Mr Cool DIY Mini Split Review (After 1 Year of Use)
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- Опубліковано 26 чер 2024
- We've really liked our Mr Cool DIY mini split units... but how have they stood the test of time? Here's what we've learned after 1 year of owning these units with daily use! Links below on where we purchased them for a great price with great customer service.
iwae.com/shop/27k-btu-22-seer...
iwae.com/shop/36k-btu-21-5-se...
#mrcooldiy #mrcool #minisplit
0:00 - Intro
0:37 - Pros
0:42 - 1. Easy to Install
1:08 - 2. Cost Efficient
1:34 - 3. Heats AND Cools
2:07 - 4. Doesn't Obstruct Window
2:32 - 5. Very WARM
2:53 - 6. Low Maintenance
3:44 - Ingram's Water & Air
4:55 - 7. Mobile App
6:48 - 8. No Ductwork
7:32 - Cons
7:41 - 1. Temperature Control Calibration
9:13 - 2. Louver Settings
9:59 - 3. Multi-zone Functionality
11:24 - 4. Highly Removeable Battery Cap
12:48 - 5. BEEPING
13:00 - 6. Loud Condenser
13:22 - SUBSCRIBE!!! - Навчання та стиль
What’s the monthly cost to run them? Great video thanks!
Thanks Mark! Great question, and please give this response a thumbs up so others who are wondering the same thing will see the answer. I can give you a pretty good approximation.
First, this is about a 1,200 sq. ft. apartment with 1 wall that is shared with another townhouse. We have 7 windows that leak air, and our structure is masonry, so it is poorly insulated to begin with. Winter gets down to single digits but rarely below 0 degrees Fahrenheit, hottest summer days are rarely over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. We tend to shoot for keeping our place around 68 or 70 degrees inside. We also set the units to a lower setting while sleeping and while away from the house during work days.
Based on that environment, here are the approximate costs:
- Heating during the coldest winter month was about $80
- Cooling during the hottest summer month was about $40
- Spring and Fall cost next to nothing for AC, maybe $10-20/mo
EDIT: I should also add that I locked in my electricity rate at around 7¢ per kWh. Costs will fluctuate as rates change, but I try to be proactive in locking rates at a good time of year for the electric rates.
I have 3 mini splits in my house. 2 - 18K and one 9k. My largest electric bill in the last year and a half has been $138. This is a 4000 sq ft house. I have no other gas or oil usage. Everything is electric.
I dont have one, but predict for my personal case, maybe about $15-20 in the winter and maybe $10 in the summer. My garage is very comfortable in March - June, and also October/November and I never use a fan or heater during those months. The kitchen door stays open and I'm good.
My normal bill runs about $100-110. I see myself only turning the unit on for a few minutes like I did in Thailand. Garage is insulated, but the ceiling may have an issue as it gets chilly in the winter. I used to have a honeywell heater fan that worked perfectly. Winter bill was about $125. This year was a disaster. Honeywell 360 heater upped the bill to $200 (possibly also raised rates this year).
My original heater fan only stayed on about 20 mins, 3 times a day. The 360 heater fan is on for most of the day. The split will only need to be on 5-10 mins maybe twice a day because of how much air it treats in comparison to these tiny fans.
I primarily need it for heat, but can definitely see it helping during summer as originally intended.
@@TheDukeOfZill the mini splits really thrive when you set them and leave them on they usually run at their lowest capable mode to maintain room temperature. If you are manually turning them on or off they will ramp up more and use more electric. If the room temperature is further away from set point the unit it will go to full speed to try and catch up to where it’s set at
Purchased: August 2023 - still works GREAT!I ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxxsUnXhGsSJLim_XnMHyQK0u3XVaW-CGn live in a studio and during the summer it gets scorching hot - really old building with no ac units. I can’t express how EASY it was to install. This unit has been a life savior during the summer and some days during other seasons where it can still be a bit warm at night. In this small place is my friend, a husky, poodle mix and myself. We need AC - lolI don’t use the dehumidifier option - I’m not sure if it will leak in my house, since I did not install the small draining hose that came with it. May look into it late but I don’t worry about much humidity in the apartment. I don’t understand why the negative reviews since all things mentioned, I personally did not find issues with. Definitely worth it!
I've had mine for about two and half years. Over the Winter it stopped working very effectively, and started throwing a PO error code. I messed around with it for a while and couldn't get it to work, even after several various attempts at resetting things. It didn't really matter too much at the time as it was getting to be spring. In any case, June comes around and it's getting warmer so I start to think about calling someone to come look at it. Then I saw something online that said they came with a five year warranty or something. So I emailed them and told them the issue. They had me check a few things with my multimeter, and within two days they warrenteed it. Five days later, I have a completely new entire set (head unit and condenser) sitting in my driveway. They don't warranty labor, so I have to put it in myself. But all of the holes and whatnot are already there, so it's just a matter of hooking everything up. I'm very happy with how well they took care of me when it really counted
What a great example of customer service! I wonder what was causing that issue for you. Did they determine what went bad?
It's good to get a home warranty so you won't have to put out the big bucks$$$ when they come to fix it
With a home warranty they take care of any appliances in your home
Don't you need a permit to install split A/C at home?
@@spark86 the Mr. Cool mini splits come with the lines pre charged with refrigerant. So there's no need for an installer. There's some electrical wiring that some people might need an electrician for, but otherwise, it's very simple to do yourself. Even the electrical stuff isn't complicated if you have a basic knowledge of wiring.
Los Angeles, California. 3 Story Condo. A/C on roof died worked great for 20 years. Normally my monthly bill is approx $600 a MONTH during the heatwave summer. I bought a 24K Mr Cool 3rd Gen DIY model from CostCo $1,800 for only my 2nd floor. I paid someone to install it. It is 110 outside and the entire 2nd floor is cold on low or medium setting. It has low, medium, high, TURBO. My monthly bill is now $200 per MONTH with the unit on almost all the time. I bought another unit for my bedroom which faces the SUN. I have both units on 24/7 $250 per month eletricity, includes 2 fridges, 4 computers always on, 3 tvs always on, 1 dedicated rack mount server 24/7, and lights. LADWP which they are expensive. $250 per month damn cheap compared to before.
