A little tip on running the lines through the wall, if you'll cut the outside hole a little bit lower than the inside hole, it will angle the lines down enough to get them to bend against the wall without kinking.
@ceramiac Don't forget, you also have to be a private investigator too. Sometimes you go to a commercial, or even residential call, and you'll get 5 different stories from 5 different people about what the problem is! 😂
@@HVACMAVERICKof course my comment was a little satirical but I’m sure you get what I mean. And yes I do have carpenters I use as well as licensed electricians for upgrading panels, plumbers for running gas lines etc. and the last comment about being a private investigator 😂 that’s so true!
When you gotta run a large hole saw like that, run it in reverse for the first few seconds until you get a ring on the wall, then run it forward with light pressure, you'll find it doesn't grab like that and send your wrist to the moon. Wrecked my wrist for years until someone taught me that trick, hope it helps you too! I love the idea of mini-splits, except the one room I really need one, the only place it can go is an interior wall. Sucks that I have to run a 4-ton HVAC through the whole house to cool one room, but thus is life, I guess.
I purchased the same brand 12000btu mini split with WIFI on ebay a few months back when they were on sale. I installed it in my shed/workshop and it works perfectly. Mine came with a template showing where to cut the hole for the lineset/cables, a tube and escutcheon to finish the hole where the line set goes through. I as well installed a line set cover to pretty it up. So far so good for me.
@@Falcon-eh8tq All the parts including the line set came sealed. I am in a very dry climate. After install, I checked for leaks then set vacuum pump and pumped for a bit over 1 hour. closed all valves. vacuum changed a small amount probably from temp change. Ran pump again for about 1 hour. closed all valves. No leaks. Opened valve to let 410A out of condenser to fill system. checked for leaks. System works perfectly. Ebay had a 20% coupon and total cost shipped was $390.00 for a 1 ton ductless and 13' line set.
@@PilotInCommand777 that's two vaccuum pulls which is great, just curious if you had done 3. Back in the day we didn't even pull vaccuum with r-22 just let er fly. But it also didn't react with air like 410a oil does. Some linesets come precharged. to avoid vaccuum pump costs.
@@Falcon-eh8tq I did it twice. I don't have a proper vacuum gauge so I had to estimate. The condenser was charged with 410A, The line set was sealed and filled with nitrogen as well as the evaporator. Also I picked a day where the humidity level was very low. Nothing was open to air longer then 15-20 seconds. If the line set or any other sealed component is open to air for any time then you surely want to evacuate properly, get all moisture out but if all parts are new and sealed there should be no issue even if you only ran the vacuum pump for 30 mins. Also a filter dryer wouldn't be a bad idea.
@@Falcon-eh8tq My opinion on the systems that come with pre charged line sets. You could purchase a system without charged lines for about half the cost. I have installed 3 mini split air conditioners. The first one was a Fujitsu install was in 2017 and I used the same method and that one the line set was open to air. As of today it is still running strong.
Interesting and good video. I installed 2 mini splits myself 2 years ago. I could not believe the installation you worked on. The installer obviously didn't know what he was doing. I researched ms for a long time before I took on a self install. There are very few brands that include a good clear installation manual with the units. The Pioneers that I installed had good manuals, the only brand I found with decent install manuals. How the hell the installer thought he could run the condensate line uphill without a pump is beyond me. I changed ends with the drain line and ran the drain, electric, and linesets out of the left side of the indoor unit. It seamed to make more sense to me. Pioneer even includes a template with their units you can tape on the wall with locations of bracket, screws, and wall hole locations.
needed to seal that old hole with expanding spray foam and get one of those 6x6 fiberglass patches keep birds and critters out plus I would have bent the lines out before you installed the head unit like they tell you in the instructions manual plus i would have use a length of pvc in the new hole glued in to keep pests out bugs etc… other wise it would just look the same as the electrician job? d- on this job
Always like your videos , but would have done some things different..We always tape our drains n copper together , with drain being on the low point , 2.5” hole bit and slight angle for the hole inside n out for proper drainage, and like one of the other comments mentioned , I couldn’t have let your hole fly , would have dropped the plate to cover that , and spray foamed the hole from outside so ambient air wasn’t getting in and or critters…
Totally agree with this guy. 3in holes are for like 3 ton splits. I would have done 2 1/4 or 2 1/2 to minimize the gaps. Also that mini split holder was useless for this baby head. Looks like it got in your way. All you had to do was take it down and straighten out the lines. I also would have fixed that copper outside since you had already took the charge out. Whoever put that mess together first was pretty pathetic.
@@johnmflores85 Agree with both comments above. Actually surprised so many found the the rework to be "amazing", etc. when I kept thinking it was lacking. I also would not have felt kindly toward finding my wall marked up from the slipped drill but I suspect, given the looks of the existing environment, it may have gone unnoticed anyway.
Hey Curtis, what an original butcher job by the so-called "electrician". Your rework was amazing, now what to do with that other hole.... Nice job, brother! Love your content. Keep it coming! 👍
The excess line set at the outdoor unit is an oil trap the way it is. It needs to lay horizontally on the ground or cut off with a minimum of 16’ total length.
