Picture and question: 4k cooling via mini-split AC

[Charles-scott]

Nice setup Charlie. A pallet of shitty Chinese mini-splits, nice. I heard a lot of them are made in the same factories they just put different brand labels on them *shrug*.

They are indeed mostly from the same factory panasonic are what we purchased .
You can buy fujitsu and a few others with charged lines this is not difficult we just installed a york 5 ton that had the charged lines it was simple just attache the lines use a wrench to open the line and cycle on the compressor .
We used the 1.5 Ton units in some of the rooms at the research facility but I would just install the 2 ton unit unless your worried about power load but if your building new I assume you just went for a 200 amp service .
You don't need a pad for a mini split all of Mexico and South America has the compressor's mounted on the exterior walls of buildings a 2 ton Split compressor is not very heavy , these units are easy to install seriously tact1 its one of the easier parts to room building and design if you wanted to consider a goodman / Carrier the air handler for a 3 ton is only 37.5" tall x 30" wide and deep the exterior unit is a whole lot bigger than a Mini Split but if your going to build a beautiful little play land like your planning just do it right my Ac tech charges me $350 Canadian to set up a unit plus r410 etc
Charles

 

[queequeg152]

Damn, this is not a legal state so I cant be too straight up, of course emphasize I seek quality one-time job over saving a few hundos. I need a cover I guess in a way to justify shy I am getting the mini-split @ 18k right there. As far as all your excellent questions, could I just boiler plate read those off, if nothing else to emphasize I seek a quality install? Because I could never verify all that shit in reality I feel like.

its worth your time to educate your self prior to making this decision and shelling out the money... just get on youtube and watch as many install videos as you can stomach. some of them are wrong in just about ever way, but there are many good videos you can watch.

you dont have to justify shit to an hvac tech. i dont know what your situation is, but just tell the dude you want this piece of equipment installed here. you could be doing anything in this space... aquariums, reptiles, wood shop, home office .... theres any number of reason why you would want the space air conditioned.

if they try to sell you on a smaller system, just tell him a good friend told you do install this system blah blah what ever. who cares.

they dont know the scope of the basement renovation... for all they know its going to be fully finished.
regarding the size of the AC, there is NOTHING suspecious about a larger than necessary air conditioner.

almost everyone installs larger than necessary air conditioners... its just standard practice in most of America to install hvac systems poorly.

They are indeed mostly from the same factory panasonic are what we purchased .
You can buy fujitsu and a few others with charged lines this is not difficult we just installed a york 5 ton that had the charged lines it was simple just attache the lines use a wrench to open the line and cycle on the compressor .
We used the 1.5 Ton units in some of the rooms at the research facility but I would just install the 2 ton unit unless your worried about power load but if your building new I assume you just went for a 200 amp service .
You don't need a pad for a mini split all of Mexico and South America has the compressor's mounted on the exterior walls of buildings a 2 ton Split compressor is not very heavy , these units are easy to install seriously tact1 its one of the easier parts to room building and design if you wanted to consider a goodman / Carrier the air handler for a 3 ton is only 37.5" tall x 30" wide and deep the exterior unit is a whole lot bigger than a Mini Split but if your going to build a beautiful little play land like your planning just do it right my Ac tech charges me $350 Canadian to set up a unit plus r410 etc
Charles

i dont get why people get so nutty with avoiding a standard evacuation and refrigerant charging... compared to what you folks spend on growing stuff, a vacuum pump and micron gauges and manifold gauges... brazing equipment... a handfull of other tools... the cost is little in comparison.

get a section 608 card... i got one with like 2 weeks worth of lunch breaks spent in study. its trivial, and will give you the rudiments of refrigerant handling recovery and charging.

 

[Granger2]

Have a story ready. So you're a photographer, you do weddings and will do your own processing the old fashioned way. You'll have lots of equipment giving off heat [enlargers, coupla printers], you can't be sweating on product. You need exhaust to remove fumes from color developing chems. Read up a bit. Same story for an electrician.

Or you can install a Friedrich Breeze yourself with a helper. This is your most secure option. Good luck. -granger

 

[tact1]

Awesome advice so far.

 

[queequeg152]

that friedrich breeze thing is interesting. never heard of it before now. ill have to read about it.

 

[Granger2]

Yeah the Breeze comes sealed with 25' of tubing and wiring. You roll up and secure the excess. I almost bought one 2 years ago, but for complicated reasons I replaced my Friedrich Thru the Wall unit with a slightly higher capacity unit just like it. They're good and pretty efficient, got 8 years out of the previous unit running 24-7 with Lat 30 degrees Summers. I still question that decision, but it would have caused financial hardship for 2-3 months. So I'll wait till this one goes out. Oh well. -granger

 

[tact1]

Got a quote today for the 15k btu mitsu mr slim @ 21 seer, purchase of unit (they would not install one bought separate they said), and install for $4000.

Told them I could get it online for $1800 and could they just do a simple install, no warranty, no service obligations (as I don't want them back out there anyway). He said no, they reserve the right to make a profit on the equipment purchased. Sooo yeah, got three more going to give quotes.

 

[tact1]

Got a quote today for the 15k btu mitsu mr slim @ 21 seer, purchase of unit (they would not install one bought separate they said), and install for $4000.

Told them I could get it online for $1800 and could they just do a simple install, no warranty, no service obligations (as I don't want them back out there anyway). He said no, they reserve the right to make a profit on the equipment purchased. Sooo yeah, got three more going to give quotes.

BTW, this is based on the decision to have a two-1k light grow room for now instead. Thus the 15k btu.