Mini Split A/C Best Brand?

[BajaMike]

Anybody have a preference on the best brand of a Mini Split air conditioner? We’ve got a Fuji in the casita that needs to be replaced because I don’t think it has enough BTUs and its old. It’s a Fuji and has been OK, its 15 years old, and doesn’t do the job when its over 100.

Recommendations and reliable dealers near Palm Desert are appreciated.

 

[Dalton]

daikin or Mitsubishi are prob top 2

 

[Pinball]

We went with Mits. 3 ton unit in 1800 sq foot garage, and it’s holding 76 fine in this Havasu heat.

 

[KENDOG689]

Daikin,both work great.

 

[fat rat]

I have a Mitsubishi/Mr Slim , 1.5 ton, 19 sear, quiet as mouse. I have a 1000 sqft. garage /man cave, I'm well insulated to include over head doors, ceiling , and walls. I've seen it down below 10 degrees and well over a hundred. The unit has no problem maintaining 70 year around. No big change in my electric bill . I know others that have and love them. We installed mine in a matter of hours3-4! Go on line for your best deal.

 

[Wheeler]

Anybody have a preference on the best brand of a Mini Split air conditioner? We’ve got a Fuji in the casita that needs to be replaced because I don’t think it has enough BTUs and its old. It’s a Fuji and has been OK, its 15 years old, and doesn’t do the job when its over 100.

Recommendations and reliable dealers near Palm Desert are appreciated.

Some info. on seer ratings.


https://www.riverdavesplace.com/forums/threads/lennox-vs-trane-ac-heat-pump.170651/#post-2705592


With respect to energy efficiency, here is the math. With respect to quality, no idea.

SEER is just like MPG but for Btu's per watt.

Take the Btu divide by the SEER and that is how many watts that uses in an hour of operation.

Let's assume they are 3 ton units.

36,000 Btu's divided by 19 = 1,894.74 watts per hour. Divide by 1000 and you get 1.89, lets call it 1.9 KWH which is what we see on our bill. In effect, that unit uses up that much energy. If you are on SRP like me, assume after all the costs and fees your average cost per KWH is about ten cents. So that thing costs about 19 cents an hour to operate.

36,000 Btu's divided by 21 = 1,714.29 /1000 = 1.714 or about 17.14 cents per hour.

Bottom line, the higher 21 SEER saves you about 1.86 cents every hour of operation. So if each unit is 1,000 more and they have identical warranties, blah, blah, blah, it will take about 53,763 hours of operation of that unit to get back the 1,000 bucks excluding cost of capital.



https://www.riverdavesplace.com/for...an-hvac-technician.127275/page-2#post-2035314


I went through this, so I did the math. I hate sales pitches, but like math.

Here is the simple math. For a three ton unit, assuming 2500 hours per year of operation (typical manufacturers assumption) and 11.5 cents per kilowatt hour, here is the cost per year.

13 SEER = $805.00

14 SEER $747.50

16 SEER = $632.50

23 SEER = $448.50

So from there it is easy to calculate the payback depending upon the cost of the unit, how long you will own the unit, on peak versus off peak energy cost, cost of additional capital, if you use the unit more, blah, blah, blah.

I can give the long math relating to BTU, hours of use, and KWH if anyone wants it.

 

[Racey]

I know RB and Lynch recommend Daikin.

I have Fujitsu's and they kick ass as well.

I think both brands have something stupid like an 11 year warranty now if they are installed by a certified shop

 

[Riverbound]

Like others have said. We recommend Daikin. They are second to none right now Mitsubishi would be my second choice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wsuwrhr]

One of these days IMA be like the rest of you ballers with a bitchen AC'd barn, for the horses.

For now, I just dream about it.

 

[WildWilly]

I have a Mitsubishi/Mr Slim , 1.5 ton, 19 sear, quiet as mouse. I have a 1000 sqft. garage /man cave, I'm well insulated to include over head doors, ceiling , and walls. I've seen it down below 10 degrees and well over a hundred. The unit has no problem maintaining 70 year around. No big change in my electric bill . I know others that have and love them. We installed mine in a matter of hours3-4! Go on line for your best deal.

I've recently been contemplating adding a mini split to the garage so I'm just starting my research, but a couple people have made reference to "no real change in the elec bill" but I don't understand how thats possible. Can anyone explain? are these just that efficient?

 

[Go-Fly]

Can you run 1.5 tons of AC off of solar?

 

[HALLETT BOY]

I’m having a house built right now , all the conduit / electrical is already to add 2 mini systems in 60 ft garage

 

[grumpy88]

Thanks for this info . Perfect timing .

 

[JDub24]

Here a local guy in La quinta that I have used for years. Nice guy and honest as they come. I sure he can install one for you.

Scott’s ac service: ‭(760) 449-1915‬

Anybody have a preference on the best brand of a Mini Split air conditioner? We’ve got a Fuji in the casita that needs to be replaced because I don’t think it has enough BTUs and its old. It’s a Fuji and has been OK, its 15 years old, and doesn’t do the job when its over 100.

Recommendations and reliable dealers near Palm Desert are appreciated.