I also love how the one unit is on cinder blocks and it looks like the guy cut the hole with a sawzall. And the reason he didn't use the wall brackets is that he would have to drill into the brick and judging by the inept laziness of the rest of the installation he wasn't going to spend that much time on that. Probably better for her that he didn't attempt to use the wall mounts, I can only imagine what that would look like.
i have installed two as a diy and that is a total hack job wow..... the holes in the side of the house are simply outrageous to include the wrap job and electrical.... on the bright side at least it held refrigerant
In military terms, that install was a Charlie-Foxtrot! 9:34 - The same guy from Massachusetts, who fixes the walk-in cooler at my workplace in Connecticut, also installs mini-splits in Georgia? Because that's exactly how he ran the condensate pan drain... Uphill, 90° turn, uphill a little more, another 90° turn, then FINALLY downhill... And he determined the entire walk-in was beyond repair, that's why there was water all over the floor. 🤦♂
Curious why you didn't pump it down to its own compressor instead of all the recovery pump stuff, I know you are great at what you do so not criticizing just wondered why.
I’ll do the hole in angle to prevent kink . 📐 cover the old hole for sure . Bring down a little the base on the wall to cover the gap on the new hole. And the rest you know!!
It's good you showed where to drill the hole. I have the same unit but with no template. Is it 4" off the end of the hanger or off the upright? Also, I'll go 8" down so I don't have a hole showing.
Yessiree....when they see how good it looks and functions after a pro gets involved, they start to think how much value there is in paying to have it done by those in the know. Most of those mini splits come with "templates" so its odd they cut a hole for those lines where they did. The rest of their work tells me they don't read instructions or don't read them very well. The next visit should involve cutting the line set to length and putting covers over them especially if they want to have the condensers mounted on the wall at this stage. They also should get a weather tite power whip and remove that flex.
I could only imagine the electric bill with that many mini splits, an on top of that no insulation in them walls that look like they leak air like crazy
When I go straight through a wall like you were get the indoor unit lay it on the front. Take the lines and swing them at a 90 degree before you set it up there. I will bring the wire in through the hole and wire it off the wall bundle the drain wire and lines together with drain on the bottom. Then you have a neat all wrapped together line set to push through the wall. Air handler snaps on and your done inside. So much easier this way and when you drill the hole outside drop your pilot hole a inch helps the drain alot.
Nice reinstall. You can always use the vertical line on the ahu bracket for take off’s to find the hole and mark. I would have the line set off the ahu ready to go and not fight it on the helper bracket.
The hole is not too big, it's just a little to low. You can cover that up by dropping the mounting bracket about an inch and your line set would be in the perfect position and drain properly and the hole would be hidden by the wall unit and out of site. That electrical setup is a disaster and really needs to be fixed. I would also look up the install manual for those units and see of they require a fused disconnect or can get by with a breaker. Many of them are good with a breaker but there are a few that specifically require a fuse and say so in the manual. The ones that work with a breaker will say either fuse or breaker in the electrical hookup section and the ones that don't will specifically say fused service disconnect. I hope that when you do the reinstall that you cut that line set to the proper length once you set the condensers in their final positions.
hello from japan😃love your videos! here i install mainly these room coolers. if i going to reinstall,usually i close one valve and run the ac on cold a few minutes to collect the refrigerant on the outdoor unit then close the other valve,simple and easy,and put in the cylinder when going to discard. nice to see some mini(is that what’s called?) repair!
several years ago, I installed a mini-split in my daughter's "created" space I'm neither an electrician nor an HVAC technician, but I followed generally accepted practices and it worked for several years. it then started to leak inside and I couldn't correct the stoppage or unevenness. I bought a new unit and had a qualified HVAC install it.
An overheated mother-in-law is a horrific image; you did very well there! Looks like the hack was too cheap to buy a flaring tool and a tubing cutter. Either that, or "he's an electrician, and that's plumbers' work!" What a drone... Well, we know you will make it all right.
Most mini splits say to leave a minimum amount of lineset coiled up behind the unit or keep it below 12-15ft depending on the brand. Also, most of these random brand units come with linesets pre-flared with communication wire pre terminated as well. Installed a few of them and its VERY easy to make the install look good.
The condenser usually has enough refrigerant for the lineset that comes with the unit. If you cut the lineset to fit you will end up overcharged. An AC person could handle that but the average DIYer would leave it overcharged and have problems.
I am really disappointed in people more and more. It is so hard to find anyone that will do honest work at a fair price. So many times they charge professional rates for amateur work. If you were closer to me I would hire you in a heartbeat to do any and all of my heating and cooling. So glad to see some people still take pride in their work and reputation.
People also get took because there always trying to find the cheapest way out, even people with money that can afford good work will still hire some one that will do it as cheap as they can, but sometime having even pro do it they somtimes charge to much, I have seen just a swap out cost people 8 grand an thats to much so where's the balance
@@deweyabbott5310after a few times paying the premium price for terrible work in return , folks stop believing this whole "you get what you pay for" argument. It's a plague in the trades today, and a darn shame ...
To be honest, I think I would left the Lineset as it was, and not messed with recovering and such. Would have only drilled a new hole for the drain line if they want the partial repair. That being said I would have recommended total reinstall just like you. Glad they eventually made the right decision.
My brother installed his own mini split and has never done any HVAC work and is not an electrician, and he did a vastly better job than the person who installed this. He just did the research and took his time to do it correctly.
@@Bryan-Hensley It will bring HVAC techs more business. I am no HVAC tech but for every mini split I've seen done DIY right, I've seen a dozen done DIY wrong.
