Mini-Split Airconditioners

[Curly1]

When air conditioners go out has anyone installed the new high energy efficient Mini-split air conditioners? They work really well are small and do not use much electricity at all (less generator load!)

Something like this. https://www.ebay.com/itm/25-Seer-12000-BTU-Ductless-Mini-Split-AC-Air-Conditioner-Energy-Star-110V-WIFI/183226616042

Could mount condenser on rear wall and the inside units where you wanted them. Some people are now using them in car trailers and houses because they are low cost, quiet and super energy efficient plus easy to install.

[moisheh]

We gave 3 mini splits in our house in Mexico. None were made in China. They are great and Workin over 110 temps. But I doubt they would survive in an RV environment. The 110 volt Mexican units sell for around $300.

Moisheh

[FIRE_UP]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

Captain_Happy wrote:
Not sure about mounting them into RV's that the roll down the road, ...

That would be my concern. I don't know how well the compressor and other "outside" components would handle all the rocking and rolling.

Well Sir,
To see how well all those type of components work, in an RV type situation, just look at the thousands of Winnebago and Itascas that were produced from around maybe '00 to about maybe '09 or so. A very, very large percentage of those coaches, were made with "Basement A/C" units. Those are almost the same as a residential mini split. And they are close to regular residential units.

But, in any case, the compressors in those basement units, we have one, last and handle the rocking and rolling that RVs instill on them without issue. Our coach, an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the CAT C-7 330HP, has the basement A/C and at around 15 years old and 89,000 miles of "less than perfect American roads and freeways", that basement A/C is still putting out "tons" of cold air.
Scott

[theoldwizard1]

pianotuna wrote:
Interesting to see a 12 volt unit.

12VDC A/C or heat pumps are still very expensive. (Believe it or not most actually have an inverter built in that creates high voltage 3 phase AC !)

Unless 12VDC operation is a must, stick with 120VAC.

[theoldwizard1]

hypoxia wrote:
I was talking to an A/C tech about mini splits. He said most are made in China by the one company and branded with many brand names.

Mostly correct ! The well know brands in the mini-split business are Mitsubishi and Fujitsu. I am pretty certain they are NOT made in China !

One issue with any heat pump is low temperature operation (heating). Many do not generate significant heat below 30F-40F. Some go much lower (below 0F). It is not easy to understand the specs on some of these so you may need to consult an experts.

Most manufacturers do make A/C only versions of the same units and these are less expensive.

[pianotuna]

Interesting to see a 12 volt unit. Ty Chris.

The web site doesn't work well with Firefox on win 10.

[hypoxia]

I was talking to an A/C tech about mini splits. He said most are made in China by the one company and branded with many brand names. They generally work well.

He said the one thing that you should check in the owner manual is the chart that says "Room Temperature" and under that "Outdoor Temperature" to make sure the Outdoor temperature range says 122 degrees. Apparently some are sold that are good up to 108 degrees and the thermal cutoff will shut it down above that temperature.

[Chris_Bryant]

6-8000 btu/hr split 12 volt units - http://www.cruisencomfortusa.com/work-series

[T18skyguy]

I have a two unit Daiken mini split in one of my rentals. A larger unit in the living room, and a smaller one in the master bedroom. They installed the whole thing in one day. The tenants love it. Very quiet heating and cooling. Very efficient as well. One drawback is the other two bedroom doors need to be open to receive the benefit of it. In Oregon, there was a state tax credit for it. I don't see why it couldn't work well in an RV if it was well secured. It would certainly be much more quiet than the stock furnace that blows more noise than heat.

[theoldwizard1]

Captain_Happy wrote:
Not sure about mounting them into RV's that the roll down the road, ...

That would be my concern. I don't know how well the compressor and other "outside" components would handle all the rocking and rolling.

[theoldwizard1]

rk911 wrote:
we had a mini-split installed at the house last year to warm/cool our enclosed porch. the unit came with and required ~25' of hose and cable. the installer said that the mfg (Daikin) install instructions state that the hoses and cables cannot be shortened or lengthened.

First all reputable manufacturers and distributors sell tubing kits in various lengths.

Second, there is nothing "magic" about the tubing ! It s standard HVAC tubing (NOT typically available at a big box store). That is insulated. The proper fitting can be brazed. The tubing from the factory comes "pre-charged" with refrigerant, so to do it "right" you would have to go with all custom tubing (HVACS guys do this every day), or install the long tubing, start and check that the system is running correctly, evacuate the system, cut the excess tubing out and splice the two piece back together.

[Captain_Happy]

Not sure about mounting them into RV's that the roll down the road, but here in our park in Nevada there about 3 stationary 5th wheels that have them installed. And when the day comes when my 15 BTU unit quits I'll be installing one myself.

[magicbus]

Actually it is a matter of length. We just had a two unit system installed and the installer told me if we didn’t have a 25 foot minimum run he would have to bury some outside. A shorter run will cause the inverter to cycle too often. He mentioned that the house he just bought has the problem because of a poor installation and he needs to fix it. Another issue with our system is it uses flared fittings rather than soldered and they would never hold up. The ducted mini-splits are great systems and can be squeezed anywhere and are really quiet. This was our second installation with the previous one in a 150 year old house.

Dave

[valhalla360]

rk911 wrote:
we had a mini-split installed at the house last year to warm/cool our enclosed porch. the unit came with and required ~25' of hose and cable. the installer said that the mfg (Daikin) install instructions state that the hoses and cables cannot be shortened or lengthened. We were able to stuff the excess hose and cable into a space above a closet. Not sure if this is the case with all mini-splits but anyone interested should be sure to ask.

I suspect it's not an issue of length but the tubing is part of the sealed coolant circuit...the manufacture likely doesn't want to deal with people breaking the seal and then they can't get it resealed and recharged.

Related to that, how will the fittings hold up bouncing down the road...if it's a trailer put at a permanent site and rarely moved, it's probably OK but if there is a lot of towing I would bet the manufacturer isn't going to warranty failures.

I would question going with a 12k btu unless it's a small trailer. Standard RV units start at 13.5k with 15k btu often failing to keep up with a single unit.

Finally, what are the power specs. I suspect, you won't see a dramatic reduction in amps when running at full power.

[MountainAir05]

rk911 wrote:
we had a mini-split installed at the house last year to warm/cool our enclosed porch. the unit came with and required ~25' of hose and cable. the installer said that the mfg (Daikin) install instructions state that the hoses and cables cannot be shortened or lengthened. We were able to stuff the excess hose and cable into a space above a closet. Not sure if this is the case with all mini-splits but anyone interested should be sure to ask.

Yes they all that we have been around are 25 feet. No design to be un connected once installed or the ones we have done. Also ensure they are 110v and not 220v ones.