Ductless mini split a/c users

[bongorilla]

Water cooled ac's are better than ductless mini splits..? How much water do they use?
Anyway, Ok i need someone to reccomend a Specific unit/units, that will suit my needs. It needs to able to operate in 5 degree outdoor temps, and it needs to be inverterless. It would be nice to have a total of 2 or 3 separate indoor units for veg and flower. I need 18k btu in flower, and around 10k btu on veg.

Also, does anyone know where i can find instructions or video of how to vaccuum these things and get them set up? and where i can get the fitting to connect the lines?

hydropimp, the house already has central a/c installed. But if i used it for a grow in 1/4 of the house, it would kick on and off way too frequently i was told.....

the mitsubishi puts out a nice unit. probly a 3 head like nutjob was sayin. very pricey though. when I had my mr slim I could not tell when it was on. not much louder than a refrigerator..acwholesalers.com has good prices.
koolit.com that nutjob listed has the manifold gauge set for $39 (best price I saw).
then you need a vacuum pump I saw those on ebay for $100. unless you got a compressor then just get the tool.
youll need 10-2 wire on a doulbe pole (220) dedicated circut..15-25 amps depending on the model. dont get any leaks. if you do you can ruin your setup and its not covered under warranty.. I've been there and done that...

 

[nUt_jOb]

jaw - you are correct.. supplemental would be outstanding especially in the winter when you don't want a central unit running loudly.. exc.

Ponical.. yes avoid ebay like the plague for mini split systems!! my experience directly

oh and yea get the premade line kit.. thats what I did and had no issues with leakage.. precharged lines would be nice too.. skip the whole vacuum BS.

Smurfin - there are various ways you can water cool.. if you just recirculate pool water than practically none is wasted. With a cooling tower a few gallons is tossed every few hours as the salt levels build up in the condensing tray.. nothing too appreciable.. with feed and drain to waste the water usage is so high its completely pointless..

As far as a video of how to operate a vacuum pump.. dude it is either on or off my friend. You turn it on.. it sucks.. you wait. If you want to be fancy you can get a whole gauge set (or at least a vacuum gauge) but its going to suck no matter what. I would prefer to put the system at vacuum and then shut the pump off (with the system isolated) and ensure it holds the vacuum for an extended period of time (24hrs).. that is how the pros figure out if a commercial system is air tight before filling with freon. The fittings are not hard to find (i.e. GOOGLE is your friend!) but if you get in a pinch (and I don't do this but I have seen it done..) you are only talking about 14psi differential.. a hose clamp over threads will sometimes hold that temporarily.

If you want super duper awesome stealth.. check out geothermal.. no visible outside unit and unlimited heat dissipation.

If you are still interested in using a larger pool for cooling.. consider getting a much less obvious "pool heat pump" It's a heater for pools.. that cools air.. you would just be using it the same as a water cooler. They are easy to come by.. very very efficient.. and not very conspicuous to purchase. see poolheatpumps.com

 

[nUt_jOb]

For additional real world swiming pool cooling results..

This pool..

the guy installed a 96k BTU heat pump (or air chiller if you will) and posted the following:

"I turned the unit on at 4 PM Saturday with pool water at 68 degrees and no cover. Sunday morning the water was 76 degrees. Monday morning it was 88 degrees. I thought I'd see if it would go to 100 just for the heck of it, but when my wife thoughtfully suggested this might not be good for the pool plaster, I shut it down at noon on Tuesday pushing 96 degrees. "

he added:

" I only have to run the heater for three to four hours a day in this weather, overcast days in the high sixties to low eighties and nights mid forties to mid sixties. I run the pool pump from 11 am to 7 pm. The heater runs from 11 am until 2 or 3 pm and doesn't come on again until the next day. "

Read between the lines and understand pool heater = air cooler.. this setup would yield 3-4 hours of cooling per day with nightly ambient temps in the 40s.. I have nightly ambient temps in the 80s most of the time..

So...... can you see my theory on why this wont work?