@@Bryan-Hensley The vast majority of the people will want someone else to install it. Most people don't know how, don't want to know how and don't want to spend the time needed to install or learn how to install. The HAVC industry is growing. In fact between 2018 and 2028 there's expected to be at least a 13% increase in the number of HVAC techs needed to keep up with demand. The tiny number of DIYers are not going to hurt the HVAC industry.
@@Bryan-Hensley No one around here is either. If I were an HVAC tech, I would only install equipment I supplied. But I would still do repair work on DIY installed equipment.
I'm sorry, either the guy that installed this unit was extremely stupid or extremely criminal and just didn't give a damn. I installed three mini splits myself, two of them with solar panels and one super high efficiency model. I watched videos like yours and other people's on UA-cam and did a lot of research on how to do the proper installation. Throughout the process one of the most fundamental things that was drilled into your head was that the drain line had to be on a downward slope. The instructions I had and most of the videos I watched even showed you how to do that when you were drilling through the wall. It was emphasized over and over again to make sure that the drain tube was on the bottom of the line set going out of the wall Make sure there was no pictures or kinks in the drain and refrigerant lines and that all of that was pointing downward. It warned very specifically if you did not do that that you would get leaking inside. Thankfully due too Great HVAC and prosumer videos my installations went perfect. For those of you wondering, I did hire a person to help me install the eight solar panels for the two solar ACs to make sure that they and the heat pumps were installed correctly and meant code. I figured the money spent there would help me avoid any mistakes that could cost me time and money. The idiot who installed these obviously didn't give two hoots!
If they installed it like that I highly doubt they vacuumed the line set down before opening the king valves either. Probably a lot of non-condensables in that refrigerant.
They didn't it's one of those so called precharged pre vacuamed linesets they are bad and junk just because they come with them does not mean you need to use them. They sell mini spilt linesets that are not like that junk.
I need to know how much it would cost to shorten up the line set. I don't like the excess coils laying around. And you are supposed to lay the excess coils flat so refrigerant oil doesn't accumulate in the low spot of a vertical coil. I put a 12,000 BTU Mr. Cool in at my place last June when I found that neither my 3 year old LG 19,000 BTU wall unit, nor my 2 year old Soleus 6,000 BTU window unit (hangs over the sill like a saddle) were putting out cold air anymore. (Thanks China.) I am pleased with the Mr. Cool as it can cool the whole house to a comfortable level in 90 degree+ weather. I have it mounted above the bed in our bedroom and the outlet vane directs the air towards the door. I set a fan on the floor in the hallway and blow the cool to the other end of the house. My electric bill is a lot lower than it would have been with the other A/Cs running. The level of quiet is great and if it can add enough heat to the house in heat mode to cut my use of heating oil, that thing will pay for itself. BTW Curtis, it sounds like your knees are as bad as mine.
Mr Cool unit is exactly like this one. I just installed a Mr Cool and the access covers, the grill on the unit and the line connection are exactly the same as this one
I bet the installer never even pulled a vacuum. Very novice work on every aspect. Thinking it was going to drain up hill? You gotta be kidding. Hahahha😂
You know the old saying ignorance is bliss. Well they don’t know they are doing an awful job. They believe they did good and the payment is the trophy.
I think the first thing to address is getting some insulation in those walls. That house is small enough that if it was insulated properly it wouldn't need as many mini splits and would likely be much less expensive to cool and heat throughout the year. I live in a 1500 sq ft house built in 1950 with 2x4 walls with r13 insulation and 1.5" ridged foam added on the outside when the place was resided so the walls are about r-20 and the roof is between r-30 and r-40 depending on the space available for insulation. I can cool the entire house comfortably with a single 8000BTU window air conditioner and it only costs an extra $25-30 every month on top the the normal electric bill to do so. I can't begin to imagine what it would cost to cool this house without insulation in the walls.
I installed a unit on my house after watching numerous you tube videos, looking at online articles and looking at different install manuals put together by the manufacture’s. I would have been happy to use an HVAC pro to install the system but the installation quotes were ridiculous. Paying 3 to 4x for the install relative to the price of system itself is just insane to me. I could understand if I was having a traditional heat pump, air handler with braised copper connection’s and duct work installed but I didn’t see how the quoted prices could even be so high for having a single zone mini-split ran to one room of my house. In my area I more than likely won’t be able to find an HVAC person to repair or service the unit but I’ll probably just buy another unit to replace it anyway.
I know practically SQUAT about hvac.. and less about splits. But I know that the hoses, tubes and cabling there was SO triggering me. No strain/stress relief on the cable-box so that black thick cable was just rubbing against the knockout hole. I'd feel SO compelled to clip-back the hoses and tubes and cables and fix that wall hole thing.
does not surprise me at all, been doing Mini splits for 15 years I've seen crazy things done, but what gets me is that installers don't even have a torque wrench to tied fittings to specs they don't even apply nylog to the fittings, and always looked at your line set length you may have to add or take out some charge.
Why didn't you bend the line set properly before putting the inside unit back on the wall? Looks like you left it the way it was and tried to force it thru the hole. Also, why not recover the refrigerant right back into the outside unit, just like it came from the factory, then release it back when you have the lines redone properly and vacumed? It's in the manual how to do that.
yep, someone not really experienced in installing mini splits trying to correct someone not experienced in installing mini splits. two bodgers on one job ... Using grips instead of spanners struggling because it's that darn new fandangle metricalated system " I ain't no carrying them there foreign numbered spanners." not pumping down so loss of gas reclaiming and recharging making a mess of customers wall because they trying to force the pilot drill too quickly.. not taping the pipes together to pass through the wall. not marking the wall correctly not straightening the pipes not covering the open pipes when he forced it through the wall to prevent ingress of dirt not cutting back the excess pipe different coloured cable ties Its painful watching some of these guys passing themselves off as experts.
