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Old 01-25-14, 11:31 PM   #1
woody
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Default Questions about DIY Install of Mini-Splits

hi,
I've been lurking around here for a while now and have been reading all your great posts and have decided to go for it. So now I need your opinions on a few things.

I live in southern Oregon so the weather is pretty mild. About a month of 35ish degree weather in the winter and a couple of months of 100ish degree weather in the summer.

my home is 30 yrs. old and not that tight. I will be adding dual pane windows soon and will change my 3.5 stud walls to 6" and add more insulation.

I wanted to get 2 systems.... dual system for the back 2 bedrooms and a system for my front room, dinning room and kitchen which is all open and 550 sq. feet.
My idea was to get a 12,000 btu similar to this:

thermospace.com/ductless_split/senville-aura-sena12hf.php

Anyway, I'll stop here and wait for comments.
Appreciate any ideas you may have. I'll talk about the two bedrooms in another post.
I will do all the installation and have a guy come out to do the R410A Refrigerant stuff.
Thanks for your help....Mike

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Old 01-25-14, 11:39 PM   #2
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Default never mind

well let's see if this will post....hmmmm....

Last edited by woody; 01-25-14 at 11:45 PM..
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Old 01-26-14, 01:55 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by woody View Post
...and have a guy come out to do the R410A Refrigerant stuff...
You do realize that:

(A) Your unit(s) will come with R410a inside, right?

(B) Xringer, a crusty old codger with one foot in the grave, and with no more experience than you have right now, installed his own unit(s).

I think that if an inexperienced senior citizen with his pockets stuffed with blood pressure medications and tools can do it, so can you.

At least read his excellent, long, detailed and well photographed entries on how he did it.

It'll save you some money.

Sincerely,

-AC
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Old 01-26-14, 08:42 AM   #4
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Woody!!

That Senville AURA Sena-12HF Ductless Mini Split looks pretty good!
Works down to 5F is good for your area.?. We are getting colder than normal
this year.. So we are using backup heat a lot this month.
I had my oil burner set to come on this morning, but the forecast was wrong.
It stayed above 10F all nite.. http://pauland.net/tempweekcomp.png

Anyways, check out all the reviews you can find for the Sena-12HF,
before you hit the buy button.

Also do a good site survey. Make sure it's possible to install things where you would like them.

If you have a lot of snow in your area, you will want to consider ways to
keep snow out of the air-in-take of your outdoor units..


Do you have any Electrician skills? If you can install a new 120v outlet, doing 230v isn't much harder.
Does your town allow homeowners to DIY electrical?
I've had very little trouble getting permits here in my town.
Just have to sell the inspector on my plan. They "don't want to be a training school",
for us lowlife taxpayers (who send their kids to Harvard and MIT)..

If you can do that part, you will save some major bucks.
Of, if your out-of-work-brother-in-law is an Electrician..

Better yet, if you have a friend in the AC racket. I was lucky,
where I worked, there are a few dozen HVAC guys.
(No many knew much about mini-splits).

But I did see my very first Sanyo 24,000BTU install (cool-only) at work.
(It was at a remote radio telescope site)
It was leaking POE oil at the small flare. The copper tube had been
mangled by the pipe cutter. (Deep Zig-zag marks around it).
I hate it when I see my taxpayers money wasted by poor union workmanship..

Anyways, it can help if you can look at some installs. Or even watch them
being done on YouTube..

Got my Birthday party today. I was 68 last week! I've made it longer than any male in my family!
(Knock wood) Those poor souls didn't have BP meds!!
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Old 01-26-14, 08:57 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AC_Hacker View Post
You do realize that:

(B) Xringer, a crusty old codger with one foot in the grave, and with no more experience than you have right now, installed his own unit(s).

I think that if an inexperienced senior citizen with his pockets stuffed with blood pressure medications and tools can do it, so can you.
-AC

HEY! I have you know, I've been a Ham Radio (Extra class), since I had a full head of hair!

And, not so 'inexperienced', I've worked on also sorts of electronics
(mostly microwave stuff) at MIT-LL.. (Now fully retired as of 2014).
And, I had to wire up the 120 & 240v stuff to power the gear I built..

I am the expert MiniSplit installer, in my house anyways..

~~~

Anyways, thanks for bringing up tools. Woody should find a recent MS install (I forget which one),
that has a inventory list of needed tools, for a full-bore DIY install.
I think it has links and prices too! Nice info to have!
Just in case you might want to go that route..

Some folks think owning a bunch of tools that you may not have to use again,
is a waste. But, in a couple of years, you start having R410a problems.?.

I never figured on doing a second install.. I had to be sold on the idea.
It was faster and easier the second time. (no concrete pad, for one thing).
It was very nice to have the tools on hand..
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Old 01-26-14, 10:37 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xringer View Post
HEY! I have you know, I've been a Ham Radio (Extra class), since I had a full head of hair!

And, not so 'inexperienced', I've worked on also sorts of electronics
(mostly microwave stuff) at MIT-LL.. (Now fully retired as of 2014).
And, I had to wire up the 120 & 240v stuff to power the gear I built..

You had zero experience with anything directly related to HVAC. And as I recall, you were going to do exactly what Woody says he wants to do. And as I recall, I gave you a push in the DIY direction (go back read it, it's all in the thread). You had the gumption to learn a few new tricks and brave the 'mysteries of the gasses'.

Which is my point.

Gumption is the prerequisite to Doing It Yourself.

-AC
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Old 01-26-14, 10:53 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by woody View Post
hi,

my home is 30 yrs. old and not that tight. I will be adding dual pane windows soon and will change my 3.5 stud walls to 6" and add more insulation.
Sounds as if you have multiple projects planned. Obviously, your home leaks air and heat, but have you quantified these losses? Before you shell out thousands of dollars on comfort control, you should focus on the home and its envelope. Figuring out where all the BTU's are escaping and eliminating what losses you can WILL save energy and $$$.

Another question is are you spry? How are your home improvement skills? Do you plan on DIY or farming out lots of work? Think about putting together a plan before you spend lots of unnecessary time and money.

The unit you linked to looks just like a Whirlpool or a Gree or a Klimaire unit. Even the same words are spelled wrong in the literature. Chances are, it's probably Emerson or Shinco on the inside. The main difference between all these units is the appearance and the remote control. Make sure you get the functions you want.
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Old 01-26-14, 11:15 AM   #8
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I was considering Geo thermal XRinger suggested I look at mini splits. With my climate this was a great suggestion. I was going to do most of the work myself and have a HVAC guy hook it all up. With some encouragement great post and knowledgeable people here that was kind enough to share their experiences. I did my own mini split install. I am glad I did and would do it again in the future.

Check out my install post. I list cost and links to the tools.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/geothe...t-install.html

How to install video it is very good.


A must read
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/geothe...l-project.html

Good install
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/geothe...-pump-diy.html
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Old 01-26-14, 11:21 AM   #9
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Any one used the ideal air. The lines come with a pre 30psi of vac if i remember right. Wonder if you could be able to get lines with the pre vac for a unit that isnt outrageous in price.
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Old 01-26-14, 11:51 AM   #10
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Default pre-charged system w/lineset

Quote:
Originally Posted by nokiasixteth View Post
Any one used the ideal air. The lines come with a pre 30psi of vac if i remember right. Wonder if you could be able to get lines with the pre vac for a unit that isnt outrageous in price.
Check out this thread:

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/geothe...ot-needed.html

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