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

[Fueler]

Seems to me that the hole size is irrelevant in doing a patch.
You need that sleeve to protect the lines and I doubt that finding a smaller sleeve will make life any easier trying to stuff those lines through there.
I almost wanted a larger sleeve when I did mine.

IF you own the house removing a selling feature seems financially foolish.
IF you are renting the landlord is not going to be happy.

 

[Browneye]

A smaller hole can make pulling the lineset through very difficult. DAMIK. It's fairly easy to tear the vinyl covering if you're pulling thru stucco.

If you're not going to use the provided hole-trim piece then whatever your connectors will fit though should work.

Also note that the first couple feet of line coming out of the air handler is rigid. It can be bent, but is not a flex-line like the rest of it. The flex is welded to the rigid part that goes into the air handler unit.

I took some pics when my air handler was replaced under warranty - the weld fitting on the main line was leaking. Ingram's didn't want the old unit back, so I took it apart, saved the blower cage, board, filters, couple of other thinks like that, and the front door since it looked like new. Parts for sale if anyone needs something from a 2-ton.

 

[Heiny57]

Seems to me that the hole size is irrelevant in doing a patch.
You need that sleeve to protect the lines and I doubt that finding a smaller sleeve will make life any easier trying to stuff those lines through there.
I almost wanted a larger sleeve when I did mine.

IF you own the house removing a selling feature seems financially foolish.
IF you are renting the landlord is not going to be happy.

The size of a hole in a brick house that I want to patch correctly is very relevant.

What does the sleeve protect the line set from? There are millions of houses in this country, including mine that have Refrigerant lines running through brick walls to run standard split systems without plastic sleeves. Hence my question.

A cheap DIY mini split in a garage is not going to raise the value of my house, it may do the opposite.

 

[Fueler]

No worries. DIY it your way.

 

[Heiny57]

Thanks Browneye for the info. It appears Mr Cool is changing these things constantly. One change they have made from some of the past units is that they now have 2 quick connects so you don’t have to feed 25 feet of line through the wall, an obvious upgrade. The line sets now are all copper which may have caused the change or are a result of the change. Don’t know. I feel it shouldn’t be to hard to feed a short length of line through a smaller hole and caulk it in easier than a 3 1/2 inch hole. I am probably overthinking this like usual. I guess I will ask their tech people what is behind the large sleeve and then decide.

 

[Browneye]

My guess is you'll get a 'shrug' from them.

 

[GRivera]

@ Heiny57

I suppose it's possible with a bit of a smaller hole but the larger one helps with the radius of the bend where it exits the building - especially when fitting the tubing under first piece of the line set cover.

 

[Heiny57]

You are probably right on bending the Cooper lines. Most line sets for standard split systems come out low so they don’t have to bend down immediately. A larger hole would allow a better radius against the wall under the line covers. The salesman at Ingrams had now idea why so big unless it was for multiple line sets. I just may have to flip a coin on install day. LOL

 

[Browneye]

Two years on our two splits now - third cooling season - summer is here and it's near a hundred and we're cool as cucumbers.
Our electric bill is way down too, even with running them a lot, which tells us the pool pump and the grow lights are the big power draws. The former has run much less, and the latter not at all - everything went outside for the summer.

Now that they have a DIY double head unit we want one for the 'west wing' - the two bedroms and bathroom on that end of the house. The 9+9 btu units are right at $2800 from Ingrams. They're been backordered, but they've replied to inquiry saying they're due in at any time now.

This would complete our whole-house AC conversion from the old failed central air unit, for a total cost of about $5K. The AC contractors wanted $12K to $18K to replace the central system. For so-cal, the furnace only runs part time in the middle of winter. That goofy old Sears-Roebuck unit is now over forty years old and still going strong. It didn't really make sense to pump AC through those old leaky ducts either. And the split units being heat-pumps, do a nice job in moderate temps for taking the chill off.

We are beyond pleased with our Mr. Cool mini-splits.

 

[jjrbus]

BTDT tip. If you have a thick wall and short line from evaporator may be much better to run the line to the opposite side of the evaporator to allow freer access to joints for hooking up inside. Instead of cutting round hole use an angle grinder and cut out area that can be reinstalled as the patch, then add some type of cover for hole.

 

[stillnostrebor]

To add to this incredibly informative thread...