100 percent correct on all accounts. This “professional” job was a true butcher job. You could have added reusing the old flares and not tightening to spec with proper tools and wrenches. I feel sorry for the old lady. It’s guaranteed to leak gas now like they all do at the flares because no one can do it right.
She got robbed, with the “electrician.” Electricians have a reputation and license at stake. There’s no way, any electrician would use MC cables on an exterior install.
everyone of my family members “mini splits are easy, it only takes an hour or two, all ya gotta do is hook up the lines “ then i see this video and it looks exactly the same … 🤦♂️
Isn't this the problem with the DIY Mr Cool stuff with pre-charged lines. You can't adjust the size. Which I guess is fine if you find a nice place for the needed length to coil to.
@@pilotbobayou can cut them and reflare them properly and cut to size but first you need to recover the refrigerent back into the unit by first closing the high side with an Allan key and then close the low side after it's recovered then you can cut the refrigerent lines correctly and reflare and then vac system. Thats the right way period. Never should you coil up excess linesets like that period you can spread it on the wall to an extant but never under any circumstances do you coil up linesets like that even if the manufacture tells you you can. Like Mr cool or Bella and some others.
@@gabrielstern4992 Sure but most DIYers that buy MrCool system don't have those tools. This is why when my son wanted to install a DIY minisplit A/C at my daughter's I helped her pay a bit more for a professional install.
You should tell the customer that her brick needs an apron flashing to prevent water from getting in between the T-111 and the brick. And about a hundred other things.
And how did that remedy the situation if a vacuum was never pulled when he just dumped the same contaminated charge back in from his recovery tank minus 5 or 6 ounces he lost during recovery.
@@TonyNanni Oh my god I totally missed that haha, charged via vapor port too. Def would have done new gas or at least used a scrubber on the old stuff. I am unsure if he used a tester on the old stuff but I hope it didn't have air.
I've installed 8 "zokops" aka pioneer WYT aka TCL. I love em. I paid 400+ less each than pioneer charges. You know he didn't vac those. They need fresh 410a :/
A little tip on running the lines through the wall, if you'll cut the outside hole a little bit lower than the inside hole, it will angle the lines down enough to get them to bend against the wall without kinking.
A good HVAC tech can diagnose, repair, replace, install and …. Is proficient in landscaping, plumbing, electrical, Sheetrock , carpentry, psychology,
@@ceramiac I’m not sure if you know exactly how right you are. Haha
@ceramiac Don't forget, you also have to be a private investigator too. Sometimes you go to a commercial, or even residential call, and you'll get 5 different stories from 5 different people about what the problem is! 😂
@@HVACMAVERICKof course my comment was a little satirical but I’m sure you get what I mean.
And yes I do have carpenters I use as well as licensed electricians for upgrading panels, plumbers for running gas lines etc.
and the last comment about being a private investigator 😂 that’s so true!
@danwesten2771 No, ceramiac is correct. What you described is a union HVAC tech.
When you gotta run a large hole saw like that, run it in reverse for the first few seconds until you get a ring on the wall, then run it forward with light pressure, you'll find it doesn't grab like that and send your wrist to the moon. Wrecked my wrist for years until someone taught me that trick, hope it helps you too!
I love the idea of mini-splits, except the one room I really need one, the only place it can go is an interior wall. Sucks that I have to run a 4-ton HVAC through the whole house to cool one room, but thus is life, I guess.
They make condensation pumps for that. We install them on interior walls all the time.
Yeah interior wall is no problem at all, just needs a pump. I’ve put about 15 of them in our hospital so far on interior walls.
Those mini split header service supports are awesome I wish I knew they existed! I’m glad I know they do now!
I purchased the same brand 12000btu mini split with WIFI on ebay a few months back when they were on sale. I installed it in my shed/workshop and it works perfectly. Mine came with a template showing where to cut the hole for the lineset/cables, a tube and escutcheon to finish the hole where the line set goes through. I as well installed a line set cover to pretty it up. So far so good for me.
did you triple evacuate?
@@Falcon-eh8tq All the parts including the line set came sealed. I am in a very dry climate. After install, I checked for leaks then set vacuum pump and pumped for a bit over 1 hour. closed all valves. vacuum changed a small amount probably from temp change. Ran pump again for about 1 hour. closed all valves. No leaks. Opened valve to let 410A out of condenser to fill system. checked for leaks. System works perfectly. Ebay had a 20% coupon and total cost shipped was $390.00 for a 1 ton ductless and 13' line set.
@@PilotInCommand777 that's two vaccuum pulls which is great, just curious if you had done 3. Back in the day we didn't even pull vaccuum with r-22 just let er fly. But it also didn't react with air like 410a oil does.
Some linesets come precharged. to avoid vaccuum pump costs.
@@Falcon-eh8tq I did it twice. I don't have a proper vacuum gauge so I had to estimate. The condenser was charged with 410A, The line set was sealed and filled with nitrogen as well as the evaporator. Also I picked a day where the humidity level was very low. Nothing was open to air longer then 15-20 seconds. If the line set or any other sealed component is open to air for any time then you surely want to evacuate properly, get all moisture out but if all parts are new and sealed there should be no issue even if you only ran the vacuum pump for 30 mins. Also a filter dryer wouldn't be a bad idea.
