[Piwoslaw]

I have some questions:

While poking around at a scrap metal yard a few months ago and I saw a mini-split A/C unit waiting to be hauled off. It was the outdoor part (compressor, radiator, electronics, and all that) of a Sanyo SAP-CR224EHA and looked intact.
I didn't take it since I wanted to ask what you guys thought about it first, then winter came, and a bunch of other stuff got me distracted, so it's long gone by now.

So why would a mini-split be at a junkyard? I mean, what could be broken and how hard would it be to fix it? What is usually the first thing to cause problems in mini-split units? And when is it feasible to grab one? (Remember that I'll have to justify any expenses to the Wife.)

The electronics? If so, is it possible to ditch the controller and force the unit to work, maybe swap a controller from another unit or make my own?

Or maybe there was a coolant leak? Are those hard to find and repair?

Compressor fault? Are compressors hard to fix, or maybe replace? Would it be possible to swap it for a compressor from a smaller model, and would that make it more efficient?

Also, can the indoor part of a mini-split be from a different model? Would taking it from a larger model increase efficiency?

There is also the slim chance that the unit is OK and was thrown out only because it had been replaced with a different model.

I'm asking all these questions so that I recognise a deal next time I see one.

BTW That scrap metal yard had some random A/C parts, too. Like Big radiators which would work great as heat exchangers in other projects.