How To Connect Mini Split Line Set

Having a comfortably heated and cooled store certainly makes working in humid summers and dank winters a lot more pleasant. So, after limping along with an underpowered portable AC unit for our two-car (22' ten 30') garage shop, we finally decided that information technology was worth upgrading to something a bit more capable.

Later a piddling research, we came across the MRCOOL DIY Ductless Mini-Split Heat Pump which seemed a good fit being "DIY" and all! The unit both heats and cools and comes with a WiFi adapter which makes it possible to control with their smartphone app. At that place are also several sizes bachelor for those with smaller or larger rooms.

Nosotros did get a quote from a local HVAC installer for a slightly more efficient unit, but later on seeing that it would toll over three times the price of the MRCOOL unit, we decided that it was worth installing one ourselves. And since nosotros purchased this unit (and have no affiliation with MRCOOL), nosotros'll try to cover both its pros and cons.

The estrus pump came in ii boxes. The larger box is for the outdoor condenser unit which is ordinarily placed on a small pad or installed on an outside wall using a mounting bracket and then wired to a dedicated 120V or 240V circuit depending on the size of the unit of measurement.

In this box was the bleed line extension, a plastic pipe, and a fix of rubber pads to sit the unit on. There was likewise some neoprene putty and an Allen wrench.

The 2nd box contains the indoor unit which is mounted to an interior wall. Continued to it is a fix of refrigerant lines and a ability line that are run through a hole in the wall down to the outdoor unit of measurement. There'southward also a small bleed line connected to it that carries off whatever condensation from the indoor unit.

Update: On the latest third generation models, the lineset comes as a divide piece with quick connections on either end. The indoor unit of measurement comes with a brusk length of line that makes information technology much easier to install by yourself as you no longer accept to feed 25' of line through the wall!

The indoor unit box contains the user transmission, filters, the remote control, a drain connector for the condenser, and the Wi-Fi adapter. It also contains a cardboard template for the mounting plate with the location of the hole that must be cut in the wall.

I started the installation by removing the indoor unit with the attached line prepare from the box. After removing the zip ties holding the lines together, I removed the metallic mounting subclass from the back of the unit and uncoiled some of the lines being careful not to kink them.

Adjacent, I very gently bent the lines so that they exited the back of the unit of measurement where the pigsty will be located. The shorter tube is the drain line and information technology needs to exit underneath the line fix so that any condensation can easily bleed outside.

Then I leveled and taped the template to the wall of our shop and pre-drilled holes on two stud locations. I also went ahead and drilled a pilot hole where the pigsty for the line set would go before attaching the mounting bracket to the wall with a pair of cabinet screws.

Side by side information technology was time to drill the large iii.5" hole through the interior and outside walls at a slight downwardly angle to aid with drainage. Once I drilled through the interior wall, I cut a small hole in the insulation and continued drilling through the exterior sheathing which also made a airplane pilot hole in the siding.

Since we accept fiber cement siding I decided to finish cutting it from the outside to avoid any impairment. This actually ended upward working improve than I expected using the hole saw and the terminate result turned out pretty nice.

We then inserted the included plastic pipe that protects the line ready and trimmed off all but nearly 1/2" of the excess on the outside with a hacksaw and sanded over any crude edges along the bottom.

Adjacent I finished attaching the mounting subclass with the remaining screws and so it was finally time to mount the indoor unit of measurement on the wall.

To keep from kinking the roughly 25 feet of line, Carrie helped feed information technology through the pigsty from the within while a friend of ours helped from the outside. The of import matter to remember is that the bleed line must be on the bottom when the lines are fed through. The unit so only hooks onto the top of the bracket and snaps down onto the bottom.

We did waste a little time here 2d guessing ourselves just because the wall wasn't perfectly flat, just other than that, the mounting was pretty piece of cake.

Back outside I used some caulk around the pipe and then some of the included neoprene within it followed past depression-pressure foaming sealant. I then fastened the drain hose extension and began work on the line set cover.

The cover sections are made of a dorsum piece that is screwed to the siding and a front piece that is then screwed to the back piece.

Because our siding slopes, I bought a few packs of small nylon spacers from the local hardware store to insert backside the embrace where needed when screwing it into the siding.

Then I continued downwards the line set up overlapping the side by side piece into the previous department about half an inch.

Once that was done, information technology was time to secure the lines to the back of the embrace using some null ties and the included brackets that twist into identify.

I and then snapped on the front sections of the encompass and connected them with the small strap pieces.

