I have an attic room over a carport (south Mississippi – hot in the summer) and a basement room under construction (will be very humid year round). Fujitsu or Sanyo “mini-split,” ductless heat and air systems from what I’ve been told would be ideal for these rooms. An internet online supplier told me if I was fairly handy that with the help of his tech support people I could put the unit in myself. He did admit, however, that when I was done I would need to have a certified A/C service technician inspect my work. Some of his points to ponder:
1) he recommended two separate systems (two compressors and two air handlers) for the separate rooms as opposed to a multi-zone unit of one compressor with 2 air handlers
2) he said Sanyo (he also sell other brands) is the best unit out there
3) best bang for the buck was his 24K BTU unit for about $2100
Any advice about ductless systems, brand reliability, potential problems, costs, best place to buy, etc. would be most appreciated. Thank you.
Edited 8/2/2008 5:39 pm ET by bayouelton
Edited 8/2/2008 6:09 pm ET by bayouelton
Replies
look on ebay... about 1/2 the price you were quoted... make sure you look for systems with everything... (line sets) as far as i can tell they are all about the same... about all are R410 units... might still be a few old R22 units... most are heat?cool units... not much to the install... don't know how handy you are or your skill set... but... I'm say'n most people on this board could install one even if they never had A/C experience before...
p
widely used in the Caribbean in motels- quiet- very quiet.
I installed a 9000 BTU Hitachi mini-split heat pump a couple of years ago for an office in an out building. From what I've seen they are all very similar in construction and I suspect the only difference on a lot of units is the label. The higher-end units have variable speed (inverter) compressors and they tend to be quieter and more efficient.
HVAC guys will wag their fingers at you but if you are reasonably handy it's not a difficult DIY project. My unit used flare fittings and no soldering was needed to hook up the line set. Refrigerant is pre-loaded in the outdoor unit for lines up to 25 feet, and the indoor unit is sealed with enough refrigerant inside to keep out air & moisture while you hook it up.
You are supposed to pull a pretty good vacuum on the lines after connecting them and for that you might need somebody with a set of gauges and a pump. I've also read that installers in Asia almost never bother with vacuuming the lines, and their units work fine.
Edited 8/2/2008 7:59 pm ET by TJK
Just a point of reference for you. I have a Mitsubishi Mr. Slim ductless-split in my server room here at work and it's been running non-stop without maintenance for over 4.5 years. I would stick with a name brand and go with a R-410a unit if possible for future proofing.
Z
Thanks everybody who wrote in. Did a little more research. Guess the Sanyo guy had a warehouse full of Sanyo's. From what I've been able to gather Mitsubishi is the way to go.