MRCOOL DIY Mini Split, Seriously, I Think...

[yeldogt]

Browneye: Looks like a nice install ...

It seems the short length of tubing on the head unit is an issue with many units and since the Line Set on the DYI units is brazed onto the existing head set pair --- stands to reason it's a bit more cumbersome trying to maneuver the whole 26'. I'm assuming the DIY line set is brazed .. that's how they used to do it.

Some of the head units have very short lines .... making them hard to get mounted. It's also fairly rigid copper vs the softer line set tubing.

 

[aunsafe2015]

Does anybody know how low the MrCool DIY can modulate in both heating and cooling mode?

 

[930dreamer]

"Cool all the way down to 5°F. This feature makes the MRCOOL DIY the ideal system for server rooms, greenhouses, and any other application that requires cooling all year".

 

[OzarkMan]

Nice install Browneye! Really looks professional.

 

[clymer]

Browneye:
Very good research on the China-made mini-splits. Very informative.
I have been running mine for a month (mostly for heat the first few weeks of May because it was cold up here in Massachusetts). Today, very humid out, so using in dry mode to keep house comfortable.

I have zero complaints with this unit so far. I was heating with this exclusively when outside temps were well below freezing, with no issue.

Just checked electric bill and May is up from last year, but not a tremendous amount. AND i didn't burn any heating oil or firewood.

I am still thinking these pre-charged lines are too good to be true and keep waiting for some pin-sized leak to render the thing useless, but so far (knock on wood), no problems and the the thing is whisper quiet, especially compared to my old wall-through hampton bay monster.

The extra line that needs to wrapped up sure does not look pretty, but it works.
If I was MrCool, I would definitely work on that youtube page, the vids, while funny, could be better presented and include more instructionals and tips

 

[Browneye]

Looks good!

It's finally 80 here today, we've had unseasonably cool weather - in the seventies for a couple of weeks and even some rain. Enough to make the cars dirty.

It's chilling at 74 with the sun burning in our west-facing windows, just as comfortable as can be. Shopping for another one for the master bedroom.


EDIT: I setup the wifi feature and it's pretty slick. Does anyone know if you are to leave the usb dongle inserted into the unit when it's completed? Or removed for normal operation?

 

[clymer]

That dongle represents the wireless connectivity to your home router. You need to leave it in the USB slot. I have not had any issues with the wireless app either, the unit is synch'ed in the cloud and I can see my inside home temp and start the unit from anywhere

 

[clymer]

I have heard that people with newer versions of Android have issues with it, but I bought my galaxy S5 on swappa (and all my mobile hand sets for that matter, why pay more than 100 bucks for a phone )

 

[Browneye]

Re: MRCOOL DIY? Mini Split, Seriously, I Think...

That dongle represents the wireless connectivity to your home router. You need to leave it in the USB slot. I have not had any issues with the wireless app either, the unit is synch'ed in the cloud and I can see my inside home temp and start the unit from anywhere

When you say 'inside home temp' you mean the unit's temp setting, not the room temp, right?
I keep thinking some kind of sensor that would alternate room temp and temp setting would be really slick. Our little GE window air unit in the office does that.

Well, I can't get the usb thing out of there easily anyway. LOL

 

[easyrider13]

If you are looking for alternative products to consider, I just installed a Gree VIR12HP115V1A - 12,000 BTU 22 SEER VIREO Wall Mounted Ductless Mini Split Air Conditioner with Heat Pump in my free standing 1 car garage with a 14' ceiling in Sarasota, Florida.
Last summer I found mold growing on the interior of a car left in there for six weeks, so I knew I had to do something.
The installation went smoothly, the unit works quietly and efficiently, and my electric bill is up less than $10 per month.

 

[clymer]

Re: MRCOOL DIY? Mini Split, Seriously, I Think...