We installed a Mr Cool 36k unit in our 30'x40'x12' shop this spring. Shop is insulated to code for SW Missouri, no windows, two 8' square insulated OH doors, shaded most of the day. The minisplit worked flawlessly all summer keeping the shop cool and dry.

Slipping into winter now and switched over to heat, and about three days in the unit stopped working... fell dead on its face like no power. Tested good voltage all the way back to the inside appliance, and found all three factory terminals for the wiring that connects condenser and evaporator units completely loose, wires just floating. It was easy to find as the unit tried to start up as soon as I pulled the little cover that accesses the wires and touched the harness. Cut power, tightened the lugs, and it fired right up. Has been silently pumping heat into my shop since.

I'm super happy with the unit, and the ease of install, but wanted to share this tidbit with GJ, as I am probably not the only one who has received a unit with un-tightened harness connections from the factory. I didn't think to check these, as I didn't make their connection initially. Something to double check if you have one of these.

Purchased mine from Costco BTW... turned out to be the best bang for my buck at the time.

As a follow up...

Recently my unit developed a very noisy compressor, but was still cooling. Now it is not cooling, and the outside unit is not running at all. I assume it blew the internal fuse. A recent service call netted very little help... local techs really don't like looking at/servicing these. We are dead in the water at the moment.

I will be calling the warranty support folks next to see what my steps are for repair. It is concerning that so few techs want to mess with them. It took several attempts to get anyone to even look at it.

 

[shade]

Please post back when you have an update on the unit being down

 

[Browneye]

When my air handler started spitting out ice I knew I needed a local tech. A referral netted me an old AC company and the owners son was an expert at split units. He had zero issue with servicing Mr.Cool - it's just the same as any other AC split or otherwise system. He had his gauges, a freon sensor, recharged the unit, found the leak, charged me $100.

I would encourage you to make some more calls. Get on Angie's list or something, find an old company, people that really know what they're doing and aren't looking to book three grand in profit from each service call. The majority of AC companies business model relies on selling new equipment - they have no interest in servicing your mini-split system.

You might even find a reliable independent on Craig's or your local service classified ads. I found an auto AC tech this way - an old car with R12, the guy was a retired Toyota master tech, had tons of R12 on hand and all the knowledge of the old systems. When he finished the center vents blew 42*. And charged me $250 for the work.

Don't get discouraged. Ingrams will likely send you a new outside compressor/condensor unit and you can just swap it out. That's what I did with my air-handler, it had a break in the welded area where the flex meets the rigid part of the lineset. They just replaced it all - never even had to send the old one back. Since it ran with the leak for a few days before I shut the valves, I figured it lost some charge, so I called my guy back out and he put a couple of pounds in and ran it with his gauges. It blows ice cold and works perfectly now. Another $100. Wow.

It's worth it to scout out a few local techs that are competant and responsive, just for future need.

 

[Slednut]

I installed this over the week end, 24000 BTU Mr Cool. Went really fast, except for the electrical it almost took me more time to make the brackets than to do the install. Just checked out cooling and heating and all is good. I had already installed the Mitsubishi 7 years ago.

 

[bobkat]

Pretty sure I am about to pull the trigger on an 18K version of the MRCOOL DIY mini split. I am put off a little by the lack of reviews, and the thing seems too good to be true, but... There aren't any negative reviews, either the things work great and almost no one bothers to post a positive review, or they have only ever sold about 5 of them. And if 2 of those 5 were bad, we all know there would be negative reviews all over the internet.

I have to do something, I had the garage insulated when it was built, and we are reaching the season where it is going to get hot in there and stay hot, plus as I was warned, the humidity is obviously high inside. We have seen upper 80's to low 90's so far, and I am sure I will not be using the space much without A/C.

I have a couple of quotes, one for a Trane (actually a rebadged Gree) and one for Daiken, each around 4 grand before we start talking about rebates and incentives and all. I think they got the Trane down to $3,600 and 0% financing for 36 months or such. I'm all about supporting good local companies, and yes, the expertise and warranty on the work is worth something to me, but I can't see over 4K for a unit I can buy on the internet for $1,200 with a different sticker. I was all but told that they essentially charge the same prices for mini splits as traditional split systems. I guess duct work and wiring separate thermostats is free. I have already spent way over what I intended on this garage, I don't see another 3 to 4 grand, even if it is financed at 0%.