Been hearing good things. Have to install an hvac and this may be easier and cheaper than a central ac
can you recommend someone who did youe electrical?
Season five with my two, a 1 ton and a 2 ton - absolutely fantastic. Keeps the house comfy and cool, and you never hear it.
Thanks for commenting! Glad you’ve enjoyed your units!
What's the square footage of your home
@@jaketrujillo2200 1650. I have since added a 900btu unit for the back bedrooms with a room to room Infinity fan.
Sounds way too good to be real. This is exactly what I needed and I'm buying. 😀
I agree, it's just that I need to find the best mini split that's out there and get some reviews , with less problems,
Initially I noticed a difference between the set temperature and actual temperature the room. the temperature sensor is on the unit, 7 ft or so off the ground. of course the air is warmer up there. Using follow me helps maintain better temperature where you want it
Thank you so much for doing this! Ive converted a detached 150 sqr ft shed into a fully insulated office (as I work from home now). We are on southern Ontario, Canada. The summer can have some very hot days, and winter can have some very cold ones. This looks like it will be an excellent option.
You’re welcome!! Yes indeed, this sounds like a good solution for that application!
One this to note for northern areas is you'll want to mount the outdoor you on a raised platform for snow so it can still work in the winter with out damaging the condenser. Also you may want to install the added low ambient kit for colder weather.
@@andrewgilbreath1331 Thanks for adding that experienced insight!
I purchased a 36,000 btu five years ago and it was one of the best things I ever did! I live in a four season climate, very hot/humid summers
and cold/snowy winters.... This gem has performed without fail! Nice and toasty in the winter and perfectly cool and dry in the humid summers.
A great advantage is when power goes out in a 'blip' when power returns the system restarts and continues at the setting you had it without
you having to restart/reset it. Cleaning the filters is very easy and I blow out the aluminum fins to get dust off about once a year. I only paid
$1,200 for this five years ago and they have gone up a bit but I would buy another in a second if needed! Very cost effective!
Your explanation is very clear and helpful!! ty
You’re very welcome! Glad it was helpful to you! And thanks for the comment!
UA-cam suggested this video because I'm investigating installing one of these in my garage in the Midwest for when I retire and make space for a woodworking shop. I had a Mitsubishi unit installed 10 years ago for a room addition when code required a professional installation. I went 10 years without having any maintenance work done--I was told they were reliable (just vacuum the filters regularly). When they came to give it its first checkup, they said it was all good. The inside unit is amazing quiet as is the outside unit. Often the only way to know the outside unit is on is to feel the air from fan. This unit doesn't have a wifi app which sounds like a great thing to have. I agree with you on how wonderful they are. I've recently heard of Mr Cool and the DIY install. That sounds appealing. I'll revisit these YT videos when the time comes for installing one in the garage. I hope you continue to enjoy your mini splits.
The mrcool is a cheap unit probably made in Korea or China they charge double the price just to get a pre vacuumed refrigerant line it's not worth it that Mitsubishi you have is top-notch you can pay an AC guy a hundred bucks to vacuum the line or just buy vacuum pump for less than that
Nicely done. Thank you.
Your unit isn't miscalibrated. The temperature it is sensing is what goes inside the unit. It's going to be hotter since it is taking in air that is higher in the room. A better alternative is to use the follow me function of the remote. Then it will use its thermometer instead of the one inside the unit. In any case what shows on the unit itself should be the set point, not the room temp.
Also, your app might be able to turn off the beeping since the remote doesn't. If not, open the indoor unit and look at the circuit board for the buzzer. Cover it up with electrical tape to quiet it down.
Totally agree!
Technically, Mini splits do have an internal thermostat that reads room temperature. But, they do not have a wall thermostat like other heating systems. Instead, mini splits are usually controlled using an LCD remote.
Some models offer optional wall thermostat's kits.
Yes your unit is higher up than u are. Heat rises so up there about 8 feet it prob is 75
@@alberto-somossen6626 It's weird that you'd just copy-paste that from a website. The remote can operate as the thermostat. Mount it on the wall, enable the follow me function, and it's your thermostat.
I concur with JST. I am quite happy overall with the MrCool package except two things: 1) The inside unit's temperature sensing is woeful - it shows a temperature way over what it is in the room; sometimes a 2nd head's temperature is shown to be 78 when the room is at 60 because presumably the sensor is close to the lineset and another head is heating? Really poor temperature sensing design. 2) The inside units are louder than I'd hoped and have some vibration. The outdoor unit is incredibly quiet compared to an old outdoor heatpump condenser.
A app, for your AC. Geeze, I hope for a EMP to shut the electronic world up. A app that of course you have not mastered. Sigh........😒
Thank you for the review
I installed a 24K unit 3 years ago with no issues. For the cost, at this rate even if I had to replace it I would still be on top relative to a professionally installed brand such as Mitsubishi etc.
it was super easy to instal and works flawlessly. As well as being extremely affordable as a DYI proposition.
I hear comments occasionally about the struggle to find a technician to perform service to a Mr. Cool unit but I have not been confronted with that…yet. We’ll see. Even so, I have to imagine that if you were to have to replace certain components to resolve service issues, you would still be ahead of the game relative to a more costly household name brand. Mr. Cool is a good value and you really don’t give up any real features and functions that other manufacturers offer.
Thanks for the insight!
Exactly, even if I have to replace it with a new one, still cheaper than other options
Easy with 220v?
Thanks for info. 😊
Very helpful, thank you for the video
You’re welcome!
Thanks for the tip about multi zone with one compressor only being able to cool or heat at one time, I didnt think of that while researching these mini splits. I'll just by 3 separate units with their own condenser for my home. Thanks again.