No - when you open the app on your smart phone, you can see both the temperature setting, as well as the "indoor: <temp>" (underneath the fan speed indicator, lower left right above the power button)

This makes things handy. For instance, when I am at work and it's 2:00 PM and 95 degrees outside, I can open the app see the inside temp is getting up toward 80, fire up the unit and make sure things are nice and cool and dry when I get home.

 

[Browneye]

Re: MRCOOL DIY? Mini Split, Seriously, I Think...

No - when you open the app on your smart phone, you can see both the temperature setting, as well as the "indoor: <temp>" (underneath the fan speed indicator, lower left right above the power button)

This makes things handy. For instance, when I am at work and it's 2:00 PM and 95 degrees outside, I can open the app see the inside temp is getting up toward 80, fire up the unit and make sure things are nice and cool and dry when I get home.

Hmmm...yeah I get neither - fan nor indoor temp. Set temp, and rings around the set temp indicates fan speed. [shrug]
iOS on iPhone 6+

 

[softailtom]

Re: MRCOOL DIY? Mini Split, Seriously, I Think...

Hmmm...yeah I get neither - fan nor indoor temp. Set temp, and rings around the set temp indicates fan speed. [shrug]
iOS on iPhone 6+

This a screenshot of my NetHome app for my iPhone 7 pioneer mini split with Wifi Mr Cool supposed to be the same I thought


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Browneye]

I'll have to take a pic - similar but definitely fewer features/functions.

 

[yeldogt]

Having only one line set length is a problem -- especially the new 26'. Way too long for many installs.

I'm curious how they are doing the line set connection -- it was a brazed connection.

These things would be great if they came with high quality flexible hose connections -- make the flex line sets in various set lengths. Order the unit and pick the line sets -- need longer ..sell a connector to put two together. I have 20 year old cars that have never had any AC work -- my 88 SL still has the original hoses. Actually, I think doing it this way would actually cut down on refrigerant loss to the environment. There is nothing special about all of this. But -- the HAVC industry does not want this to occur. The only think stopping this from becoming a commodity is the way we currently make the refrigerant connection.

 

[clymer]

Re: MRCOOL DIY? Mini Split, Seriously, I Think...

This a screenshot of my NetHome app for my iPhone 7 pioneer mini split with Wifi Mr Cool supposed to be the same I thought


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

..yup, identical to mine. (further evidence that these pioneer units and mr cool units are basically the same)

I have heard people say that with newer Android OS, the app fails to connect, but have not heard anything about missing options once the app is installed.

I would try just un-installing / re-installing the app.

 

[clymer]

Re: MRCOOL DIY? Mini Split, Seriously, I Think...

This a screenshot of my NetHome app for my iPhone 7 pioneer mini split with Wifi Mr Cool supposed to be the same I thought


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

-----------

Man,. those pioneer units are quite a bit less money than the mr. cool units:

https://www.pioneerminisplit.com/pr...r-heat-pump-system-with-full-installation-kit

I paid 1600+- for the mr. cool 24K, this would have saved me 500+ ..which of course most would have gone right to an HVAC tech to hook it up, making it all even, but then I would not have that rolled up coil to look at..

Oh well, still happy with the mr cool, been dealing with that wall-through unit since I bought this place 13 years ago, wish I went with a mini-split long ago

 

[abgiles]

For those that have done the installs on the MrCool DIY, how far behind the inside wall unit does the lineset extend before becoming flexible? Basically, is there a small run that's not flexible?

I'm asking because I'm wanting to run my lineset in the shop along the interior wall for a few reasons, and would like to see if running a couple of 2x8's along the wall before hanging the bracket would allow me to just run the lineset back to the left, and not exit the wall there.

 

[Browneye]

For those that have done the installs on the MrCool DIY, how far behind the inside wall unit does the lineset extend before becoming flexible? Basically, is there a small run that's not flexible?

I'm asking because I'm wanting to run my lineset in the shop along the interior wall for a few reasons, and would like to see if running a couple of 2x8's along the wall before hanging the bracket would allow me to just run the lineset back to the left, and not exit the wall there.

