Split Air con

RJC said:
norm is probably having too much fun with the vacuum pump!:eek::p
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Hah. :D I was looking at doing a proper pressure test like you mentioned, as I now have the manifold/guage and pipes, a bottle of nitrogen is easy enough to pick up from local BOC place, but the thing that is stumping me is getting hold of a regulator. Amazon have one for £40 which is the type that's popular in the US, but it comes with a CGA580 connector whereas in the UK we use the BS3 connector, yet I can't find an adapter?
 
Nothing against Panasonic and may well go with the Etherea as it seems to be highly recommended. Just looking to see what options are available, also the boss (wife) prefers the look of the Mitsubishi as well as the Daikin Emura.

Interesting about the 5% VAT only applying if materials is less than 60% of the total, as i'm sure the materials in the quote i got wouldn't be 60% and quote shows VAT at 5%!
 
Dave20 said:
I've been quote £3000 ex VAT for supply and install of 2 x 2.5KW multisplit Mitsubishi LN's to go in upstairs bedrooms (not including installing power which have been quoted an extra £180 to install a dedicated circuit).

Quote to me seems a bit high compared to others on here.

Does anyone one know if its possible to get the reduced 5% VAT rate if I were to buy the AC units myself? As I've been recommended another installer, but the company he works for only supplies Panasonic. He has said he is willing to install another brand, but I would need to purchase it.
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I don't think that is a bad price tbh. Mine was £3718 ex vat for the basic units (MSZ-AP - 3x 2.5kw) and if I removed my master bedroom it was £3018 ex vat. The LN units are more expensive and I think more expensnive the the MSZ-EF (Zen) units I upgraded to.

@norm Looking good so far :D
 
norm said:
Hah. :D I was looking at doing a proper pressure test like you mentioned, as I now have the manifold/guage and pipes, a bottle of nitrogen is easy enough to pick up from local BOC place, but the thing that is stumping me is getting hold of a regulator. Amazon have one for £40 which is the type that's popular in the US, but it comes with a CGA580 connector whereas in the UK we use the BS3 connector, yet I can't find an adapter?
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I am trying to look at the actual differences between the two fittings- I even looked at mine for any markings as they look the same.

Are you anywhere near Kent?

This may help:

https://www.polytechforum.com/weldi...-on-british-bs3-cylinder-valve-fit-29361-.htm
 
All my kit turns up tomorrow, going to be a bit of a slog.

Was going to hide the trunking round the side of the house, but decided to put it at the rear and run out the soffit rather than using a core drill.
 
RJC said:
I am trying to look at the actual differences between the two fittings- I even looked at mine for any markings as they look the same.

Are you anywhere near Kent?

This may help:

https://www.polytechforum.com/weldi...-on-british-bs3-cylinder-valve-fit-29361-.htm
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No I'm in the south west.

Yeah I did look at that page before but the mention of using a metal lathe to make it fit is a bit sketchy to say the least, not that I would have the means to anyway.

Seems strange how the CGA580 connection is so ubiquitous in the US why there's no converters that I can find, maybe the place selling the gas bottles can shed some light on it.
 
Bit more progress. Dealing with 15m copper tube coils is not the easiest thing in the world. Fortunately I had my girlfriend on hand in the loft to help guide the straightened pipe down whilst I was in the garage gently pulling.

Used a 3m length of speed fit flexi pipe 21.5mm diameter to act as a conduit for the copper as it made it's way to the exit hole into the garage which worked a treat. After it was in place the insulation went on relatively easily.

Going to put expanding foam in the hole when I have the 4 core connecting cable in place.

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I had to move the guttering over to allow room for the pipes and it'll mean the compressor will be tucked further to the right which is what I want anyway. As the garage wall is north-west facing it should get a good bit of shade, maybe not so good for heating in the winter but primarily going to be used for cooling anyway. Ps ignore the fake grass in that last photo previous occupants strange choice. :p
 
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Nice work @norm. It looks like you have got all the awkward part of the install done now. My external unit gets sun from about 12:30 ish which is not ideal for cooling. I've got a parasol that I normally remember to put up before the sun comes around that puts it in the shade. If I had it on the side of my house it would have been in my walk way or higher up directly blowing over my fence to another neighbor which I would not have been happy with.

When will you be starting yours f@Firestar_3x?
 
@norm, looks great, how prone are the pipes to kinking?

fobose said:
When will you be starting yours f@Firestar_3x?
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Perhaps during the week (may take some time off work), or if not the weekend.

Got a choice of two routes but need to get into the loft with some rods to see if going through the soffit will work.
 
Firestar_3x said:
@norm, looks great, how prone are the pipes to kinking?
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Not very. The 3/8" pipe really benefits from a bending spring which sits over the pipe as you work it. I read to keep the bend radius no smaller than 70mm which is sensible really. The 1/4" pipe is easy to work with by hand, but care should be taken when uncoiling it because it could easily kink itself if it snagged on something.

