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Blueridge Ductless Mini Splits

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shillamus

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Hello everyone. I am glad I found you. This seems like a very useful informative place.

I am researching Blueridge Ductless mini splits.

They seem extremely affordable.. sounds to good to be true?

Has anyone tried one?

http://www.alpinehomeair.com/viewproduct.cfm?productID=453067105

imgCache-BMKHaltremote_500_0.jpg


Many thanks in advance for any advice and review.
 
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shillamus

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miketyler said:
The first one you linked to is a 1.5 ton heat pump and does both heat and AC.

http://www.alpinehomeair.com/viewproduct.cfm?productID=453067105

Pretty good deal for $700 shipped. Both models you posted are identical but the more expensive one includes many of the installation accessories that you may need. Their cost does add up.
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Thanks.. The spec sheet did not say it did heating but that it was a heat pump.

The link for the kit said heat and cool different btus
 
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Falcon67

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Looks good, figure at least another $150 for line set and electrical pieces more or less. Nice unit.
 
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shillamus

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bazar01 said:
That was me. I like the variable speed compressor.
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Thanks Bazar.. How many months do you have on your unit now? Any trouble?

Thanks to all for posting. I am tapped out until spring but don't want to run the baseboards this winter.

I am replacing a Friedrich unit that appears to have a failed compressor. Lineset and electrical are in place,

Bought two Freidrich's. One has been no problem and works perfectly haven't touched it since install 6 years ago. The bigger 18K BTU unit was plagued with leaks over its career. It has to go.:mad:

Thanks if anyone else can share an experience about Blueridge.
 
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shillamus

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Please share your blueridge ductless split experience here..

I am planning on buying in the spring.. has anyone had a problem with them?
 
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edboyles

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I have installed three so far. Two 24K units and one 18k unit at my mothers.

The 24K's were installed in my 40 x 40 x 12 shop in the Fort worth, Texas area and the 18k was installed in a sun room addition in the Savannah, GA area.

No issues so far, and the units are extremely quiet. They have run on both cool and heat cycles so far and will be able to tell more about energy cost over the next 6 months but the units have made little impact on the electric bill so far. Granted it has been a mild winter.....
 
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My Old Tools

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Ed, are you saying you put in two of the 24k units for a single 40x40x12 shop? Do you think it is overkill or is that required to keep up in the Texas heat? My shop is 30x40x12 with a pitched roof to 22'. It is fully insulated with 3" metal building wrap and has one 12x12' overhead door. I was hoping to get by with one 24k unit. Not expecting house temperatures, but tolerable shop temps.
 
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BRENT in 10-uh-C

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My Old Tools said:
Ed, are you saying you put in two of the 24k units for a single 40x40x12 shop? Do you think it is overkill or is that required to keep up in the Texas heat? My shop is 30x40x12 with a pitched roof to 22'. It is fully insulated with 3" metal building wrap and has one 12x12' overhead door. I was hoping to get by with one 24k unit. Not expecting house temperatures, but tolerable shop temps.
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I think you may be a bit undersized based on what info I was given by another manufacturer. I have a 22'w X 50'l (18' ceiling) insulated room inside of a large warehouse. They suggested I use two units at minimum of 12k -and with the option to upgrade one of the units to a 18k if I chose the 15 SEER units. Ultimately I chose two 18k units (21 SEER) because I am using the room for a machine shop and I do not want excuses later on. My thoughts are, if I am at 1,100 sq. feet in eastern Tennessee, your building is 10% bigger than mine in the TX heat & humidity. If they spec-ed mine at 24k, is it going to be enough for yours?

A point that was made is you will have better air circulation using two units in opposite ends of the building.
 
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edboyles

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I have the insulation wrap from when the shop was built but have two large roll up doors which are not insulated and some leakage. a 12 x 16 and a 10 x 12.

The 24k BTU a/c would keep it about 80 degrees on a 100 degree day so I wanted more capacity.

I also had a 40,000 btu pellet stove which would struggle to keep it 60 degrees on cold days.

In hindsight, I wish I had one fewer doors, and that I had a better insulated option on my large roll-up door.

The A/C cost was only about $60/month so I am pretty pleased with the cool. On the heat side, I have them set at 60 degrees and the two units do a good job keeping it there. If we had a a cold snap in the low teens they may not keep up due to the uninsulated doors. Also, the heat rises to my 17' ceiling instead of where the cooler air hangs at floor level.

The two units are on opposite walls and keep the temperature constant.

Your 22' ceiling hight will help in the summer and hurt you in the winter. Some fans might would be needed to move the hot air down.

You are welcome to see my install if you like.......
 
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My Old Tools

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My overhead door is factory insulated, but not yet weather stripped. I guess I can try one then add the other one if I need it. My shop is for hobby use and I still work a full time job, so it won't run all the time. Yes, I think a ceiling fan is a requirement.
 
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shillamus

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We bought a BMHK 1.5 Ton Heat Pump from Alpine Air.. 825$ shipped to the curb with liftgate service. I was not asked about licensing to purchase the unit

We replaced a Friedrich that had a compressor failure. Existing line set, drain and electrical worked but I had left slack in the prior installation which was needed. Getting the indoor unit on the wall was a challenge.. we needed a lot of clearance for the line set.

Documentation was OK.. but I had a very experienced tech help on install and we didn't need to look at them much. I did call Alpine and asked how the drain hose came on and off (it can mount on either side of the pan) and got a person very quickly. I am confident they will have good customer service in place for years.