No problem - even the more rigid section of about 2' is bend-able. if your line exits on the left side all of that section is behind the wall unit.

 

[MattT]

Re: MRCOOL DIY? Mini Split, Seriously, I Think...

I paid 1600+- for the mr. cool 24K, this would have saved me 500+ ..which of course most would have gone right to an HVAC tech to hook it up, making it all even, but then I would not have that rolled up coil to look at..

Or just buy the tools to do it yourself. You'll break even on the first install.

 

[8mpg]

Re: MRCOOL DIY? Mini Split, Seriously, I Think...

Or just buy the tools to do it yourself. You'll break even on the first install.

Then you never use the tools again

 

[Browneye]

Seems the non-diy units end up being a couple of hundred less by the time everything is done, but zero warranty or much less than the Mrcool diy. I can't know yet if that's worth it or not.
For me it was close enough - and hoping for no headaches.

I'm pretty sure I could connect a flared lineset and hook up a vacuum pump and gauge set, then test and charge, though I have never done one. The process seems pretty straightforward as long as it didn't fail.

 

[Fixin'Stuff]

I ended up ordering a Mr. Cool Oasis ES model. I really didn't want that 25 foot lineset of the DIY unit coiled up in my backyard. The Oasis has a few more features, a higher SEER rating, a shorter lineset (that can even be easily shortened, if required) and the same 5/7 year warranty on parts and compressor. I'm setting everything in place, installing the lineset cover, doing the wiring, then having an HVAC friend do the final steps, leak test and vacuum. He'll sign off the warranty paperwork, so that's covered.

It's supposed to arrive today. Summer started in May here this year. We already had 20 days over 90 degrees just in May. Yesterday as 98 with a "feels like" of 107. Can't wait to get it fired up!

 

[yeldogt]

My gut tells me that the DIY systems have to grow -- but they haven't ??

With the lack of warranty on the more expensive stuff bought online -- you are taking a risk that the equipment will have no problems. This naturally pushes you down the food chain ...They become throw away units.

 

[Browneye]

My gut tells me that the DIY systems have to grow -- but they haven't ??

With the lack of warranty on the more expensive stuff bought online -- you are taking a risk that the equipment will have no problems. This naturally pushes you down the food chain ...They become throw away units.

Grow? You mean, 'sell more units?' Or changes? Wasn't clear there. I agree they should have a lineset option, short, medium, and long. But that would just add SKU's to the retailer and surely the one you want would be sold out. I think if a guy needs something much different from the norm that he simply get a custom-made lineset and one that uses standard flare connectors. The DIY unit is really designed to be plug-and-play.

They are selling more and more of them. The importer brought 4000 units in last year and they sold out - some models had a waiting list for a new boat. With amazon and the big-box stores selling them they are more popular than ever.

What does the 'food chain' mean?

IMO they're all getting close to 'throw-away units'. Like a window air - if it quits you get a new one. If they can get the price down under a grand my bet is it would transform the AC market. The pro's are really fighting this, even going so far as to say they don't work as well as and cost more than a central air system. Dinosaurs. And 'no DIY advice' on the hvac forum.

 

[...]

My gut tells me that the DIY systems have to grow -- but they haven't ??

With the lack of warranty on the more expensive stuff bought online -- you are taking a risk that the equipment will have no problems. This naturally pushes you down the food chain ...They become throw away units.

Well it does seem that way.Here's my story....
I Ended up buying the 24k DIY unit at the end of April from Ingrams and must have been one of the few with issues, since I just got it finished up and running last week.

After getting it initially installed, it stopped cooling the next day, but wasn't throwing the low coolant error code on the display.

Tripple checked everything for leaks....nothing
Checked the cooling on the larger copper connector and found a ripped o-ring.
Called Ingrams and they sent me a new connector which needed to be re-soldered on......kinda defeating the diy part of this unit....
Called a local company that deals with mini-splits to come out and fix the coupler, vacuum, and refill the system ($300 later)

The unit worked great.....for a day, then wouldn't cool again.