So... For $1,200 I can have a pre-charged unit with a nifty pre-charged line set deal delivered to my door. If it lasts 3 or 4 years I think I still get my investment out of it. It is supposed to have a 5 year warranty on everything, 7 on compressor. Of course if it needs a compressor in 5 years, it's probably time to replace the whole thing.

I have thought about window units, but a window unit with heat and cool in the same BTU is $600 or so, and the mini split should be more efficient to operate. Plus I am not supposed to have a window unit in the neighborhood, and I don't really want to give up the window. I would likely still need a dehumidifier also.

Thoughts ? Encouragement ? Talk me down ?

If I go forward, I promise it will be posted and reviewed here for everyone to see.

Thanks for reading the rambling,

Jason

I installed the Senville 24k in my shop 25 x40 half with 12 foot ceiling and half with 16 ft,,insulated and 7/16 osb,, It will cool my shop from 86 degrees to 74 in less than one hour. Not seeing a big rise in my electric.Friend of mine has installed 20 or so of these with no issues.I paid $975 delivered to the house

 

[bobkat]

I installed this over the week end, 24000 BTU Mr Cool. Went really fast, except for the electrical it almost took me more time to make the brackets than to do the install. Just checked out cooling and heating and all is good. I had already installed the Mitsubishi 7 years ago.

I have a Senville which looks exactly the same as yours

 

[OLAUGH]

I am looking into a multi (9+9+24) but have some fairly constrained conditions in my Los Angeles 2 floor condo. Before I reach out to MRCOOL direct, I was hoping to get some input from DIY'er installers.

For the outside unit we are looking at the 36k unit outside on a second level wood framed narrow balcony. I was intending to wall mount in efforts of supporting it better and ideally minimizing vibration
1 - the manual says wall mount should be to brick, concrete or block wall. We are plaster and wood framed. I was thinking about horizontal unistrut to framing and then mounting the mrcool bracket to the unistrut, all with some vibration waskers/pads at bolted connections. Any issues with that approach?
2 - is the vibration on wood framing going to be an issue?
3 - our condo association requires less than 55 decibles. i am hoping for much less than that. I cannot find any noise spec for the outdoor unit. anyone have decible readings?
4 - i was hoping to install the unit running the short direction on the balcony so as to not eat up too much room. however that means reducing the manufacturer 24" clear dimension on the right hand side to approx 12". there is no air intake on that side but the electrical and line sets connections I assume would be more difficult. is that a nonstarter or just a more difficult install but doable?

 

[Slednut]

I am looking into a multi (9+9+24) but have some fairly constrained conditions in my Los Angeles 2 floor condo. Before I reach out to MRCOOL direct, I was hoping to get some input from DIY'er installers.

For the outside unit we are looking at the 36k unit outside on a second level wood framed narrow balcony. I was intending to wall mount in efforts of supporting it better and ideally minimizing vibration
1 - the manual says wall mount should be to brick, concrete or block wall. We are plaster and wood framed. I was thinking about horizontal unistrut to framing and then mounting the mrcool bracket to the unistrut, all with some vibration waskers/pads at bolted connections. Any issues with that approach?
2 - is the vibration on wood framing going to be an issue?
3 - our condo association requires less than 55 decibles. i am hoping for much less than that. I cannot find any noise spec for the outdoor unit. anyone have decible readings?
4 - i was hoping to install the unit running the short direction on the balcony so as to not eat up too much room. however that means reducing the manufacturer 24" clear dimension on the right hand side to approx 12". there is no air intake on that side but the electrical and line sets connections I assume would be more difficult. is that a nonstarter or just a more difficult install but doable?

I have a 24000 BTU unit (see above) and I made my own wall mount. It's for my shop and the outside unit is mounted where we park our DDs so the noise was not going to be an issue. I just checked, the decibel level is around 29 decibels but it's not a sound that you'd want near a bedroom. It's a low thumping/buffeting sound that's pretty irritating. The outside unit is around 38 decibels.

With only 12" of room on the one side it may be difficult to hookup the line sets. You may want to thread them on before you put the outside unit in place. I think the directions say to hook up the inside units to the line sets first but I'm not sure. The electrical is easy to do and I don't see any problem with the 12".

