAToyota]

And what does that entail? Plumbing/wiring the indoor units in parallel? I don't see how any one indoor unit would care if the compressor is running when they don't ask for it (i.e when another unit turns it on) so long as it does run when they ask for it.

Typically the exterior unit has multiple ports for a multi-zone system:

 

[arse_sidewards]

Typically the exterior unit has multiple ports for a multi-zone system:

Yeah the multi-zone ones "just work" but there's gotta be a way to run multiple zones off a cheapo single zone (as long as the capacity works out).

 

[PAToyota]

You'd have to size the compressor/condenser to accommodate all the indoor units, which would then lead to inefficiencies if less were running. If all the indoor units had similar loads, it would stand a better chance than if the loads were quite different (opposite sides of a building with solar gain differences). It would work, but it wouldn't work as well as a multi-unit setup.

 

[arse_sidewards]

You'd have to size the compressor/condenser to accommodate all the indoor units, which would then lead to inefficiencies if less were running. If all the indoor units had similar loads, it would stand a better chance than if the loads were quite different (opposite sides of a building with solar gain differences). It would work, but it wouldn't work as well as a multi-unit setup.

Of course a 10k BTU outdoor unit won't handle 50k of indoor unit but if the building only needs 10k to keep cool then who cares? You might have 5 indoor units idling along at 1k each. Sure if you drop the thermostat and they start asking for 10k the compressor won't be able to keep up and distribution is gonna get weird/bad depending on the requirements of the space each unit is handling but once it gets cool and that all evens out it should be fine.

Single indoor/outdoor units mini split package sets are ungodly cheap compared to multi zone stuff or any other sort of system.

 

[grumpy356]

Do they have a two zone Mini-Split where you can T the line set instead of running two line sets the total length of the run?

 

[dave_dj1]

Anything changed in the last few months other than price?
I'm about to pull the trigger on a couple of units.
My house is a basic ranch with walk out basement (not going to AC basement)
It's about 900 sf , kitchen, dining and living room are all open, then hall down to bedrooms and bathrooms. 8' ceiling heights. Our bedroom is basically two that were configured into one at the end of the house.
I'm thinking a 18K unit in dining room and a 10-12 in bedroom
I don't want or need heat pump option unless they are cheap enough to just get them with it.
What are y'all recommending these days?

 

[crispins]

I am pretty sure I recommended the one I am using to cool my office in this thread.

I am super happy with it, my office is an uninsulated glass bowl facing the sun and my unit freezes me out, it works great for a year now without an issue.

 

[crispins]

Gree is the brand, 10 year warranty.

 

[ridenby]

This is of much interest to me.

 

[Projectjunkie]

I'm still happy with my mirage brand mini split heat pumps, heated with them over the winter, starting to run the a.c. for a couple hours at a time this week.

I'd be wary of over sizing them and having them short cycle.

I installed 4, 3 in service, 4th needs finishing soon, and bought a 5th as a spare, I take my A.C. pretty freaking seriously

Buy the adaptor on Amazon to pump it down. You can use your auto r134 gauges and pump, but need the $10 adaptor , "mini split adaptor" or some such. If you don't have a pump and gauges, AutoZone loaner tool...

I also used some super magic thread sealant to prevent leaks

 

[Seubs070]

Can I install the outside unit under a deck? Think of putting one of these in my garage instead of one of the gas hot dawg units.

My garage is in the lower level of the house and the only spot outside to place a unit would be under the deck.

How do you size them? This would be in a garage with minimally insulted foundation walls on three sides and leaky garage doors on the other side.

 

[crispins]

Can I install the outside unit under a deck? Think of putting one of these in my garage instead of one of the gas hot dawg units.

My garage is in the lower level of the house and the only spot outside to place a unit would be under the deck.

How do you size them? This would be in a garage with minimally insulted foundation walls on three sides and leaky garage doors on the other side.

as far as under a deck, yes should not be a problem

not sure how to size it, there are graphs but you will need to go a little larger due to your leaky doors.

 

[bgaidan]

Can I install the outside unit under a deck? Think of putting one of these in my garage instead of one of the gas hot dawg units.

My garage is in the lower level of the house and the only spot outside to place a unit would be under the deck.

How do you size them? This would be in a garage with minimally insulted foundation walls on three sides and leaky garage doors on the other side.

Make sure you'll have a reasonable amount of clearance under the deck for airflow. Although I guess most of the minis have the fan mounted sideways which would help in your case.


You can buy foam insulation panels for uninsulated garage doors pretty cheap. I'm sure it'd pay back in no time. And get some better weather stripping to go around them too.

Plug in your room specs and region and it'll tell you what size you should need:

HVAC Load Calculator

An easy-to-use HVAC tool for calculating necessary thermal output capacity (in BTUs) This tool is based on the square foot method, with computations added for the most important values included, such as insulation, windows, and other contributing factors. The system is pre-set to a 72-degree...

www.pioneerminisplit.com

 

[aczlan]

Can I install the outside unit under a deck? Think of putting one of these in my garage instead of one of the gas hot dawg units.

My garage is in the lower level of the house and the only spot outside to place a unit would be under the deck.

How do you size them? This would be in a garage with minimally insulted foundation walls on three sides and leaky garage doors on the other side.

We have one at work that is under a deck, as long as the fan blows sideways (vs vertical) it shouldn't be a problem.

Aaron Z

 

[Projectjunkie]

Can I install the outside unit under a deck? Think of putting one of these in my garage instead of one of the gas hot dawg units.

My garage is in the lower level of the house and the only spot outside to place a unit would be under the deck.

How do you size them? This would be in a garage with minimally insulted foundation walls on three sides and leaky garage doors on the other side.

I think under a deck, with airflow, would work well, you may lose a touch of airflow, but gain shade, so a wash or a win IMO


You'll need to look at a zone calculator, then upsize some because of poor insulation in a garage

 

[CarterKraft]

I would error on the side of too small not too big. Long run times remove moisture if that is a problem in your super secrete climate you reside in...

 

[dave_dj1]

So the time has come for me to place an order. I'm finding the smaller less than 12k units are 110 volt. I would prefer to run them off of 220 volts, (or 221 whatever it takes ) for efficiency reasons. The smaller unit is for my bedroom. Will the 110 units work OK or will they be a huge draw?
The one for the rest of the house will be an 18K unit and that will be 220 volts.

Scratch that, I just found a 9K Gree that is 220

 

[Firstram]

So the time has come for me to place an order. I'm finding the smaller less than 12k units are 110 volt. I would prefer to run them off of 220 volts, (or 221 whatever it takes ) for efficiency reasons. The smaller unit is for my bedroom. Will the 110 units work OK or will they be a huge draw?
The one for the rest of the house will be an 18K unit and that will be 220 volts.

Scratch that, I just found a 9K Gree that is 220

Do you have a 220v generator? The 110v units are easy to power during an outage.

 

[dave_dj1]

Do you have a 220v generator? The 110v units are easy to power during an outage.

Yes I have a whole house set up. Good point to consider though.