Any Cheap & Reliable 10,000 BTU Mini Splits

[Travinsky]

Hello. We have a 2,100 sf home that needs a 5-ton instead of our current 4-ton, so we thought about getting a mini-split to help out in 2 bedrooms and not have to buy a new A/C. Last week made an appointment at Costco, and the salesman came by today. I nearly fainted when he quoted $5,000 for a 1-ton 21 SEER unit + permitting. With the Costco discount it would be $3,500 installed. Is that a good price and is there a cheaper alternative? I found some on Ebay for $1000, but had a 10 SEER rating.

For a little more I could just buy a brand new 5-ton with the new 410 freon.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[meathooker]

Not a bad price at all. What brand of equipment?

I'd quote that job at 5k all day

 

[Freejack]

Just a quick question; what lead you to believe you need a 5 ton system?

A 4 ton system should be able to cool 2100 SF. Too much cooling capacity, especially in a humid area, can make the house uncomfortable also

Jake

 

[Travinsky]

Meathooker:Brand is Lennox

Freejack: The previous owner took out a permit for a 5-ton about 20 years ago, when I got here the house was foreclosed and the A/C completely stripped, but the guy who the sold me the 4-ton said it would work fine.

Now I'm adding another 300 sf, can the 4-ton still handle it or should I spring for the Mini-Split?

 

[Freejack]

I am currently cooling 2300+ SF on a 4 ton system without issue, house is around 18yrs old. Of course this is in central US (St. Louis) but our summers can get pretty damn hot (100°+ for week plus last year)

Cooling load of course is very dependent on the positionof the home, # of windows, etc. That said, too large a system and the A/C system does not run long enough to draw the humidity out of the air, which can make you just as uncomfortable as a higher temp.

A couple things you can do to help those rooms that are not getting enough cooling: Run your blower fan constantly which helps turn over the air in the house. If you have a standard induction blower motor, it can upgraded to a higher efficiency ECM which will reduce energy consumption when in blower mode (and usually features are lower speed fan setting to reduce noise).

Also make sure there are adaquate returns in each of the rooms. If those rooms are at the end of a long duct run, you can also add booster fans in your ducts to push more air into the room.

Jake

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Just a quick question; what lead you to believe you need a 5 ton system?

A 4 ton system should be able to cool 2100 SF. Too much cooling capacity, especially in a humid area, can make the house uncomfortable also

Jake

My thoughts, too...

BTW, both of my 19 SEER Fujitsu Halcyon Inverter 1.5 ton ductless splits were well under $3k installed (each) around 3 years ago.

Tommy

 

[Travinsky]

I am currently cooling 2300+ SF on a 4 ton system without issue, house is around 18yrs old. Of course this is in central US (St. Louis) but our summers can get pretty damn hot (100°+ for week plus last year)...make sure there are adaquate returns in each of the rooms. If those rooms are at the end of a long duct run, you can also add booster fans in your ducts to push more air into the room.

Jake

None of my rooms has returns and the house was built in 1979. It faces South but only has 3 large windows (5'x6') in front. I will look into the booster fans. Thanks Jake

My thoughts, too...

BTW, both of my 19 SEER Fujitsu Halcyon Inverter 1.5 ton ductless splits were well under $3k installed (each) around 3 years ago.

Tommy

Other than a smaller breach in the wall and higher SEER, I just don't understand why so much when a 12k BTU thru-wall A/C is about $450 + installation. How long before the higher SEER pays for itself?

 

[over40pirate]

Hello. We have a 2,100 sf home that needs a 5-ton instead of our current 4-ton, so we thought about getting a mini-split to help out in 2 bedrooms and not have to buy a new A/C. Last week made an appointment at Costco, and the salesman came by today. I nearly fainted when he quoted $5,000 for a 1-ton 21 SEER unit + permitting. With the Costco discount it would be $3,500 installed. Is that a good price and is there a cheaper alternative? I found some on Ebay for $1000, but had a 10 SEER rating.