@@Falcon-eh8tq My opinion on the systems that come with pre charged line sets. You could purchase a system without charged lines for about half the cost. I have installed 3 mini split air conditioners. The first one was a Fujitsu install was in 2017 and I used the same method and that one the line set was open to air. As of today it is still running strong.
also should of lowered the mounting bracket so unit would of covered the too big of a hole :)
Interesting and good video. I installed 2 mini splits myself 2 years ago. I could not believe the installation you worked on. The installer obviously didn't know what he was doing. I researched ms for a long time before I took on a self install. There are very few brands that include a good clear installation manual with the units. The Pioneers that I installed had good manuals, the only brand I found with decent install manuals. How the hell the installer thought he could run the condensate line uphill without a pump is beyond me. I changed ends with the drain line and ran the drain, electric, and linesets out of the left side of the indoor unit. It seamed to make more sense to me. Pioneer even includes a template with their units you can tape on the wall with locations of bracket, screws, and wall hole locations.
She is smart to let you do it over right. That is a shame. Bring us along when you do it. Thanks for sharing.
Good work!
That sure is a internet special right there lol
I saw one of those Bryan’s it was installed the exact same way lol.
Bring us along for the next job.good work,as always...✌️✌️
Thanks 👍
Nice work Curtis. That was the biggest hack job i have ever seen.
Must have been Rube Goldberg. All you have to do is read the instructions.
needed to seal that old hole with expanding spray foam and get one of those 6x6 fiberglass patches keep birds and critters out plus I would have bent the lines out before you installed the head unit like they tell you in the instructions manual plus i would have use a length of pvc in the new hole glued in to keep pests out bugs etc… other wise it would just look the same as the electrician job? d- on this job
Always like your videos , but would have done some things different..We always tape our drains n copper together , with drain being on the low point , 2.5” hole bit and slight angle for the hole inside n out for proper drainage, and like one of the other comments mentioned , I couldn’t have let your hole fly , would have dropped the plate to cover that , and spray foamed the hole from outside so ambient air wasn’t getting in and or critters…
Totally agree with this guy. 3in holes are for like 3 ton splits. I would have done 2 1/4 or 2 1/2 to minimize the gaps. Also that mini split holder was useless for this baby head. Looks like it got in your way. All you had to do was take it down and straighten out the lines. I also would have fixed that copper outside since you had already took the charge out. Whoever put that mess together first was pretty pathetic.
@@johnmflores85 Agree with both comments above. Actually surprised so many found the the rework to be "amazing", etc. when I kept thinking it was lacking. I also would not have felt kindly toward finding my wall marked up from the slipped drill but I suspect, given the looks of the existing environment, it may have gone unnoticed anyway.
Hacks will bring you stacks Curtis
Great job,Curtis!
Thanks!
Well dang BX/MC cable used outside that’s crazy.
Lovely 😂. Come on! Good Job Curtis
Hey Curtis, what an original butcher job by the so-called "electrician". Your rework was amazing, now what to do with that other hole.... Nice job, brother! Love your content. Keep it coming! 👍
amazing job? it looked total shite!
@@richardbartlett6932 I was speaking of the rework Curtis did. Yes the original work was crap!
@@thomasgautney5586 the rework looked total dog shite !. Jeepers what kind of professionalism world do you live in if you think this was good?
use a 3 in hole saw next time or even 2 1/2 if you are not using the sleeve that runs through the wall
The excess line set at the outdoor unit is an oil trap the way it is. It needs to lay horizontally on the ground or cut off with a minimum of 16’ total length.
10' min they say. Lineset out of the box is 16'.
I also love how the one unit is on cinder blocks and it looks like the guy cut the hole with a sawzall.
And the reason he didn't use the wall brackets is that he would have to drill into the brick and judging by the inept laziness of the rest of the installation he wasn't going to spend that much time on that.
Probably better for her that he didn't attempt to use the wall mounts, I can only imagine what that would look like.
The inside hole looks like it was made with a hammer
@@JeffLMisc a dull hammer! 🤣
@@JeffLMisc- A jackhammer…
i have installed two as a diy and that is a total hack job wow..... the holes in the side of the house are simply outrageous to include the wrap job and electrical.... on the bright side at least it held refrigerant
Last Friday I went on a no cooling call. Five indoor units one outdoor unit.. low refrigerant. Installed by a jackleg.
In military terms, that install was a Charlie-Foxtrot!
9:34 - The same guy from Massachusetts, who fixes the walk-in cooler at my workplace in Connecticut, also installs mini-splits in Georgia? Because that's exactly how he ran the condensate pan drain... Uphill, 90° turn, uphill a little more, another 90° turn, then FINALLY downhill... And he determined the entire walk-in was beyond repair, that's why there was water all over the floor. 🤦♂
Curious why you didn't pump it down to its own compressor instead of all the recovery pump stuff, I know you are great at what you do so not criticizing just wondered why.
I’ll do the hole in angle to prevent kink . 📐 cover the old hole for sure . Bring down a little the base on the wall to cover the gap on the new hole. And the rest you know!!
If that's an installation omg I need to come over an get some of these jobs Great reinstallation Curtis
My understanding is the excess coiled copper lines need to be horizontal not vertical
The excess should be cut actually.
Good job
Thanks
4” hole at a slight downward angle works best for those . .