 

[MrMayhem]

We put a Mitsubishi in our master. No need to cool the entire house at night now. Cut our summer bill from $600 ish to $300 a month. Mini splits rock!

 

[Racey]

Can you run 1.5 tons of AC off of solar?

Yeah i would imagine no problem, 1.5 tons in a mini split isn't a very big amp load.

 

[Bobby V]

We put a Mitsubishi in our master. No need to cool the entire house at night now. Cut our summer bill from $600 ish to $300 a month. Mini splits rock!

What is the approx. cost for a new mini split with install?

 

[Go-Fly]

Yeah i would imagine no problem, 1.5 tons in a mini split isn't a very big amp load.

I've been told that you need a battery back-up for the start then switch over to solar. I want to do do this to a shop I'm building down south. Can't seem to get any firm answers on size of solar system. May just do my own thing and see what works.

 

[fat rat]

I've recently been contemplating adding a mini split to the garage so I'm just starting my research, but a couple people have made reference to "no real change in the elec bill" but I don't understand how thats possible. Can anyone explain? are these just that efficient?

The only explanation I can give is there very high efficiency rating.

 

[fat rat]

What is the approx. cost for a new mini split with install?

I paid $2000. For the unit and $400 for the install. You going to need 220v to the unit. I already had 220 in the area of install. Also depending how long your line set is. I was lucky, line set less than 5 ft , 220 was right there, 3-4 hours later up and running.

 

[Racey]

I've been told that you need a battery back-up for the start then switch over to solar. I want to do do this to a shop I'm building down south. Can't seem to get any firm answers on size of solar system. May just do my own thing and see what works.

Modern inverter minisplits soft start and ramp the compressor and fans, so there is no massive current in-rush. If the inverter you are using is a decent quality and sized properly it's DC bus should handle that i would think. I would definitely ask BasilHayden here on the boards from Palomar Solar.

Inrush is the spike load, like your air compressor kicking off, it pulls a ton of current for the few second or so, then once it's up to speed it drops massively and levels out. This is why you can see the lights dim a little, or hear the change in your fridge's fan when it turns on. Air conditioners are the same, but modern units now use inverters, which means they don't just have to hard start the compressor, it starts it slowly and spools it up over the course of a few to several seconds depending on the size, this eliminates that massive current spike, that current spike is what will kill you if you don't have the capacity for it.

 

[Go-Fly]

Modern inverter minisplits soft start and ramp the compressor and fans, so there is no massive current in-rush. If the inverter you are using is a decent quality and sized properly it's DC bus should handle that i would think. I would definitely ask BasilHayden here on the boards from Palomar Solar.

Seen the soft start AC units and the micro inverters that do 240 volt ac right out of the panel. Only want to run it when the sun shines. Should only take ten panels. That's a cheap investment and will pay back in a short time.

 

[Racey]

Seen the soft start AC units and the micro inverters that do 240 volt ac right out of the panel. Only want to run it when the sun shines. Should only take ten panels. That's a cheap investment and will pay back in a short time.

From what I know about inverters based on my own experience with VFD's i've put on my own machines, (which are basically rectifiers and inverters in the same box AC->DC->AC) choose wisely there, some are real sensitive pieces of shit, others are bulletproof. My guess, and i have no idea but this is just a pure assumption, that there may be inverters that are designed solely for grid tie in that don't have a need for super robust electronics or design because they can rely on the grid for spikes and shortcomings, and types that are designed for stand-alone applications, you would want the latter obviously.

Yaskawa pretty much is the bees knees in that world, that is what i run on my machines. They also happen make PV inverters.

BasilHayden is the guy to get the real skinny from. In fact i'm seeing his banner right now at the bottom of this page

 

[johnnyC]

I used a Dakin 3 head unit and it works great, 2 200 sq ft rooms and a 1000 ft garage I can get the garage done to 75 degrees on a 115 day with out a problem

 

[TITTIES AND BEER]

We went with Mits. 3 ton unit in 1800 sq foot garage, and it’s holding 76 fine in this Havasu heat.

We put a few of these in (10) never any problems

 

[LHC Kirby]

Very C O O L .... so .... who is the go to company to install in Havazoo?

 

[mjc]

Has anybody seen the "mr cool" brand that are self install? I am looking at a unit with 2 zones for my not so well insulated garage.

 

[Ziggy]

Very C O O L .... so .... who is the go to company to install in Havazoo?

I used Carey Liera. He put in an LG brand in my garage. Garage ceiling isn't insulated but it'll keep it under 80.
This unit seemed to be only one available at the time with a wifi option. ~ 3 yrs ago.

 

[Riverbottom]

I have a Mitsubishi 2 ton with two head units. I installed it myself not real difficult and it has been working great for almost two years. One unit in the master bedroom and one in the living room. Don't use the central air anymore unless we have company staying in other rooms.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Modern inverter minisplits soft start and ramp the compressor and fans, so there is no massive current in-rush. If the inverter you are using is a decent quality and sized properly it's DC bus should handle that i would think. I would definitely ask BasilHayden here on the boards from Palomar Solar.

