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diy solar

What Mini-Split did you use, and Why?

Lt.Dan

Lt.Dan

Solar Wizard
Joined
Dec 25, 2020
Messages
3,571
Location
Tulare, Ca
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.
 
I got my dad the 18000BTU MRCOOL DIY for his 2S2P garage (2 cars wide, 2 deep) so he and my brother could install it themselves. The only thing they didn't do was the electrical work. They weren't comfortable with it.

He's thrilled with it. His only complaint is that the 4' CFL fixture near the unit interferes with the remote.

EDIT: And he's too much of a self-admitted Luddite to bother with setting up the wifi access... :p
 
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i went with midea and am very happy. Gree and Daikin are also very good.

for a garage I would probably just buy the cheapest unit I could find. the cheap 1 tons are about $750. the better ones are almost double that and the best ones can be 3x that

if you go with a non mr cool one you have to spend about $150 to get a vacuum pump and manifold gauge kit so you can remove the air and moisture out of the lines before you turn it on. I prefer doing it this way because you can cut the lines to length and flare them. oh, so you would also need a flare kit but those are cheap
 
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kennyb said:
Senville 12000btu. Heats and cools my offgrid cabin. Accessible by Alexa for remote monitoring/activation. Easy to install - my dad and I did it in an afternoon with no experience. It was cheap and free shipping.

But I think they're all pretty close to the same to be honest.
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Is that the Senville Leto that I see on Amazon for something like $800? I have been eyeing that.
 
Quattrohead said:
Cheapest one I found on Amazon at the time, there's only 2-4 manufacturers in the world and there are millions and millions of them out there. Well proven technology widely used everywhere else except the USA.
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I'm curious if this is the way to go, regardless of SEER/EER ratings. Will the added efficiencies pay for itself in the wattage savings?
 
I have a Senville Leto 12k and a Pioneer 24k. The Senville is much better as a heater in the winter. Both are good for cooling. When I installed the Senville, I got it in 120 volt to save on wire as it only needed a 14 gauge run. Both have the wifi module installed and can be run on a schedule from a phone app or Home Assist.

I should add, both run off the Growatt perfectly. They start off with a low current demand and slowly ramp up over 30 seconds or so. Extremely inverter friendly designs.
 
Anybody have any experience with the Della brand Mini Splits? I can't find a website or any spec sheets on their 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.
Click to expand...
I went with Ramsond. I honestly don't know how many of them I own but out of all of them which I know is over 10 I have one fail with a bad compressor which they warrantied.

That said they were pro diy when I first started buying them but in the past few years their stance has changed to requiring a licensed hvac place to do the install. I guess to many warranty claims from people not knowing what they are doing. Either way I wont buy anymore from them. Great units but I don't like the anti diy stance now.

I will be buying a few more mini splits and a central air replacement unit and I will be buying those from mr cool because they seem to be pro diy. If that changes before I buy I may look elsewhere.
 
I have a mr. Cool 12k DIY in a 12x12 cabin with 12ft high lean to roof in Southern California desert. Cools down to about 68f from 100f in about 30 min. Bought from Costco for around $1000 and installed it myself. Been going strong for 3 years.

Looking to buy another to keep the 20ft shipping container that houses the solar equipment cool
 
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.
Click to expand...
tcl (gree oem) inverter hearpump 16k btu ..

it was cheap, diy friendly, can be controlled through home assistant, can warm and cool and uses about 500-700w when working hard

it is in use for the dog kennel to keep them at a nice temperature winter and summer.

actually very happy with it, and the pouches even more
 
I've installed a pair of the 9k btu Mrcool Advantage, one the 2 car garage ( 400sf+ ) and on one in enclosed porch ( 240 sf ) and maintains any temperature I set it too and has had zero issues.

I also replaced the central heat pump with the MrCool universal 2/3 ton, great unit.

Just helped a neighbor install a 9K and 12K Mrcool Advantage, in their Garage and enclosed porch, copying what I did except went with a 12K for the porch, not really needed but allows to cool the home as well with sliders open.

All equipment was from iwae.com, they also have ding and dent units discounted which is what I bought for the small 9K units.
 
I have read that most of the brands (Della, Pioneer, etc.) that you see on Amazon and EBay are rebranded Gree units. And a lot of the photos of the compressors in the on-line ads look identical, so I think its true. If you go with a brand in that price range that has good ratings you'll probably be OK. Most brands sell a lot of different models so you'll need to decide if you want to pay extra for things like higher SEER ratings and pre-evacuated coolant lines
 
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