Mini-Split guide - mini-reviews Ver 1.0

Xringer · 02-21-16, 06:20 PM

I know that a few posters here have successfully installed a few brands & models of M/S cool & heat units..

So, now that some of these units have racked up some operating months.
I would like to invite these owners to post a short review,
to this thread with a link to their install-thread and/or any M/S product reviewing already done.

If your linked install thread is missing anything important (model number, vendor URL & etc), please include it in your post here.

My units, model Sanyo CH2472 & KHS2472 systems are no longer available, so I will not post a review of them. But, I will recommend not buying this old model from old-stock or used, due to the firmware problem (over-speeding) and short life span of indoor fan motors. Unless you just wanted them for their parts.

Like many other people, I'm eventually going to buy more units..
So, here's some ideas for a mini-review.. (stuff I would like to see).

For my next M/S purchase, I'm going to be looking at:

1. cold weather performance.
2. effectiveness of auto-defrost operation during blowing snow storms.
3. stability of power use (no massive power surges / suitable for off-grid?).
4. Ease of operation. Can you set it & forget it? (Wife has bad memory).
5. Ease of maintenance (cleaning filters etc).
6. Is it pretty easy to install? Or, does it have to be dealer installed?
7. SEER & other specs.
8. Price info (and where the best price can be found today).
(I will add more to this list later).

Please point out both the positives and negatives of your system in your shorty review, or insert a link to that information.

I request that you use the Edit function and keep your mini-review on one page. That will keep this thread short (I hope).
If people have questions about something in your review, perhaps they can handle it via PM.?.
Maybe the additional info can be edited into your post.?.
That should also keep this thread short..
It would be a shame for a new member to have to scroll 139 pages, to see the latest review of the newest model..
I would like this thread to be short and be like an index of systems installed.

