diy solar

diy solar

What Mini-Split did you use, and Why?

The main factory in China that makes those 'scroll compressors' had a celebration not long ago for their millionth production. This is a mature industry - kind of really doesn't matter if it comes from China or Singapore, Vietnam, Korea, or Japan. I would not be a bit surprised if the Japanese brands were buying the china compressors.

Mini-splits are used extensively throughout the world, especially third-world countries where they can slap one of those in a brick building and go. Many of those places just don't have formal tradesmen. They are WAY more popular elsewhere than they are here in the US.

If you're going to DIY just make sure you address the warranty coverage. 99% of them will NOT cover a DIY install - it HAS to be installed by a licensed professional. READ the fine print in the warranty certificate. They CAN and do go bad, quit working. It pays to have 'a guy' you can call that will step in and help you out if you need it. I have one, he's so cheap the last time I told him he doesn't charge enough. LOL How often does THAT happen????
 
SkyBlue said:
Pioneer mini-splits used to be rebranded Gree units, made in China and sold by a US company headquartered in Florida. Are they really made in the USA now?
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I don't believe so, skim through some of the videos and that will become apparent.
Regardless I am beyond happy with my Inverter++ series I installed last month. I wouldn't hesitate to buy again, but I am tempted to order one of the "other brands" to save a few hundred dollars.

www.pdhvac.com

Pioneer Manufacturing Process

Parker Davis HVAC International, Inc. We are the manufacturer of the best selling Pioneer® air conditioners & heat pumps!
www.pdhvac.com www.pdhvac.com
 

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SkyBlue said:
Pioneer mini-splits used to be rebranded Gree units, made in China and sold by a US company headquartered in Florida. Are they really made in the USA now?
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No. It’s highly deceptive advertising that any other time would have the FTC up their fifth point of contact. The us dot gov is currently distracted.
 
Bob B said:
Hope I can ask a question here without side tracking the thread.

I'm looking for a DIY install mini split also .... I tend to avoid China products and generally Japanese products.
Are the Japanese brands any better?
I think it would be Daikin, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, and Panasonic .... maybe others. Are any of these actually manufactured in Japan?
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as far as I've seen Mitsubishi makes the best building HVAC & climate control units that exist... so not sure why you'd avoid. Their mini splits are good too.

And if you think any are made in your country, you're probably wrong (unless you are some european place that actually tries to manufacture stuff) UK, AUS, Canada, USA sure don't try. Probably 99% of your "made in USA" stuff you pay extra for was not made in USA. I know no tools that are either, and many say made in USA. even milwaukee which is HQ in us is now foreign majority owned and only some parts even get made in USA

anyway the BTU of what you need is important, but the best two SEER/EER rating ones I've seen in this thread are the innovair I posted and the Aura someone else mentioned.
 
From my research (way over researched) the Chinese made super high seer/COP units use really efficient Tobisha designed (but made in PRC) rotary compressors.

The downside is that the are buried inside and braised to other bits whereas the Japanese brands have parts that are more easily replaced.

That and the Japanese branded are made in SEA countries that aren’t the PRC. I’m thinking about future destabilization and parts availability here.
 
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gotbeans said:
as far as I've seen Mitsubishi makes the best building HVAC & climate control units that exist... so not sure why you'd avoid. Their mini splits are good too.

And if you think any are made in your country, you're probably wrong (unless you are some european place that actually tries to manufacture stuff) UK, AUS, Canada, USA sure don't try. Probably 99% of your "made in USA" stuff you pay extra for was not made in USA. I know no tools that are either, and many say made in USA. even milwaukee which is HQ in us is now foreign majority owned and only some parts even get made in USA

anyway the BTU of what you need is important, but the best two SEER/EER rating ones I've seen in this thread are the innovair I posted and the Aura someone else mentioned.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty happy with my Mitsubishi so far. I did the research and found a strong consensus that they were the best. I was replacing units on this home I plan on being in until I die so I was willing to spend more money. Plus the installer sold them to me at his cost to get the sale and the install labor so I actually came out just a little under what the Ruuds would have cost me. 12 year warranty and some anecdotal data suggesting they should last 20 years easily.
 
China can build great stuff, anyone that tells you otherwise isn't considering Apple. It's just about control of manufacturing and being able lock down their process and quality control. I seriously doubt that there is much HVAC that's built in the USA anymore - you just cant compete if you have to pay for the domestic costs of labor. At least not beyond some components.

If domestic support and warranty matter to you buy Mr. Cool.

Most of HVAC is a bit like branded solar - sold only to dealers, massive mark ups, steered away from DIY use.
 
Well I went for it, taking the risk on just the cheapest unit i could find. $649 with a $35 coupon, for a 12k BTU unit with a 20SEER rating. Unfortunately they do not provide an EER rating, but for $614, I can live with it.

Including the outdoor line cover, the wall mount and the R410a adapter for my vacuum pump, I'm at $780 including tax. I still need to buy my 12/2 cable and the AC disconnect though. Figuring I'll be right around $900 for the complete install.

Wish me luck it doesn't show up DOA. lol

 
Lt.Dan said:
Well I went for it, taking the risk on just the cheapest unit i could find. $649 with a $35 coupon, for a 12k BTU unit with a 20SEER rating. Unfortunately they do not provide an EER rating, but for $614, I can live with it.

Including the outdoor line cover, the wall mount and the R410a adapter for my vacuum pump, I'm at $780 including tax. I still need to buy my 12/2 cable and the AC disconnect though. Figuring I'll be right around $900 for the complete install.

Wish me luck it doesn't show up DOA. lol

Click to expand...
Damn the 230v is even cheaper, so tempting. ?
 
I just finished building a duplex from the ground up. Each side is 800sqft. To small for the usual packaged units I put in most of my rentals. Decided to go with pioneer mini split artic version. Supposed to heat down to -13°f. Each is 24,000 btu and good for 1000sqft. $900 each on webstruant.com. Comes with 16ft line set. I rented a vacuum pump from O’Reilys to pull vacuum. All the auto parts places have them. Already had gauges. I used the 16ft line set that came with the unit. I didnt reflare. It comes with copper gaskets with some kind of coating that is supposed to prevent leaks.. It was a lot easier than it looks on YouTube.. have been running for a week and very satisfied so far. For the bedrooms I put in room to room transfer fan in ductwork to bring the conditioned air from living/kitchen into the bedrooms. That fan is on a thermostat in one of the bedrooms
 
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Found this site from another thread, posting the following article because I think it's relevant here. I hope his opinion about pioneer being ewwww is grossly incorrect.
airconditioningarizona.com

Mitsubishi vs Fujitsu vs Daikin vs Gree

We compare Mitsubishi vs Fujitsu vs Daikin vs Gree in this 4-way shootout between four of the most popular ductless mini split heat pump systems in Phoenix
airconditioningarizona.com airconditioningarizona.com
 
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