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Best Mini-Split AC Question

S

SB.J

Member
Hey I am looking for purchase a good minisplit system and is easy for myself to set up with no HVAC. Does anyone have a good suggestion, looking to spend up to 2400. I wanted one with a hepa filter intake for air just to make everything extremely clean.

If not a minisplit unit I was considering getting ice boxes but I think minisplit would be easier...

Thanks and let me know any suggestions and if it is actually worth it.

I have a DIY AC unit box with my 15000btu window AC, it works good but it leaks air (minimally) and allows dust into the room so I want to try something new.
 
Mia

Mia

Active member
Mr.Slim by mitsubishi seems to be the standard by which they're all compared.
I believe the lines are precharged so you don't have to mess with pulling a vacuum and all that other crap.
But i think you might have to pay a bit more than you want to. I was looking at some for myself and they are not cheap.
That's about all i got. hope it helps.
 
1

1971

Member
usually precharged for 25'. you want to make sure it has a restart feature if the power goes out and depending on how big your room is, a remote thermostat. the remote is not a remote thermostat
 
Mister_D

Mister_D

Active member
Veteran
There is a charge in the outdoor unit, usually enough for a 25' lineset. You still have to vaccum the lines. Excell air is the only brand I know of that sells linesets that are pre charged, but they don't come cheap. For any standard mini split you will need a line vac and gauges appropriate for the type of refridgerant in the unit. Install isn't hard, but you need to know what you are doing or you will likely damage/destroy the compressor. That said I highly recommend the mr slim line or friedrich units. Both are very high quality units.

Edit to add: Ideal Air is now selling mini splits with precharged linesets. Very easy to install with tools provided. Quality is unknown at this time.
 
schwilly

schwilly

Member
not to threadjack but

when mini splits are advertised as "quick connect", what does this mean exactly?

can i set one like that up without a vac pump?
 
E

ekomsi

http://www.breezzone.com/product.php?id_product=158, im about to purchase a YMGI mini split ac unit with DCinverter 36,000 btu with heat pump for less then $2500 and free shipping to my door via freight.

I know hydrofarm has a new easy to install AURA ac units coming out but I hear they wont be available for hydro stores for another week or two, I think they are getting to the CA warehouse this week.

I was going to go with the AURA 36,000BTU it was going to cost me 2400 out the door at my hydro shop but I get a pretty good discount (I think lol)?

The one's on Ebay are better priced imo then the ones the hydro stores can get. I have been doing AC research for the past week lol $2500 is a lot to drop on one piece of equipment.
 
FlowerFarmer

FlowerFarmer

Well-known member
Veteran
I'm in the same boat.

Needing something before summer hits. 36k as well. I'm pretty sure I can handle the install, but still nervous doing it myself.

Looking forward to your feedback.

The 36k Aura fits my budget, but do you think its a solid unit? I've heard to use nothing less then York, Mr. Slim or Frederich but they'll run nearly double the money the Aura 36k would cost me.

It'd be easy to get because my local shop would cut me a deal on one, but it states that the 1yr warranty is void if not installed by a HVAC tech. I'd hate to get the unit - install it properly myself - and then have it crap out simply because its a crap brand. I'm leary of anything like this targeting the hydroponic industry directly.

Do the Aura units use inverter technology?
The other specs seem good.

..

Do you guys think its sketch to have a mini split installed outside next to the larger central air unit - giving me 2 units outside a regular 1900 sq ft house or so? I'm rural, but still worry that insurance agents, utility people or whom ever else might walk around my house one day might deem it suspicious....especially if I'm running a Aura which has a bright green logo on it and is the brand featured in hydroponic shops/industry. I know... I'm a paranoid son of a bitch...but its the little things ya know that either enhance or negatively effect your quality of life.
 