Well Curtis, that is what i call a Bodgie job, at least she has you tidying it up 👍 Au
I can feel your frustration I just had to straighten out a big building with a box full of spaghetti on top of drop ceiling
Talk about the yellow supports you used to hold the inside unit .
Is called. mighty bracket
That line set placement, tho! ☹ Strange, considering most of these kits come with a big paper template to properly lay out the installation.
It's good you showed where to drill the hole. I have the same unit but with no template. Is it 4" off the end of the hanger or off the upright? Also, I'll go 8" down so I don't have a hole showing.
Good deal curtis.good job
Yessiree....when they see how good it looks and functions after a pro gets involved, they start to think how much value there is in paying to have it done by those in the know. Most of those mini splits come with "templates" so its odd they cut a hole for those lines where they did. The rest of their work tells me they don't read instructions or don't read them very well. The next visit should involve cutting the line set to length and putting covers over them especially if they want to have the condensers mounted on the wall at this stage. They also should get a weather tite power whip and remove that flex.
I could only imagine the electric bill with that many mini splits, an on top of that no insulation in them walls that look like they leak air like crazy
those are 19 seer2
When I go straight through a wall like you were get the indoor unit lay it on the front. Take the lines and swing them at a 90 degree before you set it up there. I will bring the wire in through the hole and wire it off the wall bundle the drain wire and lines together with drain on the bottom. Then you have a neat all wrapped together line set to push through the wall. Air handler snaps on and your done inside. So much easier this way and when you drill the hole outside drop your pilot hole a inch helps the drain alot.
Nice reinstall. You can always use the vertical line on the ahu bracket for take off’s to find the hole and mark. I would have the line set off the ahu ready to go and not fight it on the helper bracket.
The hole is not too big, it's just a little to low. You can cover that up by dropping the mounting bracket about an inch and your line set would be in the perfect position and drain properly and the hole would be hidden by the wall unit and out of site. That electrical setup is a disaster and really needs to be fixed. I would also look up the install manual for those units and see of they require a fused disconnect or can get by with a breaker. Many of them are good with a breaker but there are a few that specifically require a fuse and say so in the manual. The ones that work with a breaker will say either fuse or breaker in the electrical hookup section and the ones that don't will specifically say fused service disconnect. I hope that when you do the reinstall that you cut that line set to the proper length once you set the condensers in their final positions.
Hi Curtis. Great work what you need is a miners cap with a light on it??
hello from japan😃love your videos! here i install mainly these room coolers.
if i going to reinstall,usually i close one valve and run the ac on cold a few minutes to collect the refrigerant on the outdoor unit then close the other valve,simple and easy,and put in the cylinder when going to discard.
nice to see some mini(is that what’s called?) repair!
Looking forward to seeing the completed "re-do" of this nightmare
"3 inches, that'll work."
She most definitely did NOT say that.
several years ago, I installed a mini-split in my daughter's "created" space I'm neither an electrician nor an HVAC technician, but I followed generally accepted practices and it worked for several years. it then started to leak inside and I couldn't correct the stoppage or unevenness. I bought a new unit and had a qualified HVAC install it.
evap coil leak, you didn't do anything wrong
Just a block condensate line. easy to fix.
If it didn't leak for years, most likely just a block drain line
This is some Alf and Ralph stuff my God 😅😅
I would have lowered the bracket about an inch or so to cover the hole.
I'll be back. Cool sunglasses 😎
Ted Cook and Steve Lav have never seen a mess like that !
That guy said "Gravity dont exist" 😂
An overheated mother-in-law is a horrific image; you did very well there!
Looks like the hack was too cheap to buy a flaring tool and a tubing cutter. Either that, or "he's an electrician, and that's plumbers' work!" What a drone... Well, we know you will make it all right.
Most mini splits say to leave a minimum amount of lineset coiled up behind the unit or keep it below 12-15ft depending on the brand. Also, most of these random brand units come with linesets pre-flared with communication wire pre terminated as well. Installed a few of them and its VERY easy to make the install look good.
@@hybridmods4228 This drone sure didn't.
The condenser usually has enough refrigerant for the lineset that comes with the unit. If you cut the lineset to fit you will end up overcharged. An AC person could handle that but the average DIYer would leave it overcharged and have problems.
Man, that's crazy !!!!
I also ran into a install an electrician did man some ppl shouldn’t be doing this
I am really disappointed in people more and more. It is so hard to find anyone that will do honest work at a fair price. So many times they charge professional rates for amateur work. If you were closer to me I would hire you in a heartbeat to do any and all of my heating and cooling. So glad to see some people still take pride in their work and reputation.
People also get took because there always trying to find the cheapest way out, even people with money that can afford good work will still hire some one that will do it as cheap as they can, but sometime having even pro do it they somtimes charge to much, I have seen just a swap out cost people 8 grand an thats to much so where's the balance
This is no amateur that did this. I would be considered an amateur and even I know how to do this properly.
@@deweyabbott5310after a few times paying the premium price for terrible work in return , folks stop believing this whole "you get what you pay for" argument. It's a plague in the trades today, and a darn shame ...
No insulation in the walls? 😢
WTH .....I was wondering the same thing. Heard that plug go "plop" when it hit the floor.
It's the US 😅
Prior to the mid 1960s this was not a building code requirement in the south. My 1965 Louisiana home was the same way, unfortunately.
Older home.
Sandman! Nice!!!!
Hope u fix holes too
The guy that installed that system looks like army.They never shorten the lineset.
