After decades of toughing it out I’ve decided to add AC to my lil crib. Probably next year as I need to update my service entrance first and things move slowly here these days. Anyway about 900 sq ft, very open plan and reasonably efficient. Shaded wood land setting. Unit would almost never be used for heat and way under average for cooling.
A minisplit is the obvious choice here, the question is what to buy. I’m seeing incredible pricing on DIY units from all sorts of sources with acceptable sounding stats and warranties. Install is no problemas.
Meantime my long time friend is an AC contractor and he’s just livid with the notion I’d buy one of the low priced DIY units rather than from him. Rest assured there is no intent there to get in my pocket, he just thinks the DIY ones are a bad value. Me of course I’m thinking I could replace the DIY unit 3 times before paying for the “name brand”. Of course throw away isn’t in my lexicon but it’s a frame of reference on the cost/value thing. Warranty info is similar on the DIY units compared to big brand. Of course warranty claims on a DIY unit ordered from bumfuzzle would be problematic but I wonder how often they might occur, I’ve had very few warranty claims on about anything in my life.
So what are thoughts on this? Thanks in advance.
Replies
This sounds like a case of, "Where you stand depends on where you sit".
I agree with you.
If you can drill and seal the holes, hang the equipment so it does not fall down, wire correctly and connect the plumbing per instructions, it should be fine. This is not really rocket science.
The biggest question is capacity, and matching the unit to the expected heat gain of your place.
You could be up front and ask your friend if he has actually serviced such units,or if his impression is based on stuff he has heard.
Not sure how close a friend, but you may want to ask if he wants to give it a once over after you put it in.
If your friend wants to cut you a deal on price, it may change the calculus some.
All good points.
Install does not intimidate. Though retired I still have a contractors license backed up by decades in the trades. Still have my tools.
Capacity calcs isn't as big a concern with minisplits as with forced air stuff, you can go a lil big with little ill effect other than initial cost. I could even calculate it but am too lazy. It will boil down to my guess and hvac friends guess.
I do intend to grill friend a bit more about his experiences with other makers equipment but mostly he just refuses to service such things now days. I did build a cabin for a guy maybe 10 years ago where home owner supplied a new Mitsubishi minsplit and friend agreed to install it. He hated it and had numerous call backs but I think it was because the mini couldn't deal with the power outages frequent to the area. That was in the early days of minis.
Having friend review my ideas is a given. Just yesterday I helped him shoot some grades as a favor, we often help each other on all sorts of things. And I will remind him of all that when it comes down to the actual price possible.
Can’t speak for longevity, but for ease of installation the DIY Mr. Cool that my son just installed was very easy. Although he lives in Vermont, where the HyperHeat units are the best for our below-zero temperature in the winter, he really only needed the cooling capacity for this unit, for an upstairs space. It does have heating capacity too, just not as much as the more efficient, and expensive, units. Ninety percent of mini-split installation is grunt work. Even if you opt for a more expensive non-DIY brand to install yourself you can get a pro to do the last bit, charge the lines and confirm it works, but check what the warranty says about DIY, non-pro installation. I bought a mod-con boiler a few years back and installed it myself. I had my LP gas supplier, who also installs heating systems, come to commission the boiler, which kept my warranty intact.
All good considerations.
Longevity and reliability is my chief concern while also considering value. Of course at the end of the day it's unknowable but I usually try my best to get all the info possible, make the best guess and roll the dice.
Also a good point about heating capabilties, good thing is that's low priority as I've gotten by fabulously for decades with a wood/solar gain system. So the fact that the more expensive ones have better heating capablities is little draw. The SEER rating is a big consideration though, I've not gotten down to the point of actual comparison there. Good thing is that's the one easy thing to interpret.
I don't think the DIY units could get much simpler to install and it's only a couple miles to my friends place and he'd help if I ended up with a setup requiring line charge and such. I'd just have to listen to a certain amount of whining and dire predicting.
Good point about the warranty and pro install, I read one of the DIY warranties that mentioned that. I'm always skeptical of warranties on anything, it seems like most are void on any day spelled with a "y" in it anyway.