Called and emailed MR. Cool's warranty department and they never contacted me back.

Called Ingrams and they immediately sent me a whole new unit (handler and condenser). I swapped in the new stuff and in about an hour had everything up and working and it's been working well since. I'm just a little tentative on trusting it yet.

Maybe I'm just the lucky one that got a bad initial unit, but I did find out (in my experience) Mr's Cool's warranty department is horrible at contacting customers, but Ingrams has some of the best customer service I've dealt with in a long time. Everyone I dealt with there was Phenomenal and I would defiantly recommend them...... as far as recommending the DIY unit, I'm not sure yet.

 

[PoorOwner]

Maybe I'm just the lucky one that got a bad initial unit, but I did find out (in my experience) Mr's Cool's warranty department is horrible at contacting customers, but Ingrams has some of the best customer service I've dealt with in a long time. Everyone I dealt with there was Phenomenal and I would defiantly recommend them...... as far as recommending the DIY unit, I'm not sure yet.

I am pretty sure Ingrams is the distributor and owner of MrCool, when I tried to ordered one they come out of the same place in KY. If you look at their address they are one number off.

 

[yeldogt]

All things being equal -- still prefer having a ducted system. But, the mini splits have a place and they work extremely well.

 

[...]

I am pretty sure Ingrams is the distributor and owner of MrCool, when I tried to ordered one they come out of the same place in KY. If you look at their address they are one number off.

I did notice they were both in KY, but when I looked I thought the addresses were different, I could be wrong though.

 

[Browneye]

MRCOOL the internet domain is registered to a guy and an entity in Florida. I looked it up and called them, talked to what I guessed was the owner, "Bob". He asked why I was calling and I said I was looking for at least one unit and trying to determine the source of their product and whom else might be connected with it.

I also looked up the registered trademark for 'mrcool', and while it was never completed the application was submitted by none other than Jason (Jacob?) of Ingrams Air and Water.

The customer service lady at Ingrams claimed they were not the importer of the product, just a distributor. What is interesting is if you enter an inquiry at MrCool on their website it is submitted to and answered by...guess who? Ingrams.

Now 'Bob' at mrcool explained in our conversation that he was 'the importer'. I said, 'Oh, container loads coming in with your name on them?" He said, yes, they had tried to distribute their product through the HVAC installer industry and met with a lot of resistance - 'a lot of roadblocks'. So he says they setup their own distribution and have put on multiple retailers like Ingrams, Home Depot, Lowes, Sylvane, and a host of them in the east. All that is out here on the west coast is a hvac place in Chico and a hydroponics shop north of Phoenix. I would not buy from either of them. I did submit an inquiry with the grow shop in Phoenix but they never replied.

I'm not surprised you can't reach anybody at mrcool - my bet is all inquiries go to Ingrams. Fortunately they seem hellbent to establish a reputation and client base so they do seem to bend over backwards if you have a problem.

I'm very happy to hear they replaced the unit when there were problems - kudos for them! And you for sure.

Another interesting point is that the parent corporation for Pioneer - Parker Davis - is also in Florida. I would not be a bit surprised of all of these entities are in cahoots together.

Another brand discounted and sold outside the hvac industry is Senville. I found out that importer is in Canada - I didn't want any part of depending on parts or warranty support from a company outside the US. There are a couple of local sales companies around here that sell them. And Midea, AUX, and Star Kontrol. I'm pretty sure the Stars come from Midea.

 

[clymer]

Well it does seem that way.Here's my story....
I Ended up buying the 24k DIY unit at the end of April from Ingrams and must have been one of the few with issues, since I just got it finished up and running last week....

Well, sorry about that experience, but glad to know that Ingrams sent out a replacement (that's where I bought mine).

