Mini splits with extra filtering?

[aggie113]

My garage is still in a metaphysical state, but will eventually include some mini splits for cooling. My house was previously retrofitted by the old owners with mini splits for half the house's cooling and I find they do a fine job (and don't clog up like the units did in Iraq!). One thing I don't like is having to clean out the filters of them all (4 wall units). While I do keep a mostly clean house I don't suspect the garage will be as forgiving an environment.
Has anyone come up with an adapter box or enclosure that sits on the wall units and offers a more traditional filter system such as a regular hvac might use? No points needed for style or looks.

 

[Kaizen]

April Wilkerson on YouTube did that to keep sawdust out. If you can find her garage build she shows it.


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[aggie113]

April Wilkerson on YouTube did that to keep sawdust out. If you can find her garage build she shows it.


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Looks like just a simple overlay on top of the unit..

 

[Kaizen]

Looks like just a simple overlay on top of the unit..

I was pretty sure she somewhat boxed it in with a filter like that. Maybe I saw elsewhere. If I ever get to that I’m definitely adding some additional filters or I don’t think they would last long in my shop


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[aggie113]

well the screen shot was from her install video, maybe she refined it later on...

 

[Kaizen]

well the screen shot was from her install video, maybe she refined it later on...

Must not have been her. What i saw was a wood frame with standard hvac filters on top and front. Sealed to the top of the unit with foam weatherstripping and the unit was screwed to the wall. Can’t imagine what welding smoke and woodwork dust will do to mine so am going to try this.


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[justinjoyal]

Adding an extra filter is going to keep dust out, but will also affect the unit’s performance and reliability.

 

[aggie113]

Yeah, if I were to do it I'd build a trapezoid box either out of plywood or cardboard with a foam gasket at the bottom and tapered to a regular filter's size at the top.

 

[Kaizen]

Adding an extra filter is going to keep dust out, but will also affect the unit’s performance and reliability.

Yup. But I figure if I don’t it’s gonna need monthly cleaning and in between cleanings it will have decreased performance and accelerated wear


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[Jackfre]

Yup. But I figure if I don’t it’s gonna need monthly cleaning and in between cleanings it will have decreased performance and accelerated wear


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What you are compromising performance wise by adding filtration or UV or whatever, is you get into the units programs. You have a modulating compressor and condenser fan outside. The evap has the modulating fan. The unit is comparing coil and air temps and the algorithm in the unit know what it wants to do with those inputs. Maybe it will be okay. Maybe it won’t. Are you willing to gamble long term on it. The other consideration is that is you use the type of filter shown, it won’t filter until it is dirty.

 

[Kaizen]

What you are compromising performance wise by adding filtration or UV or whatever, is you get into the units programs. You have a modulating compressor and condenser fan outside. The evap has the modulating fan. The unit is comparing coil and air temps and the algorithm in the unit know what it wants to do with those inputs. Maybe it will be okay. Maybe it won’t. Are you willing to gamble long term on it. The other consideration is that is you use the type of filter shown, it won’t filter until it is dirty.

You think an hvac filter is more restrictive then whatever that blue stuff is? I’m talking the cheaper hvac not the heavy pleated ones


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[aggie113]

Just about any filter is going to be more restrictive than what they come with. It's a very flimsy material.

In Iraq I was fortunate enough to live in a "permanent" structure that had the Mitsubishi Slim boys. I imagine that environment would be more like a garage as far as air particulates. They units not only had to get the filters cleaned weekly (more if a sand storm came through) but they also needed to get the fins washed off and have the drainage tubes blown out due to the sheer amount of **** they collected. It was quite common to wake up in the night to find your wall unit dripping into the room from a clogged tube.

 

[jjrbus]

Been reading this with some interest and will order a anemometer to test the difference between clean and dirty filter or added filter. I have been vacuuming my filters through a black nylon and very little dirt is in filters if I clean once a month. Of course this is use dependent.

I have read that people who have maintenance contracts with minis do not clean the filters as often as suggested. They claim a dirty filter keeps units cleaner. Don't pick on me I read it on the internet!

 

[Jackfre]

" They claim a dirty filter keeps units cleaner. Don't pick on me I read it on the internet![/QUOTE]"

Well, sure. There is dirt to collect dirt. The point is that you have to service these things. If you want better filtration you would be better off with an ambient air filter box. These units are designed for the purpose and have filters designed to do that job and do it well. I have a JDS200 unit in my shop and it does an excellent job in addition to the cyclone dust collector. Anything you put on a mini-split will affect its performance.

 

[Kaizen]

" They claim a dirty filter keeps units cleaner. Don't pick on me I read it on the internet!

"



Well, sure. There is dirt to collect dirt. The point is that you have to service these things. If you want better filtration you would be better off with an ambient air filter box. These units are designed for the purpose and have filters designed to do that job and do it well. I have a JDS200 unit in my shop and it does an excellent job in addition to the cyclone dust collector. Anything you put on a mini-split will affect its performance.[/QUOTE]



Personally just trying to minimize having to take it apart every month. Way quicker to change the filter and clean the minisplit one. A dirty internal filter would be the same restriction right? I’m mostly concerned about black smoke from welding and such. Don’t think my wood vacuum setup will miss much. Testing with one of those air fan things as mentioned above is a good idea. Wonder if it can be used to indicate when a unit needs to be cleaned as well


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[jjrbus]

I ordered meter today, cheap one from Amazon. Will see how accurate it is and then test minis with it. With changing seasons and a variety of use I do not see a chiseled in stone amount of time to clean filters. If I do not use my AC or heat in winter for 2 months I see no reason to clean the filter (could I be wrong?)
So am hoping to use the anemometer to check condition of filters. May work out, may not, time will tell.

 

[Kaizen]

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[polizei1]

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Came here to post this!

 

[Kaizen]

Came here to post this!

So strange I swear I saw someone do this months ago but couldn’t find it. Would have liked if he put a wind measure thing in this to verify it was not an issue. Measuring voltage wasn’t where I think we’d see an issue. Also wondering if performance will be affected the dirtier the filters get.


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[DHCrocks]

yeah current draw may not be a good indicator. I saw some tests on shop vacs that had the hose plugged. The motor speed up and the current draw went down as it became more restrictive. The theory behind that is that the motor turns the fan which has resistance from the air it is moving. As the supply side becomes more restricted less air is moving across the fan blades and thus air resistance goes down. On the extreme end, the fan blades are turning in a vacuum so there is no air resistance so the fan speeds up and the current draw goes down. The split AC evaporator fan only uses a small amount of the power, the condenser side is doing all the work so you would probably not notice any change in the current since its only a small fraction of consumption in the first place.