Installed a 24k btu Mrcool DIY minisplit

[Highbeam]

For many years I've been impressed with and wanted to install a minisplit into my 1963 built 1700 SF home in the PNW. I'm up in the hills so we get single digit temperatures with wind and recently weeks in the upper 90s. Not terribly humid though. I live in an agricultural area so no trees for shade.

This old house was heated with electric baseboard heat and then wall heaters but since I bought the place in 2006 I have been a 100% wood heater. No ducts and 8' ceilings. I did add insulation to the attic and crawlspace along with double pane windows since we moved in.

The wife hates how these minisplit indoor units look. So we chose to put it on an exterior wall in a less than ideal location in a laundry room off of the main hallway. It's not a room with a door but kind of a connecting hallway. The inside unit "blows" into the main hallway. Now that I've been using it, I'm really glad it's not right in the living room. These things are noisy and blow all the time unless they're totally shut off. The conditioned air, at least in summer, makes it throughout the entire single story home with only about a 2 degree differential from that hallway to the farthest corners. Big relief here. I was very worried that I would get a conditioned hallway and the rest of the home would not be conditioned.

Knowing that I only need to burn about 60# of firewood in my 80% efficient stove during the coldest weather I was able to consult the performance chart and find that at 5 degrees outside, the 24k btu unit makes the equivalent amount of heat as that 60# of wood. In other words I used my wood consumption to size this heat pump for 100% of winter heat. This means it is oversized for cooling duties which was evident as it loafed along at idle or stopped pumping refrigerant at times when it was 97 outside.

I picked the DIY unit not because I was afraid of making flares but because I could install it myself and keep the full warranty. These chinese minisplits are all made in the same factory so for me it was about warranty and tech support if needed since it is geared to the DIY crowd. The DIY unit is not an ultra low ambient temperature heater like some of the hyper heat models. Still, consult the performance chart and it is rated to do what it needs to.

I mounted it outside on a concrete slab. I installed a yard drain for condensate routed to my downspout disposal system that takes it far away.

Install was easy except for fighting the thick copper lineset. You're not allowed to cut it since these lines are prevacuumed and precharged. The O-ring connectors were very simple. The lineset is 25' long and you are required to coil the extra horizontally flat with the ground. That sucks. ALmost all videos of installation, even by the MR cool company, show storing this coil vertically which would be much easier. I took pains to make sure it was horizontally coiled and contstantly sloped down to the compressor.

Simple 10 gauge dedicated 240volt 25 amp circuit with disconnect and convenience outlet within 25 feet.

So far we're really happy with the noise level and distribution from the laundry room. Purchase price was 1900$ and my utility is supposed to give me an 800$ rebate. It looks pretty good back there too with the other mechanical type stuff. The outside unit is really quiet with the biggest sound being the fan blowing when it's ramped up.

 

[Highbeam]

more photos, everybody likes photos!

I was allowed to mount the outside unit 12" from the wall but I went with 15" to make room for the coil. The coil can have a 4" bend radius so it's good but bending it was very stressful since it could kink and you would never know. The line is wrapped in that insulation from the factory.

 

[begreen]

Congratulations! It looks like you did a very clean installation. That should help save a lot of wood. I am surprised to hear a noise complaint. I have been in many houses with Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, and Daikin mini-splits and they are quiet. We had a Panasonic in a rental and it had to be on high to hear it in AC mode. Our portable AC makes much more noise.

This will be a good week to test. It must have been around 50 in your area this morning, but it's supposed to go up to 90 in a couple of days.

 

[SpaceBus]

Clean install and nice siding!

 

[Highbeam]

Congratulations! It looks like you did a very clean installation. That should help save a lot of wood. I am surprised to hear a noise complaint. I have been in many houses with Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, and Daikin mini-splits and they are quiet. We had a Panasonic in a rental and it had to be on high to hear it in AC mode. Our portable AC makes much more noise.