All of them can cool or heat, it's just that you can't have one room cool while the others heat. You can have all of them cool at the same time though.
Compresor cant do 2 things at the same time, its only cooling or heating, not both.
@@borutkrivec2325 yes it can. The compressor is always heating and cooling at the same time. It's always heating one coil system and cooling the other. When you air condition your house you heat the outside and cool the inside, when you heat the house you cool the outside and heat the inside. But some of the systems let you switch the valves to not even use the outside coils and just cool remember one while heating room number two. That's actually a thing.
@@pilotavery yep, vrf or vrv allows simultaneous heating and cooling.
I just installed a Mr Cool and did the electrical myself. It was straight forward easy
Good job! 👏
Very helpful . Thanks
Thanks John for the feedback! You’re welcome!
Getting a Mitsubishi unit installed next Tuesday for the new sunroom. Single duct in there can't keep up year round. This will help keep the room comfortable and the whole house furnace can catch a break. Super excited and salesman said it will use much less electricity than the electric radiator in there now. Have read about the super efficiency elsewhere.
I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!!
I have purchased a gas furnace from Ingrams and I also had a very good experience with them. Thanks for this review as I am interested in the Mr Cool units.
Thanks Dennis! Glad you found the review useful!
I hope to be getting a MrCool within the next month or two. All the cons you mentioned are no big deal for me. I see no real problems. Thank you for posting.
Indeed! I think you’ll like it!
I have a DIY Mr Cool system (two zone) which worked fine for about 9 months and then began freezing the coil. I tried for months to talk to customer service without success. No one answers the phone so the only thing you can do is leave a message. I never got a return call from anyone. Don't waste your money.
@@tonylee7105 I appreciate your reply. I finally went with a Daikin system. I have had it for about 8 or 9 months with no problems what so ever. It is a 2 zone and works perfect....so far.
Bought the Mr Cool 3rd gen 22 SEER 12,000 BTU mini-split .. handyman says he can install July 11th.. it’s mid June in concord ,Ca so I know we will likely have to put up with at least 4-6 days of 100 degrees by then but it will be worth it .. so excited .. I even bought the pad and the cover guards 🙏
Love it! Feel free to share pictures with me when it’s all done!
just curious since you live in concord, have you ever heard of the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle corps?
great info and seems like and honest and fair review.
I became familiar with these split units about a decade ago, first time I travelled to Nepal, as it is the only kind of small-space air conditioner I saw there. I’ve been there several more times since, and also to India and to West Africa, and although I have seen a very few of what we in the USA call window units and hotel-style PTACs, by far the most common AC you encounter in South Asia and West Africa is a split unit. Apparently, they’ve been produced somewhere over there for a longer time than here, because the units are usually older than the ones I see here but they work better. I never had the problem with the louvers except here, in the unit I installed in my bedroom. Also, I have to cover up the temperature display on my unit, because there’s no way to dim it and it’s WAY too bright for sleeping.
I wish we’d skipped that phase we Americans and Europeans went through from the 1950s to today of central AC. I think that is most responsible for the way we now take AC for granted and expect it everywhere we go, since we became accustomed to having it all throughout our living spaces. In Asia and Africa, people do not expect it everywhere, and even the nicest houses are usually only partly air conditioned, with split units.
Thanks for commenting and sharing your experience!
Thanks Sr, for your help
Thanks for commenting!
This is a great video. Thanks. There are multi-zone mini split systems, but they are more expensive and require more space.
Maintenance
Indoor: you should vacuum clean the dust filter once a month to keep up the efficiency.
Outdoor: You should visually inspect regularly and vacuum for spiders web when needed.
Free airflow is VERY important.
Thanks for the information! So far we’ve kept up with making sure they are clean 👍
@@TheRenoBros Super, you just did not mention it in your video.😉
Great video. Thank you
Thanks for the comment! You’re welcome!
Nice video you covered just about everything. The one thing on the pros that you forgot to mention was the fact that they are incredibly quiet units and you hardly even know that they’re running to me that would be very important to know.
That’s a good word. Thanks! I agree, since I switched from window AC to these, the noise level is drastically lower for the inside units. Higher fan speeds are pretty audible, but you don’t have to listen to the condenser humming quite like you do for a window AC unit. In one of my cons I do mention the volume of the exterior condenser unit. Occasionally I’ll hear that all the way on the 3rd floor, which isn’t my preference, but perhaps it is just due to the construction of the home. Thanks again for the comment!
That’s a mixed blessing, imo. They’re so quiet that when you sleep, you hear too many noises from the house, and sometimes from outside if anything loud happens there. Thankfully, mine has a noise reduction button. With that turned on, it’s very very quiet, which is great for most purposes, but at night I prefer a little of that white noise to help me sleep and so I switch the quiet mode off.
@@robsemail yes, I like white noise also so I actually have a little small sound maker they call it “sound sleeper” it produces white noise.
i ve had a 36,000 btu unit for 5 years no major complaints, did have to add r-22 last year, the 4th year. I just purchased another 36,000 btu unit.
I'm sure it's a good fit for most people. Study your seasons and attics. Your attic is a 'lung' of warmer air to moderate in warm weather, a barrier to be a layer of controlled air in winter. You won't know how little energy you can use to stay comfortable until your attic spaces are being properly regulated to accommodate the change of seasons.
So true!
on the mitsubishi mini splits they go through a power on self test and do a full sweep of the louvers to know the exact position. even if you bump the louvers slightly you can throw off its positional awareness.
