Mini split wall bracket

[mike93lx]

I want to get my mini split's compressor off the ground, but i am having trouble finding a bracket that will give me at least 28" depth (my Friedrich requires 12" gap to the house) and is not a crappy stamped steel mess.

Short of having something fabricated (anyone interested?), can someone recommend one?

 

[Ohmthis]

I use the "crappy stamped steel mess" most of the time. I've never had a problem with them. Make sure that you use one rated for the unit that will be sitting on it. They make all different sizes so look around.

 

[mike93lx]

I use the "crappy stamped steel mess" most of the time. I've never had a problem with them. Make sure that you use one rated for the unit that will be sitting on it. They make all different sizes so look around.

can you suggest one deep enough? i can't find anything.

 

[dw1]

Can you make one up out of 1 5/8" unistrut. I have made brackets out of it and held/supported more weight than a 100# compressor unit. You could use some 1/4" spring nuts to hold it in place

 

[mike93lx]

Can you make one up out of 1 5/8" unistrut. I have made brackets out of it and held/supported more weight than a 100# compressor unit. You could use some 1/4" spring nuts to hold it in place

Unistrut is what i was going to fall back on if needed

 

[justinjoyal]

8" off the wall is plenty... no worries at all.

The wall brackets we use are about 24" long and work just fine with all the 9-12-15kbtu mini-splits we install.

 

[mike93lx]

8" off the wall is plenty... no worries at all.

The wall brackets we use are about 24" long and work just fine with all the 9-12-15kbtu mini-splits we install.

I imagine it would be, but the manufacturer specifies 12" so that's what u wanted to try for.

Mine is a 24k and is about 15" deep from the back to the front mounting points

 

[justinjoyal]

You'll be fine with 8" off the back..

Aluminium wall brackets are common around here, and very cheap!

 

[bzinsky]

You'll be fine with 8" off the back..

Aluminium wall brackets are common around here, and very cheap!

yes it will "work", and none of us have data to prove this, but I would bet my bottom dollar it has a significant effect on efficiency.

Go the full 12" OP

 

[soob]

Ehhh. The 12" clearance spec is for when the unit is mounted on the ground.

It draws air in from the back, but it doesn't need a lot of clearance since it has a big fan pulling the air in. Also, putting it off the ground allows it to pull in air from underneath which is going to be cooler than it would be if it came from the side or above. You rarely if ever see mini splits wall mounted that far from the building.

 

[txoid]

Ehhh. The 12" clearance spec is for when the unit is mounted on the ground.

It draws air in from the back, but it doesn't need a lot of clearance since it has a big fan pulling the air in. Also, putting it off the ground allows it to pull in air from underneath which is going to be cooler than it would be if it came from the side or above. You rarely if ever see mini splits wall mounted that far from the building.

That's what I was going to say. I bet they have a bracket without that spacing.

 

[soob]

Also, I can say that I mounted mine about 6" from the wall, and you can put your hand behind it and feel that it's both pulling air and that the air that it pulls in isn't hot.

 

[mpire]

I got a new bracket that I ended up not using for the same reason. I look back and think I should have used it. Now it sits in a closet.

 

[justinjoyal]

yes it will "work", and none of us have data to prove this, but I would bet my bottom dollar it has a significant effect on efficiency.



Go the full 12" OP

No "data", but hundreds of installs and satisfied customers.

Good enough for me, and for them apparently.

Ehhh. The 12" clearance spec is for when the unit is mounted on the ground.

It draws air in from the back, but it doesn't need a lot of clearance since it has a big fan pulling the air in. Also, putting it off the ground allows it to pull in air from underneath which is going to be cooler than it would be if it came from the side or above. You rarely if ever see mini splits wall mounted that far from the building.

Exactly.

 

[bzinsky]

No "data", but hundreds of installs and satisfied customers.

Good enough for me, and for them apparently.

