Best mini-spit heat pump?

[MacLawn]

I've installed these myself in our houses in Japan, where they originate. Mitsubishi, Sharp, Fujitsu, Daikin, Toshiba, a few other Japanese makers I'm forgetting, but I've had all these. Five in our last house in Japan. The quietness comes because houses are so close together in Japan, and quiet is a priority, so Japanese engineers make them quiet. As for which brand is the best quality, I don't know, except our Sharp lasted over 20 years and was still going strong when we stored it there. In Japan, Daikin is noted as being one of the best makes. For me, I would NOT get a Chinese, or Korean make! Just me. Even though nowadays, even a Mitsubishi is not likely to be Made in Japan, just like US goods here, US make, but Hecho en Chine.

Last time I moved mine in Japan, I foolishly let all the coolant escape, then when I had them reinstalled in new house, Japanese ac man showed me how to install a precharged unit without loosing coolant! Very simple. I'm mechanical, but know about nothing on heat pumps, but even I installed them with no problem. Now, about the warranty having a pro do the install - that would probably be worth it to me now. Unless I just install one unit in my office/shop.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I have two Samsung units. Both remote control with digital display and all sorts of features I don't use. I leave them both on 71 and they do the rest. I am friends with an hvac guy who works at trane supply. I got them for half price.

They are no brazed fittings but flared. You should mineral oil those fittings and use proper wrenches to tighten because they will leak if you don't.

I installed them myself on the second floor by building a deck and carrying them up the ladder. The outside units are about 75 lbs. The deck uses chains to hold it up and sort of looks like a moat door.

The hardest part was drilling through the concrete wall on a 24ft ladder. Also make sure the drains are done properly.

They are whisper silent inside and out. You can't hear the outside unit even on the ladder standing right in front of them. They have special shaped fans with out of phase balancing or something to make all sounds go away.

About 2 years now or 3. I've been very satisfied and I'm in South coastal GA where it's hotter than anywhere else. Always 71 in my two rooms. Heat works well too but we rarely need it.

Thanks for the tip on using mineral oil to lube the flare. It occurs to me that I need to look and make sure that my venerable old auto-tech flaring tool can make a 1/2" single flare. I've never made a single flare let alone used copper before as brake lines all require double flares with steel lines!

I started running the 30A 220 today. I haven't gotten my disconnect box or the surge protector, so both ends are not hooked up yet. One lesson I learned: look at how big 10-3 is wire before throwing down on the size of the electrical conduit because I struggled pulling 10-3 through two 90 degree bends in 3/4" PVC on the outside of my house!

I also decided to get a couple of disposable nitrogen tanks so when I pull vacuum and check for leaks on my flares, I'll fill with N2 and then pull vacuum again to make sure I got the moisture out.

I have not yet ordered the mini-split but it looks like comfort.com has the best price on the mini-split I'm thinking about getting.

 

[hslogger]

We have been running Mitsubishi mini splits in our house for about four years now. Up until then strictly wood heat, wood furnace, wood stove.
We have four indoor units and have been really pleased with their performance. We hired out the installs. When placing them, remember you NEED to get to them a few times a year to clean the filters. So it is important to consider that.

 

[C4Ranch]

Don't forget to drill the outside hole at an angle. When they installed mine, they also poured a cup of water in the inside unit tray to confirm proper drain.

 

[Woodeye]

I have a Panasonic mini split in my office, AC works great and silent. The heat on the other hand is a problem at 10F or colder, little to none.

 

[GManBart]

I have a Panasonic mini split in my office, AC works great and silent. The heat on the other hand is a problem at 10F or colder, little to none.

Most standard units have a low temp for heat in the 7-10F. Some units can work down to around -13F, but they cost more.

 

[newbury]

I just bought a new 8K window a/c unit for $110 from Staples. Quick lookup on the web indicates a cool only mini-split about that size would be about $1,000 or more plus installation.

What makes a min-split worth almost 10 times more?

/edit - I'm mainly wondering about the value as a supplement to a primary system.

 

[C4Ranch]

I replaced my window units with a 4 zone mini split. Sooo quiet and has a heat pump. Works just like a central air but no duct work...

 

[PAGUY]

As I got older found that placing window units in and out got to be a hassle plus the storage.
Mini-splits are a god send. Perfect for all around conditions during the four seasons in PA.
I have three units ( 12K BTUs each unit) that can cool down the whole house during the hottest days of summer.
I usually use them individually where needed and especially at night for comfortable sleeping.
Only mistake I made was not installing one unit directly in kitchen as I have two 6 foot windows and a double hung that face south. I've been thinking of having installer come back and add another unit there. Other than that it was the best investment I could make for my retirement years.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Question:

What's the best way to secure the compressor down? Should I be good just screwing it down to the wooden stand I've made or should I get some ribber feet for damping vibration?

For what it is worth, I went with the Mitsubishi MZ-FH18NA2 which is 21 SEER and supposed to be able to throw heat out down to -13 F. Not good enough for heating in northern MN but I want efficient as energy is very expensive since were forced to pay extra for alternative energy projects in MN that don't work.

I also picked up a 20 pound bottle and filled it with nitrogen for testing connections and the triple drying procedure I've heard Mitsubishi wants to have done.

