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What Mini-Split did you use, and Why?

EastTexCowboy said:
If I had it to do over I might go this route on the garage. I love the Mitsubishi but they aren't cheap. Definitely something to consider, especially for the area where the batteries live. Are you looking at 48v units for other areas of the house? I'm wondering what the wiring for those would look like. I don't have any place that doesn't already have a new unit but I'm just curious. Would you set up a separate breaker panel with DC breakers for those units?
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Yes
48vdc breaker panel, near the units.
 
Lt.Dan said:
Hey Y'all, I'm doing my due diligence, and trying to research the Mini-Split to use in my garage. There's as many choices for mini-splits as there are different brands/makes/models of Solar Panels!

My question to those of you who have a mini-split, specifically if you installed it yourself, is what Make/Model did you purchase and Why? Are you happy with you purchase, or would you pick a different one if you had to do it over again?

The why part is mostly going to help me in case I'm not noticing a feature or flaw that I don't know about until I get the unit, especially with me not being a certified HVAC guy or anything.
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I selected 3, 9,000 btu units with 3 solar panels each from Hotspot Energy because of the solar and ability to use dc andbthe very high SEER. That was 5 years ago. The indoor units were ceiling ones, not wall units. The first two failed about 6 months ago and the 3rd one failed last month. I replaced them all with locally available Gree and power them with my 12kw system. The Gree work well. Local provider has all of the parts and can service them. The only 'extra' I have done (because I am in a beach location that is incredibly corrosive) is to spray the external unit with an anti corrosive treatment called Markee. I hose the units down about every 6 months and spray the Markee product in everywhere I can reach. So far, I have little to no corrosion.
 
This is the second person (or maybe the same person). to have a problem with the Hotspot and direct solar . So glad to have not gone that route.
Hopefully we don't see this with the Deye and EG4 models. Or maybe it was just the corrosive environment.
 
One thing to put out here is if you are not interested in the diy warranty stuff which is why my next ones will be mr cool the ramsond units I have rock and are pretty cheap. The oldest one I have is over 10 years old now I think with no problems. I had one with a bad compressor and they replaced it and one was damaged in shipping and they replaced it. So ramsond is a good unit and uses very little electricity and is reliable.

They were all diy friendly back in the day but not now. I think they did this because of warranty claims caused by people not knowing what they were doing from talking to them.
 
Crowz said:
One thing to put out here is if you are not interested in the diy warranty stuff which is why my next ones will be mr cool the ramsond units I have rock and are pretty cheap. The oldest one I have is over 10 years old now I think with no problems. I had one with a bad compressor and they replaced it and one was damaged in shipping and they replaced it. So ramsond is a good unit and uses very little electricity and is reliable.

They were all diy friendly back in the day but not now. I think they did this because of warranty claims caused by people not knowing what they were doing from talking to them.
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I looked into those as well at Home Depot. All the non-DIY ones are about $1700-1800 for > 20 seer 24k btu. Next jump is Mr Cool DIY at $2500. Then you have the Mitsubishi.
 
timselectric said:
This is the second person (or maybe the same person). to have a problem with the Hotspot and direct solar . So glad to have not gone that route.
Hopefully we don't see this with the Deye and EG4 models. Or maybe it was just the corrosive environment.
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Yes, corrosion is a problem but not really in this case. There were refrigerant leaks, failed switches, fan bearings, motor failures and most of that was on the inside unit where corrosion is not an issue. Very little technical support and no parts available. The biggest issue though is that I dont think they really were anywhere close to the stated efficiency. Now that I have installed lower rated SEER units, it seems that I am using less electricity (but kind of hard to compare because I am using almost 100% solar).
 
Benzimidazolone said:
Yes, corrosion is a problem but not really in this case. There were refrigerant leaks, failed switches, fan bearings, motor failures and most of that was on the inside unit where corrosion is not an issue. Very little technical support and no parts available. The biggest issue though is that I dont think they really were anywhere close to the stated efficiency. Now that I have installed lower rated SEER units, it seems that I am using less electricity (but kind of hard to compare because I am using almost 100% solar).
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Hopefully it was just a bad run of units.
I think that you are the same person who posted before.
Maybe
 
Quick update, the mini split has definitely made a difference. Battery temps are down and below 30*C all the time, and inverter temps are below 70*C most of the time when we were hitting 90*C fairly consistently before.

Now, on the other hand, it seems the mini split is running constantly between about noon to 8pm, maintaining 82"F, and pulling about 1000w. I have confirmed there is NO insulation in the walls, or roof, and the garage door has no sealing on the sides or top.

First step: I've ordered seals for the garage door, as well as insulating panels. You can definitely feel a TON of heat coming in through the garage door, so mitigating that i'm assuming will be a huge help.
 
I've deiced to get a 24k and 18k Senville AURA. Seems they only come with 16ft line sets and electrical. Their amazon store does not offer longer either. Need 50ft (cut and flare to 30ft) and a 25ft for 18k. Any thoughts where to get these either from Seville or universal?

Update: Found them on the Senville website, not on amazon store.
 
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what is it about a mini split,that makes it a mini split? Both mini splits, and traditional central air units have a coil, and an external fan/compressor unit.

has anyone considered the new ecoflo wave 2 unit? Maybe not quite the same as a mini split, but I like the portability.
 
