EG4 minisplit heat pump grounding question

[sol]

Detaching the high and low lines once connected opens a can of worms I would prefer to avoid.

If you care to post a picture of the outside unit, how do you / did you / arrange the extra length of the lineset ?

Yes, I know the lineset is pre-charged and with quick connect couplers but if I install these, will definitely cut it to proper length, add a couple compression rings or braze the line connections, pull vacuum & test -- just to have a clean looking connection outside.

 

[Cptx]

I’ll post a pic when daylight.
There’s not a lot of extra length (maybe three feet) due to where I placed the outdoor unit.

 

[Cptx]

Here’s the picture of the line set from the outside.

 

[Cptx]

I suppose another potential (all else fails) solution would be to wire in a small condensation pump, place it on the back side of the indoor unit, and run it’s drain line through the hole to outside.

 

[Plum Crazy Rob]

I feel certain you're going to find the condensate line loose and/or kinked - hopefully that would constitute "good news" in this case

 

[Cptx]

Removed the indoor unit and plug is in secure. Condensation drainage line secured properly (quadruple checked). No line kinks. Moved bracket one inch left to create more space to ensure no kinking. Still dripping.

I’ll buy a mini split condensate pump.

The lines do run at a downward angle out of the house, but maybe I should have drilled and chiseled a more severe downward angle.

*it has been 110 degrees with good humidity the last two weeks here in Texas.

 

[Cptx]

Improved the decline by 15 degrees.
Will see; but there’s something I’m missing (quadruple checked everything I could think of yesterday), or I’m just going to need a condensate pump. The way it looks now, gravity should just take its course (and I’ve helped it along with vacuum negative pressure out side drain hose, but still nothing except drips inside)

 

[timselectric]

Does it also drain out the drain line?
If so, the drain is probably fine.
In a garage, it is very hard to dehumidify.
Another thing to check is the angle of the louvers.
If not tilted downward. They can catch moisture and drip, in a high humidity situation.
Is it dripping from the louvers?

 

[Plum Crazy Rob]

Where does the drain go? You sure you don't have it air-locked?? Sticking it in water is the number one no no..I should have asked this sooner..

 

[Cptx]

Thank you all for the help. Will keep y’all updated. It does not also drain out the line.
It does drip over the louvres
It is/was extremely humid in the garage.
Now that the garage has stabilized in temp; it’s hardly dripping anymore.

Will monitor

ClearVue mini condensate pump arrives tomorrow; fingers crossed, I won’t need it.

Everything was installed per directions and now quintuple double dog dare checked (wish they had template provided). Drain tube never dipped in water.

 

[Cptx]

Actually, now that I think about it, I did so something different; but I can’t see how that would affect anything.

Out of the box, I wrapped around the high and low line set insulation with electrical tape for extra protection. I did the same for the condensation drain line. Then when brought together, I wrapped again around all three with electrical tape so they could pass through the wall easier and minimize risk of line damage or kinking.

Last 24 hour condensate collection has been much better; dare I say minimal.

 

[welnat]

Keep in mind these have some parasitic AC draw when switched OFF. We have measured 30W on a 12K, and 120W (!) for a 24K unit.

The more we learn on these units, the more I regret buying one. That is alot of 'parasaitic draw'.

 

[hwy17]

You can't measure the standby draw of a mini split with a regular clamp meter. Their power factor is so poor in standby that the current will look like 10x the real wattage.

 

[Plum Crazy Rob]

You can't measure the standby draw of a mini split with a regular clamp meter. Their power factor is so poor in standby that the current will look like 10x the real wattage.

Uh - oh. Anybody have an EG4 mini split and a fancy shmancy true power clamp meter ??

Thanks for noticing and guessing, correctly, that it was incorrectly measured!

 

[hwy17]

Yeah I only know it cause I was aghast to find my mrcool drawing an amp at 240 on standby. Dug into google and learned that it is supposedly a power factor anomaly, but I never verified in my case with more advanced testing. My kill a watt can measure power factor but I have nothing for a 240v hardwired appliance.

 

[welnat]

Another question is, why can't we depend on devices to be 'off' or disconnected when turned off? What is the engineering philosophy behind this? I can remember an elderly relative who had a powerbar on everything some years ago. When I questioned this I was told 'I'm not paying for something to be off when it isn't' I thought that was pretty funny at the time.

 

[Cptx]

Now at a complete loss.
I have now vacuumed the drainage line ten plus times….and then installed a clear vue mini condensation pump.

Still minimal dripping (especially when rapid changes in humidity level—such as opening the garage door first thing in the morning) and I’ve never seen any water collected in the drain lines.

Video and photos below.

 

[Madcodger]

I admittedly haven't read this entire thread, but ANY exposed line can and will drip in humid air. Either you have a leak, or (more likely given what you describe about it happening when you open the garage door), something in the refrigerated path is exposed to air. It only takes a little bit of surface area to create a lot of condensation. I once owned an office building that had a persistent stain on a ceiling tile until we discovered an AC refrigerant line that had a tiny little section where the foam wasn't covering the copper line. We fixed that, and no more staining.

 

[Cptx]

Thank you, so something exposed on the line set, or something exposed inside the unit?

I did an A++ job of wrapping that insulation around the line set with a double wrap of electrical tape.

Or is it a line behind that thick styrofoam layer?

Thank you very much for the feedback.

 

[Plum Crazy Rob]

I think I'd look into disassembling the plastic cover from the indoor unit hoping to get a look at drain pan. You might want to coordinate with SS warranty wise on this in case something gets broken. I feel at this point you've reasonably verified everything else. Check YouTube for disassembly info, albeit the Deye/EG4 is a unique unit.

Water should be POURING out the drain line. It is at my house in this weather.