Rather than simply saying they're junk, can you provide some actual information? Do they fail prematurely, break down often, or what?
I don't have a dog in the fight, I just want to know.
They do all of that, lol...
First- in a lot of cases with units above 2 tons and 2 rooms, central ac is less expensive to install.
Then my other main issue with them is and other products in the hvac industry as of late is, they are made to be "throw aways", plastic blower wheels, plastic linkages, small non lubed, open case motors, tiny overrated components, poorly made control boards, etc etc
So what happens is, parts are not available and won't be, when these units are "updated" and put out of production, you will not be able to get parts at all.
An ac unit should be a permanent fixture with at least a 25 year lifespan, 30 is ideal, since we sell 30 year mortgages, its nice to know that on a new home to the first financed owner, the roof, siding, hvac, flooring, counter tops, plumbing fixtures, etc are capable of lasting for that 30 years, so when its paid off, you can remodel and update it with another loan, lol...
AND if you look at and put your hands on any mini split duct less on the market and think to your self "wow, this is well made and will last me a 1/4 century, then I have some really expensive slightly used socks to sell you....
They are what all industries are becoming and what we as consumers should be smart enough to see through. DISPOSABLE DEVICES, They figured out long ago a well made product loses money, not in the sense of real loss, but in the sense of future loss.
If they sell us a tv that lasts 40 years, that will stall technology, because they sold you a tv, its good for 40 years why buy another one, sure some will buy the newest and best thing, BUT them numbers are nothing compared to the amount of people that will buy the new units when their old unit has failed.
Same thing with cars, do you think they can not produce a car that will last 5 times as long with out major repairs as they do? Of course they can, but then they wont sell as many cars, so they would have to charge a lot more for the car, and not just because it would cost more to produce, because them using a bit thicker, superior materials is only a small percent vs what they are doing now, selling you a car every 4-5 years vs every 8-10 will cut their sales in half...
SO ANYWAY, back on mini splits, they are made to be disposable units, I have had service calls on new (under a year old) mitsu, pioneers, daikin, sanyo, etc (I say pioneer is a better unit than the mitsu ever thought of being). So when you compare the numbers, under 5% of ac sales are ductless, BUT 20% of the service calls are on them, AND in them serice calls, the 5-10 year units are getting replaced, where with "real" central Ac systems, they don't get service calls for 10 years and a tiny percent of them are replaced, because they are able to be repaired.
If I go to an older r12 cooling system, which is OLD, and everything is in good shape, but the compressor died... I CAN FIX THAT, I have the choice of 4 manufacturers replacement pumps, I can cut the bad pump out, clean the lines, use hot shot refrigerant, and have it running inside 2 hours for around $700 to the customer, and it will make sense, sure the unit is low seer, but the down time is low, and the system could last another 10 years for $700...
Obviously if its all rotted and the fans are noisy i am going to sell them another unit, BUT keep in mind that unit would be 30 years old, they would be on their 3rd mini split....
AND granted, some people will say, mine works perfect for x amount of years, I believe you, I know there are people out their with lincoln LS's with 200K miles on them, ford 6.4 diesels with 400K, etc BUT the fact is there are junkyards full of them and page after page of owners replacing motors before 80K...
Don't get me wrong, we install a ton of mini splits and mod con boilers, when the customer wants them, we show them the options, and if they still want the junk, we put it in to the best of our ability. And I never say "I told you so" when we are back in under 3 years doing a repair that costs about as much as it costs to replace the unit, and easily destroys the paper thin savings they thought they were getting...
I can't count the residential customers that have fallen pray to this part of the industry. Install a cast iron boiler, install a nice r410a 13-16 seer central a/c, DO NOT FALL for the BS, the industry is trying to push on you.
Here is what I brought up in vegas at the trade show...
Why not jump right in and design a mini split that makes sense...
I can do it with a pencil and notebook paper...
Start with a real chassis, make it so the fan unit and the coil are on solid sliding mounts (like a central ac unit), make them a standard size between all the units. SO when your mitsu fan unit is all busted up and missing teeh, and the the mounts break when you go to remove it, you can just BUY one off the shelf that fits 90% of the units on the market...
NEXT the control, WHY? Whats wrong with switches, a transformer, and relays. They can be bought off the shelf, and for short money, these control boards are a joke, they are charging $500+ for a simple control that came inside of a $900 unit!!!! That is BS...
And all the reps have the same line "we just sell what the engineers design", and I always say "and the engineers design what the executives tell them too"... Execs that are only interested in 1 thing...
SO THAT IS WHY I AM NOT A FAN OF MINI SPLITS... Sure they have their place, their are places a central wont work, I have installed them in peoples closed patios, Trailer homes, tiny offices, bedrooms where they needed a colder climate than the rest of their home for a family members health reasons, etc... Granted their are places where central doesnt make sense, BUT in a garage where you have plenty of space, you can hang a furnace/coil, use a package unit, etc... There are a lot of options, now hopefully the guys that have them will use them sparingly enough where they last to their expectations, I know in an environment where they are going to be relied on as permanent constant indoor air comfort equipment, they are not holding up in comparison with their costs...