I know, I'm sure they work. That is exactly the gripe I have with a lot of hvac technicians. Customers never have any idea how efficient their install is. The only time anybody ever gets a call back is if it doesn't work at all or has very poor performance, and it sets a standard in the industry that the little stuff doesn't matter. I mean it's human nature to cut corners when you hundreds of installations for satisfied customers. Hell you might even get more dissatisfied people because the unit is mounted further off the wall, is uglier, and they don't know why you did it.

For all you know you took a 27 seer unit and made it 22 seer by mounting it 6 inches from the wall. You could do thousands of installations and nobody would ever have a clue. Who on earth is going to know that their electric bill is $8/month more than it should be.

I don't know how much it effects the unit, and neither do you. Airflow is complicated and difficult to measure. All we know is the people who designed the unit spec'd 12" from the wall. The way I see it, it's akin to installing a 2.5 inch exhaust on a car that's supposed to have a 3" exhaust. It's just we have more measuring devices on cars and differences in performance are much more easily perceived than an hvac unit.

 

[handymancanfixit]

yes it will "work", and none of us have data to prove this, but I would bet my bottom dollar it has a significant effect on efficiency.

Go the full 12" OP

I know, I'm sure they work. That is exactly the gripe I have with a lot of hvac technicians. Customers never have any idea how efficient their install is. The only time anybody ever gets a call back is if it doesn't work at all or has very poor performance, and it sets a standard in the industry that the little stuff doesn't matter. I mean it's human nature to cut corners when you hundreds of installations for satisfied customers. Hell you might even get more dissatisfied people because the unit is mounted further off the wall, is uglier, and they don't know why you did it.

For all you know you took a 27 seer unit and made it 22 seer by mounting it 6 inches from the wall. You could do thousands of installations and nobody would ever have a clue. Who on earth is going to know that their electric bill is $8/month more than it should be.

I don't know how much it effects the unit, and neither do you. Airflow is complicated and difficult to measure. All we know is the people who designed the unit spec'd 12" from the wall. The way I see it, it's akin to installing a 2.5 inch exhaust on a car that's supposed to have a 3" exhaust. It's just we have more measuring devices on cars and differences in performance are much more easily perceived than an hvac unit.

Wow!!! That's a lot of speculation.....for all you knows....and...bet my bottom dollars.

FACT: 99.99999999999999999999999% of all minisplit condensers that are wall mounted, use a similar mounting bracket, that does not give 12 inches of clearance.

I would be very interested in any factual information to support your opinions.

 

[justinjoyal]

I know, I'm sure they work. That is exactly the gripe I have with a lot of hvac technicians. Customers never have any idea how efficient their install is. The only time anybody ever gets a call back is if it doesn't work at all or has very poor performance, and it sets a standard in the industry that the little stuff doesn't matter. I mean it's human nature to cut corners when you hundreds of installations for satisfied customers. Hell you might even get more dissatisfied people because the unit is mounted further off the wall, is uglier, and they don't know why you did it.



For all you know you took a 27 seer unit and made it 22 seer by mounting it 6 inches from the wall. You could do thousands of installations and nobody would ever have a clue. Who on earth is going to know that their electric bill is $8/month more than it should be.



I don't know how much it effects the unit, and neither do you. Airflow is complicated and difficult to measure. All we know is the people who designed the unit spec'd 12" from the wall. The way I see it, it's akin to installing a 2.5 inch exhaust on a car that's supposed to have a 3" exhaust. It's just we have more measuring devices on cars and differences in performance are much more easily perceived than an hvac unit.

Whatever floats your boat...

 

[bzinsky]

I would be very interested in any factual information to support your opinions.

https://www.friedrich.com/dms/2017/Installation_Manual_18YJ-CJ.pdf
"more than 12"

http://inspectapedia.com/aircond/HVAC_Clearance_Distances.php

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/close-should-walls-fences-hvac-units-82540.html

https://residential.friedrich.com/Product/ShowBrandDetails.aspx?AcBrandID=6

That's just a few. Not to mention, most spec more 1-2ft clearance for traditional compressors. Compressors that pull air from 360 degrees. Yet a mini split, that only pulls air from one side, is ok being mounted 6" from the wall on the one single side it pulls air from?