Good review. Never bothered to calibrate my temperature settings or the other features on the app (so lazy - I just "Alexa" voice control the minisplit these days). Learned something new. Thanks! I installed 8 units (3 zone multi-split, 5 singles) between 2018-2021. I noticed you left your control wires exposed outside. Since these should last you a number of years, I would recommend you cover up the control wires outside from being exposed to the elements by installing flexible Liquidtight conduit and fittings (like what your electrician did on the power cables). You might also want to look at raising the outside units on blocks so the leaves won't collect and rot behind them. An unfortunate thing about Mr.Cool DIY units is you need to figure out how to neatly coil/store the excess lineset length since you can't cut it without losing the pre-charged advantage. I went with the traditional lines so I could neatly run the lines to exact length (saved a bunch on the purchase price too). I also wall mounted all of my outside units (on heat pumps, you really can't call them condensers since they become evaporators on heat cycle). One thing you forgot to mention is cost. Compared to electric (resistive) baseboard heating, heat pumps will heat at approximately half the cost because they're not generating the heat, but simply moving it. In fact, it's currently only slightly more expensive than natural gas furnace heat. But you offset that by only heating/cooling the rooms you need, saving on unnecessary heating/cooling in rooms you're not using. Not sure about the noise level you were talking about though. Compared to traditional ducted AC and all other kinds of AC (including window AC), they are super quiet. Thanks again for the review!
Thanks for the more specialized information and the tip for the control wires. I'll try to get those protected better from the weather!
Use the follow me function of the remote instead - it's not because the unit is miscalibrated, but because that's the temp of the air up high.
@@sprockkets Will try this. Though I've noticed that the temperature reading is inaccurate at the ceiling as well.
@@TheRenoBros That would make sense. Just make sure it was a thermometer on the intake, and not using infrared :)
"An unfortunate thing about Mr.Cool DIY units is you need to figure out how to neatly coil/store the excess line set length since you can't cut it without losing the pre-charged advantage"
Curious, what happens when you take the caps off to attach them? I bought a Senville. I have to open a valve after the line set is in place after a pressure test and vacuum to release the refrigerant into the line set.
I don't about you, but I love mine. It only takes 475 watts to start and 1/3 of that to run. It's a heat pump and a dehumidifier, and you can run it mostly on solar.
no way
Well, if you're mini split runs on approx 150 Watts, then you are a very lucky person, and should keep it a secret. As it must be one of those special research models, that they keep for themselves! :)
which one do u have? I have an old home no ac 😩 looking into getting one
Thanks for sharing this video. I am thinking of doing a garage with living space above and wanted to Mr. Cool units since HVAC company's seem to add a huge markup. I have had a Mr.Cool 12k diy for almost 1.5 years now. I would like to say that if you use either Samsung Smarthings or Google Home app, you can group units to the same room to ensure all your headsets are heating or cooling since you mentioned that all units on the same condenser have to be operating the same. But they Mr Cool app should have an indication or grouping of all the units on the same condenser. But I agree that the the software on the headset should run its own calibration. I have a few small thermometers in my building and an echo plus that has a builtin gauage I use to verify the temp in the room when not in the room/building. I will also say that this remote is a better design and less convoluted then the Trane remotes on the gen prior to wifi.... I gave the remote to my dad after installing his 18k unit and he was able to use it w/o issue; the Trane unit they had done in '13, you need a manual to figure out how to use a/c and to know what the heck a tree means!!! Thanks for all the info!!
Thanks for the comment Mike! That’s some helpful information!
Good vid. Temp is always warmer higher in the room.
Absolutely! It still isn’t an accurate reading if you’re using the head unit as the thermostat. And the calibration seems to not stay where you set it. I’ve started just using the follow me mode for everything instead and using the remotes as the thermostat. Uses more battery but that’s not a huge deal.
That was very helpful, i know what you mean about the remote control, dude thats is the funniest thing
Glad you found it helpful! Haha, and yes the remote thing is pretty funny about the first 10 times, then it starts getting a little less funny 😂
Been using a 24k diy mrcool for 3 years now in my shop in Texas and have a 18k unit in a bedroom in an outbuilding we have. Couldn’t be comfortable in the summers and winters without them!
Of course you can't use heat and cool at the same time with only one condenser. Therefore, it's not really an issue!
Change all your thermostats at the same time, what you have is zoning capability, great feature. You can add comfortably and depending on how you like temperatures, money saving too.
My battery cover falls off, scotch tape.
Maintenance for this unit, you shouldn't forget to clean filters inside, dirty filter = inefficiency. Mechanical mechanisms are not broken, etc. The electronics should be fine. Perhaps after a few years see if gas is ok. I would say 8 to 10 years of motor and compressor life. If not junk it!
Clean the outside units too!
If you get 10 years out of it then it's a great unit.
Of course the biggest plus, to me, are no ducts and zoning.
If you go for a higher SEER rating then you'll have to make your house more efficient. The way you analyze these things, I hope you had the dealer get all pertinent information for sizing your system, usually that's where the big issues come in. I'm electrical engineer but a mechanical should be able to check your home for sizing. I don't mean to be harsh to the dealers of these systems but it's more complex then asking square footage number of doors, window, etc.
Haha! Thanks for all the info! Some poorly worded stuff on my end, check out my new video review of the Mr Cool for the update after 2 years!
Great review! That remote mount would drive me crazy also. I would use a Dremel tool or something similar to file that ledge down on the holder.
Oops! I see someone has already mentioned a Dremel.
Haha, thanks! I appreciate the comment! Yeah a number of people mentioned the dremel idea. Definitely something that the manufacturer should change their design of, simple fix though.
Mold can grow in the indoor coils and blower wheel and above the unit where the air goes in
Thanks for the comment! We’ll keep an eye on that!
The Reno Bros you said you didn't do any maintenance on the ac yet. It is recommended that you get a AC tech once a year to clean the inside and outside coils to keep the dirt/dust/trash out of it so it can transfer heat to keep the compressor from working harder to get it cooler/hotter. The more trash in the coils the harder the compressor has to putting more strain on the motor and making it lost years of life.
The take away, pay an ac tech once a year to clean your coils. With the mini split units they will have to put a bag over the inside unit to catch the water from them washing the coils.