BTW my Mitsubishi unit that powers two 12000 BTU inside units is also mounted on the wall but is very quiet. When it's heating sometimes it's a little noisy but it doesn't last more that a minute or so. Then it doesn't do it for hours.

 

[Syberia]

I am looking into a multi (9+9+24) but have some fairly constrained conditions in my Los Angeles 2 floor condo. Before I reach out to MRCOOL direct, I was hoping to get some input from DIY'er installers.

For the outside unit we are looking at the 36k unit outside on a second level wood framed narrow balcony. I was intending to wall mount in efforts of supporting it better and ideally minimizing vibration
1 - the manual says wall mount should be to brick, concrete or block wall. We are plaster and wood framed. I was thinking about horizontal unistrut to framing and then mounting the mrcool bracket to the unistrut, all with some vibration waskers/pads at bolted connections. Any issues with that approach?

That is exactly how I did mine. Strut into 3 studs and mounted the condenser bracket to that.

2 - is the vibration on wood framing going to be an issue?

I get a slight hum/vibration inside my garage. I have to be listening for it to notice it.

3 - our condo association requires less than 55 decibles. i am hoping for much less than that. I cannot find any noise spec for the outdoor unit. anyone have decible readings?

No decibel reading but the outdoor unit is quiet. Much quieter than a traditional a/c unit, and quieter than many fans.

4 - i was hoping to install the unit running the short direction on the balcony so as to not eat up too much room. however that means reducing the manufacturer 24" clear dimension on the right hand side to approx 12". there is no air intake on that side but the electrical and line sets connections I assume would be more difficult. is that a nonstarter or just a more difficult install but doable?

No idea about this one, I installed mine on the back wall of the garage with nothing close to it.

 

[OLAUGH]

can the line sets from the interior fan coil be run horizontal? looking to drop the lineset initially out of the fan coil unit, run horizontal for 14' then drop 8' down vertically to the outside unit. I cant get any slope without raising the FCU less than the manufacturer clear distance below the ceiling. I see a lot of exterior horizontal installs so assume its okay as long as you aren't ever sloping up, but I dont know how in the bundled line set that the condensate drain doesn't ever slightly bend upslope in a horizontal run and create small traps......?

 

[Browneye]

PM replied to.
Specs with outdoor unit sound levels here: https://mrcool.com/wp-content/dox_repo/mc-diy-3-b-br-en-01.pdf
The 24K BTU unit is rated at 60dba. Mostly it's just the cooling fan you hear.

I don't see any issue with any of it. But I would mount the compressor on the deck, not a wall unit.
A lot of condo buildings have been retrofitted with split systems - each unit has a compressor on the outside deck. It's just a non-issue.
No problems with the tight clearance either - but you do need at least a foot behind the unit for the cooling fan draw.
Horizontal line set is no problem either - you just don't want vertical coils where compressor oil can be trapped.

My 1-ton in our atrium, right outside our bedroom wall. It's nearly silent.






Installing my 2-ton unit:

 

[Browneye]

I've since built a koi pond in this same atrium.

 

[Douglas]

I just read through all 24 pages of this thread. I have a 12'x36' space with an 8' ceiling. There's a loft above so the ceiling/floor is insulated with R30 and the walls are insulated with R19. This is a separate room off the end of my shop. So the rest of the shop is on one side of this room and there's a wood shed roof off the other side. Then there's the loft above and a forest of trees off one of the ends. So this room is basically protected from the sun from all sides except the one end. In the summer even during heat waves it stays in the low 70's without doing anything. So I'm looking at the Mr. Cool to heat this space in the winter. As well protected as it is as well as being totally insulated I'm thinking it will hold heat really well. My brother in law owns an HVAC business with his brother so I am waiting on an estimate from him but he already said it's most likely going to be in the 4k range. I can't justify that much money to heat a room out in my shop. So I'm thinking about the Mr. Cool. I don't really have any questions because I just read through this entire thread. I was more concerned with how everyone's Mr. Cool units are holding up over time.

 

[Fueler]

7 years in on a 3200 and still going. Learn to clean filters regularly.

 

[Raisedonadeere]

Into 4TH year on a 12K wall and a 18K ceiling cassette unit and totally impressed with the performance. Both are Hyperheats and I installed myself. The wall unit inside sprung a leak in the coil and I assumed I was on my own concerning any warranty since I was not a qualified installer but when I called Ingram's they quickly made the decision to ship a new wall unit for free. Absolutely no hassle. Could not believe it. Well I am waiting for the unit to actually be shipped and it has been over a week so holding my breath about supplies but that is my story.