This will be a good week to test. It must have been around 50 in your area this morning, but it's supposed to go up to 90 in a couple of days.

It’s not too noisy where it’s at but it’s a large unit and blows all the time. Sound level is less than the refrigerator but our house is quiet. Wood heat is silent. We notice new noises and enjoy the absence of them. The constant blowing would be unfortunate too. It’s not a light blow but pretty heavy at the lowest setting. Again, totally tolerable if it’s far away from your seating position.

The outdoor unit is pretty quiet also. A little buzz/hiss from the compressor and a low tone fan blowing sound. Can’t hear it inside and it’s very near a bedroom. The slab and those rubber mounts help I think.

One other weird thing. The remote thermostats fir these things are “line of sight” so I can’t put them in the living room as planned. The onboard thermostat works for the laundry room but I’m trying to condition the house. I found a place that works but this was a surprise.

Humidity control is fantastic. Lots of water has left the home. Noticeable in our sinuses.

The real test will be heating season.

 

[Highbeam]

Clean install and nice siding!

Thanks. The siding is 1-1/8” butt lap cedar and the vertical is milled out of 3/4” cedar planks. Soffits are 1/2” cedar t&g. Honestly, we’ve been considering a switch to cement products.

 

[SpaceBus]

Thanks. The siding is 1-1/8” butt lap cedar and the vertical is milled out of 3/4” cedar planks. Soffits are 1/2” cedar t&g. Honestly, we’ve been considering a switch to cement products.

Why switch? It looks great and is in great shape. It's hard to beat cedar. The cement does look good and it would be hard for me to chose between cement board and cedar siding if building new.

 

[EbS-P]

It’s not too noisy where it’s at but it’s a large unit and blows all the time. Sound level is less than the refrigerator but our house is quiet. Wood heat is silent. We notice new noises and enjoy the absence of them. The constant blowing would be unfortunate too. It’s not a light blow but pretty heavy at the lowest setting. Again, totally tolerable if it’s far away from your seating position.

The outdoor unit is pretty quiet also. A little buzz/hiss from the compressor and a low tone fan blowing sound. Can’t hear it inside and it’s very near a bedroom. The slab and those rubber mounts help I think.

One other weird thing. The remote thermostats fir these things are “line of sight” so I can’t put them in the living room as planned. The onboard thermostat works for the laundry room but I’m trying to condition the house. I found a place that works but this was a surprise.

Humidity control is fantastic. Lots of water has left the home. Noticeable in our sinuses.

The real test will be heating season.

Nice work! I imagine that the natural convection with the unit up high blowing cold air would be more efficient than during heating season. Enjoy the hassle free heat!

60 # a day you’ve done some good weatherization! The heatpump and your wallet will thank you!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I’ve been looking hard at these. The economics don’t work out yet, but I won’t want to mount window ACs forever.

 

[stoveliker]

I have mine blowing parallel to the ceiling when in cooling mode (and dow to the floor when heating). So no sitting in an airflow when cooling.

I always advise people to get a unit where the airflow can not only be directed up/down, but also left/right for this reason.

Also my unit only blows hard when it's more than 3 degrees away from the setpoint, otherwise it's very quiet. It's rated at 19-22 dB (inside).


The outside unit is so quiet that I had a window open next to it when it was being installed and I didn't hear a thing, so me with my big mouth told the installers it wasn't working. They told me to go stand before the indoor unit and indeed it was working ...

 

[hockeypuck]

more photos, everybody likes photos!

I was allowed to mount the outside unit 12" from the wall but I went with 15" to make room for the coil. The coil can have a 4" bend radius so it's good but bending it was very stressful since it could kink and you would never know. The line is wrapped in that insulation from the factory.

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I installed a 24k a couple of years back. We love it. Use it for heat more than cooling. By the way, I am envious of your overhangs..... I told a friend that the retirement home that I build will have 2 foot overhangs on all sides. I have a vacation cottage built with those and it is amazing the effect on the siding. Paint every 12 years as opposed to 4.