Mini split air conditioners
 

Does any one have any recomendatioms for a mini split system that I would be installing myself. I know some brands require a licensed tech to instal the unit and I don’t want to have any waeenty issues down the road as I will be installing it myself. (I may hire a hvac guy to test the system and charge for me)

I have had good luck with the upper line of Gree products. I have three TERRA 9K units I am very happy with but you have a colder climate.
Maybe look at
https://www.greecomfort.com/our-products/sapphire/

Depends where in BC you are in terms of total heat load.

I followed pinball's lead and also installed a Gree unit. No problems whatsoever and straightforward DIY install.

Did get a licensed HVAC friend check it out and supply his information so I have full warrantee.

Central BC (-25C winters) but we won’t be heating the house with them. Maybe as backup but we have a hydronic slab and two wood stoves.

The mini splits really shine in cooling mode.
They cool really well at a very low cost.

When we were getting quotes to get mini splits instaled they wanted like $15k for 3 heads so we tossed that idea. Then I watched a video and realized how easy it is so they are back on the table.

Obviously instaling the units right off the bat while we are building is the smartest way to go but we just don’t have the extra cash in the budget. Plus we would like to see how the house handles the heat first before we invest in AC. Iff I ran conduit to the locations I want to instal the units down the road what size would they have to be? I’m hoping they would fit inside 2” pvc but do the copper lines have to be insulated from each other? It would be a fairly straight shot from the unit to the instal location so I’m not worried about being able to pull it in.

$15k? Wow, I don't charge enough.I don't believe you will not find a multi head unit that does not require a vac pump and nitrogen, gauges etc to install. There are some single head ones but you cannot cut the tubing if they are too long as they are under a vacuum. I'm not fond of them anyway because you cannot guarantee how good of a vacuum is in it or if there is enough refrigerant in the system. I have had to add more to some that were purchased by a homeowner and I was asked to install.

Get the highest SEER unit you can afford . I recommend 3 separate units , instead of a 3 head unit .

We have installed 2 units in our house , DIY . I had the vacuum pump and mosy of the tooling .

Wyr
God bless

I would not recommend putting the lines inside a 2" pvc chase. I worked with a guy that had me do that (much to my consternation) on a 4 head system. It doesn't look as neat as you would think and I pray that nothing happens to the lines over the years because they would have to be yanked out completely. They make 'hide-a-line' specifically for those units. Chances are, you may need to have to access those lines at some point. I've put in several more splits on my own and, honestly, if you do a really neat job, the insulated lines (yes, both lines are insulated) don't look all that bad.

Both MS's we have installed are heat pumps . For that reason , both the lines are insulated , as vwhead77 said .

If you are going to pre-run anything , do not forget about electrical .

If you pre-install PVC for the lines , 2" may or may not work . If you do try it , be sure to use long radius electrical PVC conduit 90's . If you use 2" 90's like tou would on plumbing , it is not going to work for the lines .

This ;

https://www.lowes.com/pd/CARLON-2-in...itting/3129167

Not this ;

https://www.lowes.com/pd/LASCO-2-in-...-Elbow/3307898

I am cheap . I used white metal rain gutter downspout & fittings to hide the lines . Plus , it is readily available .

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Amerimax-2-...nspout/1005187

Wyr
God bless