Note:
If the mini reviews do get spread out over many pages, I will create an Index table (with links) of this thread, in this post..
For people who may be interested in a certain brand, and want to jump right to it.

~~~
PS:
Sometimes, I'm a day late and a dollar short, so if this has already been done, someone please PM me the link..

If you think this is a crazy idea and want to tell me, PM me..

NeilBlanchard · 02-21-16, 09:12 PM

Subscribed - I am particularly interested in Fujitsu because of their reputation / claims to cold weather operation.

Xringer · 05-15-16, 12:17 PM

Saw this video.. https://youtu.be/Jkle8ftA9F0?t=5m47s
Gives some inside views of a 9,000 BTU Gree outdoor unit.

Elcam84 · 06-11-16, 01:16 PM

I installed a pridiom system in a room I built at a Loml's church. It's an 18k btu model 181hx.

During install I had an issue at startup. The inside and outside units would not communicate. Tech support blamed the power supply in the condenser. Didn't fix it so they sent a whole new condenser and still no go. Ended up being the inside unit being wired backwards at the factory.

Only bad point is the air filter is a window unit style which is almost useless.

These units run 220 to the inside unit from the outside one. One hot is used for communication and if he hots are flipped it can't talk to the inside unit. This is a common method now with minisplits.
Because of this they said to keep the condenser so if anyone comes across one I'm looking to buy.

I check on the room periodically. Performance has been good with no complaints. It's oversized to provide quick heating and cooling as its not used all the time. It's relativly quiet. Overall it's been a good unit and has been trouble free for about 4 years.

Pridiom bought out Amcor Air which had a number of complaints years back.

I also installed an lg 3 system in a friends house. It's quite a bit more pricey than other brands but it's been a very good unit for 3 years so far. No install problems, build quality is good. Ability to buy real air filters for it as well.
Drain hoses were non standard size which is typical. Unit is quieter than the pridiom but doesnt have the air throw distance the pridiom has.
My friend is very happy with the system. His addition was nice and cool during the month of high temps of 108* to 117* highs and 85* lows when most people couldn't even get their houses down to 80*.

Just One More · 09-03-16, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xringer

Saw this video.. https://youtu.be/Jkle8ftA9F0?t=5m47s
Gives some inside views of a 9,000 BTU Gree outdoor unit.

Thanks, I will be installing a couple of these soon. Perhaps I can review them then.

Xringer · 09-03-16, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just One More

Thanks, I will be installing a couple of these soon. Perhaps I can review them then.

I saw your other post about installing two new Gree M/S just today!
Hope to see your install thread soon!

I'm going to be installing my new Gree Crown 18K within the next few days,
weather permitting.

That video posted above.. https://youtu.be/Jkle8ftA9F0?t=5m57s
shows some fat blue wires in the outdoor drip pan..
I assumed they were for defrosting the pan for cold weather drainage..
I just took a look inside my new 18k and I see the same setup!

oil pan 4 · 09-03-16, 04:21 PM

The inverter heat pump I installed here: http://ecorenovator.org/forum/geothe...-new-post.html
Would work great with off grid, at least when air conditioning. It has no start up surge.
How does it do in the cold I do not know yet it may take a few years to get a real cold winter.
The out side unit is very quiet, only makes a fraction of the noise of a window unit. The inside half of the split appears to be made with some kind of stealth technology because it makes virtually no noise even when the fan is on high.
The fan on the inside unit feels a little weak but it cools one bed room very well.
I will likely buy the 2 ton version of this air conditioner next time.

Xringer · 09-03-16, 10:20 PM

"It has no start up surge".. I think the off-grid guys would be interested..

Some of the solar guys I know, have an on-going interest in running M/S units off-grid..
Mini Split update for Offgrid
There may be some people here too, who are interested.. Since the possibility
of long term grid failure, is always a factor.. A big solar storm could do it..

I know that being able to use grid-tied systems off-grid has become
possible with some of the new inverter products being sold these days.
So, a low power non-surging M/S might be something a few folks would like..

I looked at the thread and saw the nice pad you made..
You might get some specific questions about your install, if anyone here is thinking Off-Grid..

Just One More · 04-23-17, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xringer

I saw your other post about installing two new Gree M/S just today!
Hope to see your install thread soon!

I'm going to be installing my new Gree Crown 18K within the next few days,
weather permitting.

That video posted above.. https://youtu.be/Jkle8ftA9F0?t=5m57s
shows some fat blue wires in the outdoor drip pan..
I assumed they were for defrosting the pan for cold weather drainage..
I just took a look inside my new 18k and I see the same setup!

I actually installed my units in December right before we had an unusual 15 degree night here in the Houston area. Lost some trees and plants, but we were quite warm inside. These Gree Terra units do very nice rain or shine, hot or cold. Now if I could just afford a Gree Crown to replace the Senville 12K Aura in the master bedroom.... Should have never let the wife see the new Gree units.

Xringer · 04-24-17, 08:40 AM

Only in the very far norther part of Texas would you need a -20F system!!
Down in Houston? Nope.. Never.. That's almost south of Del Rio !!

02-21-16, 06:20 PM	#1