Nan_wpg said:
what is it about a mini split,that makes it a mini split? Both mini splits, and traditional central air units have a coil, and an external fan/compressor unit.

has anyone considered the new ecoflo wave 2 unit? Maybe not quite the same as a mini split, but I like the portability.
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i think they are more accuratetely called 'ductless splits". They are dirrwtent from window units becaus the evaporator and condensor are 'split' from each other. They differ from central units because there is no ducting. I think mini is just a word that marketing people came up with because it sounds better than ductless!
 
Benzimidazolone said:
i think they are more accuratetely called 'ductless splits". They are dirrwtent from window units becaus the evaporator and condensor are 'split' from each other. They differ from central units because there is no ducting. I think mini is just a word that marketing people came up with because it sounds better than ductless!
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But .... you can get ducted options for the same units instead of ceiling or wall cassettes.
 
I'm running a Pioneer 24000 btu 208-230v-60HZ mini split to cool or heat. I only start it when needed on sunny days and other loads are at a min.
Using a Growatt LF 6k split phase inverter. Starts every time and handles it. Not using any soft start. Mini is rated at 15 amps not including start up. Inverter is rated at 25 amps on 220v / 50amps 120v.I installed mine in the center of my home, that is about 1500 sq ft. Its a wall mounted unit with lines going out side to
mini inverter.
 
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Nan_wpg said:
what is it about a mini split,that makes it a mini split? Both mini splits, and traditional central air units have a coil, and an external fan/compressor unit.

has anyone considered the new ecoflo wave 2 unit? Maybe not quite the same as a mini split, but I like the portability.
Click to expand...
Some of the HVAC guys can probably give you the technical differences, but I've worked with mini splits for at least 10 years in the work environment and also on my home. Here's some of the things I've observed-
  • The mini split originally was a miniature version of a split system with a condenser unit and an evaporator unit, except the evaporator unit was a self-contained wall mount.
  • As the tech evolved they started offering them in larger versions and also with multiple head systems (one condenser unit and multiple evaporator units) and with traditional style air handlers for a ducted system.
  • Most of the mini splits today and maybe always (I don't know) use heat pump technology. The higher SEER ones also use multiple stage compressors and some other features which make them high efficiency.
  • All the units I have ever used (Daiken and Mitsubishi and one other that I don't recall the brand) power the head or the air handler from the condenser unit. On a standard AC or heat pump the air handler is usually on a separate circuit.
  • Generally speaking mini splits are also "mini" in size overall compared to traditional. My 2 and 3 ton units are less than half the size of the traditional heat pumps I replaced.
Personal experience has been that they are significantly more efficient and with the Mitsubishi units I have now they are so efficient at low temperatures that they don't even install heat strips in our part of the country. If it's not obvious, I'm a big fan. ?
 
I'm looking forward to these -22 degree Senville's to work. My cabin is only electric baseboard heat, which will be a great backup to the mini-split. Have 7 ~60" baseboards per floor. They heat really well but if I can save some coin on the electric bill, will be happy. Minisplit should heat areas more evenly. The bonus is the dehumidification, don't really need cool air conditioning but that will be a bonus as well if ever required.
 
ChrisG said:
I've deiced to get a 24k and 18k Senville AURA. Seems they only come with 16ft line sets and electrical. Their amazon store does not offer longer either. Need 50ft (cut and flare to 30ft) and a 25ft for 18k. Any thoughts where to get these either from Seville or universal?

Update: Found them on the Senville website, not on amazon store.
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I ordered better line set material. Thicker and coated against corrosion. Trying to find the company in my email. I ordered direct.

Some of the stuff sold by the Chinese manufacturers and importers have apparently been developing pin hole leaks. Possibly due to the insulation material or possibly because they use the thinnest and cheapest copper available.
 
SilverbackMP said:
I ordered better line set material. Thicker and coated against corrosion. Trying to find the company in my email. I ordered direct.

Some of the stuff sold by the Chinese manufacturers and importers have apparently been developing pin hole leaks. Possibly due to the insulation material or possibly because they use the thinnest and cheapest copper available.
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@SilverbackMP I’ve heard the same, if you do find it please post it here. Truly appreciate it. Will be helpful to many.
 
Nan_wpg said:
what is it about a mini split,that makes it a mini split? Both mini splits, and traditional central air units have a coil, and an external fan/compressor unit.

has anyone considered the new ecoflo wave 2 unit? Maybe not quite the same as a mini split, but I like the portability.
Click to expand...
I looked at that ecoflow unit. Seems like a lot of money for a glorified portable.
The only thing it has over a traditional small portable is that its dual hose however you can modify many single hose portables to dual hose operation without much fuss.
Ecoflow has some customer complaints on the web that say they are useless on warranty.
If youre serious about buying one (I almost was but couldnt justify not using one of the 4 tiny portables Ive collected in storage) note that ecoflow just had a huge price hike. They now want 1800 for the unit and 900 for the battery. Ha.
Rackupgo seems legit and has it for $1000 + 700.
Still a lot of money. One of my portables + li-ion and inverter is less with twice the btu. The AC is 26x13x13" theres small ones out there.
 
For those struggling with locating a vacuum pump find a compressor out of junk frig or freezer, solder an AC adapter port on suction line and that will provide required vacuum.
 
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