r/DIYHeatPumps

What are some good mini split brands on Amazon/Walmart etc? I cant afford a brand name, and i am sure there is a small handful of unknown brands that are decent.

I’m in Florida, and my old central AC kept indoor humidity around 48 %to 52%. Towels would dry overnight. Since switching to a heat pump, humidity is usually around 62% to 66% even in cooling mode, and towels or workout clothes can take almost two days to dry.

I don’t want to run a dehumidifier all day and drive up my electric bill. The installer said heat pumps focus more on temperature than dehumidification. I’m starting to wonder if something’s wrong with mine, so I’ve been looking into other brands like Mitsubishi and Costway to see how others are doing. Is this normal with heat pumps, or is there a way to improve humidity control?

I have an attached 2 car finished garage I’m planning on using for a gym/ gaming set up. normal ceiling height. I plan on keeping it around 75 when working out in the summer, and probably 65-67 in the winter when I’m working out. Should I spend the extra to get the 18k. Looking at about a 500-600$ difference and I’m not sure it’s worth it.

Hi Group: I am in Texas!!! Last night my mini split in the bedroom started flashing P4. The indoor fan is still working but the outside fan and compressor are off. I have checked resistance on leads of compressor and fan and all are within spec and no shorts to ground, The PCB board looks brand new as my unit is only 4 years old. The coil on the condensing unit is clean. What are your thoughts? New board?

Howdy, I posted this in hvac advice, now posting it here. I recently acquired an MXZ-3C24NA4 24k btu Mitsubishi split unit, 1 am cooling 3 bedrooms, 2 existing, 1 new addition.
All well within distance to outside unit. I also have an MSZ-FH18NA2 and two MSZ-GS09NA wall
units. So 36k btu load on a 24k unit. The minis will not work as hard I hope because I'm adding them to a 2k sq. Ft home. It already has a 5 ton trane. I believe my cooling on the opposite side of the house is poor because the return is closer to the side that gets cooler.
The home is insulated well, in the southwest.
Heated by a pellet stove and never use furnace so heating demand will be minimal if any. Three bedrooms are 180 sq ft. 190 sq ft. And 220 sq ft.
My question is will I over work or stress the heat pump condenser unit with 36k btu? I can find another 9k unit but the 18k unit has more sensors and seems like an upgrade. What do you guys think?

Remote works, switched on and off breaker. Still the problem continues. What are some common problems and how can I fix them at home? Please help as quick as possible!

$353 for a 19 SEER 230V 12k unit

Enjoy 😉

Does anyone know where I can recycle about half a pound of R-134A thats inside a recovery tank? I'm located in Los Angeles

I picked up a GarveeHome 12,000 BTU, 230V mini-split for $380 shipped. It’s advertised as a 19 SEER inverter unit with cooling, heat, dehumidification, and an included installation kit, rated for spaces up to about 750 sq. ft.

I can’t find much real-world information about the Garvee brand, so I wanted to see whether anyone here has installed or serviced one of these or knows who actually manufactures them.

For the price, it seemed worth considering, but I’m mainly concerned about:

• Long-term reliability and parts availability
• Warranty/support if something fails
• Quality of the included line set and flare fittings
• Whether the claimed capacity/efficiency is realistic
• Any common installation issues with these units

Product link: GarveeHome 12k BTU mini-split

Would you install this, or return it and spend more on a more established brand?

https://preview.redd.it/yogq35lr4rjh1.png?width=603&format=png&auto=webp&s=61861d0b684c0f01721f0726d7d5b832bafb6354

I’m building a 3200sqft house in north alabama 1600sqft on each floor. My plan is to do a 2.5 ton mrcool ducted system for each floor. I would like someone to do a manual j to make sure that’s the right size units. I also can’t decide on the type of insulation I want to do spray foam so my utility bill is really low but I don’t know what the long term effects are. The units are variable speed so do I need a dehumidifier if so do I need one for each unit? Do I need an erv?

