One Mini-Split or Two?

[Quattrohead]

I've looked at those but the percentage of 1-star reviews is high, around 10%. It scares me that 1 in 10 people who bought them have reported a very bad experience. Do you have one? How has it worked for you?

I have 2, different brands but they are the exact same unit. Both up and running no problems and working very well.
I bet most people having problems fucked up the install.

 

[hwy17]

Two seperate single zone units are so much better than a multizone I would recommend separate even if you were installing both at the same time.

 

[robby]

Can you elaborate? I'm having trouble finding a decent 240V unit for under $800, but there's several 110V units that meet my specs and have good reviews. How important is 240V?

The Pioneer has a 240V model for the same $790 price on Amazon.

 

[robby]

Will just did a video on pioneer minisplits, and at the end he shows a pioneer clone that is identical fir less$

Clones always worry me because the Chinese are very good at copying the outside of a product but who knows if the quality is the same on the inside. Pioneer AC units are made in America / Australia and have been on the Market for two decades.

 

[robby]

Two seperate single zone units are so much better than a multizone I would recommend separate even if you were installing both at the same time.

Yep, especially if a condenser breaks down

 

[740GLE]

We've noticed the same thing. It's amazing how much hot air the thing blows out. Once day I walked into the room and mistook it for a politician. You think a 9K mini-split would do the job where a 9K portable does not?

I noticed it when I couldn’t easily close the door to the bed room, it was sucking just as much hot at from the house as it was trying to cool.

 

[Supervstech]

I noticed it when I couldn’t easily close the door to the bed room, it was sucking just as much hot at from the house as it was trying to cool.

Technology connections did a good video on them...
The one pipe models blow out hot air, but suck the cool air from the room to pump it outside, which sucks outside air into the house...

 

[Aridom82]

Technology connections did a good video on them...
The one pipe models blow out hot air, but suck the cool air from the room to pump it outside, which sucks outside air into the house...

I guess you could say that they really suck

 

[Supervstech]

I guess you could say that they really suck

His video tag line is they suck, no really... or literally... I dont remember.

 

[RCinFLA]

One issue with most portable, window, and mini-splits, is they lack sufficient separation between cool outlet air and indoor return air intake to cooling evaporator in unit. The more indoor immediate recirculation of cooled output air back to return air port, the worse the efficiency.

Portable units with single condenser exhaust hose to outside gets terrible efficiency. They pull the condenser cooling air from inside house and push the hot condenser output air outside from single hose. This sucks in cooled indoor air and throws it outside, and worse, it creates negative pressure in house so every window and door gap sucks in outside air to cool. It is not uncommon for their effective btu of cooling to be half the units spec's states for btu capacity..

Cheap portables also lack good thermal isolation and air cross leakage from hot condenser/compressor section to cool evaporator air flow section. Another dumb thing is placing hot compressor in air intake front section of condenser. Compressor gets its cooling from return refrigerant in suction line. Any air flow over compressor does almost nothing to cool compressor but does heat up the air going into the condenser which raises condenser temperature causing higher head pressure on compressor reducing efficiency.

There are portable units with dual hoses, a condenser input and condenser output hose. Keep the two as far apart as possible in window opening so condenser intake hose does not suck in the hot condenser exhaust hot air output.

The best portable I have seen is the Midea 14 kbtu unit which yields about 12 kbtus's which is great for a portable. It uses a dual input/output hose in a coaxial configuration with hot exhaust hose inside to the side of condenser intake air hose so it looks like a single oval shaped hose. It also prevents the hot exhaust hose from heating up the room. It is also sold as rebranded unit by Toshiba, and others that with some shopping around you can get for less money for effectively the same unit. There is a cooling only model that is a little lower cost than reverse cycle unit. The unit is also very quiet compared to other portable units.

 

[orangezero]

We've noticed the same thing. It's amazing how much hot air the thing blows out. Once day I walked into the room and mistook it for a politician. You think a 9K mini-split would do the job where a 9K portable does not?