 

[Browneye]

@Douglas -
Unless you also need air conditioning, I would opt for a gas-fired heating appliance. But surely a heat-pump will do the job as well.

My two DIY units just finished season four and we couldn't be happier. A total game-changer for this old house. I have about $2500 in the two units - a 12K in the master suite which also serves the back office, and a 24K that heats and cools the main part of the house, about 900sq feet, with 15' ceilings, and a south and west-facing room with windows, so a lot of heat gain. Just fantastic. HVAC contractors quoted from $14K to $22K to replace the central heating and air components. Others wanted $5K to $8K for Mitsubishi mini-split(s).

The air handler on the bigger unit - actually the lineset - developed a leak in the second or third season. Ingrams sent a new head unit out and I changed it out in an hour or two - perfect since. Painless. I also have a local guy that will come out and test and charge for $100 - he helped troughshoot the failed unit. And came out again to make sure we had the right amount of freon in the system after I installed the new air handler. I do believe a DIY'er should have a pro they can call on if necessary, unless he's got his own gauge set and tools and all that.

The product and the service are outstanding on the MrCool mini-splits. I'm now looking at a double-head unit for the back wing of the house - another couple of bedrooms and bath - $$ for those - another $2500.

 

[Douglas]

Well, I got the estimate back from my brother in law. He quoted me a 12K BTU Mitsubishi. For the inside unit, outside unit, wall mount and everything else it came to $2,900.00. That does not include labor. He said if I help he would do the labor for near nothing. That's still quite a bit more than the Mr. Cool.

 

[ITGuy1998]

Well, I got the estimate back from my brother in law. He quoted me a 12K BTU Mitsubishi. For the inside unit, outside unit, wall mount and everything else it came to $2,900.00. That does not include labor. He said if I help he would do the labor for near nothing. That's still quite a bit more than the Mr. Cool.

https://hvacdirect.com/ductless-min...ni-splits/filter/manufacturer/mitsubishi.html

 

[Douglas]

https://hvacdirect.com/ductless-min...ni-splits/filter/manufacturer/mitsubishi.html

Looking at your link it seems like I can get a 12K BTU Mitsubishi for $1,600.00 and change. Makes me wonder what model my bro in law quoted me for $2,900.00.

 

[yeldogt]

Looking at your link it seems like I can get a 12K BTU Mitsubishi for $1,600.00 and change. Makes me wonder what model my bro in law quoted me for $2,900.00.

The hyper heats are more money and remember. It's not a price fix dinner .... al la cart. All the parts are extra ... sometimes you see a kit.

If you can get a Mitsubishi for that price -- that's the way to go

 

[Douglas]

They hyper heats are more money and remember. It's not a price fix dinner .... it al la cart. All the parts are extra ... sometimes you see a kit.

If you can get a Mitsubishi for that price -- that's the way to go

Which price? The $2,900.00?? I confirmed with my bro in law that the unit he quoted me is not Hyper heat. Our climate is too mild.

 

[tarantino]

Looking at your link it seems like I can get a 12K BTU Mitsubishi for $1,600.00 and change. Makes me wonder what model my bro in law quoted me for $2,900.00.

Try ordering. Kit+wireless will put you close to $2,500. Add the mount. Your BIL wasn't off the mark.

 

[yeldogt]

Which price? The $2,900.00?? I confirmed with my bro in law that the unit he quoted me is not Hyper heat. Our climate is too mild.

The price you see on the sites are just the inside and outside units .... not the tubing and all related items to put it together.

How cold is mild? Make sure you look over the specifications in heat mode of the various models and plug in your electric cost

Yes the $2900. Put it all together and see what it comes out to with tax .. you will be close.

 

[Douglas]

How cold is mild?

These are average for my area.

 

[yeldogt]

These are average for my area.

Punch those numbers into your figuring

With heat you have to have enough. With AC it is fine to say "do I size my system for 100 degrees when we only hit that temp once every 5 years" -- IMO no. But, with heat you have to be able to supply what is needed on those odd cold days. In PA we may have a hot spell for a couple days that gets us into that temp -- I know from experience that a running AC system while it may not keep up at a design temp of 70 or 72 .. a low humidity house at 75 is very comfortable. In my part of PA we can go for years with no temps under 10 degrees and maybe one day under 20. Then a year comes along where were we have weeks of cold weather .... have to have the fire power.

