Quote:
Originally Posted by ctgottapee
An interesting little over current rig you got; wish I had the knowledge to build such things....
My problem is getting to the indoor units blower wheel. Shine a flashlight up inside the output vents. The squirrel cage nature prevents easy physical cleaning if you can even reach a brush up there.
I use a coil cleaner product at the change in seasons, twice a year. Just spray on fins with filter mesh removed.
Outdoors I use another outdoor coil cleaner, pretty much lime away, and hose it off before winter; fall harvest and leaves are the issue. It's condensing all winter so self cleans pretty much. I'll touch it up with a radiator fin comb straightener too.
One thing to consider - although I'm not sure how you measure the effect - is that these units generally require full open air above them and a snow roof obviously restricts that; maybe removing the tin roof for the summer would suffice.
I noticed this years Fujitsu units feature smart outdoor pan defrost, so there is no longer much of an electric penalty in harsh winter conditions. In order to boost efficiency gains, both Mits and Fuji indoor wall units have grown in size to house a larger coil in their latest gens.
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There is a lot of air flow space on both sides of the unit and this new roof's angle is much higher than on the #1 unit on the east side of the house.
If you want to see restriction, check out the Mitsubishi mini split wind baffle.
http://www.kingersons.com/images/pro...ind-baffle.jpg
It's on the output side, and is going to add to the motor's load.
I think the main reason the manufactures want 8 or 10 feet of open space above the outdoor unit, is the fire hazard. If the main board catches on fire, and the flames go up a couple of feet and, with the unit is installed under a wooden deck.. That could be dangerous..
Just get a 24" box fan, plug in a KiloWatt meter and run it sitting 18 to 30 inches from a wall.. Now make a fake 4'x4' snow roof out of cardboard, and lower it down until it's 10 or 15 inches above the fan..
If you see over 1% more power being used, I would be very surprised..
I plan on getting a couple of the new hi-tech units when these old Sanyos die..
The older unit is starting to act up, so it's going to be replaced soon..
Maybe next summer..?.