I have an older (build in 1930s) 1600 sqft 2-level/split-level house in San Francisco Bay Area, CA where our winters and summers are relatively mild -- Upper 30s for occasional winter cold snaps at nights and mid-upper 90s during occasional heatwaves. We dont have an A/C.

Our electricity is expensive, but eventually i plan to replace my aging roof and install solar.

Because our home is two-stories/split-level, its impossible to maintain preferred temperature level in the downstairs bedroom and upstairs bedroom at the same time and i have been eyeing mini-splits for individual room climate control for a while.

Lastly i have some plans for space currently occupied by gas furnace, ducts and soon after the gas water heater.

House Details:

Main floor

• Living room: ~250 sq ft
• Dining room: ~90 sq ft
• Kitchen: ~100 sq ft
• Living/dining/kitchen are connected without doors, so I’d treat them as one ~440 sq ft zone.
• There’s also an open staircase from this area to the second floor.
• Original exterior walls are uninsulated.
• Living/dining/kitchen floors are over an uninsulated crawlspace.
• There’s some attic insulation over the living room, but little/no insulation above the kitchen and dining room.

Second floor

• Bedroom 1: ~150 sq ft
• Bedroom 2 / office: ~170 sq ft -- also used as guest bedroom
• Both have two uninsulated exterior walls.
• Some single-pane windows, although Bedroom 2 also has a large dual-pane French door.
• Attic above is insulated, but the insulation is old and could be improved.
• Upstairs bathroom: ~70 sq ft, located between the bedrooms and opening into the hallway/open staircase.

Primary suite

• This is a newer addition with well-insulated walls and a concrete slab. build off kitchen and a little lower than the main floor due to slab.
• Primary bedroom: ~191 sq ft
• Primary bathroom: ~58 sq ft and the door is basically always open (pocket door)
• Dual-pane sliding door to the yard and skylight.

My current thought is four indoor heads:

• First floor Living/dining/kitchen: ~18k BTU
• Primary bedroom/bath: ~9k BTU
• Second floor Bedroom 1: ~6k or 9K BTU
• Second floor Bedroom 2/office: ~9k BTU

Rather than one large 4-zone condenser, I’m leaning toward two dual-zone outdoor units for redundancy and better zoning:

1. Primary bedroom + Bedroom 1 (2nd floor Bedroom1 is closer to Primary Suite addition)
2. Living room + Bedroom 2/office (2nd Floor Bedroom 2/office is closer to living room).

I’m considering MRCOOL DIY 5th Gen because I’m comfortable doing a lot of the installation myself, but I’m also looking at Pioneer and would potentially hire an HVAC tech to do the refrigerant-side work.

A few things I’d especially like opinions on:

• For a mild Bay Area climate, would you replace the ducted furnace entirely with mini-splits, or keep/replace the central ducted system?
• Does the proposed 9k/6k/9k/18k sizing sound reasonable, or am I oversizing?
• How annoying is having individual wall heads in every bedroom long-term?
• For people who switched from ducted heat to mini-splits, did comfort improve or get worse?
• Would you favor two smaller multi-zone condensers over one large 4-zone condenser?
• How would you handle the bathrooms? I’m assuming they’d get incidental heat plus possibly small electric supplemental heaters.
• If you were starting over, would you still choose mini-splits over a central ducted heat pump?

I’m particularly interested in experiences from people with older Bay Area / coastal California homes where heating loads are fairly low.

Two (2) Carrier 3 ton comfort series slimline condensers, two (2) 40,000 BTU furnaces, ​two (2) high efficiency coil plenum coils, remove and replace all accessible existing ducts, new supply and return plenum, and new deluxe supply and return grills. Includes standard removal and haul away of existing equipment , clean and pressure check lines, new pads, electrical disconnects, drain pans and secondary safety switch, furnace stands. (1) year maintenance and labor, manufacturer 10 year warranty. 2,500 SF dual zone system - $38K