To be honest, I think I would left the Lineset as it was, and not messed with recovering and such. Would have only drilled a new hole for the drain line if they want the partial repair. That being said I would have recommended total reinstall just like you. Glad they eventually made the right decision.
Looks like Moe,Larry and Curly stopped by to offer their services.......
"Dewey Cheatum and Howe"
Always enjoying your videos, just wondering why you recovered the refridge instead of just a normal pump down..
looking forward to the next one 😊
My brother installed his own mini split and has never done any HVAC work and is not an electrician, and he did a vastly better job than the person who installed this. He just did the research and took his time to do it correctly.
That's what the manufacturers of mini splits want, diy. They literally want to put us out of business..
@@Bryan-Hensley It will bring HVAC techs more business. I am no HVAC tech but for every mini split I've seen done DIY right, I've seen a dozen done DIY wrong.
@@Bryan-Hensley The vast majority of the people will want someone else to install it. Most people don't know how, don't want to know how and don't want to spend the time needed to install or learn how to install. The HAVC industry is growing. In fact between 2018 and 2028 there's expected to be at least a 13% increase in the number of HVAC techs needed to keep up with demand. The tiny number of DIYers are not going to hurt the HVAC industry.
@@BlenderRookie I'm no longer installing customer purchased equipment. No one else around here is either.
@@Bryan-Hensley No one around here is either. If I were an HVAC tech, I would only install equipment I supplied. But I would still do repair work on DIY installed equipment.
I'm sorry, either the guy that installed this unit was extremely stupid or extremely criminal and just didn't give a damn.
I installed three mini splits myself, two of them with solar panels and one super high efficiency model.
I watched videos like yours and other people's on UA-cam and did a lot of research on how to do the proper installation.
Throughout the process one of the most fundamental things that was drilled into your head was that the drain line had to be on a downward slope.
The instructions I had and most of the videos I watched even showed you how to do that when you were drilling through the wall.
It was emphasized over and over again to make sure that the drain tube was on the bottom of the line set going out of the wall Make sure there was no pictures or kinks in the drain and refrigerant lines and that all of that was pointing downward.
It warned very specifically if you did not do that that you would get leaking inside.
Thankfully due too Great HVAC and prosumer videos my installations went perfect.
For those of you wondering, I did hire a person to help me install the eight solar panels for the two solar ACs to make sure that they and the heat pumps were installed correctly and meant code.
I figured the money spent there would help me avoid any mistakes that could cost me time and money.
The idiot who installed these obviously didn't give two hoots!
What size are the power lines running into thos two out door units? From here it liiks pretty light.
Well I did notice that there was no insulation in those walls
There was an inch of some sort of insulation on outside wall
that instaler didnt know what he is doing..😂
That’s an understatement 💀
Duh.
I would just cut the lights out there and then disassembled later is it going to be flaring it again anyways.
If they installed it like that I highly doubt they vacuumed the line set down before opening the king valves either. Probably a lot of non-condensables in that refrigerant.
They didn't it's one of those so called precharged pre vacuamed linesets they are bad and junk just because they come with them does not mean you need to use them. They sell mini spilt linesets that are not like that junk.
Man, I don't know what to think about this guy.
Im thinking the same thing 🫣 this dude is a clown
I need to know how much it would cost to shorten up the line set. I don't like the excess coils laying around. And you are supposed to lay the excess coils flat so refrigerant oil doesn't accumulate in the low spot of a vertical coil. I put a 12,000 BTU Mr. Cool in at my place last June when I found that neither my 3 year old LG 19,000 BTU wall unit, nor my 2 year old Soleus 6,000 BTU window unit (hangs over the sill like a saddle) were putting out cold air anymore. (Thanks China.) I am pleased with the Mr. Cool as it can cool the whole house to a comfortable level in 90 degree+ weather. I have it mounted above the bed in our bedroom and the outlet vane directs the air towards the door. I set a fan on the floor in the hallway and blow the cool to the other end of the house. My electric bill is a lot lower than it would have been with the other A/Cs running. The level of quiet is great and if it can add enough heat to the house in heat mode to cut my use of heating oil, that thing will pay for itself. BTW Curtis, it sounds like your knees are as bad as mine.
Mr Cool unit is exactly like this one. I just installed a Mr Cool and the access covers, the grill on the unit and the line connection are exactly the same as this one
@@Bryan-Hensley They are made in the same Chinese factory. Only the brand name labels are different.
You didn’t cut off any of the excess line set?
I bet the installer never even pulled a vacuum. Very novice work on every aspect. Thinking it was going to drain up hill? You gotta be kidding. Hahahha😂
I've always found it hard to believe that people can do work that bad and then charge for it and feel good about themselves.
You know the old saying ignorance is bliss. Well they don’t know they are doing an awful job. They believe they did good and the payment is the trophy.
Don't know why they wouldn't have used a dual system with them being so close to each other.
Cheaper
I think the first thing to address is getting some insulation in those walls. That house is small enough that if it was insulated properly it wouldn't need as many mini splits and would likely be much less expensive to cool and heat throughout the year. I live in a 1500 sq ft house built in 1950 with 2x4 walls with r13 insulation and 1.5" ridged foam added on the outside when the place was resided so the walls are about r-20 and the roof is between r-30 and r-40 depending on the space available for insulation. I can cool the entire house comfortably with a single 8000BTU window air conditioner and it only costs an extra $25-30 every month on top the the normal electric bill to do so. I can't begin to imagine what it would cost to cool this house without insulation in the walls.
