Anyone out there Have a Mini-Split Heat/Ac unit?

[rademamj1]

I got four of the Mitsubishi models installed in my condo unit now since 2007. Highly reliable. Interestingly, for one of my isolated interior bedrooms, the inside blower unit is over 75 feet from the outdoor unit and still cools effectively. I have had much less difficulty with these over the central AC systems in my rental houses. Just added a large workshop with 925sq-ft office and have installed two minisplit AC in just one weekend. Commercial electrican provide all necessary power plugs, and i used my tractor to position the outside units onto concrete pads for install.

 

[tallyho8]

My wife wants it cold (69 degrees) at night. Running the central and cooling the whole house that much was very expensive. We put a small window unit in the bedroom to cool it so we could leave the central on 79 during the night. The window unit, even though it was quieter than the average one, was too noisy to hear the tv without making it super loud.

We got a small mini split system that I installed myself and have never been happier. We actually can not hear it run on low speed and can't hear it at all on medium speed with the tv on at low volume. It cut my electric bill down a lot.

PS I've been to 34 different countries in the last 10 years and they all use these systems. I have not seen but about 2 window units in different countries in all my travels. Since they started making the window units in Asia most parts are impossible to get for them and they are considered throw-away units now.

 

[Frankenkubota]

My garage/shop/apt are in a separate building from the house, shop on one end, apt on the other, parking in between.

I just last week signed off on 2 Mitsubishi mini splits, 1 for the shop, 1 for the apt.

About $6K I think

 

[RalphVa]

With all this crazy heat and cold weather this looks like a great upgrade.

The good?
The Bad?

Thanks!!!

We've 2 Fujitsu inside units and 1 outside. The 1 outside can serve 5 other inside units. Quiet. Efficient. No backup heat coils. Main heat pump servicing the basement area failed recently. It was nearly a month before we got a replacement. In the meanwhile, the Fujitsu kept the basement nice and cool and probably cooled the main floor some. Fujitsu units are about 9 years old.

Only downside is the ugliness of the refrigerant lines. Better to be designed into the house.

 

[mikester]

I have been using 2 mitsubishi cold climate mini-splits for 4 years and have been happy with them so far. Quiet and energy efficient, never had any issues with getting enough heat even at -30oC. A/C is a bonus. Baseboard heaters have not been used in 4 years. I would buy them again.

 

[jpolcyn]

Go with Mitsubishi or nothing at all! They are great units.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Excellent Info, Thanks! I WILL have a mini-split in my shop by next summer (need to insulate first). It is only 670 sqft so I imagine I can get a pretty small unit. Plan on going with Mitsubishi and have my HVAC tech neighbor install it.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I installed four Fujitsu mini split units when I retired 19 years ago. All are still working and have had no problems whatsoever.

The only down side to the mini splits is the slight fan noise and the wall units can be a bit unsightly. The filters in the units should be cleaned at least twice a season, perhaps more if you have pets. Like all air conditioners, it's important to keep air flowing through the unit for a period of time after the A/C is turned off. Most have a "fan" setting for this which dries up moisture that can causes mold & mildew on the coils. If this isn't done, the wall units can develop a musty smell.

As a matter of fact, I'm having a new heat pump mini split installed in my garage / workshop this week.

 

[3Ts]

I have an LG mini-split that I installed 7 years ago. The only repair it's needed is when a fan bearing went out. I needed to replace the bearing and fan assembly at a cost of around $100 (if I remember right) for materials and for the HVAC company to come out and do the replacement.

 

[GSVette]

I have 2 units one Mitsubishi unit installed in our current residence (16k btu unit used to heat/cool master suite and upstairs bedroom) and a Mr Cool DIY 36k btu unit I installed in my 2400 sf shop building.

Very happy with performance of both units. The DIY unit was less than 1/2 the cost of the installed Mitsubishi unit.

Currently am spec’ing installation of Mitsubishi units using the ‘hidden’ cassettes for our retirement home-have the advantage of no intrusive wall unit-we’ll see if they pencil in on a cost and performance basis as I get sizing info and bids from a couple of HVAC contractors.

I cannot really give you any cons other than you cannot expect a mini split ( or really any heat pump) to raise room temperature quickly-they are very good (when properly sized) at maintaining temperature in an appropriately insulated building-which is why I generally set the desired temperature and leave the unit on Auto full time.