Fitted Air conditioning

[DaveCWK]

That might actually be another benefit of the cheaper brands - my Electriq one has an option to monitor the temp from the remote (it has a thermistor built in) - it's called 'follow me' mode or similar. I've not used it but it does make sense.

[scottyp123]

surveyor said:

Just the electrics and gas to sort out.

I’m not going to embarrass name him by name but one particular member of the forum went beyond all expectations by lending a scaffold tower, drill and trailer to transport them all. Remarkable individual.

Edited by surveyor on Sunday 4th July 16:20

I kept forgetting to ask this, is that a gate at the end of the passage way and out of all the wall you had to go at, why have you put the condenser right at head height, I can guarantee you are going to nut that one day.

[scottyp123]

DaveCWK said:

That might actually be another benefit of the cheaper brands - my Electriq one has an option to monitor the temp from the remote (it has a thermistor built in) - it's called 'follow me' mode or similar. I've not used it but it does make sense.

I've got an electriQ unit and it has 3 slots in the remote, I'm guessing it is for temperature sensing. That would mean that whilst the unit is on the remote would have to constantly send a signal to the wall unit though, I cant see on the remote where you chose to monitor the temperature though.

[bristolbaron]

I’m boiling my tits off. Would someone in the know give me a quick run down:

3 bedrooms, with available loft space for ducting and whatever ‘stuff’ needs to go up there. There’s wiring from the upstairs ring main in the loft if anything needs plugging in. If it needs its own ring that’s more problematic.

I could run a cable outside without much bother to a suitable area for outside ‘stuff’ and could drill holes in the bedroom ceilings for ducts if that’s what’s needed.

I don’t really want a massive unit in each room, but it’d be unfair not to keep the kids rooms cool - theirs get worse than ours.

Is this doable? DIYable? My dad was a gas fitter so confident on the plumbing side. Any advise appreciated!

[Etazene chic]

bristolbaron said:

I’m boiling my tits off. Would someone in the know give me a quick run down:

3 bedrooms, with available loft space for ducting and whatever ‘stuff’ needs to go up there. There’s wiring from the upstairs ring main in the loft if anything needs plugging in. If it needs its own ring that’s more problematic.

I could run a cable outside without much bother to a suitable area for outside ‘stuff’ and could drill holes in the bedroom ceilings for ducts if that’s what’s needed.

I don’t really want a massive unit in each room, but it’d be unfair not to keep the kids rooms cool - theirs get worse than ours.

Is this doable? DIYable? My dad was a gas fitter so confident on the plumbing side. Any advise appreciated!

It's doable and probably DIYable by your dad - you could have a multi split to do 3 rooms but if you want to go ducted it will be more expensive. So first question really is how much do you have to spend on it (max), and we can go from there...

[scottyp123]

Its certainly doable from a DIY point of view although you may need certain new tools like a set of aircon gauges and a vacuum pump. Something like this.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Worldhero-Vacuum-Conditio...

It might need an adaptor to fit home aircon though.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kalolary-System-New-Conne...

I bought a set of gauges and pump when I repaired our van a couple of years ago but that one came with car valves and a tap for the gas although its not available on Amazon anymore.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01MR2TWY4/ref...

Most of the DIY install units come pre gassed up so you should use the vac pump to evacuate the air out of the pipes before releasing the pre-charged gas into the other unit, some say you don't need to do that for such small pipework but any air left inside the unit will contain water vapour and that will freeze once the unit is running. You could probably just use the pump without then gauges actually but I'm no expert on these things, just what I have picked up on here and youtube etc.

As for the electrics they usually come with a plug on the end of the internal units so can be plugged in so are under 13A each, probably more like 5A or so when running in cooling mode at a guess so you could probably put 2 or 3 on a 32A ring main without any issues and run them all at the same time as long as it hasn't got washers and dryers and things like that plugged into them as well.

The only problem you will run into is the length of pipe you get with them, you have to plan the route very carefully, they have to go near enough back to back really, I managed to get mine over a small bathroom ceiling and out the soffit but it was tight. You also have to find away of draining the internal unit, mine went down the stud wall and into the bath waste pipe.