Very informative! Although we don’t have many power outages ours went out for 4 days during an ice storm earlier this year. Is there a way to set it up to still have heat or cool air during these extreme weather situations?
genset with or without battery, if properly calculated and sized it can run a few days. for a single zone single room
The unit reads it's return air temperature from the ceiling where warm air rises. So when you are calibrating it calibrate what it is near the ceiling where the unit is or it will run for too long. Also they usually have a built in3c offset to allow the heating cycle to run for longer to account for stratification of warm air. Try to move the sensor inside the unit outside the casing as if another room is in heating still and 1 room goes off then the sensor will be affected by the warm gas that continues to circulate so the room that is waiting for the temp to drop will get a false reading.
You pointed out some interesting things.
Thank you.
Love it! Thanks!
I have had Mitsubishi Mini Split in my attached garage for about 5 years. AC is great. When very cold outside the heat pump doesn't work as well
Thanks for commenting! Yes, I’ve noticed that at times with the Mr Cool as well. Again, our house is very poorly insulated, and garages tend to be the same. I would assume both the Mitsubishi and Mr Cool would fair much better in a home that has average to above average insulation.
I believe the controls have a thermostat build in, and at 11:49 you have 2 controllers from 2 units next to each other. They are suppose to be in the room with their wall unit.
Thanks for the comment! I’ve had limited success with the built in thermostat, although it does function better than the temp sensor in the air handler itself. The reason for the two remotes side by side is due to both wall units being in fairly close proximity in the same room. The location of these remotes actually works brilliantly 👍
when you buy a 4 zone do you have to have each one turn on all at once or can you turn on each one at diff times?
I think noting that the cons are something like a beep, but excluding commentary on efficiency or what kind of temps you've noticed it can work well in versus where it starts to struggle, etc or not the obvious priorities. I am really struggling in my decision with this because they are not used in my location so that I can ask people their experience, even though people and even colder location reports success with them.
Got my self a 12k im exicited
Nice! Thanks for commenting!
1. Is your room too cold in winter or too warm in summer? The room with the brick wall I mean. If you ever decide to upgrade your home some, a 1-inch insulation+vapor barrier on that brick wall would help keep temperatures more stable in that room.
2. You may want to call an AC technician to trim down the excess pipes to the condensers, this is just a minor thing and will look much nicer, plus shorter lines improve gas flow.
3. Isn't the beeping turned off when you turn the display/light off also?
4. The vent should open like a slit when the heater is on as it warms the gas in the condenser, as soon as the fan starts the vent should open like normal. You didn't mention if that happened during winter or summer.
5. There's one piece of maintenance you do need to do once a month / two months, open the head unit and clean the screens.
Keep up the good videos, very nice review overall. 😺 👍
Thanks Steve for the helpful comment and encouragement!
1. Mr Cool, and this seems to be true of most minisplits, work very well at cooling in the summer, but the heat pumps tend to be not as strong as the AC. We sometimes have really cold winter days that the heat pump struggles to keep up with. Thanks for the tip.
2. I’ll definitely be doing that!
3. The beeping stops if we turn the display off, but then if you change the temperature of the room it turns back on.
4. It seems to open the same amount regardless of whether the fan is on.
5. We do try to keep them clean, I’ll make sure to check on that regularly.
@@TheRenoBros about your first point: This is common situation but is location dependent and has nothing to do with MrCool or minisplits, and has to do with how much heating vs cooling you need. The temperature delta in winter (~60-68F inside vs. ~0-30F outside => 30-68 degree delta) is much higher than what it is in summer (~68-75F inside vs ~80-100F outside despite the higher humidity => ~5-32 degree delta)
@@arvindgopu186 That makes a lot of sense! Thanks for the clarification on that!
@@TheRenoBros use the follow me function then it will read the temp of the room in the remote controller... Then you can check calibration. Warm air rises. See my comment I wrote.
@@arvindgopu186I agree it’s the temperature difference. I was just at an open house another day and the big living room has both a mini split and a pellet stove for heating and I asked why the pellet stove is still needed and was told that the mini split doesn’t work very well in very cold days.
ok ... no mention of cleaning the unit screen filters ? Your wall mount , the removes the battery cover every time you remove it , simply Dremel or file off the plastic lip at the 12 o'clock of the mounting face plate.Or grind off the battery cover lip ? You are the owner , you can adapt the battery equipment you own likes and needs? 15 min. or less fix ?
Hi there, we installed 4 Mini Splits in our house... We are having problems with the remote... For instance, one unit has the Blue tooth showing and the others do not.. Why and how do you get it off bluetooth... the book is not really helpful... Also, do you have a video of how to operate the system efficiently.. Like going through the steps to do each function... Would love to see it..
I think that your temp is off because of where the unit is. It's warmer up there vs a barometer sitting on a coffee table
I had mine for less than then two years the condenser started making noise it got louder and louder until it completely stopped working. I submitted a warranty claim and they wanted 460 dollars for shipping a new condenser. That’s a lot of money for shipping! The code was PO which is electrical issue
About the mold, it actually is common to have mold grow on the blower wheel and around the blower wheel in minisplit head units. I’m a hvac tech and have witnessed this personally and done maintence jobs to clean the mold out. They sell little uv lights for mini split head units.
Love the added perspective! Thanks for commenting. So far we still haven’t come across any mold in the units after coming up on 18 months now. Will keep an eye out
I’m also a HVAC tech. Honestly, if the unit was sized right for the space then it wouldn’t have mold growing on the blower wheel. The reason it has mold growing on the blower wheel is because it’s not dehumidifying properly, so it’s likely oversized for the space
@@timrob0420 Thanks for adding that value to the discussion!
We’ve had some mold as well in our rental single head, but it sounds like it’s more to do with user issues (turning unit off & on, instead of setting temp and leaving at that temp)
@@jaynook4980 yes inverter mini splits are made to run constantly. They are actually more efficient when ran that way and also dehumidify. Also, at least in Mitsubishi manuals, it says when you plan to turn off for extended periods you are supposed to run fan only for an extended duration (a hour or so) to completely dry everything out so as to prevent growth.
