Mr. cool DIY vs. Menards Denali Aire

[shaggyant]

I’m looking at a 36k minisplit and had assumed that Mr. Cool was basically the only DIY setup in the game. However, it looks like Menards has a brand by the name of Denali Aire that is the spitting image of the Mr. Cool units for significantly less money. This will be in a 30x60 shop and fancy features are not important to me. Only cold air and reliability.

Any reason not to buy the Denali Aire brand instead? Anyone have one of these or install one? I like to save money but I hate doing it twice.

Denali Aire® Single Zone 35,000 BTU Mini Split Air Conditioner with Heat

This 35,000 BTU mini-split quick connect outdoor unit brings heat or air straight to the source, without the need for clunky, dust-trapping ducts! Not only is this mini-split unit energy efficient, it's also a breeze to install. Thanks to programmable smart modes, a smart mobile application, and...

www.menards.com

 

[39CAMC]

I did a Denali Aire in our then living room, now master bedroom in 2021 and it works great to this day. This is the only one I have ever installed so no reference on better worse, but it seemed fairly easy and similar to the videos I watched on Mr. Cool.

The remote is pretty clunky. The temp up and down and major functions work fine, but switching modes uses some little tiny icons on the monochrome LED display that IMO are hard to read/see. That said, once used to it, it is fine. I'd prefer an app on my phone and they may have made it better on newer units.

HTH,

DaveW

 

[mike93lx]

Can't say I have ever seen a 35k btu unit... Always 36k. Wonder what's behind that.

 

[allinon72]

Boy I don’t know…it’s already a risk going down to the Mr. Cool brand vs some of the more reputable HVAC brands, I’m not sure I’d go any lower.

 

[ratflinger]

Boy I don’t know…it’s already a risk going down to the Mr. Cool brand vs some of the more reputable HVAC brands, I’m not sure I’d go any lower.

Why? There's not actually that many companies making these units. Possible they are made by the same company. Medea does a lot of private label work. I have no knowledge on the quality of the products mentioned.

 

[allinon72]

Why? There's not actually that many companies making these units. Possible they are made by the same company. Medea does a lot of private label work. I have no knowledge on the quality of the products mentioned.

It’s certainly possible, but just because it was produced in the same factory doesn’t mean it has the same quality and feature set. On the same token, it could be an exact rebranded copy. The point is it’s a risk calculation…if you have trouble down the line, are you going to care about that few hundred bucks you saved? The answer is different for everyone.

 

[American Locomotive]

Mr. Cool and Senville units are both made by Midea. It seems that some (not sure if all?) "Denali Aire" units are made by Hisense.

Can't say I've been terribly impressed by the reliability of Hisense dehumidifiers, that's for sure. Midea stuff seems pretty okay.

 

[mngundog]

Boy I don’t know…it’s already a risk going down to the Mr. Cool brand vs some of the more reputable HVAC brands, I’m not sure I’d go any lower.

Considering Menards low pricing on identical branded products, I wouldn't doubt that this isn't make of the same or better specs, just at the traditional Menards lower prices.

 

[PoorUB]

Mr Cool has units built by Midea and Gree, the same with most any of these off brand units. Sometimes you can compare the appearance of the units and figure out who made them. Often it is just a decal change.

 

[American Locomotive]

Mr Cool has units built by Midea and Gree, the same with most any of these off brand units. Sometimes you can compare the appearance of the units and figure out who made them. Often it is just a decal change.

I find the easiest way is to look at the remote. They never change the look of the remotes.

 

[Jackfre]

When comparing minisplit brands you need to carefully evaluate the feature set on each unit. They can vary quite a bit even within a brand from year to year. When I represented Fujitsu almost 20 yrs ago now they private labeled units for Friedrich. That used to drive me nuts doing the development work on Fujitsu. I pretty strongly brought it up to the company and was told that they received last years models with lower features. Careful what you buy.

 

[minytrker]

I have had horrible luck with mr cool. The couple people who I know in the AC business all had nothing but bad things to say about them also.

 

[kngelv]

I have had horrible luck with mr cool. The couple people who I know in the AC business all had nothing but bad things to say about them also.

The "people" in the business want crazy prices to install a mini-split.

James

 

[39CAMC]

It’s certainly possible, but just because it was produced in the same factory doesn’t mean it has the same quality and feature set. On the same token, it could be an exact rebranded copy. The point is it’s a risk calculation…if you have trouble down the line, are you going to care about that few hundred bucks you saved? The answer is different for everyone.

Yep, its about your risk tolerance. My nephew in law did our main house AC unit at about the same time we were contemplating the mini split. Even with his very favorable pricing the Fujitsu or Mitsu units he could get would have been $4-5k for the unit itself before install.

We talked about it, and since it is for a single room (that has a vent for the main system in it) and not mission critical, even he said to just get the cheaper unit and if it goes out, buy another. It was less than $800 when I got it, now it is $999. I figured if it gave me issues in the first year, I would look harder at the more expensive and/or professionally installed units but here we are 4 years later...

Not sure I would have that same tolerance for risk if it were my only until for the entire house.

 

[shaggyant]

Alright then. I’ll take the challenge and report back. Wish me luck.

I ordered the Denali Aire mini split yesterday from Menards in an attempt to beat the impending tariff pricing increases.

 

[My Old Tools]

I have had horrible luck with mr cool. The couple people who I know in the AC business all had nothing but bad things to say about them also.

Mine has been great. For $2200 compared to $12,000 I'll take my chances in the shop.

 

[shaggyant]

I’m almost afraid to post this but I’ve completed my install and the Denali Aire has been up and running for almost two weeks now.
It was all pretty straight forward with the exception of needing to run a 1/2” schedule 10 PVC line for the drain since I’m mounted 15 feet inside the building.

 

[minytrker]

Just had another mini split start going out. Ordering a normal AC for my shop this time around.