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CannaColorado
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so I am planning out a 10 lighter right now, with the potential of it being an 18 lighter when were all said and threw. So since i am in a resonable climate here in CO 100 max in the summer i was thinking about getting an excel 5 ton from here http://www.westcoastgrowers.com/excelair.htm but its a little over $6k for only 60,000 btu (wasn't planning on running 18 lights with this). Then this morning after puffing on a little grapefruit to start the day i found these
they are the friedrich 30k btu models, and they are only 2,200 dollars so i could essentially get three of these for the same money i was going to spend on the excel units, hence the 18 light expansion project for stage two. It would probably be within my budget to throw an extra 30k btu mini split in there as part of stage two as well.
So what is the catch? I thought a mini split was supposed to be expensive compared to the excels.... i think i might be missing something here. Are these crappy models i am looking at? thanks
If you are going to use co2, you will need roughly 4000btu of ac for each 1k light. Your eventual expansion to 18k will leave you short with a 60,000 btu unit. The 30,000 mini-splits have 650cfm blowers which mounted on opposing walls will deliver plenty of cooling power. 3 of these gives you a total of 90,000btu, more than enough to do the job.
The mini-spllits are not hard to install. the vacuum pump and gauges can be had on ebay for around 80.00 If you want to stay on the up and up, you could do all the install yourself with the exception of vacuuming the lineset and firing up the unit for the first time. these units come with enough freon in them for a specifed footage of lineset. If you don't exceed that footage, no freon will be necessary. That should keep your install cost to a minimum.
The excel air is a great unit, already has the cold weather kit installed. The best thing about this type of a/c unit is the ducting. It puts cold air everywhere in your room. My mini splits i had to put 8 inch can fan max's sitting right in front of them sucking in the cool air and blowing it through 8 inch ducting to the corners farthest away from the mini's.
hope this helps
dds
All of those things, I'm extremely doubtful of after briefly speaking with them.
LMFAO. Watch out for the AC Popo. :icon_spin: On a serious note though, 60,000 vs 90,000 the 90,000 will win every time
i live in colorado but its going inside a garage on the outside of a sealed built room, so i don't think the garage will ever get below -18f without heat and i can put a heater in during the dead of winter, but most the garaged round my parts are pretty well insulated.
These are industry standards.I'm a bit confused about the "pre-charged line" of Excel units.
Does this mean the copper refrigerant line ships filled with high-pressure refrigerant (R410A or otherwise)?Yes Is that safe?Yes Or does it mean more or less the same as other manufacturers, that it's nitrogen-charged? Does it ship with a negative vacuum pressure?No (If you were to press down on the quick connect valve of a new lineset, would it suck air in??)
All of those things, I'm extremely doubtful of after briefly speaking with them.
Seems to me that their lines may have been handled a bit better to prevent moist air from entering. But it would make sense especially seeing their SEER ratings that maybe they're just "support-tolerant" of a compressor running with some air inside,No air or moisture for any refrigerant compressor knowing the scope of the project?
Anyone know for sure?
Don't forget good airflow IN the garage on these compressors, as well as full air exchange of the garage itself.
lthough not perfect) number.
If you want to install your own mini split, you can get most parts locally if you don't want to order online. A mini split adapter fitting from eBay for $10; a vacuum pump from Harbor Freight for $80-ish; and a manifold gauge from Harbor Freight for $50-ish. I know it says R-22 and R-134a only, but you're only pulling vacuum, not charging refrigerant, so it'll be plenty fine for R410a systems).
The manifold gauge is not absolutely necessary but I highly recommend it as you can verify that there is no leaks in your system with it (it should the same level of vacuum for 10+ minutes; I did 2+ hour test to be sure)... why risk ruining a $$$$ system just because you didn't bother to double-check for leaks before start-up? Once you open up the refrigerant lines, if there are any leaks it's pretty much too late and it will generally involve a HVAC tech visit to get it re-charged.
CannaColorado, did I understand you right? You are putting the compressor / condenser (outdoor) unit inside? How will you evacuate the heat?
I've built several rooms utilizing an indoor-concealed outdoor unit. Didn't think too many other people were into that type of thing though and thought what I was doing what somewhat "unique".
I'm a bit confused about the "pre-charged line" of Excel units.
Does this mean the copper refrigerant line ships filled with high-pressure refrigerant (R410A or otherwise)? Is that safe? Or does it mean more or less the same as other manufacturers, that it's nitrogen-charged? Does it ship with a negative vacuum pressure? (If you were to press down on the quick connect valve of a new lineset, would it suck air in??)
All of those things, I'm extremely doubtful of after briefly speaking with them.
Anyone know for sure?
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