I think your goals overlap heavily with modern window AC units as well. I really like my midea U-shaped window unit, uses around 800w at full blast on 110v. It is 8000btu but they make a 12000btu one. They are SEER 15 and I'm honestly not sure I need it to be much more efficient than it is. It cost me $200 and I can move it around if need be. Midea does make one that provides some heat down to like 40F, but mine doesn't

It isn't exactly like a minisplit. But it isn't minisplit prices or potential install hassles either.

 

[TOU47]

...added another EG4 24K in another bedroom where our freeze drier is located....leave door open to hall and this keeps the whole house cool.

Not to derail but I'm very curious about this. Are you totally off grid? How has the freeze drier worked in this situation? How big of a draw is it? Thx

 

[SolarScott]

Not to derail but I'm very curious about this. Are you totally off grid? How has the freeze drier worked in this situation? How big of a draw is it? Thx

I have grid...but use all the solar I can. I can't make it all night on the batteries I have, but justifying another battery or two is hard to do when it would take several years to pay for itself. My lowest electric usage was $12 and then it jumped to $30 after air conditioner season hit...then went to $90 before I realized that I was not limiting the EG4 mini split that was direct solar and grid to back up when a cloud came over. I have that solved now and hope next months bill is a little lower. Before my system the bill ran $250 and we did not keep it as cool as I would like. Now I fight my wife who keeps turning off the mini splits because I keep it too cold. I am not sure how many watts the freeze drier uses. I has it's own 20 amp dedicated circuit. Don't think it uses quite that much, but you don't want it on circuits with other appliances.

 

[TOU47]

I have grid...but use all the solar I can. I can't make it all night on the batteries I have, but justifying another battery or two is hard to do when it would take several years to pay for itself. My lowest electric usage was $12 and then it jumped to $30 after air conditioner season hit...then went to $90 before I realized that I was not limiting the EG4 mini split that was direct solar and grid to back up when a cloud came over. I have that solved now and hope next months bill is a little lower. Before my system the bill ran $250 and we did not keep it as cool as I would like. Now I fight my wife who keeps turning off the mini splits because I keep it too cold. I am not sure how many watts the freeze drier uses. I has it's own 20 amp dedicated circuit. Don't think it uses quite that much, but you don't want it on circuits with other appliances.

Thank you for the great response! ?

 

[DrZ123]

Yep, especially if a condenser breaks down

Besides that you only have one condenser for the multi split units, are there other downsides?

I have seen mixed reviews on if the multis use more energy if only one zone is on, vs a single zone unit?

I likely will need 4 zones and to have 4 outside units is a lot...

 

[Supervstech]

I use multihead units in several of my jobsites
They work great, very efficient, and handle single zone, or multizones...
Efficiency is great as well.

 

[DrZ123]

I use multihead units in several of my jobsites
They work great, very efficient, and handle single zone, or multizones...
Efficiency is great as well.

Any insight into some saying that when just one zone is on, all zones cycle the coolant and this it uses much more energy than if it was a single unit with the one zone on?

 

[740GLE]

I’m a moron don’t listen to anything I say.

 

[740GLE]

I’m a moron don’t listen to anything I say.

What I was going to say before my wife grabbed my phone and posted in a childish manor (because I spend too much time, here)

Was that our mitus triple head unit only opens a valve if the room unit is on, and the compressor only runs enough to maintain adequate pressure for the load. When the room unit is just trickling in the cold air, if you’re quite enough you can hear it cycle ever so small amounts to maintain temp.

 

[robby]

What I was going to say before my wife grabbed my phone and posted in a childish manor (because I spend too much time, here)

Was that our mitus triple head unit only opens a valve if the room unit is on, and the compressor only runs enough to maintain adequate pressure for the load. When the room unit is just trickling in the cold air, if you’re quite enough you can hear it cycle ever so small amounts to maintain temp.

Just edit both of the posts. If my wife did that it would start WWIII in the house.