Good video sir. Question I have a 1500 square foot home 3 bedrooms on the second floor and a living room and kitchen on the first floor do I need 5 units meaning one unit on each room or can I buy one unit install it on the first floor to cover the entire square footage of the home ? Thanks 🙏
Thanks for the question! I need a little more information. How open is the floor plan on the first floor? Is there a small entryway between the kitchen and living room? If so, you’d likely want 2 units on the 1st floor. Or you’d have to pick a room for the mini split and put a window AC in the other room. If it’s an open floor plan, you’d want to make sure you get whatever BTU head supports slightly more than that sq footage and probably install it half way between the two areas. Kitchens tend to require slightly higher BTU than the sq ft because of cooking heat. You’ll still want a head in each bedroom upstairs.
Good video.
Thanks for the comment! Check out our most recent review after 2 years if you haven’t already!
Interesting video. Is the thermostat for the temperature in the head unit, or in the remote?
Great question! I’ve since learned that there’s a thermostat in both. There’s a setting called “Follow Me” on the remote that activates the remote thermostat. Anytime the unit is turned off and back on, that setting needs to be turned back on (which I think is a design flaw).
Its not a thermostat. Its just a temperature sensor that the unit uses when it samples the air to let the unit know if it should run or not based on the input you gave it when you set the temp on the remote. This sensor is located on the top of the unit which is the return side. This sensor being there makes the unit sense the temp of the incoming air which makes them work so much better in keeping you comfortable
I got bought two of the dual unit hyperheat series. I got them 5 years ago and installed them myself. They work like a champ with no complaints. Buy the install stuff and do it yourself you will save thousands. since then I have installed 27 of these units for others. saving them many thousands of dollars. No issues except for rodent intrusion and control board issues from those rodents.
My Mitsubishi floor mount had a bit of mold accumulation. I cleaned what I could reach. I haven't seen mold on the wall mounts.
Good to know! Thanks for sharing! We had a cleaning done after 2 years and there was a buildup on 2 out of the 7 heads. The rest were free of any buildup of bacteria or mold
Got a question I live in a tiny house 377sqft what size would I need?
Great video thank you, how many units do you have in your 1200 sq ft townhouse? 1 per room?
We have 4 units total in that unit. One in living room, kitchen, master bedroom, and guest bedroom. We did not install one in our office/small bedroom, but it rarely gets too hot or cold in that room. We just supplement with window AC and baseboard electric in that room if it ever needs it.
My compressor unit arrived today. Did you have any issues bending the copper tubes? Any tips? I will go watch your video from a year ago.
No issues: Whenever bending the copper tubes I used my hand as a guide on the inside of the bend to prevent it from kinking. You don't want too tight of a bend otherwise it may kink the copper tubing.
12:20
I would sand down those little doodads on the remote battery door thing so they can't catch any more.
I’ve had a lot of people suggest that. I just wish it was designed better, but you’re right that’s a simple solution.
As a HVAC tech owner ,I suggest get it local ,if u have a problem u don't want to wait months on end for a part, and ck the comments on warranty's also.
If the "locals" would crank down the profit margins a bit and work reasonably with DIYers...Take note that most Minis use major parts from the same few Asian mfrs, Gree compressors for example.
@@replyhere590 Agree. Everyone should be able to make a decent profit. But the price gouging on pro minisplit is just insane.
I have electric heat with a 3 bedroom raised ranch. It's just me so I'd like one in living room kitchen area, bedroom and downstairs.
First off do I need a furnace?
Secondly I can I shut off downstairs unit? You said if you keep it on cool it shuts off, does it stay off?
Great question! A mini split system is capable of heating and cooling. No need for a furnace. And yes, you can absolutely shut off the downstairs unit. What I intended to communicate was that if you have the upstairs units set to heat, the downstairs unit would not be allowed to cool since they are all connected to the same exterior condenser unit. All 3 would have to be set to heat if you want them all to be on at the same time. You can turn on as many of the units as you want to be operating. I will often just turn the bedroom unit on at night and leave the rest of the units off. Hope that helps!
Thanks for the video. About that beeping. Does the app also do the same. We’ve got a dog that goes into hiding with beeping devices. Thanks again. Could not get the links working for some reason.
Thanks for watching and for the question! I've never had the app beep on me before in the last 14 months, so I think it's safe to say you won't have to worry about that.
So if it gets really cold does this stop working?
I freaking love my mr cool mini split. Put it in my tiny house
So cool!! Glad you like it!
@@TheRenoBros the beeping does annoy me though. That’s my only complaint. Even keeps me cool in 122 degrees in Arizona summers .
@@nicola3060 Still annoys me too! Thanks for the feedback!
The only yearly maintenance they need is to clean the condenser outside and clean the evaporator inside. The condenser outside is not filtered air so that can get dirty but the evaporator on the inside is filtered as long as those filters remain in place and are cleaned once a year that protects the evaporator. So I guess essentially the only maintenance is keeping the condenser clean outside the motors are all permanently lubricated the charge in the system should never change if it does that means you have a leak
Thanks for the info!
I just subscribed. How do you get Mr. Cool serviced? My local town HVAC in rural Iowa says they will not service or repair Mr Cool? I saw you 25’ lines behind your condensers and I wish they sold shorter ones. I only need about 12’.
They have two different lengths, 16’ and 25’ I believe. Depends on what kind of service you need. Many HVAC techs will do minor service like minisplit cleaning, checking for leaks and filling the system if it’s low on refrigerant. But if you buy a DIY unit you’re pretty much locked into the DIY lifestyle for the system in terms of major repairs. There’s plenty of resources out there to DIY it successfully, and you’ll save significant cash doing it this way, but if you’re looking for zero involvement in repairs and maintenance, don’t buy a DIY model.
