Installing a Mini-Split - hire a pro?
5112bird
6 months ago
last modified: 6 months ago
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5112bird
6 months agoCharles Ross Homes
6 months agoRelated Discussions
Mini-splits throughout the house?
Comments (12)You say you will use these for cooling as you have the radiators, but I think you will find that you end up running your boiler only when it get really cold. Heating performance on these mshp's is outstanding. I heat and cool my home with Fujitsu's and Rinnai Energysavers. I pulled the entire central system, not because of poor equipment but because of very poor ductwork. I was the rep for Fujitsu for 12 yrs prior to selling my business and moving west. They make great equipment. It is difficult to advise without a floor plan, but as I see it, you have a few choices. You could go with a multi 2, 3, 4 or up to 8 evaporators on one outdoor condensing unit. Those tonnages can go 1.5, 2, 3, or 4 and the interior unit combinations and evaporator styles can mix and match. One thing I will say about the cassettes. Make sure you have service access. I concur with Ionize on the mini-ducted unit. they can work out very well in the transoms over closet doors and in attic areas. I hands down prefer the wall unit and find that they, just like everything else in the house blend in over time. The longer you live with them the better looking they become. You choice, but I think they are the best. I actually did a daily extensive, but informal, study on this. many times if I was involved at the beginning of the job and was told, "none of those ugly high wall units", when, for one rason or another they were installed I would go back after a while to see how they were. The comments were universally positive. Grudgingly so, at times, but people were happy with them. Mini splits are tremendous for dehumidification. I installed a dual system upstairs. I went with singles downstairs. These represent the ultimate in zone control, so we rarely run the upstairs units a lot. Downstairs I run a 25 seer 12RLS and I think it is a 21 seer 15RLS. That to me is the right combination. Very highest efficiency units in the primary living area and combis in the less used areas. Do not have a unit blowing right down on top of the bed. The cassettes can be 2, 3 or 4 way blows so that is adjustable. i'd suggest that you look at fujitsugeneral.com. Go to the Contractors tab and there you can download the entire catalog and they are very good about publishing specs. As to the hi-velocity units. They work. They are installation sensitive in the ducting and they are much less efficient. When the 13 seer mandate went into effect the hi-v folks used an exclusion (confined space) to not have to meet it. In my experience they cannot compare to mini-splits for either comfort or efficiency. As with so many things mechanical, hire the best guy you can find and pay him what he is asking. Having made a lot of site visits on problem installs I can tell you that there is no substitute for "do it right the first time" on these....See Moremini-split ductless system
Comments (8)Hi ionized. Our issue with running actual ducts is that our house is very, very, very old and the original very, very, very old part of our house is solid one foot thick log walls. Going through them at any point is a nightmare for anything. We have a new addition, which would be fairly easy to run duct work, but working it into the old part of the house, which also has only 7' ceilings which are completely open ceilings with timber joists (bark still on them), which we plan on leaving open. We plan on adding some sort of insulation in the flooring between levels but between solid walls, no actual ceiling space and of course no basement, a "ductless" system is seeming the better way to go. Also, no we have no natural gas. Not knowing a whole lot, I would guess I need to run it into 6 rooms. 3 bedrooms, living room, dining room/entry, and kitchen. Right now our coal heat is actual a free standing base burner coal stove, so not central heat. Real turn of the century stuff, but believe it or not seriously efficient and the more insulated the house gets the less I think I need heat other than it, except for the fact I am living in the turn of the century stoking a coal fire daily. Because of the log wall set up the only room that is left out is our new MB. It is on the outside of the log house in the new addition and not on the same level as the stove. So the circulation just doesn't get there very well. There is also the more temperate times of year like Oct. when it would be nice not to be running the stove and have easy access to heat at night if it gets to 30 like it did the other night. My few real questions are do I need to have an additional heat source like baseboard heating for this type of unit? I saw a Youtube video that said if it gets too cold they don't run right. Would my coal stove be OK (we have no plans on getting rid of it and will continue to burn it in the coldest months of winter), or would I then have issues in my MB if I didn't get enough heat up there if the temp dropped? Aslo, I read somewhere and now I can't find where, that there were 35' maximums on the length you can run from the compressor outside. Is this true of all systems or did I read this on one site or someone talking about one manufacturer? If so I am thinking I need two compressors to service different areas of the house, is this how the cost starts adding up quickly? And do I need to hire a professional to install it? I promise we are not average DIYers. We would not be ready to install the entire system at once at any given time. I was hoping to educate myself, decide on a system, buy the parts we need as we go room to room. We are slowly working our way through the house, but we are probably looking at a 8 year total project....See MoreMini-Split HVAC System (Pros versus Cons)