With temps above freezing you are not going to need a Hyper for 5 degrees ..... what you have to do is look at overall needs. What is the average winter temp and what unit will give you the best efficiency at those average temps. Your low temp is the same over all those months ... What the best system for heat efficiency at 36 degrees. The nice thing about Mitsubishi -- they publish the information. You can pull up the graphs and see what it's going to produce and the BTU's at a given temp. Most of the others don't give you this information.

 

[Douglas]

Punch those numbers into your figuring

My bro in law came over a few weeks ago and measured the room and asked all the questions about insulation etc. So I'm just going off his recommendation. This is the Mitsubishi model he quoted me for the space.

12,000 BTU 23.1 SEER Wall Mounted Mitsubishi Mini-Split GL Single Zone Heat Pump - MZ-GL12NA

With its superior technology, Mitsubishi is considered one of the top brands of mini split on the market today. The MSZ-GL12NA / MUZ-GL12NA single-zone mini split lives up to Mitsubishi’s superior expectations, providing you superior comfort with a high efficiency.

hvacdirect.com

 

[Browneye]

Seems reasonable. Mitsubishi is probably the most expensive option out there. Other options:
Daikin - now owned by Goodman
LG - also very popular
Panasonic - kind of obscure
Gree - not sure...maybe also Goodman?


The upside is Mits is made in Japan instead of singapore, china, tawian, or vietnam. Or even India - I think there's even a brand from there.
They have a solid reputation, and many installers only sell Mits...not sure why. Maybe it's their pricing structure, or they can make more money with them. Perhaps they think they're more reliable. They are like the flagship brand.

If it were me I would do the install myself and have your BIL supervise or instruct, or provide help if you need it. All depends on your own DIY skill level.

Installing one isn't that complicated, but it is some work. The 12K unit is particularly easy, the 2-ton a little more difficult simply because of it's size. Feeding the lineset thru the wall is probably the most difficult part of it, and drilling those big holes if you have stucco or brick. I understand the lineset comes separate from the air handler now, so that helps, but you still have to hang that big unit and get the lines connected.

You also need a proper power feed. If you're not an electrician that can be a challenge. I was lucky as I already had a line over from the panel for the old central air unit. My daughter is a commercial electrician so she help me get everything in order to re-purpose it for the mini split.

Just choosing a location and the logistics of it can be a challenge. You could also source a non-DIY unit and then BIL could size the lineset for you, do the test/charge/turn up and sign off on it for warranty registration. There are lots of options in this regard as well.

As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, the HVAC industry isn't really configured to support itself selling mini splits. They are structured for high-dollar high-profit central ducted systems where they send guys out on $20K jobs every day. They would starve to death if people installed mini's instead. They'll even try to tell you that women hate the look of an air handler in a room. Pfft.

 

[yeldogt]

The price difference between Mitsubishi and Fujitsu is typically very small .... Fujitsu made a name for themselves in my area doing the branch box systems and 6-9 heads for old house retrofits. There is a guy who has been doing them around me for 10+ years and that's what he uses. The head on the Fujitsu he uses is not as wide and deeper vs typical .... better for some old house retrofits.

Daikin typically saves you a few hundred at least and is a solid company -- huge and world wide. They bought Goodman/Amana. LG had issues and fell out of favor .... I have one that from mid 00's w/o issues. But -- guys got burnt with them. Back in the beginning of the inverter craze Sanyo was the king ... they just allowed the business to float away from them.

The big thing is parts and warranty. Mitsubishi made a good product ....had support and provided parts. Not a new business formula ... thats what every guy told me over the years. I don't sell "X" because I can't get parts and they did not stand behind the product.

Many of the no name stuff is throw away ... although it seems Mr. Cool has taken care of customers. But that's $1200 .... vs paying someone 4-5k to do a single head.

 

[Browneye]

Fujitsu - that's the other one I was trying to remember.

 

[yeldogt]

Fujitsu - that's the other one I was trying to remember.

Mitsubishi makes a branch box system. I'm more familiar with the Fujitsu. Mitsubishi seems to have the edge with the multi-head where all the lines go back to the compressor.