And Thanks for subscribing! We’re soon putting up another update on our Mr Cool system that you’ll be able to check out!
I had a 4 room 2 1/2 ton carrier minisplit installed for 12 grand. All 4 inside units needed cleaning yearly to eliminate mold and mildew. The top of the lineset has to be carefully fully insulated or they will sweat causing damage and mold at the end inside the wall. My lineset was inside the opposite closet, that's how I could inspect it. It runs very cold but heat was mediocre when Temps dropped below around 20° F. I went with minisplit because my duct work was badly designed. I hope this information is helpful.
Thanks for commenting and sharing your information with the rest of us! So helpful!
My goodness, 2.5 tons for four rooms is quite high. That's what you would normally use for a 1500-1600 sqft home
I wonder what part of the country you live in. I love the idea of using a mini split system for heating, but I’m not sure if a whole house arrangement like yours would be adequate to keep my home warm on cold winter days in northern Illinois. Do you use your old forced air system as a backup (assuming you still have it)?
We never had forced air, and I’d anticipate a forced air system being better at both heating and cooling than a mini split system. We were upgrading from window ac units. There was no heat in this house when we purchased it, so we had to do something. Decided to go with mini splits because it was much more affordable than running duct work inside.
I’m in NY and have same questions
@@bradleyclark5936 Thanks for the comment! If you’re upstate NY, I would think as long as your home is well insulated these units would do just fine. Cooling is more powerful on most split systems than heating, so you may notice that a bit more if your home isn’t well insulated. Our home is brick and has terrible insulation. In the winter on the coldest days it struggles to keep up, but in the summer on the hottest days we have no issues at all keeping the place as cool as we want.
I am trying to figure out how well they do in a house as a whole. Older homes have less open floor plans and I wonder how these types of units do in that situation. Like a bathroom…is it super hot in the summer or super cold in the winter if you had the bathroom door closed for 45 minutes taking s bath for example? How do you figure your sizing and spacing and location(s) to install the heads. Will one head cool the living/dining/kitchen and then one in each bedroom or what is best?
We have them in our house as a whole. 4 head units even though we have 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a long hallway in our entryway. The units do a good job keeping the place a comfortable temperature, and I haven’t noticed a big difference when a bathroom door has been closed for a bath or anything like that. I will say that heat pumps on minisplits tend to be weaker than the AC cooling, so in the more frigid winter days it will struggle to keep up if you have bad insulation (like we do). You can fix this by adding an alternative heat source such as a space heater or something like that. We use 1 head in the kitchen, 1 in the living room, and 1 in each of the two bigger bedrooms. The smaller bedroom has a baseboard heater. We’ve managed pretty well here in our area. Local temps get down to just a couple degrees below zero on the coldest days and rarely do we see temps above 100 in the summer.
I have a DIY Mr Cool system (two zone) which worked fine for about 9 months. I called customer service once when installing the system and got a simple answer to a simple question. Great. Then the coils began freezing, creating a mess after running for an hour or two. I tried for months to talk to customer service without success. No one answers the phone so the only thing you can do is leave a message. I never got a return call from anyone. Seems like you get one call to customer service and that's it. Don't waste your money.
Not my experience. Use their warranty claims form on the website!
Manufacturers should of manufactured the unit to also use a temp sensor cord or line not thick at all approx 3foot in length to drop from below the unit to sense the temp during calibration to sense temp below the unit not at its height installed but because people are well below the unit the sensor cord drops to a lower level or at the height to where standing in the room tempture youll feel perhaps they do have that this was about your con on calibration on the unit giving a false reading reading again may not be incorrect,,its sensing temp at its height where temp is warmer heat rises and not at your height where you feel its actually warmer than it states but you probably know this smile
There is room for mold to grow. It grows inside on the squirrel cage fan blades.
Much easier to clean than duct work. Mini splits are a huge benefit to people with heightened mold sensitivity.
Is the beep sound when you touch the remote, coming from the remote or the air handler?
Thanks for the comment! That’s a good question. It’s coming from the air handler.
yes
Use a small grinder tool to grind down the edge that causes the remote battery cover to come off Or apply some scotch tape on the cover
Just what I was thinking - I love Scotch Tape and overuse it almost daily/weekly(!) That said, his 'Cons' were pretty weak: who (except maybe a pro-horticulturist) needs to heat a typical home/shop in a couple of rooms & have AC going in another? And who hasn't noticed since like the 1950s that outdoor compressor units have fans in 'em that blow/exchange air!? My 32-year-old Lennox HP outdoor fan is finally giving up the ghost (my fault thru negligence!) but I'd rather have it blowin' me away walkin' by, which it did for 31-ish years - knowing it's working - than walk by and think 'Brrrr....too cold for me! This machine sucks!' ;-)
A possible Solution to the Con "battery cover slipping off". Grind the top lip on the wall mount holder. It may help.
Nice video! Can you tell me the measurement between the front and back holes in the feet of the condenser?
That is a great question actually. I don’t have the ability to at this moment, but I CAN tell you that we mounted them on top of cinder blocks (check out the installation video we did) and we had to angle the tapcons to hit the block because it was slightly too big for the blocks due to the positioning of the feet and the holes in the feet.
@@TheRenoBros Probably a 16” block?
@@oldcaliforniakid Yes that sounds about right 😊
I wish a company would make mini-split mini wall wall unit for smaller rooms. My bedrooms are too small for those huge wall units, and the ceiling cassettes are large too.
Mitsubishi makes a 6k btu mini split. The unit is the same size as a standard mini split though.
@@user-ln7of9gs4s they also sell a floor mounted unit
I’ve seen smaller ones for sure. But definitely not cheaper to buy those
Interesting!
Floor mounted? What is that?
For the issue of the highly removeable battery cap, why not sand down the lip on the provided container? Make that one change, and you're good.