 

[smurfin'herb]

OMG! the mr slim 3 indoor unit one is like 6 grand!!!!!!! I thought i could pick up a 18k btu unit for like 1 grand but i guess not. I think ill just stick with a window a/c and deal with the inefficiency! Im not about to pay 6 g's for somethin, and then have a bitch of a time setting it up. Hell, for 6 grand that thing should install itself overnight and have a fattie rolled up for you in the morning! Why do ppl pay sooooo much for these things when they can get a window a/c for 1/4 the price and no hassles except the excessive wattage? It just seems that window a/c is the quickest, cheapest, and easiest way to go, but its the most inneficient, but compared to the cost of other cooling units, i think ill deal with the shitty SEER rating and pay the extra buck on the electric bill. Can anyone convince me otherwise?

 

[clowntown]

$0.40/kWh is a pretty f'ing good reason.

 

[nUt_jOb]

smurfin.. if you live in a neighborhood with a HOA (home owners association) which does not allow window units.. its really your only option.

Plus.. your kinda looking the wrong way at it IMO.. for a base comparison.. compare a 2 ton window unit (SEER rating 7.0) which costs ~$700 to the Friedrich 2 ton mini split (18 SEER) which costs $2300. That unit will save you at least $100/mo in electricity costs for 12 months out of the year.. so the difference will be paid in under a year and a half. Its stupid quiet, and much less conspicuous than the giant window units.

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

smurfin.. if you live in a neighborhood with a HOA (home owners association) which does not allow window units.. its really your only option.

Plus.. your kinda looking the wrong way at it IMO.. for a base comparison.. compare a 2 ton window unit (SEER rating 7.0) which costs ~$700 to the Friedrich 2 ton mini split (18 SEER) which costs $2300. That unit will save you at least $100/mo in electricity costs for 12 months out of the year.. so the difference will be paid in under a year and a half. Its stupid quiet, and much less conspicuous than the giant window units.

the cooling capacity of a good mini split is definately understated. if u can throw your 'outside' unit in the shade or somewhere that gets a good breez, you can turn your grow into a meat lockr in a few hours.

i had a minisplit in my data center at my old work and it turned it from 110 into 62 in about an hour, with more then 30k/watts of pc's/servers running let me tell you they make more heat then all the 1k's you kan think of.

smurfin'herb- thats the unit to get right there. i was thinking 2 units for my 2 sides of a flip/flop and u always want extra capacity. then when your buying somthing for 2100, getting the 2400 ones isnt that far off in price and it works better.

 

[caljim]

I have been considering the mini-split for a while for two reasons.

1. High efficiancy


2. no air exhange--perfect for set ups using co2.

However I live in a very cold winter climate, with moderate summers--temps into the 80's is the norm.

for this reason I would need the hot side of the unit to be in the basement, which could be exhausted if the temps weree to effect the operation of the unit.

Anybody running a set up like this?

 

[bongorilla]

OMG! the mr slim 3 indoor unit one is like 6 grand!!!!!!! I thought i could pick up a 18k btu unit for like 1 grand but i guess not. I think ill just stick with a window a/c and deal with the inefficiency! Im not about to pay 6 g's for somethin, and then have a bitch of a time setting it up. Hell, for 6 grand that thing should install itself overnight and have a fattie rolled up for you in the morning! Why do ppl pay sooooo much for these things when they can get a window a/c for 1/4 the price and no hassles except the excessive wattage? It just seems that window a/c is the quickest, cheapest, and easiest way to go, but its the most inneficient, but compared to the cost of other cooling units, i think ill deal with the shitty SEER rating and pay the extra buck on the electric bill. Can anyone convince me otherwise?

you can get a nice 2 ton single head mits for about $1600...true it is a pain in the ass to set up. but when you consider the ramifications of havin a window unit runnin in the winter time..if no one can hear it yeah thats the way to go. not too stealth at all though. the money saved in energy will pay for the unit. I've had window units get mouldy, freeze up, + they're loud as a mofo. shakin and vibratin, you can hear one of those things from pretty far away. window ac units let in mold spores from outside. there are no airtight window units unless you modify them with a can of spray foam... but yeah the minis are pricey.