If you can cut a foot section off each pipe just to give a sense of where the limits are.
 
fobose said:
lol. If you were not so far away I would offer to help. I would think you can't really go wrong with the network install though, especially for getting a cable to your living room. For the outside bit you will need a good ladder to drill through to your loft which unless you know someone who has one, that could be an issue. Might be a good time to learn some DIY skills. I am sure you would get lots of support from the forum members and me :)

@norm How is your AC install going today? :D
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Been a hectic week so far with work stuff, not had much call to use the new AC but it's great when I do want to switch it on :)

Had a chap over yesterday to look at ethernet + power requirements. The general plan will be;

Run ethernet out of the understairs cupboard through the wall externally.

That ethernet can then run along under the render on the side of my house which is pretty well covered in shrubs/bushes so it will be out of sight. But don't go as far as the corner of the house with the downpipe (just past the window on the side of the house instead).

Then go vertically but not all the way to the roof, instead come in roughly where I have a socket on that bedroom wall in the study. Unfortunately needs to go in conduit/trunking, but it's on the side of the house I can't even see most of the time, should be fine.

Then take both ethernet + power from the socket up the wall internally and into the loft space.

From there it should be home free as I can run a switch + power from the loft, and from there I can also add a socket + ethernet on the wall opposite the bed in the master bedroom, with the sockets coming in behind the TV. I need to actually get a TV and a wallmount for it, but I can hide those nicely behind a 55" TV or so I reckon.

Not got a quote back yet, but should be imminent.
 
HungryHippos said:
Been a hectic week so far with work stuff, not had much call to use the new AC but it's great when I do want to switch it on :)
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It's great isn't it :) Even just using it at night time for sleeping with the windows shut to avoid any hay fever symptoms has made it worth it for me so far, plus that hot week we had last week.

That sounds cool with your network. Did the living room get added to the quote too? Hopefully it will not be too much.
 
fobose said:
It's great isn't it :) Even just using it at night time for sleeping with the windows shut to avoid any hay fever symptoms has made it worth it for me so far, plus that hot week we had last week.

That sounds cool with your network. Did the living room get added to the quote too? Hopefully it will not be too much.
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Living room should be straight forward using the same kind of method, as it's maybe 6 feet away but in the same direction as the rest of the cables run, I think that will be the easiest of them all!

Assuming I can go ahead with all of this, then it's raised the next question of what TV to get in the bedroom.

Originally I was going to go with something cheapish but still OK. Now I am seriously considering chucking my 65E6 OLED from the living room upstairs (the built in sound bar will help with getting alright audio out of it as well), then getting a 65CX for the living room... :D

Waiting to see if JL will price match this one: https://www.electricshop.com/lg-oled65cx5lb-65-inch-4k-smart-oled-tv-2020-model
 
Fair enough, sounds like a plan! I think your living room cable might end up going through the render if it's to be the same height as your plug sockets, unless the guy doing it can drill at a downward angle (risky not to drill too low tho).

That is a nice looking TV, along with your current one too! :D I must admit I went el'cheapo when I moved in to my place and bought a £400-£500 4k hisense 55" telly lol (it's been great, JL had to replace the remote though as it was from a faulty batch). In all honesty I can't fault it but then I have nothing better to compare it to.

Our TV bed has a 32" LG 1080p that pops up from the foot rest and that seems big enough as it's quite close (2m length mattress). Before we got the TV bed I did not find watching TV in bed that comfortable as the old bed did not have electric or mechanical lifting mechs. I would try out your current TV in your bedroom first to see if you would use it much before splashing out on a new big TV! ;)
 
Bit of an update.

Got the trunking on and hung the compressor on the wall.

I flared the 1/4" pipe as that was the shorter of the two, so determined how low the unit could sit. The flaring went fine second time around, the first was good but I forgot the flare nut! That's after having watched several youtube videos saying not to forget it. :p

I've got the rotary isolator and 2.5mm² wiring from the garage to sort out next and then flaring the connections in the loft, then the testing can begin.

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Nice! I like how you kept it in line with the downpipe, did my idea of doing that rub off on you or was it just chance?

Looks neat, but yeah what the hell on that grass!
 
HungryHippos said:
Nice! I like how you kept it in line with the downpipe, did my idea of doing that rub off on you or was it just chance?

Looks neat, but yeah what the hell on that grass!
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I just wanted it over to the right as much as possible to keep it out the way, but I think the symmetry does make it look neater like you say.

Hah, the astro-turf grass is just acting as a weed suppressor for the time being. I want to dig the whole border away and replace with a retaining wall to give a storage area. Annoyingly when the property was built the builders piled soil against the garage wall on the right side far above the DPC so it's causing damp inside during wet weather, hence it's all going to have be dug back.
 
norm said:
I just wanted it over to the right as much as possible to keep it out the way, but I think the symmetry does make it look neater like you say.

Hah, the astro-turf grass is just acting as a weed suppressor for the time being. I want to dig the whole border away and replace with a retaining wall to give a storage area. Annoyingly when the property was built the builders piled soil against the garage wall on the right side far above the DPC so it's causing damp inside during wet weather, hence it's all going to have be dug back.
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That's shoddy builders for you to be honest! That + throwing as much rubble into your garden as possible.

Have you turned the system on yet?
 
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