My Mini split experiences...

[Eljefe640]

I purchased two Shinco Mini splits a little over a year ago. A 24k btu inverter heat pump for my garage and an 18k inverter heat pump for the garage apartment. The 18k was DOA. The 24k worked for about 6 months. Shinco customer support is very difficult to deal with.

Here is my advice:
#1 - I don't recommend Shinco
#2 - I don't recommend an inverter if you are going with a cheap brand. I also don't recommend an inverter in the garage. The environment is too harsh. The controls are not simple or available and that is most likely what will fail. The motors are all variable speed DC, so it is nearly impossible to control with off the shelf parts. A standard unit that cycles on and off can be controlled with simple relays and a standard thermostat in a pinch.

 

[rburke65]

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Jackfre]

Sorry for what you are going through. While I'm affiliated with one of the major brands, your parts issue is one of the primary reasons to stick with a major in this catagory of product. In the past several years we saw a jump from 10 seer req'd to 13 and then the inverters. Parts have to be available to support all of those models and the company has to have the investment in the market to do that well.

I would disagree on not recommening an inverter. You have the same parts count. They are just more efficient, and yes, you need brand specific parts to make them work.

I hope this works out for you!

 

[jcjacobvt]

Mitsubishi Electric split system, very happy

I have a Mitsubishi Electric split system with 9k btu and 15k btu heads. Works great with three types of systems covered AUTO mode where everything is completely automatic. COOL for hot weather, HEAT for spring and fall, and DRY mode to dehumidify house. Both controllers must be on the same settings, but the system runs great. In summer I leave it in ECONO COOL and that seems to take care of all high outdoor heat. Since I am in Vermont my winter months are 100 percent taken care of by a wood pellet boiler with a oil boiler backup. Have yet to need the oil boiler for the 3 years everything has run. All areas calling for heat are radiant heat in floors.

 

[Eljefe640]

Jackfre - You are exactly right and thank you for the kind words. "...your parts issue is one of the primary reasons to stick with a major in this catagory of product." That is what I meant when I said "I don't recommend an inverter if you are going with a cheap brand." I think inverter a/c systems are fantastic. The only problem is that if you don't buy a good quality brand, they are essentially not serviceable.

I'm about to buy two new units. Still haven't decided what brands, but I'll post my experiences after I've had them a while.

 

[Steves32]

I have a Fujitsu HP 22 SEER Inverter in my garage & it works fantastic.

 

[RKA]

In general these things are very reliable, but failures do happen across all brands. Did you ever find out why each of the units failed? And why do you say the garage environment is too harsh? What happened that led you to this conclusion/statement?

One of my fears with these things is that they are black boxes. Many HVAC techs simply don't have experience installing them, and even fewer have experience troubleshooting a broken one. But hopefully with enough support from the manufacturer, they can guide a tech through the troubleshooting and repair process.

 

[BoostAddiction]

I had a Daikin 24K unit in the garage for some time, and it worked well until a lightning strike took it out. The local HVAC techs found a replacement board- at about 60% of the price of a new unit. And they weren't sure that would fix everything.

So I bought another 24K unit, but this time found an LG artsy thing that works well, and has been reliable so far. Planning to put the team logo on the mirror part of the wall unit.

The minisplits are great units- I see them everywhere in the Caribbean- and work well in the garage environment.

 

[Jackfre]

The key to success long term with ms' is cleanliness. Look at the coil spacing on both the condensing unit and evap. If you **** that up your efficiency will suffer. Clean it and all is good.

I've seen some MS' that took lightening strikes and were tried to repair. It is simply not worth the labor cost to do so, even if the boards are provided under warranty. A lightening strike has so much voltage squirting around that it goes through the entire unit. You patiently try one board after another in the proper sequence and soon your head explodes...but the unit may not work. You have homeowners insurance. Lightening strikes are a good time to make a claim