Weather in New England has been screwy - was down in the upper 40's last night, was using the mr. cool for heat

I am sure next week, will be back to using it for AC

 

[Browneye]

Okay, so I spoke to tech support at Ingrams about my wifi app and the way it functions. It keeps falling off so I have to re-log in, and when that happens then it does not do the controls I program it to do, like turn off at a certain time. They claim it is due to my ISP, that my modem/router is falling off then reconnecting, and so the unit fails to connect to their server that hosts the service. So when I open my phone app I have to login again and select the unit again. It works when I'm connected, but falls off over a period of time. I dunno, I have ATT. I doubt my connection is failing intermittently, but one never knows.

On the room temp display, they said it 'shows on the head unit'. No, it doesn't, unless you're in 'FAN' mode. Otherwise it displays the set temp. Same for the wifi app. They also confirmed that the outside unit runs in all modes except 'fan', and intermittently in 'heat'. And 'dry' is a much slower blower speed on the head unit with cooling to pull moisture out of the air. The thing does make a LOT of condensate - way more than I expected. We fill up a 2gl watering can in a few hours running.

The other features discussed here, like 'check', 'energy', and 'room temp' are not available on their version of the software. What I have is working correctly.

I politely suggested that since Pioneer has some of this stuff on theirs they should ask for it on the mrcool stuff. My bet is they come from the same china factory.

Oh, and the funniest part of it all is the instruction manual for the wifi app -
"Some features may not be available and will be hided from view."

Yup, mine are 'hided'.

 

[clymer]

Okay, so I spoke to tech support at Ingrams about my wifi app and the way it functions. It keeps falling off so I have to re-log in, and when that happens then it does not do the controls I program it to do, like turn off at a certain time. They claim it is due to my ISP, that my modem/router is falling off then reconnecting, and so the unit fails to connect to their server that hosts the service. So when I open my phone app I have to login again and select the unit again. It works when I'm connected, but falls off over a period of time. I dunno, I have ATT. I doubt my connection is failing intermittently, but one never knows.

On the room temp display, they said it 'shows on the head unit'. No, it doesn't, unless you're in 'FAN' mode. Otherwise it displays the set temp. Same for the wifi app. They also confirmed that the outside unit runs in all modes except 'fan', and intermittently in 'heat'. And 'dry' is a much slower blower speed on the head unit with cooling to pull moisture out of the air. The thing does make a LOT of condensate - way more than I expected. We fill up a 2gl watering can in a few hours running.

The other features discussed here, like 'check', 'energy', and 'room temp' are not available on their version of the software. What I have is working correctly.

I politely suggested that since Pioneer has some of this stuff on theirs they should ask for it on the mrcool stuff. My bet is they come from the same china factory.

Oh, and the funniest part of it all is the instruction manual for the wifi app -
"Some features may not be available and will be hided from view."

Yup, mine are 'hided'.

You know, Browneye, in reading this, I am tending to lean more to the issue might be with the router as opposed to the ISP (ISP's generally treat traffic the same way), I have comcast and have no issues. My router is running a variant of DD-WRT and I have no specific security settings preventing wireless comm's between the router and the head-unit USB, basically it was set it, scan in the barcode, and forget it. (using this as a reference:

)

my mobile device is a samsung galaxy S5 running 6.0.1 Android - if others are successful with IOS 11 (which is what I think you mentioned before you have on your mobile device), then you should be OK with this as well.

What I would suggest is logging onto your router URL (will probably be something like 192.168.1.1, and you should find a place where the router is allocating every device in your house a class-C IP in this subnet, 192.168.1.1 - 192.168.1.255)

find the place where you can see the router listed with other wireless devices and get the MAC address, make sure this is placed as a trusted device (there is generally an ACL firewall on a home router)

I am only guessing, but if this works for some, but gets reset with others on the same mobile OS, something is causing it to reset. If the mr cool unit is being allocated a new IP for example (via DHCP) from the router when it powers up, that might be the culprit, or something else, and I am not sure if you can guarantee a static IP with your router (or if this is even root cause)

If you want to provide the router make and model, I will see what the menu options are and send across some suggestions. I can tell you, when this wireless app works, it's the nutz, so you don't want to do without it if possible.