It's not the end of the world, clearly there are millions of them mounted 6" from the wall and work fine. But we also know it has to have some effect on efficiency, how much is the big question.

 

[bzinsky]

Whatever floats your boat...

also sorry, I'm still bitter about my trusted hvac guy that was filling my 20 ton unit, didn't have enough refrigerant on the truck and just called it a day. I didn't find out until the end of the summer when it wouldn't keep up with 90 degree day. His response was "oh sorry it's probably just low on refrigerant I ran out last time I was there," like it was no big deal that my electric bills were $500/month more than normal.

 

[mike93lx]

To bring this back, can anyone recommend a specific bracket? I'm currently eyeing the Quick Sling QSWB3000, but it isn't as deep as I want. https://www.h-mac.com/quick-sling-qswb3000.html

 

[dw1]

In the Pioneer installation manual, its says:

Additional Note :when using wall mounting brackets
Please note that the rear clearance required as
shown in Fig 4.1 is not as strict when using wall
mounting brackets. Minimum rear clearance when
using wall mounting brackets is 10 cm (4 Inches)

 

[dw1]

Mine came in this afternoon and I will say it is a little heavier than I thought, I will see what I can come up with bracket wise. I am going to use unistrut.

 

[TTTTTT]

When I installed mine the wall brackets I ordered for the unit set it about 4-6" from the wall. That's the way I see most of them. Any further out you would need front legs for the weight.

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

 

[mike93lx]

I just ordered the one i noted above. It will let me mount to the foundation and not have to worry about any impact to the siding. Not cheap at $130, but the quick sling stuff looks like it is really good quality. I'll share some pics once it is mounted

 

[dw1]

Got the brackets made and outside unit up today:

 

[dw1]

one more angle

 

[justinjoyal]

Couldn't find your level? [emoji848]

 

[justinjoyal]

I just ordered the one i noted above. It will let me mount to the foundation and not have to worry about any impact to the siding. Not cheap at $130, but the quick sling stuff looks like it is really good quality. I'll share some pics once it is mounted

130$ for brackets ? They better be gold plated !

Seriously that's really expensive...

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

I had nothing to do with the non pressure treated boards the condensing unit's and pads are on before anybody says anything.
But I bought these brackets,at johnstone supply.
And yes they were just temper in to get some ac for the 2 apts,I went back later to do the permanent wiring later.
Anyway there's plenty of room with those brackets to bolt down a pad and condenser to them.
Oops,forgot the picture.

 

[dw1]

Couldn't find your level? [emoji848]

Ha!! Brackets are plumb, level and square!! The rubber vibration feet might be the culprit. I noticed that when I posted the pic. I will re check tomorrow.

 

[dw1]

I had nothing to do with the non pressure treated boards the condensing unit's and pads are on before anybody says anything.
But I bought these brackets,at johnstone supply.
And yes they were just temper in to get some ac for the 2 apts,I went back later to do the permanent wiring later.
Anyway there's plenty of room with those brackets to bolt down a pad and condenser to them.
Oops,forgot the picture.

Johnstone here is hard to deal with, if you don't have an account, they wont sell to you, then tried to use my buddies company name, they said he didn't buy enough from them. I ended up ordering the part I needed on ebay, just took a few days to get it.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Yeah I don't buy as much from them as I used to,but they all remember me down there.
Ive found that having papa johns pizza down there to them a couple times a month helps them over look a lot of things also!

 

[justinjoyal]

Ha!! Brackets are plumb, level and square!! The rubber vibration feet might be the culprit. I noticed that when I posted the pic. I will re check tomorrow.

Yeah the rubber pads can cause that. Use SS washers to shim if needed.

 

[dw1]

Yeah the rubber pads can cause that. Use SS washers to shim if needed.

I ended up putting a 1/4"x20x3" bolts down thru the rubber vibration feet. Right now I live a mile down the road from my barn. I have never had any trouble/issues there, but having that just sitting there...... well, I didn't want it running off. I must have the left side tighter than the right. The brackets have 4- 3/8" bolts running thru 2x6's inside, they are not coming off, but just wanted the outside unit a little more secure.