[mfmman]

scottyp123 said:

some say you don't need to do that for such small pipework but any air left inside the unit will contain water vapour and that will freeze once the unit is running.

The air in the system will cause much greater problems than moisture freezing, 'Non condensible' gases will collect in the condenser and dramatically reduce the cooling capacity amongst other things. I described it in a previous post in this thread

Before anyone gets any ideas, I'm not an air con fitter and I was on the tools so long ago Fgas training wasn't even a thing so no dog in the fight for me. But the theory of the refrigeration cycle hasn't changed

[Etazene chic]

With modern pre-charged units you bleed the air out of the system once your pipework is complete so air isn't an issue. They're made to be fitted like that and contain enough excess gas to allow it, unless you have huge pipe runs.

[bristolbaron]

Thanks all, in terms of spend - as little as possible to get something decent! We won’t be here forever, but my alternative is a couple of portable units and they don’t seem worth bothering with. 1-2k? This week I’d have spend more

[surveyor]

scottyp123 said:

surveyor said:

Just the electrics and gas to sort out.

I’m not going to embarrass name him by name but one particular member of the forum went beyond all expectations by lending a scaffold tower, drill and trailer to transport them all. Remarkable individual.

Edited by surveyor on Sunday 4th July 16:20

I kept forgetting to ask this, is that a gate at the end of the passage way and out of all the wall you had to go at, why have you put the condenser right at head height, I can guarantee you are going to nut that one day.

It’s a dead end rather than a gate, and chest high.

At that height as that was the maximum reach for the control cable. Would have been better a little longer, but too late to sort.

Ps

Elit air con, built in WiFi. App is superb and offers more configuration and fault finding.

[Etazene chic]

bristolbaron said:

Thanks all, in terms of spend - as little as possible to get something decent! We won’t be here forever, but my alternative is a couple of portable units and they don’t seem worth bothering with. 1-2k? This week I’d have spend more

You won't get a ducted system at that level, so it's splits/multi split depending on where you can mount your outdoor units.

[blondini]

OldGermanHeaps said:

Diy installing a mitsubishi split 3.5kw system tomorrow, I will post some pics once its done. £500 for all the gear including a wifi module.
Cant wait to get rid of the noisy inefficient portable unit.

I've got some Mitsubishi kit to install too. Wish I'd sorted it out before the weather got hot, we're in Spain and have a portable unit running 24/7.

[OldGermanHeaps]

Need to pack out the bedroom wall to match the thickness of the skirting around the wardrobe door so the indoor unit sits flat and level.

[OldGermanHeaps]

Time to chill.

[Matt p]

Etazene chic said:

With modern pre-charged units you bleed the air out of the system once your pipework is complete so air isn't an issue. They're made to be fitted like that and contain enough excess gas to allow it, unless you have huge pipe runs.

This really make my teeth itch……….

[catfood12]

I've been inspired by this thread, and an old B & Q quick connect split A/C that has been faultless for the last 15 years. I have two loft bedrooms that are sweltering in the summer, now occupied by children. Child one has the bedroom that used to be my office with the B & Q A/C. Child two just sweats.

Got chatting to an A/C fitter at an office that I now rent who said the Plumb Centre split units are a bargain, and he's never had one fail yet.

I bought the 2.5KW cooling power one, pre-charged and includes 4m pre-flanged and insulated pipes, £404 incl VAT.



A couple of flexy feet from TLC Electrical, £17 each;

A/C fella at the office said:

Don't take the outdoor unit out of the box until it was on the roof. Much easier to handle, and no chance of damage.

Outdoor unit in place, and awaiting the rest of the system.




I'm away now for the rest of the week, so further updates next week.

Total install time so far 1.5 hours, total cost £440.

[GT89]

Have you got a link to that split unit please ?

[Harry Flashman]

And does it have WiFi control?

[catfood12]

GT89 said:

Have you got a link to that split unit please ?

Soz, City Plumbing, not Plumb Centre


https://www.cityplumbing.co.uk/Air-Conditioning-Ce...

[catfood12]

Harry Flashman said:

And does it have WiFi control?

No, it doesn't appear to have. The box says Google & Alexa compatible, but there's nothing in the manuals about it.