Mini Split install

Ihe advantage of the Mr. Cool is that is truly a DIY system. The compressor and lines come pre-charged with valves on the connections and the electrical is fairly simple. The is no outside electrical connection on the evaporator side, it all runs through the compressor. The most difficult part of the install was the prep work. Once the unit was ready to hang, the installation was about an hour.

Most of the other mini splits require pumping the system down and charging it with refrigerant. some also require silver soldering or brazing connections. Because of this, some local ordinances require installation by a certified HVAC technician.

I seem to recall that there is one other system that comes pre-charged. I can't remember who offhand.

My Mr. Cool min split was about 50% more than other options. I have the knowledge and equipment to do a full HVAC installation but at the time, I was looking at a rooftop compressor installation 35' in the air and l was not cherishing the idea of silver soldering connections, not to mention running my vacuum pump and charging manifold on the rooftop.

As far as performance goes, it has only been a few months so I have no long term experience. The Mr. Cool uses a VFD for the compressor so it idles down to nothing when the target temperature is reached. It is whisper quiet. A sigh of relief considering my experience with wall mount units in hotels/motels. My unit is oversized ( the smaller unit wouldn't be available for three months) but because it has the VFD compressor drive, it doesn't have the problem with moisture removal associated with short cycle times. I have no problem with the wifi connection and can monitor and control the unit from anywhere I have a connection to my phone.

Based on my experience so far, if I were doing it all over, I would make the same choice.
 
When I installed the Fujitsu in the great room of my house I discovered that refrigerant lines use a 45 degree flare. My brake line flaring tool does 37 1/2 degree flares (I think).... which doesn't work for refrigerant. I found the cost of purchasing a 2 stage refrigerant vacuum pump to be about 1/4 the cost of paying a AC man to come out and evacuate my lines. A used quality 45 refrigerant flaring tool was about $30 on ebay. I liked being able to cut my refrigerant lines to the exact length I needed instead of trying to figure out what length pre-charged lines to order.

The second summer I had my Fujitsu I noticed its cooling capacity seemed to be diminished quite a bit... were my flares bad? Did I not evacuate the lines well enough? Did I have a leak some where? Do I need to buy a refrigerant leak detector then recharge the system?

I ended up cleaning a good 1/2" of dust off the reusable air filter in the Fujitsu's head unit then all was fine again! LOL!
 
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JimDawson said:
I like your EXIT sign/emergency light setup above the door.
Click to expand...

Since our local power company operates at a Soviet level of eptitude, I've had the power go off several times when I'm out in the shop. Which has no windows or skylights, so it's *dark* when the lights go out. Usually takes a while to carefully feel my way to the door (suddenly the floor doesn't look like the best place for "stuff") and open it.

I think a light that goes on when the power fails would be a great idea. I'm surprised I never thought of it on my own...
 
TRX said:
Since our local power company operates at a Soviet level of eptitude, I've had the power go off several times when I'm out in the shop. Which has no windows or skylights, so it's *dark* when the lights go out. Usually takes a while to carefully feel my way to the door (suddenly the floor doesn't look like the best place for "stuff") and open it.

I think a light that goes on when the power fails would be a great idea. I'm surprised I never thought of it on my own...
Click to expand...

I installed one the day after I had the same thing happen. Wouldn't be without it.
 
Well I've had my MR cool mini split now for about 16 months. Found out one very important thing about the remote.

There is no low battery indicator. Display comes on just fine, but won't turn the unit on.

Thankfully the HVAC repair guy only charged me $87 to figure that out.

He checked the charge on the unit and it was fine, wiring was good. We both figured it lost pressure.

Nope, cheap batteries.
 
I have had my Fujitsu Mini split in my great room for several years and love it. I just ordered a Mitsubishi 3 zone system for the 3 bedrooms in my house. One of the hassles I had with the Fujitsu and the part that made me most nervous is getting a good seal on the flared connections. This time I have decided to go a slightly different route.

1) I ordered 50' of copper tubing (1/4" and 3/8") off amazon for about half the price of the online mini-split places that I will chop up for the 3 runs. The tubing comes with no flares and no flare nuts.
2) I ordered these sweat on flared ends.
https://www.tequipment.net/TPI/FA-2/HVAC-Accessories/


TPI_Leak_Proof_Flare_Fittings.jpg


I know that I can make a good 45 flare BUT this is a big investment so I want to make sure I don't mess it up and spend a fortune on having an HVAC contractor come out to fix me mistake. My understanding is that the number 1 problem with new mini-split installs is a leaking flare fitting... even when the pros install them. For an extra $70 I don't have to worry about a bad flare and I don't have to hunt down a 45 flare tool to borrow.
 
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How ironic that I came across this thread. My mini-split arrives tomorrow. Bought a Friedrich 18K BTU one from Skip The Warehouse. Including the lines and some 14/4 wire it came to almost exactly $1200. I have a 1300sq ft shop and am pretty confident that it will cool it nicely. I have wood heat for the winter but the mini-split will be nice to have when it is a little cool out and I don't want to start the wood stove.

My friend has two in his shop. A Panasonic and a Friederich. He prefers the Friederich. The remote is more intuitive and the interior air handler displays the temperature on the unit, which the Panasonic does not.

I am curious what you guys are doing about the 410? I have the manifolds and a pump, but no access to 410.
 
ebay has R 410-A. Under $100 for 7.5 lbs + free shipping.
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Well the current update on my Mr. Cool saga.

I don't use it very much and a few weeks ago I "tried" to turn it one and got a E1 error code. Watched the video online, checked the wiring even though I knew it wasn't a power issue since I did the wiring.

CalledMR Cool and they said E1 is a board problem. (Then why did the video tell em to check voltages?) He said he's send me a new board.

So two plus weeks later I get the board. The online vid is no where near right for the removal and install for my 36K unit.

Anyway after much head scratching and taking the side covers off I found this.

Not a board problem, burnt wiring problem.

So called MR Cool again and he said they may replace the unit but will get back to me.

Honestly I'm regretting buying the unit. I've got very few hours on it and had nothing but problems with it.

Live and learn I guess.

20201125_093819.jpg
 
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