What about the noise level of the inside unit? We are currently living in an RV and when the a/c comes on you can't watch TV or carry on a conversation. We are building a small apartment (450 square feet) inside a garage and I plan to install split air unit(s), but I don't want to have the same issue.
Hardly any noise at all. If you have the fan set to high, you can hear the movement of the air, but these are so much quieter than a window ac. Most of the time, mine operates at a low fan speed and I can’t hear it at all. Does just fine at keeping our place cool in the summer with a low or medium fan speed.
The idea of mini splits is so you can have seperate temps for each unit, so it's not a con, that's the way it's supposed to work.
Thanks for commenting! The con is simply that if one unit is set to something else, it can sometimes make all the other units stop working. You then have to go through the whole house to track down which head is set to a different mode and then change it to match. There should be an easy way to change the mode on all units in the house with the touch of one button.
@@TheRenoBros I wonder if Mr Cool addressed this in the new 4th Generation unit.
@@Boodieman72 Yeah I’m also curious about that!
Ive had nothing but problems with Mr Cool products and their customer service. My Evap Coil went out after less than a year of use and i cant get them to respond. I hope you have a better experience than i did.
I installed mine 3 years ago . We just went through a -6 night in Idaho. Worked wonderfully. Would install one again.
No disrespect for furnace installers. But it used to upset me when my customers would get a bid for $7000 for a mini split. Knowing I could buy this for $1500 and take a few hours
You also get no warranty and won't be around to service for your customers when it breaks down or they don't know how to use it.
The chances of the average homeowner getting these installed right is probably less than 50%.
Thanks for the info!
I did a whole house LG install and it has been a nightmare since day one. Most of the problems have been install related but there have been several component failures, issues with the units going offline, the app not working, and the heat pump is very LOUD and will scare the crap out of you in the middle of the night. Of the six internal units, at least one has been down since installation so they have never all worked at the same time. This install cost me $16k and was about the average price of all the bids I got.
Did you install yourself or was this a contractor install?
@@TheRenoBros contractor, supposedly LG authorized with 10yr warranty on parts
@@durakis interesting. I’m not sure why that would be then if a pro installed it. I’d reach out for warranty issues most likely.
When would you ever want to a/c cool a room but Heat others? One would assume its hot outside if you're cooling or cold outside when your heating? And yeah the outdoor unit compressor has to be moving in the direction needed for heating or cooling. So naturally its all cooling or all heating, also keep in mind I would assume if all 4 units are running, the outdoor unit capacity is split between them.
Thanks for the comment! Sorry for the miscommunication! I intended to communicate that sometimes because the modes don’t match it causes a couple of the units to cease working. You could have one set to auto and one set to cool, and one will stop working until they both match modes. Even if the one on auto is set to a lower temperature than the room is (so it would be essentially cooling), it will prevent one of the two units from functioning until they are both set to the same thing. There should be a way to have one remote control the whole house so you don’t have to go from room to room trying to find out which unit is set to a different mode.
@@TheRenoBros did you have to get permits to install these. Or just the electrical. What state are you in.
@@cranbers My locale only required permitting for the electrical work associated with the install. We’re in PA
I figured since the unit is high up so it reading the temp closer to the ceiling. While the temp at 5 ft will be lower.
Thanks for the comment! That’s definitely a factor. I also just think it’s not that accurate at reading, which is why you have the ability to calibrate the system and tell if what temperature it is inside
So the remote for the mini split doesn't have a temperature gauge(thermostat)in it? Wouldn't putting a(thermostat)temp gauge in the remote solve all these problems? Also ......is there a smart thermostat that works with this mini split?
Yes, in my opinion that should be standard and not a special mode. However, there’s a button called “Follow Me” that uses the remote as the thermostat. Smart thermostats can’t be used with this specific model, but Mr Cool does have models that can be.
How much is your electric bill? Is it cheaper than central air?
I watched your channel about the Mr cool. You said "the complex electrical work for the install" my friend believe me, there is nothing at all complex about installing a 120 or a 240 disconnect for these units. Electricians would have you believe so...NOT TRUE!!
Now you should be mechanically inclined before attempting any electrical work.
Thanks for the comment! Any videos you can recommend for the electrical work?? For most of my viewers, I don’t want to downplay the risks of a 240 electrical shock. If you don’t know how to be careful around the components, it’s a pretty serious risk. That’s one of the main reasons I recommend DIYers get an electrician to have that work done. It only cost me like $400 to hire someone, and would have taken me much longer and many trips to the store most likely haha.
How do you get the application on my phone..
Great review did not see the whole thing but curious about money dinero money talks
is this 120 v or 220v
2 questions for you ..1 can u turn 1 off and run the others? And would you recommend me buying this setup?
Thanks for the question! Yes, you can turn any off and still run the remaining units. Also, I recommend this setup if you intend to install it yourself as a DIYer. If you are having a professional installation done, then I would do research on NON-DIY brands and compare. The DIY space for mini split AC units is relatively new.
Okay. What I'm about to tell you is not meant to offend, just correct. What you have is actually refered to as a mini split heat pump. Although air handler would be a correct term, considering it has the ability to heat and cool at the same time. Unfortunately you do not have four air handlers, you have one. This is because the flow of refrigerant is based on what the compressor tells it to do in the outdoor condenser, thus you have your heating or cooling. The "head unit," not the "air handler" is just an evaporator coil. It allows the high or low pressure refrigerant to either flash or sneak on by, thus resulting in your heating or cooling. What you are asking from them, is to create a system that can both heat and cool at the same time. Well this invention was created by Mitsubishi and Trane, and it's been out for 15-20 years now. It's called a VRF, which stands for variable refrigerant flow. These are state of the art, highly technical, and overly expensive. So the equipment you reference does actually exist . Also mold build up is usually related to hydronic systems. Meaning wether a boiler or vav is used. Ductwork only recirculates air in the said environment, so if you sense mold floating around, it's time to be a big boy and start cleaning up.