Inrush is the spike load, like your air compressor kicking off, it pulls a ton of current for the few second or so, then once it's up to speed it drops massively and levels out. This is why you can see the lights dim a little, or hear the change in your fridge's fan when it turns on. Air conditioners are the same, but modern units now use inverters, which means they don't just have to hard start the compressor, it starts it slowly and spools it up over the course of a few to several seconds depending on the size, this eliminates that massive current spike, that current spike is what will kill you if you don't have the capacity for it.

Seen the soft start AC units and the micro inverters that do 240 volt ac right out of the panel. Only want to run it when the sun shines. Should only take ten panels. That's a cheap investment and will pay back in a short time.

Go-Fly, one thing to keep in mind is most of these systems can be fairly sensitive to the Sine wave cleanliness of the incoming power. If driven off a quality inverter that shouldn't be a problem. I just went through this with a firend's uncle that had me troubleshoot a system he installed in his horse trailer. He couldn't get it to run correctly for very long before it would give an error. Turns out the Honda 5000 utility genset (NOT the EU inverter series) was too dirty of power and the inverter for the compressor and condenser fan would not function.

The crazy efficiency these systems get is entirely due to the inverter. They don't have the crazy huge amp draw spikes like Racey is talking about as well as they will more or less float their speed of both the compressor and condenser fan to maintain ideal temps and pressures for your set point and conditions. Basically instead of being a 100% on or 100% off system like traditional A/C systems, most of it's running time is actually not at 100% which is truly where the majority of your savings comes from.

Has anybody seen the "mr cool" brand that are self install? I am looking at a unit with 2 zones for my not so well insulated garage.

I have a Mitsubishi 2 ton with two head units. I installed it myself not real difficult and it has been working great for almost two years. One unit in the master bedroom and one in the living room. Don't use the central air anymore unless we have company staying in other rooms.

For anybody that is thinking of installing a ductless split themselves, you need to make sure you get a good vacuum on the system before opening the service valves at the condenser. These systems measure EVERYTHING to work correctly and if there are uncondensibles in the system (water, dust, other environmental contaminates) the system will likely have quiet a few problems working correctly.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[BajaMike]

Some info. on seer ratings.


https://www.riverdavesplace.com/forums/threads/lennox-vs-trane-ac-heat-pump.170651/#post-2705592


With respect to energy efficiency, here is the math. With respect to quality, no idea.

SEER is just like MPG but for Btu's per watt.

Take the Btu divide by the SEER and that is how many watts that uses in an hour of operation.

Let's assume they are 3 ton units.

36,000 Btu's divided by 19 = 1,894.74 watts per hour. Divide by 1000 and you get 1.89, lets call it 1.9 KWH which is what we see on our bill. In effect, that unit uses up that much energy. If you are on SRP like me, assume after all the costs and fees your average cost per KWH is about ten cents. So that thing costs about 19 cents an hour to operate.

So from there it is easy to calculate the payback depending upon the cost of the unit, how long you will own the unit, on peak versus off peak energy cost, cost of additional capital, if you use the unit more, blah, blah, blah.

I can give the long math relating to BTU, hours of use, and KWH if anyone wants it.

Thanks....good math....I think. When you say “3 ton unit”, what is that in BTU? I think mine 12,000 BTU, and its not doing the job for a 300 square foot casita in Palm Desert.

 

[Wheeler]

Thanks....good math....I think. When you say “3 ton unit”, what is that in BTU? I think mine 12,000 BTU, and its not doing the job for a 300 square foot casita in Palm Desert.

Open the links, that was posted by 530rl. I ain't that smart.

 

[DLC]

 

[Go-Fly]

Go-Fly, one thing to keep in mind is most of these systems can be fairly sensitive to the Sine wave cleanliness of the incoming power. If driven off a quality inverter that shouldn't be a problem. I just went through this with a firend's uncle that had me troubleshoot a system he installed in his horse trailer. He couldn't get it to run correctly for very long before it would give an error. Turns out the Honda 5000 utility genset (NOT the EU inverter series) was too dirty of power and the inverter for the compressor and condenser fan would not function.

The crazy efficiency these systems get is entirely due to the inverter. They don't have the crazy huge amp draw spikes like Racey is talking about as well as they will more or less float their speed of both the compressor and condenser fan to maintain ideal temps and pressures for your set point and conditions. Basically instead of being a 100% on or 100% off system like traditional A/C systems, most of it's running time is actually not at 100% which is truly where the majority of your savings comes from. For anybody that is thinking of installing a ductless split themselves, you need to make sure you get a good vacuum on the system before opening the service valves at the condenser. These systems measure EVERYTHING to work correctly and if there are uncondensibles in the system (water, dust, other environmental contaminates) the system will likely have quiet a few problems working correctly.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

So I should throw a sinusoidal filter in-line to the heat pump and clean all that up? How can you tell that your panels are at full power before the unit starts?

 

[BajaMike]

I used a Dakin 3 head unit and it works great, 2 200 sq ft rooms and a 1000 ft garage I can get the garage done to 75 degrees on a 115 day with out a problem

What’s the BTU and model number of your Daikin unit?