G

Guest 18340

Since you asked, and imvho and from experience with cheap mini splits, that unit IS NOT a solid unit.
Hands down the best in the mini split biz Mitsubishi. They are the most expensive, of course, but you absolutely get what you pay for.
My first mini was a cheap Amcor. (Made by the same Chinese mass producer that makes the YMGI. The electronics in the cheap units are all the same, just use diff compressors)
That unit was installed by an HVAC tech. The pc board in the condenser unit burned out 2 weeks later. Replacement pc boards don't exist...
Fujitsu, Lg and Sanyo are the next best thing. (Sanyo's only come in 16 seer and Fujitsu WILL NOT honor a warranty if the unit was bought online!)
Many houses have a central unit and a mini split next to it. Usually because their was a room added some wheres that doesn't have central vents.
Mini splits in general are silent, my Mitsu is DEADLY silent. The only way you'd know it's on is to feel the breeze off the fan. Anyways, sound is not an issue so nobody will know it's their unless they actually see it. Their are MANY ways to hide a mini split condenser ;)
****I want to add that a lot of people have great luck with those cheap units. But after getting burned once, and going thru the security risk of having a tech at my spot, I said fuck that and saved for Mitsu and bought the necessary tools and learned to do it myself. It is not difficult at all and once you learn you are THAT much more self sufficient.****
 
Last edited:
W

Wanderlust

New member
I've used a 2ton YMGI unit for the last year without a single hitch. The compressor sat out exposed to the rain, and I was making it work hard the whole time (8k ducted - really should have been using at least a 3 ton). I'm now looking for a 4 ton, and am considering another YMGI....although a fujitsu or mitusubishi is probably a better choice.
 
high life 45

high life 45

Seen your Member?
Veteran
fujitsu lg mitsubishi and freidrich are the top of the line rec by an hvac professional. As far as I know the hardest part to do by yourself is charge the lines. My bro tried to buy the coolant with no success.
 
high life 45

high life 45

Seen your Member?
Veteran
ekomsi said:
http://www.breezzone.com/product.php?id_product=158, im about to purchase a YMGI mini split ac unit with DCinverter 36,000 btu with heat pump for less then $2500 and free shipping to my door via freight.

I know hydrofarm has a new easy to install AURA ac units coming out but I hear they wont be available for hydro stores for another week or two, I think they are getting to the CA warehouse this week.

I was going to go with the AURA 36,000BTU it was going to cost me 2400 out the door at my hydro shop but I get a pretty good discount (I think lol)?

The one's on Ebay are better priced imo then the ones the hydro stores can get. I have been doing AC research for the past week lol $2500 is a lot to drop on one piece of equipment.
Click to expand...

For a few hundred more you can have a mr slim which is the quietest and top of the line.
http://www.acwholesalers.com/Mitsubishi_Mr_Slim_mitsubishi_air_conditioner_p/11978.htm.
 
boroboro

boroboro

Member
I set up one of those Ideal Air 24k DIY units about 11 months ago, the same unit shown in that video evlme2 linked to above.

Install was easy, and the lines really are pre-charged. Did they show a close up of the fittings in the video? I missed it, but the quick-connect fitting really does go together with just about zero ambient left air in the system.

It's run 24/7 for the last year with no issues, cooling a sealed room with 4kW of bare-bulb lighting and a dehumidifier.

It does have a tendency for temporary ice buildup on the inside evaporator coil if it is turned on in a hot, humid room full of plants. The unit shuts itself off automatically, though, defrosts, and restarts without problems. This happened to me a few times during initial set-up, but only once since then. I've never had another air conditioner this large, and this seems like a tendency that many of them might have in a grow room environment.
 
farmhouse cat

farmhouse cat

Member
Does the indoor unit have to be mounted on the wall where the lineset will go through that wall to the outdoor unit?

In my room i would need to mount it on a wall and run the linset down inside the room underneath the indoor unit then a 90 degree turn for a few feet and then through a wall to the outdoor unit. Is this possible?
 
farmhouse cat

farmhouse cat

Member
farmhouse cat said:
Does the indoor unit have to be mounted on the wall where the lineset will go through that wall to the outdoor unit?

In my room i would need to mount it on a wall and run the linset down inside the room underneath the indoor unit then a 90 degree turn for a few feet and then through a wall to the outdoor unit. Is this possible?
Click to expand...

In regards to the mitsubishi units...can anyone answer the question above? Do the mitsu units come with a cut out tab to do this?
 
farmhouse cat

farmhouse cat

Member
Thanks Buddy! Im thinking of having everything setup and installed , except the vacumn. Then im having a 420 friendly hvac guy pull the vac. Does this sound doable?
 
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