Side by side, it was time to prepare the outdoor condenser unit. We decided to install it on a concrete pad on tiptop of two concrete blocks but to raise it off the ground a chip in example of the occasional snowfall storm, just a condenser pad would piece of work likewise. I then inserted the rubber pads and mounted it to the concrete blocks with a few Tapcon screws.

I likewise went ahead and as well attached the drain elbow to help direct whatsoever water off the concrete pad.

To adhere the refrigerant lines, I removed the cover on the side of the condenser and, later on removing the caps, mitt threaded the lines onto each of the connections. The connections are different sizes, so it was easy to know which went where, but you do have to be conscientious not to cross-thread the threads on the connectors.

I and so used a pair of adjustable wrenches to finish tightening everything to avoid dissentious the connectors.

The reason for the "DIY" in the name of this unit is that the organisation is pre-charged and doesn't crave a HVAC technician to complete the installation. To terminate up with the lines I sprayed them with soapy water to spot whatever leaks and then removed the metallic caps on the connectors and opened the lines with the included Allan wrench. After a checking for leaks one more time, I put the caps back on and then reattached the plastic cover.

The not-so-DIY function of this mini-dissever is that an electrician is needed to run a new 120V or 240V circuit (depending on the unit) to the condenser. The wiring connection to the unit itself is pretty uncomplicated and the merely other thing that needs to be done is to plug in the wiring harness from the indoor unit to the connector on the condenser and connect the ground wire.

So, afterward installing the additional filters that were included, it was finally time to examination out its cooling and heating.

Both worked extremely well during the initial test, and nosotros've been running the Air conditioning during the last 5 months with several 95+ caste days with loftier humidity and it has had no bug keeping the store dehumidified and cool plenty to piece of work in fifty-fifty when wearing a respirator and other safety gear.

To finish up with the install I plugged in the included Wi-Fi adapter and installed the MRCOOL app on my telephone. To prepare Wi-Fi, I entered "AP" mode on the indoor unit by turning information technology on and pressing the LED button on the remote control vii times. And then afterwards registering and logging in on the app, I added the unit to the app by scanning the included QR lawmaking.

To use the app, you just click to ability the mini-split on and so select the desired mode (Automobile, Cool, Dry, Estrus, Fan). You tin can then drag upward or down to change the temperature and, if the mode allows for it, change the fan speed.

Sadly the app seems to have a few bugs, and I wasn't able to get the Timer On/Off functions to work properly, though the timer functions on the included remote did seem to work just fine. Hopefully, they'll update the app to ready these bug as that'south actually our merely complaint so far.

Update: Nosotros were finally able to select a time for the "Timer On/Off" values afterwards reinstalling the MRCOOL app. To have the timers work properly, we likewise had to select a mean solar day or days to have it run. The timers too seem to get-go an 60 minutes late (possibly a daylight savings fourth dimension issue), just they at least work at present. It would exist overnice if the app permit yous select a fashion to use when the timers are run so that we could take the timer dehumidify the store a little every mean solar day in the summertime, but it appears to apply the final mode selected in the app.

Update: The new 3rd generation units are now compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant so they can exist controlled a chip easier.

1 slight downside for some to the "DIY" aspect of this oestrus pump is that any backlog line prepare must exist gently coiled up by the condenser, but the length for u.s.a. turned out to exist almost exactly what nosotros needed so it wasn't a concern. Information technology'southward actually but a cosmetic issue though. Nigh HVAC professionals strongly advise that the excess lineset be laid flat on the ground and not left in a vertical roll to avert issues with oil building upwardly. I take not seen a recommendation from MRCOOL yet.

I'll exist sure to update the commodity in a couple of months once we've had time to test the unit of measurement's heating more, just then far nosotros've been really happy with its cooling performance and information technology seems to use less power than the portable Air-conditioning unit of measurement that nosotros had been using!

Update: The unit had no trouble heating our shop over the winter with temperatures down to the low 40s and occasional mid-to-upper 30s.

Be sure to check out Our Workshop page for more details!

Parts

(Latest in Our Size) MRCOOL DIY 18K BTU Ductless Mini-Split Oestrus Pump
- (Smaller) MRCOOL DIY 12K BTU Ductless Mini-Split Estrus Pump
- (Larger) MRCOOL DIY 24K BTU Ductless Mini-Split Heat Pump
- (Largest) MRCOOL DIY 36K BTU Ductless Mini-Split Heat Pump
Line Set Comprehend
Optional Condenser Mounting Brackets
Optional Condenser Pad
two" Cabinet Screws
ii-1/4" Concrete Screws

Tools

Drill
3.5" Hole Saw