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Mini-Split guide - mini-reviews Ver 1.0 I know that a few posters here have successfully installed a few brands & models of M/S cool & heat units.. So, now that some of these units have racked up some operating months. I would like to invite these owners to post a short review, to this thread with a link to their install-thread and/or any M/S product reviewing already done. If your linked install thread is missing anything important (model number, vendor URL & etc), please include it in your post here. My units, model Sanyo CH2472 & KHS2472 systems are no longer available, so I will not post a review of them. But, I will recommend not buying this old model from old-stock or used, due to the firmware problem (over-speeding) and short life span of indoor fan motors. Unless you just wanted them for their parts. Like many other people, I'm eventually going to buy more units.. So, here's some ideas for a mini-review.. (stuff I would like to see). For my next M/S purchase, I'm going to be looking at: 1. cold weather performance. 2. effectiveness of auto-defrost operation during blowing snow storms. 3. stability of power use (no massive power surges / suitable for off-grid?). 4. Ease of operation. Can you set it & forget it? (Wife has bad memory). 5. Ease of maintenance (cleaning filters etc). 6. Is it pretty easy to install? Or, does it have to be dealer installed? 7. SEER & other specs. 8. Price info (and where the best price can be found today). (I will add more to this list later). Please point out both the positives and negatives of your system in your shorty review, or insert a link to that information. I request that you use the Edit function and keep your mini-review on one page. That will keep this thread short (I hope). If people have questions about something in your review, perhaps they can handle it via PM.?. Maybe the additional info can be edited into your post.?. That should also keep this thread short.. It would be a shame for a new member to have to scroll 139 pages, to see the latest review of the newest model.. I would like this thread to be short and be like an index of systems installed. Note: If the mini reviews do get spread out over many pages, I will create an Index table (with links) of this thread, in this post.. For people who may be interested in a certain brand, and want to jump right to it. ~~~ PS: Sometimes, I'm a day late and a dollar short, so if this has already been done, someone please PM me the link.. If you think this is a crazy idea and want to tell me, PM me.. __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

05-15-16, 12:17 PM	#3
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Saw this video.. https://youtu.be/Jkle8ftA9F0?t=5m47s Gives some inside views of a 9,000 BTU Gree outdoor unit. __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

09-03-16, 10:20 PM	#8
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	"It has no start up surge".. I think the off-grid guys would be interested.. Some of the solar guys I know, have an on-going interest in running M/S units off-grid.. Mini Split update for Offgrid There may be some people here too, who are interested.. Since the possibility of long term grid failure, is always a factor.. A big solar storm could do it.. I know that being able to use grid-tied systems off-grid has become possible with some of the new inverter products being sold these days. So, a low power non-surging M/S might be something a few folks would like.. I looked at the thread and saw the nice pad you made.. You might get some specific questions about your install, if anyone here is thinking Off-Grid.. __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

04-24-17, 08:40 AM	#10
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Only in the very far norther part of Texas would you need a -20F system!! Down in Houston? Nope.. Never.. That's almost south of Del Rio !! __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

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02-21-16, 09:12 PM	#2
NeilBlanchard Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Maynard, MA Eaarth Posts: 383 Thanks: 78 Thanked 39 Times in 32 Posts	Subscribed - I am particularly interested in Fujitsu because of their reputation / claims to cold weather operation.

06-11-16, 01:16 PM	#4
Elcam84 Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: TX Posts: 275 Thanks: 2 Thanked 31 Times in 24 Posts	I installed a pridiom system in a room I built at a Loml's church. It's an 18k btu model 181hx. During install I had an issue at startup. The inside and outside units would not communicate. Tech support blamed the power supply in the condenser. Didn't fix it so they sent a whole new condenser and still no go. Ended up being the inside unit being wired backwards at the factory. Only bad point is the air filter is a window unit style which is almost useless. These units run 220 to the inside unit from the outside one. One hot is used for communication and if he hots are flipped it can't talk to the inside unit. This is a common method now with minisplits. Because of this they said to keep the condenser so if anyone comes across one I'm looking to buy. I check on the room periodically. Performance has been good with no complaints. It's oversized to provide quick heating and cooling as its not used all the time. It's relativly quiet. Overall it's been a good unit and has been trouble free for about 4 years. Pridiom bought out Amcor Air which had a number of complaints years back. I also installed an lg 3 system in a friends house. It's quite a bit more pricey than other brands but it's been a very good unit for 3 years so far. No install problems, build quality is good. Ability to buy real air filters for it as well. Drain hoses were non standard size which is typical. Unit is quieter than the pridiom but doesnt have the air throw distance the pridiom has. My friend is very happy with the system. His addition was nice and cool during the month of high temps of 108* to 117* highs and 85* lows when most people couldn't even get their houses down to 80*.

09-03-16, 04:21 PM	#7
oil pan 4 Land owner Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NM Posts: 1,026 Thanks: 12 Thanked 127 Times in 107 Posts	The inverter heat pump I installed here: http://ecorenovator.org/forum/geothe...-new-post.html Would work great with off grid, at least when air conditioning. It has no start up surge. How does it do in the cold I do not know yet it may take a few years to get a real cold winter. The out side unit is very quiet, only makes a fraction of the noise of a window unit. The inside half of the split appears to be made with some kind of stealth technology because it makes virtually no noise even when the fan is on high. The fan on the inside unit feels a little weak but it cools one bed room very well. I will likely buy the 2 ton version of this air conditioner next time.