Split Air con

hehe me too for awhile.
I will say though, they are amazing heaters, I would even say they do a much much better job of heating than they do cooling... go figure.

Your also rejecting heat of compression and motor heat into the room when in heating mode.

The condenser is larger to cope with this when in cooling mode.
 
A question for those doing self installs. Am I right in saying that the outdoor units come pre-gassed that can fill the pipework? Or does the whole system need to be vacuumed and filled from a bottle?

I've done HVAC in cars for years but never this kind of thing.
 
I spoke to my engineer about self installs and how technically I could buy the unit he was installing for next to nothing (not that I would attempt myself)
He said a lot of his work comes from repairing these bad self installs, something about them using an inferior quality pipe with a much thinner thickness?

Course there is also the warranty/guarantee to consider, I can run mine as hard as I like knowing it's covered for 5 years, but yes I have had to pay many hundreds extra for that privilege I guess...
 
A question for those doing self installs. Am I right in saying that the outdoor units come pre-gassed that can fill the pipework? Or does the whole system need to be vacuumed and filled from a bottle?

I've done HVAC in cars for years but never this kind of thing.

Most units come pre gased for certain pipe run, if you go over this then you will add a small quantity of refrigerant.

You will need to check the manufactures instructions.

I spoke to my engineer about self installs and how technically I could buy the unit he was installing for next to nothing (not that I would attempt myself)
He said a lot of his work comes from repairing these bad self installs, something about them using an inferior quality pipe with a much thinner thickness?

Course there is also the warranty/guarantee to consider, I can run mine as hard as I like knowing it's covered for 5 years, but yes I have had to pay many hundreds extra for that privilege I guess...

Some used plumbers copper and not refrigeration grade copper.

Also there was an issue with R410a first come out as this is much higher pressure this needed thicker gauge pipe work. But as time has progressed this has become the norm.
 
Most units come pre gased for certain pipe run, if you go over this then you will add a small quantity of refrigerant.

You will need to check the manufactures instructions.

I thought that was the case, thanks.

I thought self installs were out and you have to be F Gas certified to commission one of these under the latest regs even if it's pre-filled?

Yes you need to have F Gas for stationary systems to install and commission. For portable HVAC such as a car, you only need F Gas for recovery of the refrigerant.
 
Installers back today, to hopefully finish the job :)

I made a bit of an error with the location of the unit in the lounge, should have gone over to the right a bit more (nearer the curtain pole). The unit was centralised between the pole and the wall, but really should have been centralised with where the blind ends. My fault though as I confirmed that when asked.

The result is that it's quite close to the blind which makes using the controls a bit harder. Normally have my corner table under it so have to pull them towards me a bit.

Not the end of the world though, and moving it over a few CM would involve redoing the bracket and extending the core hole a bit, I don't think it's worth the extra hassle so I'll just leave it where it is I think!

cYdAsgUh.jpg
 
You could always replace the blind in the future and have the controls on the other side? I always seem to end up with the controls on the side with the window I normally open so they flap in the wind and annoy me :D

P.S is that a Dali Oberon 3 speaker with the Dali speaker stand? :D
 
Last edited:
Replace the blind with a BlocBlinds blind - they are a little expensive but by god they are good. They fit inside the window recess and don't have a cord or anything (they're basically like Velux blinds but vertical). Currently at 3 of them in my house and counting...
 
You could always replace the blind in the future and have the controls on the other side? I always seem to end up with the controls on the side with the window I normally open so they flap in the wind and annoy me :D

P.S is that a Dali Oberon 3 speaker with the Dali speaker stand? :D

Yes I could re-buy the same blind with controls on the left instead, not cheap ones though due to size, probably £60-£70 for that even if it's from one of the bespoke/cheap blind places.

That is a Dali speaker so close, but it's the Zensor 3 on a cheap Richer Sounds stand! :cool:
 
Replace the blind with a BlocBlinds blind - they are a little expensive but by god they are good. They fit inside the window recess and don't have a cord or anything (they're basically like Velux blinds but vertical). Currently at 3 of them in my house and counting...

I ummed and ahhd about the blinds for a while, main reason I have those is because the venetians behind it don't block out all light, so the TV (opposite wall) gets reflection on a bright day.

