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Old 10-22-12, 06:03 PM   #6
jeff5may
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: elizabethtown, ky, USA
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A previous warrior just begging to become a DIY Mini-Split:
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It was found dead on Craigslist for a whopping $20. The previous owner used it to keep the dogs cool in the garage. It apparently slaved away for three years before becoming completely clogged with dog hair, popping its overpressure hose and having a burnout. I found a new compressor for it on ebay for $50 shipped. I was too cheap for super system flush, so I used brake parts cleaner to flush the plumbing. Purged with c25gas. Some wrangling later, the compressor was replaced from the dead 9000 btu panasonic to a new 10200 btu rechi. Nothing else modified except minor pipefitting.
I would recommend one of these units to anyone. It saved me at least $400 last year in natural gas competing against my central furnace! I turned it facing the dining room window, set it on max cool, and made it blow its cold air outside. I rigged a thermostat to the condensate overflow switch and sealed up the gap in the window with r-board and scotch shipping tape. It worked like magic. It never overflows, either. The unit has a neat little fountain pump in the tray that spits onto the centrifugal (exhaust) fan. In my application, this re-humidified my house for me all winter. Alas, my wife said it was ugly and sounded like a hair drier. It was banished to the barn for repurposing. I plan on putting an expansion valve in it and making it into a mini-split unit in the future.
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