 

[lennyzx11]

Question:

What's the best way to secure the compressor down? Should I be good just screwing it down to the wooden stand I've made or should I get some ribber feet for damping vibration?

For what it is worth, I went with the Mitsubishi MZ-FH18NA2 which is 21 SEER and supposed to be able to throw heat out down to -13 F. Not good enough for heating in northern MN but I want efficient as energy is very expensive since were forced to pay extra for alternative energy projects in MN that don't work.

I also picked up a 20 pound bottle and filled it with nitrogen for testing connections and the triple drying procedure I've heard Mitsubishi wants to have done.

I have the same unit to two bedrooms upstairs. Absolutely love it and electric bill dropped about 20%.
Mine is just deck screwed down on a small platform of deck type pt wood.

 

[Woodeye]

You won't need rubber feet, smooth as silk and the fan runs at various speeds depending on demand. Mine is mounted on angle iron directly to wall outside my office. Mine is a Panasonic, the AC function works great.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

You won't need rubber feet, smooth as silk and the fan runs at various speeds depending on demand. Mine is mounted on angle iron directly to wall outside my office. Mine is a Panasonic, the AC function works great.

lennyzx11, Woodeye, thank you gentlemen. It sounds like I should nail it down with some short lag bolts and move on to installing the heating element and water sensor and then all the lines up to the head unit.

My motivation:

 

[Carl_NH]

Hello Eric.

I am about to embark on a similar installation - are you running two 9k indoor units or a single or 12 and a 6k indoor?

We want to heat and cool two areas - a downstairs area 30x30 and upstairs bedroom 16x20 so debating two 9k separate units vs 1 18k with a 12k head downstairs and 6k upstairs. The single 9k units matched to one interior unit are the most efficient - trying to decide one or two units ??

We have a primary heat source 90% eff oil boiler but want to reduce oil further and this will be 60% hearing and 40 % cooling here on the coast of Nh

We get down to -5 or -10 only a few week in winter and summer it's usually only a a few days above 90.

Thanks in advance

Carl

 

[RalphVa]

Our Fujitsu unit runs 12k and 7k indoor units here in the basement. Think you can run several indoor units off one outdoor one.

Quietest and smoothest of the 3 units we have until the latest Carrier. Other 2 are Carrier variable speed ones running on (I think its) 24v DC. The newest Carrier unit is equally quiet to the Fujitsu unit. The Carrier units are conventional ones.

Never hear any of the indoor units or circulators any more.

Ralph

 

[lennyzx11]

lennyzx11, Woodeye, thank you gentlemen. It sounds like I should nail it down with some short lag bolts and move on to installing the heating element and water sensor and then all the lines up to the head unit.

My motivation:

I did have one uh oh. I really wanted to install it under the deck. But after starting installation it was realized from the instructions that the vertical height it could be "below" the wall units had a limit. Since my wall units were going in a 2nd story. I had to place the outside unit at ground level 1st story rather than what would be basement level on my hillside yard.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Hello Eric.

I am about to embark on a similar installation - are you running two 9k indoor units or a single or 12 and a 6k indoor?

We want to heat and cool two areas - a downstairs area 30x30 and upstairs bedroom 16x20 so debating two 9k separate units vs 1 18k with a 12k head downstairs and 6k upstairs. The single 9k units matched to one interior unit are the most efficient - trying to decide one or two units ??

We have a primary heat source 90% eff oil boiler but want to reduce oil further and this will be 60% hearing and 40 % cooling here on the coast of Nh

We get down to -5 or -10 only a few week in winter and summer it's usually only a a few days above 90.

Thanks in advance

Carl

Carl, this is a single 18,000 pound unit, Mitsubishi's newest single head version. The house is relatively small and I'm only interested in providing AC upstairs. I liked the idea of constantly running feature like a "too small" unit would in order to knock down the humidity. The house was built in 1959 long before in-floor heating or thermal mass heaters. In my area everything is propane based and thermal mass with in-floor heating as a primary heating system is the hot ticket in genuinely cold winter areas but that isn't an option for this house without extensive messing around. This house has a boiler-based baseboard propane heating system. All I could do to tune up the original boiler was install a new boiler--which I did a couple of years ago before I moved in.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I did have one uh oh. I really wanted to install it under the deck. But after starting installation it was realized from the instructions that the vertical height it could be "below" the wall units had a limit. Since my wall units were going in a 2nd story. I had to place the outside unit at ground level 1st story rather than what would be basement level on my hillside yard.

My location should "tuck away" as good as I can hope for on this house. Even so, a concern I have with the location is that the hill is on the east side of our lake and the hill acts like a venturi increasing the speed of the wind. Mitsubishi says too not install the base unit in windy areas. From the photo, you can see that the base is big enough to mount a baffle.

That all said, I don't understand why wind is bad for a condenser as it is a heat exchanger. Nothing I read offered an explanation about this, so if anybody knows what the wind story is, fill me in.

 

[SirReal63]

Eric, it is my understanding that the variable speed fan can be disrupted by high winds, which could potentially burn out the fan motor.

 

[joefromga]

Carl, this is a single 18,000 pound unit...

Wow, that's heavy. How did you lift it with your 6010?

My units are only 75 pounds each!