We didn't have nitrogen to pressure the line so we used the refigerant.. We had leak. Tech said he tried to get as much as possible back inside the outdoor unit. He reflared the 1/2" outside and the leak was gone. The unit is set for 25' of line and we had 12 so we figured the loss was ok. The high pressure side was 115 (psi?). Does anyone know what spec pressures are on the liquid and suction lines? Tech said I was ok at 115 and had 10 degrees of superheat. I have refigerant (from trying to save the Friedrich) can can always add more.

Good to hear Ed's comments above.. I am pleased so far and will keep folks informed here. My total cost on replacement was $1200.. best quote I had was $3K. Alpine and Blueridge make these systems very affordable..

Peace
 
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shillamus

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edboyles said:
You are welcome to see my install if you like.......
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Ed.. How did you handle the line sets? I guess in a garage you aren't worried about aesthetics.

I ran my behind the drywall. At the hole in the baseplate I used "Great Stuff" foam insualtion. When it came time to "stretch" out the line set from Friedrich to Blue Ridge.. It really slowed us down and we had to push and tug. I used it again on the replacement because I am worried vermin will make a home in the indoor unit..

My advice to all.. leave some slack and a way to push and pull if you can so that replacement is easier down the road.. But I think Blueridge will be here for a long time to come
 
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shillamus

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Well the unit has been installed 3 months and the condensate is leaking out the front of the unit on cool. have to keep it in dry constantly
 
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shillamus

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shillamus said:
Well the unit has been installed 3 months and the condensate is leaking out the front of the unit on cool. have to keep it in dry constantly
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Well I sucked out the drain line with a shop vac.. globs of stuff came out. Problem solved

Still not sure how the build up got there so fast. The drain line had been installed for several years with a replaced unit.
 
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mharris2007

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Glad to hear it's working well so far. I'm getting ready to buy a 18,000 btu kit for my 500 sq ft garage from them. I'm going to do 90% of the install and have the hvac guy vac, pressure, test, and fire it up.
 
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shillamus

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My bluerudge ductless split is working great.. It has provided great heat all winter
 
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shillamus

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mharris2007 said:
Glad to hear it's working well so far. I'm getting ready to buy a 18,000 btu kit for my 500 sq ft garage from them. I'm going to do 90% of the install and have the hvac guy vac, pressure, test, and fire it up.
Click to expand...

Is it working out for you?
 
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mharris2007

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Got mine installed yesterday and today. My hvac friend is coming to pressure test and vac it down Thursday. Fingers crossed my flares are good and everything finishes up fine. I bought the 18,000 btu blue ridge kit with some speedi channel line set cover.

Here's a few pics. I'll try to make a post with install thoughts soon.







 
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walrus

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mharris2007 said:
Got mine installed yesterday and today. My hvac friend is coming to pressure test and vac it down Thursday. Fingers crossed my flares are good and everything finishes up fine. I bought the 18,000 btu blue ridge kit with some speedi channel line set cover.

Here's a few pics. I'll try to make a post with install thoughts soon.







Click to expand...

Not sure where you are located but I'd take that condensate drain out a hole in the bottom of first elbow.
 
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mharris2007

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walrus said:
Not sure where you are located but I'd take that condensate drain out a hole in the bottom of first elbow.
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Really? Why? I'm in Southern California. I asked the alpine home air tech guys just that and they said to run it with everything else. I think it looks better ran with everything else too so that there's not this only corrugated drain tubing coming out. The alpine home air guys said slope the drain 1/4" ever foot which in my case is 4" total slope. I did 8" just to be sure gravity carries the condensate down.
 
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mharris2007

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walrus said:
In Maine where I am it might freeze, no problem in so cal
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Totally get it. I only bought it for ac. My garage faces directly east and for whatever reason my garage just cooks. I've never been in my garage even when it was 40 degrees out when the garage was cold. Appreciate your response.
 
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soob

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I'm in the deep south and even in the dead of winter the lights (admittedly I have a lot of them) do 90% of the heating. On a freezing night it stays 65+ in my shop if I leave the lights on.
 
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mharris2007

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soob said:
I'm in the deep south and even in the dead of winter the lights (admittedly I have a lot of them) do 90% of the heating. On a freezing night it stays 65+ in my shop if I leave the lights on.
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I believe it. But even when I'm not in the garage and the lights are off, it's still blazing in there. Really weird.

walrus said:
In Maine where I am it might freeze, no problem in so cal
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I was thinking more about this. And even in Maine you'd still not have to worry about it freezing in my drain setup because there would only be water in the drain hose when you were using the air conditioner (probably not using the ac when it's freezing out). When you use the heater the condensate comes out from the bottom of the outdoor unit.
 
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walrus

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mharris2007 said:
I believe it. But even when I'm not in the garage and the lights are off, it's still blazing in there. Really weird.



I was thinking more about this. And even in Maine you'd still not have to worry about it freezing in my drain setup because there would only be water in the drain hose when you were using the air conditioner (probably not using the ac when it's freezing out). When you use the heater the condensate comes out from the bottom of the outdoor unit.
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That makes sense, guess you don't have to worry about it. I always see them run straight down around here
 
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mharris2007

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walrus said:
That makes sense, guess you don't have to worry about it. I always see them run straight down around here
Click to expand...

I would have done exactly that but if the outdoor unit was located straight down I wouldn't be able to get the trash cans out or anything wide for that matter.
 
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