Anyone here have a mini split (ductless) a/c system or ever had anything to do with one?

Mini Split A/C

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

They have them all over in Spain. Work very well but you pretty much need one for each room. Good for a retrofit.

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As said, great for retrofits, since the penetration thru the wall is barely 2 inches in diameter to run the chill lines to the Fan unit. There are new models that can provide cooling to more than one zone from a single compressor unit.

Efficiency wise, they're much better than the window or in wall units, but not as good as real central air. The washable filters need to be maintained. We've had Mitsubishi and Fredrickson units and are pretty pleased with them.

Werd

Home or industrial units?

Thanks,
Sixto
... stay tuned

These are home units. The fan units aren't particulary attractive, but they are reasonably quiet since the compressors are alongside the exterior of the house.

i have a couple in my building too.

they work just fine in a studio apartment.

one is a mitsubishi, the other i dont remember the name.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

My parents have been thinking about using some of these. They've got a bunch of cabins joined together and not any real good way of doing central air. How hard are they to install? They live pretty far out in the sticks and have problems getting people to come out and work on stuff, so my brother and I were thinking of putting a few in. Anyone done the install for themselves? Is the connection piping just standard pipe or is it something special from the manufacturer?

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-livin' in the terminally flippant zone

The first step is getting it wired for power, putting the compressor unit on a stable pad (plastic or concrete) and running the cooling/return & condensate drain lines to the hole thru the wall. The fan unit attaches to a mounting plate that covers the hole and hooks up to the lines. While it's always possible to DIY, I would probably recommend a professional install by a contractor.

I would too, but if they keep waiting for someone to come out and do it, it will never get done. I've put in regular HVAC units and done a fair amount of brazing, sweating pipes and various electrical stuff as has my brother. I was wondering if there's anything special about these mini-splits that's different than a regular unit.

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-livin' in the terminally flippant zone

The mini-splits manufactured by LG seem to have a lot of installation information available on the web; it is hard to tell for sure but they look like they utilize field-made flare fittings for the liquid and suction lines. They are shipped with sufficient refigerant charge in the condenser to accomodate 20-30 feet of tubing

If this is the case, it would be simple to do the install if the service lines were in that length range. If you had refrigeration gauges and a vacuum pump, evacuate the system, close it up and release the charge from the condenser. Longer lines would necessitate calling a service company to come complete the charge.

If I can ever get a price on these things, I intend buy them and do the installation myself.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

If I can ever find the stupid EPA card that I had I'll just buy the refrigerant myself. I wouldn't think we'd need more than the 30' included though. Have you heard anything about reliability on the LGs? I've heard the Mitsubishi commercial units are dang near bulletproof.

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-livin' in the terminally flippant zone

I can't find out much of anything about these systems. But, I haven't called around to servce companies here in Austin to see if they have any experience...may do that soon.

FWIW, a long-time friend with an appliance service company has little or nothing nice to say about other LG products such as refrigerators. I'll probably steer away from LG.

This place carries the Ambiance brand which seems reasonably priced:

Ductless HVAC Supply, Inc.

The Ambiance 12000 BTU unit uses a Sanyo compressor; the 18000 and 22000 use a Hitachi.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

What do you want to know?

First, they cost more. Second they are 100 times easier to install -- the Mitsu and the Sanyo ones run for friggin' ever.

Plumbers and HVAC guys hate them because they don't make much money on them.

In all honesty you could do the install yourself. The hardest part is routeing the line if you put it on an interior wall.

I had a (or was in) a thread on them at some point here. My CAC unit is fried, and I'm going to go with a dual zone one. One for upstairs and one for downstairs.

Brand wise, I know Mitsu is the best... From there just google. All the Japanese brands have them.

Good Luck,

Pete

Both homes that I lived in in Japan had this kind of system.

In fact, virtually all homes or apartments in Japan have these kind of systems.

The work fabulous because you are cooling or heating only the room that you are in. Also very efficient.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".