 

[smurfin'herb]

smurfin.. if you live in a neighborhood with a HOA (home owners association) which does not allow window units.. its really your only option.

Plus.. your kinda looking the wrong way at it IMO.. for a base comparison.. compare a 2 ton window unit (SEER rating 7.0) which costs ~$700 to the Friedrich 2 ton mini split (18 SEER) which costs $2300. That unit will save you at least $100/mo in electricity costs for 12 months out of the year.. so the difference will be paid in under a year and a half. Its stupid quiet, and much less conspicuous than the giant window units.

Well guys im lucky, I dont have a HOA society, and i dont have to worry bout noise,smell or neighbors. closest neighbors are 3 football fields away. I will only be runnin this house for a year max, then i gotta pick up and move cuz it will be rented out. This isnt a permanent grow so it would be pointless to install a split a/c and then have to take it out and re-set it up again in a year at another location dont u agree?

 

[nUt_jOb]

yes I agree smurfin.

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

Well guys im lucky, I dont have a HOA society, and i dont have to worry bout noise,smell or neighbors. closest neighbors are 3 football fields away. I will only be runnin this house for a year max, then i gotta pick up and move cuz it will be rented out. This isnt a permanent grow so it would be pointless to install a split a/c and then have to take it out and re-set it up again in a year at another location dont u agree?

so your going to get a 25k btu?? and you made this thread why?

 

[smurfin'herb]

Im just gonna get a 18k btu window unit for flower, and 10k btu window unit for veg. does that sound good? I made the thread, cuz i wanted to get a mini split and needed some input about them from ppl who use them, but didnt realize the expense and hassle that i was getting into. I also didnt think that they would be more of a permanent thing. but know i know, thx guys!

 

[nUt_jOb]

No problem here.. its good you found that out and didn't waste the time/money on something that wasn't really going to payoff in the long run. I'd say a minimum of about 3 years would make a mini-split worth it in any situation.. the good ones are more reliable than window units and the heat pump models are designed to be operated year round.

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

Im just gonna get a 18k btu window unit for flower, and 10k btu window unit for veg. does that sound good? I made the thread, cuz i wanted to get a mini split and needed some input about them from ppl who use them, but didnt realize the expense and hassle that i was getting into. I also didnt think that they would be more of a permanent thing. but know i know, thx guys!

i dont know where u live but around here the price between a 25kbtu and 18/20kbtu is only 40-50$. id sugest the bigger unit so u have maximum cooling. but 18k is good enough. just might struggle in summer time.

 

[smurfin'herb]

an 18k btu will struggle even tho i have cooled hoods? I really dont wanna go 25kbtu cuz of the extra electricity. But ive heard here that you should always oversize your a/c for more control and better efficiency, so i may go with 25k btu..

 

[nUt_jOb]

well what would you rather have happen.. an extra $25 - $50 /mo on the electric bill for a year or loosing control of temps during the summer months? Air cooling does nothing for RADIANT heat.. granted 600W lights produce less than 1k lights but a half dozen going at the same time.. unless you never see outside temps in the 90s (mid/high 80s wont cool your lights for shit either) I would highly recommend 24k btu. Dont forget if your sealed up you need to factor in the Dehumidifier which is easily 5k BTU for the size of setup you are talking about..

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

I will be running 7x600watters

thats 16.8 k of btu heat if u are not aircooling.
i dont know man its totaly up to you, but im going with everyones else saying u should have more. IME its true. also if u have a more powerful unit its itll spend less time running. more juice less run time or less juice more run time.
just experance.

 

[HAPPYTREE]

ive never grown anything this size, But in my experience you should always overcompensate on environmental control, especially at the low rate of a extra 200$. small price when your talking 4gs a lb.
I see a 24 btu in your future
i thought your room was suppose to be done already?????
HT

 

[smurfin'herb]

i was supposed to be done by now, but i got 2 outdoor places to maintain with 75+ gals in each, and also 60+ indoors somewhere else, and thats what i gotta hold down while setting this up. Its a lot of watering and feeding i got going on in the midst but believe it or not, i still will be able to tend to this grow every 2 days if need be.