For a little more I could just buy a brand new 5-ton with the new 410 freon.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Before deciding to go with a conventional split system, we got quotes for 3 head, 2 ton mitsubishi mini split systems. 2 were between $6800 - $7200
Then there was the "Warehouse" company, that gave us a quote of $12000 !!!

I could have bought the mini split systems and all the extras for install for about $4000, but would have needed a HVAC tech. to evacuate and charge as needed, and sign off as installer, for warranty purposes.
Most split systems are factory charged for up to a 30' line set. But you need to evacuate the line set and evaporator first.

I thought I heard that there was a split system available, which is geared toward diy. I think the whole system comes charged and you just need to screw the connections together, like on a boat ice box conversion refrigeration kit.

 

[over40pirate]

How about this system?
https://www.totalhomesupply.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=19075

 

[Travinsky]

How about this system?
https://www.totalhomesupply.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=19075

This would solve a couple problems: $2,000 cheaper and easy self install.
Just have to try and get extended warranty beyond the factory 12 months.

Thanks for the find.

 

[Travinsky]

I tried doing a search but not many like it, is Freidrich a good company?

 

[Ohmthis]

Travinsky, a split ac system should be designed to work together to heat and cool your house as efficiently as possible. Really its not a plug and play setup. If you up size the ac(including the Acoil), really the duct work should be redesigned also. You would be trying to push an extra 400 cfm or so into a ducting system meant to flow 1600. Get several people to estimate yor co fort problem. It could be as easy as changing ducting and cheaper too. Let us know what you find.

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

If your current split system is reasonably efficient at least 13 seer, along with pricing new systems or AC add-ons, you may want to include pricing in adding R-value using new insulation like closed-cell-foam. I just read an article that showed how you can increase your current AC load from 800 to 1400 SF per ton just by retrofitting with foam. Even doing your own DIY assessment and installation you might discover that your home ceiling and attic are severely lacking insulation something you could correct with traditional fiberglass batting, or that DIY film tinting all your window with 97% heat filtration could make a huge difference. I have a 11 year old split system 9 seer Goodman. I insulated the garage ceiling, tinted my windows and added outside sun screens, tightened all the duct leaks in the attic using aluminum tape. Results my efficiency jumped by 15% and my bill dropped by 10%. Rooms that seems to always stay hot became cool. Consider this before creating a permanent Frankenstein system that you will have to explain when its time to sell.

 

[Travinsky]

... Consider this before creating a permanent Frankenstein system that you will have to explain when its time to sell.

Yep that's what I would like to do, improve the insulation by adding closed cell foam to existing R19. Even though the mini split is efficient, I would prefer to avoid the Frankenstein effect.

 

[cagullett1]

highseer.com

They sell on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-Conditioner-Dehumidification-Ventilation-Installation/dp/B0095V0OYM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408971274&sr=8-2&keywords=mini+split

And there have been a couple people on here who have documented their installation process: http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=247895

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

Don't get me wrong as Im also advance researching DIY mini-split installations for my home and rental units once one of my traditional central AC R22 Low seer units die-hard (i.e. compressor failure/system contamination). And with a few units over 10 years old to worried about for me it could happen at any time. Point being as long as the current installed unit still functioning but perhaps a little weak, make sure you have looked at all DIY alternatives to improve, diagnose, tune-up, your AC's load capability. One other thing I forgot to mention when I improved my current system is that I discovered after 8 years that my Delta-T (difference between supply and return air temperature) was weak about 12F, after which the addition of 2 pounds refrigerant made all the difference Delta-T increase to 22F. So make sure you or a tech do a Delta-t and superheat/ sub-cooling assessment which may reveal a low refrigerant state. If so try and have the unit refrigerant evacuated/filterd and recharged by weight scale according to the manufacturers specifications for accuracy and no miscalculated mistake in overcharge of the system. 15% loss of refrigerant in residential units is not uncommon and allowed by law, It may cost you $300 to have it done but "IF" performance is sub-par due to low refrigerant loss or initial installation poor charge/loss, it could make all the difference. DIY Delta-T