I wanted some kind of black thing that would prevent that, so even trying to stop light leaking out the edges was worth considering, so I went over the top instead of inside recess.

The current blinds look good but they are a proper pain to open/close, those BlocBlinds seem to have smart features so would be cool to open/close remotely. Do they need power?

Don't want rollers or anything, just wanted something that I could lower to watch the TV mainly.
 
I ummed and ahhd about the blinds for a while, main reason I have those is because the venetians behind it don't block out all light, so the TV (opposite wall) gets reflection on a bright day.

I wanted some kind of black thing that would prevent that, so even trying to stop light leaking out the edges was worth considering, so I went over the top instead of inside recess.

The current blinds look good but they are a proper pain to open/close, those BlocBlinds seem to have smart features so would be cool to open/close remotely. Do they need power?

Don't want rollers or anything, just wanted something that I could lower to watch the TV mainly.

No they don't need power (perhaps they make a version that does, but not the ones I have) - you just push on the bar at the bottom of the fabric to release it and then pull it up/down to move it on the track. The way the track mounts into the frame means that it really blocks out the light almost completely - here's a comparison I made earlier from my bedroom: https://imgur.com/a/9Gjov
 
No they don't need power (perhaps they make a version that does, but not the ones I have) - you just push on the bar at the bottom of the fabric to release it and then pull it up/down to move it on the track. The way the track mounts into the frame means that it really blocks out the light almost completely - here's a comparison I made earlier from my bedroom: https://imgur.com/a/9Gjov

Looks good I'll certainly have a good long think about doing it! :)

You got any pics going of your install yet?

Mine are sorting the trunking out right now, getting there, can see where it will run. Big boy trunking though it's not discrete, guess it needs a bigger size as it's running 3 sets of pipework out, then drops to 2, then 1 for the final length of of the loft run.

O6Jv7HKh.jpg
 
The 100mm? trunking on the bottom does look big but better than having another run. Your install looks really neat so far and not that noticeable. I was keen to have the minimal amount of trunking on mine too but my loft access is not great as it's not possible to get to the eaves. If it was, my master bedroom would have been run down to the eaves and in to my office trunking, which would have saved me the £450 for the scaffold :D

I looked at a picture of my house without the trunking yesterday and it obviously does look better without it but it still looks neat enough it doesn't bother me. I rarely look at my house any way and when it was super hot yesterday I certainly did not care about the trunking on the brick work :D

Where did they get power from in the end?
 
Looking tidy, is that 100mm trunking? My tunking just turned up this morning and went for 100mm over 75mm as worried 75mm would be a squeeze for 2 indoor units, i suppose if not it does mean i can run another indoor unit down the same trunking at a later date.
 
The 100mm? trunking on the bottom does look big but better than having another run. Your install looks really neat so far and not that noticeable. I was keen to have the minimal amount of trunking on mine too but my loft access is not great as it's not possible to get to the eaves. If it was, my master bedroom would have been run down to the eaves and in to my office trunking, which would have saved me the £450 for the scaffold :D

I looked at a picture of my house without the trunking yesterday and it obviously does look better without it but it still looks neat enough it doesn't bother me. I rarely look at my house any way and when it was super hot yesterday I certainly did not care about the trunking on the brick work :D

Where did they get power from in the end?

Yep, as you say it's pretty neat despite it's size, and it's on the side of the house that you won't see even if on the patio really, as the main patio area is outside the double doors.

The power will run from the socket just to the right of the patio doors there, that socket is feeding into another one nearer the unit but further to the right, but I am not sure I will be keeping that socket forever. This power could just feed into the trunking and along with it, or possibly directly under it.

Unavoidably covering two air bricks a bit on the underside of the render, they've cut holes in the trunking there to still allow some airflow, and there is a small gap above the trunking. Hopefully enough, along with the rest of the various air bricks dotted about.

Looking tidy, is that 100mm trunking? My tunking just turned up this morning and went for 100mm over 75mm as worried 75mm would be a squeeze for 2 indoor units, i suppose if not it does mean i can run another indoor unit down the same trunking at a later date.

Yep looks like 100mm trunking, should be safe for 3 units as that's what mine contains :)
 
Back
Top Bottom