She should have got you to re-install so she would get a warranty.
I installed a unit on my house after watching numerous you tube videos, looking at online articles and looking at different install manuals put together by the manufacture’s. I would have been happy to use an HVAC pro to install the system but the installation quotes were ridiculous. Paying 3 to 4x for the install relative to the price of system itself is just insane to me. I could understand if I was having a traditional heat pump, air handler with braised copper connection’s and duct work installed but I didn’t see how the quoted prices could even be so high for having a single zone mini-split ran to one room of my house.
In my area I more than likely won’t be able to find an HVAC person to repair or service the unit but I’ll probably just buy another unit to replace it anyway.
I know practically SQUAT about hvac.. and less about splits.
But I know that the hoses, tubes and cabling there was SO triggering me. No strain/stress relief on the cable-box so that black thick cable was just rubbing against the knockout hole.
I'd feel SO compelled to clip-back the hoses and tubes and cables and fix that wall hole thing.
Total hack job. Once Curtis making it right. I’m pretty sure that, that mc is not rated for exterior use.
Where did you get those brackets?
does not surprise me at all, been doing Mini splits for 15 years I've seen crazy things done, but what gets me is that installers don't even have a torque wrench to tied fittings to specs they don't even apply nylog to the fittings, and always looked at your line set length you may have to add or take out some charge.
Exterior wall with no insulation. I bet those heating/cooling bills are high.
OMG...WOW
She should sue the guy that installed the units and recover her loses.
Why didn't you bend the line set properly before putting the inside unit back on the wall? Looks like you left it the way it was and tried to force it thru the hole. Also, why not recover the refrigerant right back into the outside unit, just like it came from the factory, then release it back when you have the lines redone properly and vacumed? It's in the manual how to do that.
Agreed, it should have all been straightened out and taped together to go thru the hole
yep, someone not really experienced in installing mini splits trying to correct someone not experienced in installing mini splits. two bodgers on one job ...
Using grips instead of spanners struggling because it's that darn new fandangle metricalated system " I ain't no carrying them there foreign numbered spanners."
not pumping down so loss of gas reclaiming and recharging
making a mess of customers wall because they trying to force the pilot drill too quickly..
not taping the pipes together to pass through the wall.
not marking the wall correctly
not straightening the pipes
not covering the open pipes when he forced it through the wall to prevent ingress of dirt
not cutting back the excess pipe
different coloured cable ties
Its painful watching some of these guys passing themselves off as experts.
100 percent correct on all accounts. This “professional” job was a true butcher job. You could have added reusing the old flares and not tightening to spec with proper tools and wrenches. I feel sorry for the old lady. It’s guaranteed to leak gas now like they all do at the flares because no one can do it right.
Curtis do you like your mighty bracket for mini split work?
Yes, very helpful
She got robbed, with the “electrician.” Electricians have a reputation and license at stake. There’s no way, any electrician would use MC cables on an exterior install.
An electrician would also know how to cut MC and not use a 25' coil for a 6' run
everyone of my family members
“mini splits are easy, it only takes an hour or two, all ya gotta do is hook up the lines “
then i see this video and it looks exactly the same … 🤦♂️
Isn't this the problem with the DIY Mr Cool stuff with pre-charged lines. You can't adjust the size. Which I guess is fine if you find a nice place for the needed length to coil to.
@@pilotbobayou can cut them and reflare them properly and cut to size but first you need to recover the refrigerent back into the unit by first closing the high side with an Allan key and then close the low side after it's recovered then you can cut the refrigerent lines correctly and reflare and then vac system.
Thats the right way period.
Never should you coil up excess linesets like that period you can spread it on the wall to an extant but never under any circumstances do you coil up linesets like that even if the manufacture tells you you can.
Like Mr cool or Bella and some others.
@@gabrielstern4992 Sure but most DIYers that buy MrCool system don't have those tools. This is why when my son wanted to install a DIY minisplit A/C at my daughter's I helped her pay a bit more for a professional install.
You should tell the customer that her brick needs an apron flashing to prevent water from getting in between the T-111 and the brick. And about a hundred other things.
as we say in my trade, hacks make me stacks...
👍👍👍
I'm glad you recovered the charge vs pumping the system down. With how everything was "installed" I suspect they never pulled a vacuum on the lineset.
he just dumped the reclaimed refrigerant back in with any air if there was any in there 😂
And how did that remedy the situation if a vacuum was never pulled when he just dumped the same contaminated charge back in from his recovery tank minus 5 or 6 ounces he lost during recovery.
@@TonyNanni Oh my god I totally missed that haha, charged via vapor port too. Def would have done new gas or at least used a scrubber on the old stuff. I am unsure if he used a tester on the old stuff but I hope it didn't have air.
@@thomashalo1011 He's a hillbilly hack ..maybe one grade above the original installer but a hack none the less.
Homeowner special
that left over copper is worth more than the no name units
There really are not that many manufacturers. Guessing it’s GREE
Whats the name and part number of that bracket for the mini split evap
I wouldn't leave the extra line set like that
Not just too big. But kinda low..
check out that new battery pump itll save you major time. great video curt
Looks like your hole-saw got away from you!
I've installed 8 "zokops" aka pioneer WYT aka TCL. I love em. I paid 400+ less each than pioneer charges.
You know he didn't vac those. They need fresh 410a :/