I bet mr. cool will eventually have a firmware upgrade that can update that USB stick and fix this ****..

BUT -gotta be a setting on that router to make it remember the MAC / IP of the Mr. Cool head unit USB

 

[Browneye]

I can do that - I’m a network guy.

 

[Browneye]

Assigned a static IP on the router for the mrcool and so far that seems to be working.

Why didn't ingrams tech support know that????

 

[Fixin'Stuff]

Assigned a static IP on the router for the mrcool and so far that seems to be working.

Why didn't ingrams tech support know that????

Because they're HVAC techs, not network techs.

 

[Browneye]

Hmmm...well that didn’t fix it. I don’t think its the router - when i open the app about half the time i have to login again, so i think its the host server logging me off. MrCool unit always says ‘online’.
Any other ideas?

 

[clymer]

Hmmm...well that didn’t fix it. I don’t think its the router - when i open the app about half the time i have to login again, so i think its the host server logging me off. MrCool unit always says ‘online’.
Any other ideas?

I think that part is normal. When I open the app., I have to log in (using saved credentials, I sign in the device is listed as "online" (presumably because it is connected to the mr cool cloud farm, it also appears that you can have multiple mr cool units listed here so that each can be managed independently).

I click into the app and get a "touch to turn on" screen (orange screen), I turn it on and it fires up in whatever mode it was in last. All of the options are present.

Are you seeing similar results?

 

[Browneye]

I think that part is normal. When I open the app., I have to log in (using saved credentials, I sign in the device is listed as "online" (presumably because it is connected to the mr cool cloud farm, it also appears that you can have multiple mr cool units listed here so that each can be managed independently).

I click into the app and get a "touch to turn on" screen (orange screen), I turn it on and it fires up in whatever mode it was in last. All of the options are present.

Are you seeing similar results?

Yes, similar. About half the time. The other half the time it opens with the control window for the unit, to 'touch to turn on' or change settings. So I'm still logged in to the host server.

This may well be the way it's intended to be. I did have a 'turn-off' timer set last weekend while away from the house, but it was still running when we got home so the timer did not deploy. I don't know if that was because my phone was not connected to the network, nor whether the command comes from the server host or my phone. In any case, it did not work. I have not done more testing.

It just seems like it should keep you logged in. In some cases I get a "[3106] Invalid session" I just have to re-logon and all is good.

I'll do some more testing with settings and timers.

BTW, this is the best 'how-to' user forum for the product on the world wide web! I've searched and found nothing else. Seems like the importer or 'mrcool' should have a user forum. Maybe they're afraid if people have too many problems they'll put new potential customers off.

 

[clymer]

Yes, similar. About half the time. The other half the time it opens with the control window for the unit, to 'touch to turn on' or change settings. So I'm still logged in to the host server.

This may well be the way it's intended to be. I did have a 'turn-off' timer set last weekend while away from the house, but it was still running when we got home so the timer did not deploy. I don't know if that was because my phone was not connected to the network, nor whether the command comes from the server host or my phone. In any case, it did not work. I have not done more testing.

It just seems like it should keep you logged in. In some cases I get a "[3106] Invalid session" I just have to re-logon and all is good.

I'll do some more testing with settings and timers.

BTW, this is the best 'how-to' user forum for the product on the world wide web! I've searched and found nothing else. Seems like the importer or 'mrcool' should have a user forum. Maybe they're afraid if people have too many problems they'll put new potential customers off.

-----------

This set of behaviors now strikes me as associated with the app itself (possibly how the app behaves on your ios version).

When I close out the app on android, I get a message that says "click twice to exit". I exit by clicking twice, and the app closes. Whatever state the AC unit is in (i.e. powered up in heat mode) remains when the app is closed out. In other words, when I re-open the app and log into the mr. cool unit, the state is whatever I left it in.

In your case, the app appears to not be closing out completely, but possibly losing communications with the mr. cool cloud server.

Maybe there is a different method for closing the app that will ensure it shuts down, I don't know. I can't afford apple products