Sanyo 24KHS72 AC/HP DIY install project

[gogigaga]

I am installing 2 systems. 1 is a one zone for my family room/kitchen and 1 is a 3 zone for the bedrooms.
I am planning to first put up all the indoor units then move to the next step on all of them.
So far I have installed 2 indoor units. yesterday I was working from home so had some time to work on this. Today I had to come to the office so I don't think I'll get a chance to work on this.

I think the whole project will take me another 2-3 weeks at my speed.
I still need to hire someone to upgrade my house to 200Amps and install the disconnect box.

It's great to be able verify my work with you. I'll post my progress as I continue working on this.

[Xringer]

Wow! Ambitious project(s)! I should probably add a smaller unit for my Den..
It's such a hard room to heat.. (But easy to cool for some reason).

I admire you for taking on such a large project. From what I've seen so far,
this technology is a great investment. Better than buying gold!

Please start up your new 'geothermal' Project thread (or threads) and start posting pictures.

One day when us DIY mini-split people have greater numbers,
we will get our very own 'Ductless Mini-Split' folder to post in..

Although, I have written that my Sanyo does use geothermally-warmed air.
You gotta admit, warm air in the winter isn't coming down from the sky..
And, it's also solar, since there is some solar air warming going on too.
But not for the next 36 hours.. We are going to be snowed in soon..

If my basement didn't that big geothermally-warmed slab floor, it would be an excellent meat locker.
I've decided that too much of that geo heat is escaping out the windows
down there, and I'm going to replace them with some double pane-extra tight windows soon!
Right after I finish up my solar stuff and install the last sump pump..

Cheers,
Rich

[redneck]

If my basement didn't that big geothermally-warmed slab floor, it would be an excellent meat locker.
I've decided that too much of that geo heat is escaping out the windows
down there, and I'm going to replace them with some double pane-extra tight windows soon!
Right after I finish up my solar stuff and install the last sump pump..

Until you get those double pane windows why don't you use bubble wrap...?
You can use multiple layers if you need to. Each layer is the equilvant to one pane of glass. It also allows light in and the semi bluring allows privacy like a glass block wall. It's cheap and can be overlapped to help reduce drafts also.

Is it possible that those windows are the cause of your floor being so cold ? If they are leaking cold air (drafts), cold air is sinking down covering the floor. It could be a double whammy with the warm air bleeding through the single pane glass.

Try the bubble wrap. I think you will be pleased...

BubbleWrap

>

[Xringer]

I must be precognitive! I was just talking to my wife about using bubble wrap inside
the basement windows a few hours ago..

Bubble Wrap: Small, Medium and Large Rolls. Moving Supplies from Uboxes.com

What do you think? Small Bubble, Medium Bubble or Large Bubble?

"Movers typically use three sizes of bubble: 3/16 (small), 5/16 (medium), and ½ inch (large)."




This stuff looks like the large to me..

[redneck]

The bubble wrap I use is from Wally World.

$10 for a 100'x1' roll in a box of approximately 3/8" dia. bubbles. It is found in the stationary section.

More than enough to do your basement windows then some.

I'm on my 4th year using the same pieces I cut. Just roll it up and store it
for the next year.

If and when you decide to put it up, be sure to tell us about it.

>

[gogigaga]

So far I have managed to put up the 4 inside units, and installed the slimduct for the lines.
Now I want to start on the outside unit. I am planning to first secure the 2 outside units to the concrete and then complete the rest of the procedure.
@Xringer: I was wondering if you could list the remaining steps with the purpose of each. I am a little confused about the different tests and procedures.
It might be helpful for everybody if you list the steps sequentially.

and yes I realize now that the project is indeed ambitious. but I got to finish what I started
I have taken photos for each step so far and will start a new thread soon.

Thanks again!

[Xringer]

IIRC, I just followed the manual. I was just looking at one of the LG manuals and
the last steps looked the same as in the Sanyo install.

LG HVAC

Under the heading of "Air Purging and Evacuation"..
The steps are spelled out pretty well. Looks like the Sanyo manual..

Anyways, LG says 150 psi, and I think that I used more than that.
The details are buried in there somewheres.

I ran my pressure test for many hours and actually got a pressure drop
overnight, when it got pretty cool out.
If you test overnight, you should wait until all the copper is back up to temp
before thinking you lost any nitrogen..

Just make sure you smear the inside faces of the flares and the mating parts with that seal-lube goop
(Nylok?) before tightening them up.