Comments (23)Living in PA, we have a 60's built ranch home with no ductwork. My husband had one of these systems put in this summer (Fijitsu wall mounted system) to cool our main living area. It works great. It is quiet and works very well cooling most of the house although we only needed it for living/dining/kitchen. I had hoped for the best when I reluctantly agreed because I HATED how it looked. I had seen these units in other peoples homes and hated them then. People (especially contractors) assured me that I would get over this. It has been since June and I still hate how it looks. When friends and family (admittedly mostly female) see this unit, their first reaction is negative on how it looks. They try to be nice about it but when I ask their honest opinion, they say it is ugly. I really regret having this installed. The few short months that we use it was not worth the eyesore it is in our house. I am trying to come up with ways to hide this beast for the 8 or 9 months of the year that we don't use it. I am writing this only to forewarn anyone who has concerns about installing these units because of the looks. My advice would be if you have white walls and high ceilings, then this would likely be less noticeable. If you have lower ceilings like I do and have a wall color other than white or light, this is going to be noticeable. Also, I would suggest do whatever you can to find a wall that is not a focal wall to install this beast. My was installed on a focal wall which only adds to the problem....See MoreRevisiting Zoned Mini-Split vs Trad'l Ducted Central HVAC in New Home
Comments (32)Elmer's inquiry deserved more of a answer than your chest-thumping, self-promoting, California-bashing commercial. The climate around Katy, Texas is certainly not "one in a million." It's similar... Just "similar" but not exact... meaning different. Me and Mr. Fudd's disagreements are well documented on this board the story continually evolves from duck to rabbit season and back again. One in a million is a generalized comment... a saying. But you Mr. Ross love to find something to argue about for the sake of arguing. Distinctly different? That's rich. I find it humorous to what people like to nit pick over. It doesn't change anything. I don't change anything about the comment I made. You can disagree if you want, I still say Katy, Texas is indeed "one in a million"... at least. Ray is a one-person company. He lives in the replacement contractor world. When someone is without heat, air conditioning or hot water, it's often the first replacement contractor to arrive that "wins." Not hot water... I am not a plumber. Texas licensed for AC and heat only (HVAC). Yes essentially that is the "service" I offer as well as the part of the world I live in. Air conditioning and Furnace repair service in Katy, Texas area. When I say "service" I mean it. Every day, including summer holidays, weekends. Repairs also include equipment replacement. I myself install all new equipment I sell. I don't sub out work to sub contractors unless the contract specifies that (which is extremely rare situation). If you don't like the way I do things you're free to look elsewhere. I'm not here to tell you what your ears are aching to hear, I am here to tell you like it is. (Firmly and exponentially based on experience.) You don't have to like what I say, most of the time it's not pleasant due to a variety of reasons. In some aspects similar to the confrontational aspects of this forum boards conversations. Anyone who has viewed my posts know I come thick skinned. Disagreements do not phase me. If you want a gimmick, chase a gimmick. I could not offer the service I offer if my approach didn't work after all these years. I'd be running back around chasing my tail. You'd never get thru when you try to call me. Seriously? Think about it. Chest pounding: If you want to call it that it's your opinion. You're free to have it. My experience is my experience. 26 years. Easily verified. 13 years running my own company. Again easily verified facts. Essentially it's an advertisement. I am not paid to be here. I am here drinking my morning coffee filling in that time. If this isn't advertising my business what purpose would I have to be here? I don't come here to argue with the metamucil fan club that propetuates this board. Ha, ha... you know who you are. People search for me. All I have to do is leave bread crumbs so people can find me. AC repair service Katy, Texas area. Everyday. When I say something I mean it. Not a spam service. Don't sell your info. Don't pester you. You initiate the service you want. It's not that difficult when you know what you're doing. If you want a 20 something or 30 something coming to your home, you have to ask yourself how much experience does this guy really have? If that's what you want go for it. I've worked for companies like that... having to go back behind some newbie over and over and over. Used in not very fun ways. Follow my rules. I've been doing this longer than some of you have been alive. My methods work. Experience. What is it worth? Who else on this board in all the world listed as a pro HVAC service provider has my work ethic? Name one besides me. (beside the mini split warehouse spammer) Truth is stranger than fiction. There are people out there who read these threads and never post due to this kind of argumentative climate so frequent here. How could I know such a thing? I service the Katy, Texas area....See More5112bird
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