OT- Ductless cooling for home

[GemParty]

Anyone have knowledge on this? Something like a Mitsubishi Mr Slim. Do they work well. How would you cool multiple bedrooms? Need a couple?

 

[8893]

We bought one for an addition that is essentially a great room with a cathedral roof and it works great. It's one of the Mitsubishi ones.

We have central air upstairs only, and that was generally good enough to cool the downstairs as well. But the air wasn't getting into the addition because it is further away and only has a regular-sized doorway, which is often closed.

When a friend who has an antique house with no A/C saw how well it worked she had a few installed in her house and loves them. IIRC she has one for the entire downstairs and got two for the upstairs based on their recommendations, because the bedrooms are more closed off than the downstairs. In retrospect she said she probably only needed one upstairs, but she lives alone, so YMMV.

Go to the Mitsubishi website and they will tell you the dealers/contractors in your area. Our heating oil and A/C people were one of the dealers in our area so we used them. Tell them your square footage and needs and they will give you recommendations. Make sure you specify that you only want air and not heat, because the units without heat are less expensive. You will also need an electrician. The company selling the units will have a list of them of whom they approve for these installations. Make sure you get a good quote directly from the electrcian. Our electrician charged more than the A/C people estimated he would, which of course made the whole project more expensive than I expected. But worth every penny nonetheless. Quiet, effective and blends into the wall for most people.

 

[GemParty]

Great info, thanks. I'm glad you like your investment.

 

[Greathusky]

Anyone have knowledge on this? Something like a Mitsubishi Mr Slim. Do they work well. How would you cool multiple bedrooms? Need a couple?

We put one in two years ago.The 12000 BTU size kept the downstairs cool which includes dining room kitchen, living room and bathroom. We went with a duct system upstairs by having the a/c unit in the attic.

I have had no problems with it. It works as advertised. The biggest cost was upgrading our electric board from 110 to 240.

 

[GemParty]

Did you buy them at a big box store & call and approved hvac installer or get an in home consultation for how many you need & where the best place to locate them would be? I'm in Newington.

 

[nycscooby]

Make sure your electric panel can support the units. They work best when cooling open space, not nearly as effective on a floor with several rooms with doors.

 

[dogpause]

I'm sure they work well, and there are applications where it's the only option, but I'm not a big fan of how they look.

 

[8893]

I'm not a big fan of how they look.

My wife wasn't either, until we got one. If you put it on a white wall most people won't even realize it's there.

 

[Hoophound]

These units work great. We have them in our vacation home. However, there are a couple of very important details I learned the hard way. Fortunately, we were present to avert disaster.

1. Place the unit in a location that allows the drain line to run straight down from the unit and outside. We put our units in the most sensible and attractive locations and found that the ones that have a less than vertical drain line run need help getting started every summer (they definitely run downhill, but not straight down hill). Each June, I turn the units on and watch for water coming out of the condensate lines. Each June one or two of the 3 units isn't draining. I take a Shop Vac and put it on the line outside. The line will then start flowing. Keep in mind that bugs can also get in the lines and make a home there and they can clog the line as well.

2. When the units are put on the wall, they should have a slight pitch to encourage drainage. The top of the unit should be tilted slightly toward the wall. You can also accomplish tinkering with that angle by using a little shim between the bottom of the unit and the wall.

The end result of a drain failure is water all over your floor. I don't like to leave the house unless the units have been running at least an hour before I leave for fear I'll come home to a mess if one decided to stop draining.

The lesson here is, despite your wife wanting the unit centered on the wall etc., dig your heels in that you cannot put form over function on this. If it weren't for having to make 3 wall repairs and reinstall them, I'd move mine to less attractive but more drain friendly locations.

 

[Hoophound]

To add to the above, we have Mr. Slim units. They work great and are quiet. Fujitsu makes a great product as well but I think it may cost a little more than Mr. Slim.

 

[8893]

These units work great. We have them in our vacation home. However, there are a couple of very important details I learned the hard way. Fortunately, we were present to avert disaster.

1. Place the unit in a location that allows the drain line to run straight down from the unit and outside. We put our units in the most sensible and attractive locations and found that the ones that have a less than vertical drain line run need help getting started every summer (they definitely run downhill, but not straight down hill). Each June, I turn the units on and watch for water coming out of the condensate lines. Each June one or two of the 3 units isn't draining. I take a Shop Vac and put it on the line outside. The line will then start flowing. Keep in mind that bugs can also get in the lines and make a home there and they can clog the line as well.

2. When the units are put on the wall, they should have a slight pitch to encourage drainage. The top of the unit should be tilted slightly toward the wall. You can also accomplish tinkering with that angle by using a little shim between the bottom of the unit and the wall.

The end result of a drain failure is water all over your floor. I don't like to leave the house unless the units have been running at least an hour before I leave for fear I'll come home to a mess if one decided to stop draining.

The lesson here is, despite your wife wanting the unit centered on the wall etc., dig your heels in that you cannot put form over function on this. If it weren't for having to make 3 wall repairs and reinstall them, I'd move mine to less attractive but more drain friendly locations.

This is why I paid someone else to install it. Our heating/air conditioning people came out to the house and we narrowed the potential locations based on precisely the concerns you mention. We were very fortunate that the final location satisfies most of our considerations, but it did end up being the furthest possible point from our electrical panel, which significantly increased the cost to install.

 

[Hoophound]

I hired people to install it as well. Theoretically, they should drain the way they are and they were installed properly for the most part. The slight tilt has been added to their install protocol in the last few years. The drain runs that I have, are fine per their install standards, but are not "fine" in reality. Either way, keep an eye on those lines because even the one I have that is straight vertical has gotten clogged a time or two. I'd hit the line with a shop vac every spring to be safe.

 

[willie99]

Anyone have knowledge on this? Something like a Mitsubishi Mr Slim. Do they work well. How would you cool multiple bedrooms? Need a couple?

I have it at the home and office. I highly recommend it

 

[8893]

I hired people to install it as well. Theoretically, they should drain the way they are and they were installed properly for the most part. The slight tilt has been added to their install protocol in the last few years. The drain runs that I have, are fine per their install standards, but are not "fine" in reality. Either way, keep an eye on those lines because even the one I have that is straight vertical has gotten clogged a time or two. I'd hit the line with a shop vac every spring to be safe.

I agree. You have to keep an eye on them. Ours stopped cooling below a certain temperature a few months in and they had to come out and tighten up the area where it vents to the outside. They said that was a common issue shortly after install. I also check the drain valve regularly. But we also purchased an annual plan for both our central a/c and this unit that includes an annual check-up and tune-up, as well as free diagnostic service calls (parts only iirc).

 

[UConnKev]

We just spent a good chunk of change on the Mitsubishi hyper heat/dual climate central air unit and so far we love it. Energize CT has a great offer of 10 years and 0% interest that we jumped on.