LG gives you a pretty good idea about using the vacuum pump.
I practiced vacuuming down my manifold hoses before doing the system.
I would shut off the valve and then the pump. Wait a while and turn the
pump back on and open the valve while watching the manifold and micron gauges.
If they take a big jump, your vacuum didn't hold. If there is only a small jump
in pressure, it was holding okay.

Be sure to use fresh pump oil.

[AC_Hacker]

Xringer,

Don't know if your heat pump is still having seizures, but I came across a discussion about a heat pump that reminded me of your situation.

Oikos Blog

-AC_Hacker

[Xringer]

Thanks for the link. I found it interesting. It seems like his system may have suffered
from poor firmware in the controller. Just changing a hardware jumper setting,
to fool the firmware into thinking it was running in another size system was the fix.

One of my pet theories about the power surge problem has been bad firmware.
Or perhaps this unit was built with 'wrong model' firmware. (36k btu etc).

~~~

Had a weird thing happen about a week ago. I've been using Auto mode,
since it locks the remote from using High Power mode.
I figured it might keep some of the surges away. Worth a try.

During the blizzard, snow caused a buildup of ice on the outdoor unit's coil.
While I was out shoveling the next morning, we had the 2.4kw alarm go off.
My wife tried to turn down the temp to no avail. So, she turned it off..
The LED wasn't blinking to indicate Defrost mode..

So, when I turned the system back on later(when it was warmer), it came up in cooling mode! (Green LED).
It was pumping cold air into the house! I turned it off and on 3 times.
(I called for 24 deg C).. No luck. Opened the breaker for 90 seconds. Still no luck (NV RAM).

I even let it cool the house for 20 minutes to see if it would correct itself. Nope.

So, I used the remote to place the unit back in Heat mode.
A few hours later, after the unit was heating normally again,
I tried Auto mode. No luck! It went into cooling again.
I waited 48 hours and was finally able to get it to heat in Auto mode again..

So, it seems like the firmware sets up some parameters when it goes into
hidden defrost mode, and those little bits of data stay set, even if you turn off the system..
Even when the ice has been gone for many hours, hours later, those bits keep affecting system operation.?.

It sure seems like the firmware is dumb-ware..

In another life, one of my jobs was testing firmware on NEC printers.
(desktop impact, dot-matrix, band-printers, Laser printers etc),
I found a lot of dumbware. I've developed a nose for it..
Or, maybe I attract poorly written firmware now?

~~~
I like the new “Zuba-Central” equipment I saw on that link.
It's great for Canadians! Not so good for us in the USA.

Mitsubishi Electric Sales Canada Inc. - Air Conditioning & Heating

Noll ClimateCare - Hybrid Systems & Heat Pumps

[Xringer]

This morning at 3:30AM, the over-load *alarms when off. *(Ted & efergy)
The Sanyo had gone into High Power mode.
But oddly, it didn't respond to calls for less heat. (with the remote).
I assumed, since it had been bit rainy out, it must have been in Defrost mode.

The power peaked at 2450 watts, but didn't get any higher.
But, it wasn't real cold(34.0 °F), that might be the reason it didn't move up higher.

I think the Ted might have had a problem, since it stopped taking data.
But, strangely, it showed 140v peak.?. (280vac to the Sanyo).
I did a power reset on the Ted and started taking data again after a few minutes.
It was back to displaying 125vac.. Maybe noise spikes are causing the Ted's volt meter to freak.?.

Everything was working fine and I was back asleep by 4AM..


It blinked!!

Then, when I got up about 9:30AM it using 1200w-1500w and not heating.?.
I scanned the coil, and it was cold.. 35-40 F.. It was defrosting again!
After about 10 minutes, my wife said, "Look, it's blinking"!
Caught in the act! The red and orange LED was flashing the defrost signal.
It only blinked for a few minutes before going to low use (60w) and then coming back up..
And, it came back up in High-Power mode. (a 2deg C call for heat?)

I used the remote to shut it off at 2300watts. It came up normally when restarted a few minutes later.
1600w peak and back down to 500-520w since then.

So, it seems like the blinking only occurs during a short period near the end of the cycle.
Once defrost is over, the unit goes into high power use mode.
How high it goes depends on the inside and outside temps.

And, it seems that just shutting down and restarting, AFTER a defrost cycle
might keep the system from ever going into overload or over pressure reset..?.

Maybe I should built that Adjustable circuit breaker? Cut the power,
whenever the Sanyo starts using 2600w.. Go downstairs and hit the reset to restart it.
It should come back up the same way it does after a grid failure..