M
OK , Here goes. If you live in a climate that gets very cold winters than the only model of a/c on the market that works year round is the friedrich. They are about the best on the market for mini's, very well built. Mine have been running for 4 years with maybe 2 weeks of down time total. If the weather doesnt get that cold then the mitsu's are excellent also.
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
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".
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".
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
You need a 3.5 ton.
4000 btu per 1000w light x 10 = 40000 btu / 12000 btu per ton = 3.3 Ton. I'd say going with a 4 Ton AC will do you a great service as you will be fine during the summer with the extra heat radiating through.
Lots of wall-mount fans help air circulation. I run a flat garden w/ reflectors on tables, so it's easy for me to do. But yeah, a mini split's air handler is very weak compared to a full-sized sheet metal box.
As far as ducting, though, it will likely cost you extra $$ to get a good square-to-round (if that's what you want) shroud fitting made for the air handler. Just about any sheet metal shop should be able to make you one, in the $75 - $125 range. HVAC shops will simply order 'em from the sheet metal shop mostly, and of course take their cut.
I'm using multiple mini-split's in my situation because I felt uncomfortable doing a DIY copper pipe sweat for the first time w/ a live refrigerant line. I remember watching a HVAC guy do it once, involving cooling down the pipes with lots of cold water, some temperature measuring, and worst of all, knowing what #'s to read off the manifold gauge for that line set they ran. I think there might be some full-sized units with flared fittings, but I don't think they're too common.
(I'm not terribly fond of Excel Air systems, personally, and it's not primarily due to price.)
Mini-splits operate on the new R410A refrigerant and you don't have to be licensed to install one. The older R134 models are the ones people need certification for, discharging r134 can result in a fine....
Mini-splits operate on the new R410A refrigerant and you don't have to be licensed to install one. The older R134 models are the ones people need certification for, discharging r134 can result in a fine....
mcattak, it's not a very cost-effective option for most applications, neither is it a performance-effective option. It is quite limited real-world flip/flop application because the "off" room will oftentimes need cool air from dehumidifiers, etc. Check out my flip/flop thread on IC utilizing 14" Honeywell dampers (the Excel Air system uses 12") and return fans. I've tried a few different combinations, including the dampers switched along with lights (which is what the Excel Air damper system does, basically), dampers that demand-open with a single thermostat, and dampers that demand-open with two thermostats.
It's not worth it 90% of the time IMO. I can't really think of the 10% of the time where it'll truly be worth it, but I'm sure there's an exception somewhere.
Actually I just thought of a part of the 10% where t'll be worth it:
When you're trying to safely squeeze every last amp from your service, and having two separate units and not being able to guarantee that they won't both kick on at the same time and trip the main breaker, or such... when you need a continuous flow of cold air at any cost without peaks... I guess that's where it'll be worth the efforts & costs. (I've actually run into this type of a amp-squeezing scenario more times than I'd like to admit.)
Mini-splits operate on the new R410A refrigerant and you don't have to be licensed to install one. The older R134 models are the ones people need certification for, discharging r134 can result in a fine....
I also heard that ac don't run as efficiently at higher altitudes so you need to size up about 25%... Has anyone else heard the same?
tight tight tight
can anyone comment on this?
.
I read that a commercial cooling tower is 3-8% less efficient at 5000ft as opposed to at sea level.....
Don't know if it applies to conventional AC though.
I was talking to an HVAC guy here is CO that "specializes" in commercial grows but I think he was just trying to sell me more equipment then I needed. He claimed 25%... He also wanted to charge me $4,500 for a mechanical drawing when I supplied him with the original mechanical CAD file! That's what made me decide plug n play is the way to go. No drawings, no permits, no problem!
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".
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