min splits

Bubbalowe · Post by **Bubbalowe** » Tue. May. 17, 2022 8:24 pm

My oil fired 65 year old steam boiler crapped out several years ago and our only source of heat has been a Vermont Castings Vigilant coal stove. Being a major procrastinator I put off buying a new boiler and now that fuel oil is $4.50 a gallon glad I did. If big oil wants me to use their product they should stop price gouging. Brings me to mini splits, going to bite the bullet and have a system put in this August. Electric from Penn Power was 5.5 cents kwh but going up to 8.5 cents kwh soon, still seems like the best choice.

k-2 · Post by **k-2** » Tue. May. 17, 2022 10:32 pm

Get it put in sooner. The AC mode on those things is great .
As for heat the price of oil will keep me burning coal for as long as possible. MY KWHs are now 14c all in.

Post by **Rob R.** » Wed. May. 18, 2022 6:18 am

Minisplits are great for heat in the spring and fall (and AC of course), but they are not the same thing as central heat with radiators. Your steam system can likely keep every room in the house warm in the coldest day of the year. Depending on how many minisplits you put in and how low of an outdoor temperature they are rated for, you may still need to use some sort of backup heat in cold weather.

I know a guy in Vermont that was in a similar situation, his oil boiler died last summer and he decided to go all in with solar panels and minisplits to heat his big old farmhouse. I just talked to him last week and asked how the winter went with this setup. He said it went good until January when he found out that his minisplits don't work at -15F, they just shut off. For a few days they had to rely on a wood stove, pellet stove, and electric space heaters. The other issue he had was the basement turned into a meat locker and he had some pipes freeze. Previously the oil boiler and piping kept it warm down there.

I am not trying to talk you out of the minisplits entirely, I just think you need a good "plan B" for when it is really cold. If it were me I would fix the steam system.

anthony7812 · Post by **anthony7812** » Wed. May. 18, 2022 8:37 am

North Central pennsyltucky mini splits are super handy. I've been hashing out layout recently. Ranch homes aren't the easiest. Anywho, the idea of keeping home cool with the bonus of heat during outfire risk season would be nice for my situation. We are a family that runs runs runs. Set it, forget it then power it down for coal season. House was 63 this morning, below 65 the boss gets a little grumpy. Firing up the boiler isn't economical.

snuffy · Post by **snuffy** » Wed. May. 18, 2022 6:56 pm

Relative noise is something you need to consider. The fans are on all the time. I find that annoying when the AC is on and in a bedroom I just couldn't sleep with it. I have a Mitsubshi 25,000 BTU for cooling only.

franpipeman · Post by **franpipeman** » Fri. May. 20, 2022 10:23 am

Mini splits are renowned for their quietness and moderation of fan speed based upon inverter technology and set point room temperature . s it possible you have a older single speed model? it must be far quieter then a window unit YES?

snuffy · Post by **snuffy** » Fri. May. 20, 2022 7:16 pm

Much quieter than any room conditioner. Mine is about 4--5 years old. Nothing beats radiant coal heat from under the floors tho.

Bubbalowe · Post by **Bubbalowe** » Sun. May. 22, 2022 9:06 am

Rob R. wrote: ↑
Wed. May. 18, 2022 6:18 am
Minisplits are great for heat in the spring and fall (and AC of course), but they are not the same thing as central heat with radiators. Your steam system can likely keep every room in the house warm in the coldest day of the year. Depending on how many minisplits you put in and how low of an outdoor temperature they are rated for, you may still need to use some sort of backup heat in cold weather.

I know a guy in Vermont that was in a similar situation, his oil boiler died last summer and he decided to go all in with solar panels and minisplits to heat his big old farmhouse. I just talked to him last week and asked how the winter went with this setup. He said it went good until January when he found out that his minisplits don't work at -15F, they just shut off. For a few days they had to rely on a wood stove, pellet stove, and electric space heaters. The other issue he had was the basement turned into a meat locker and he had some pipes freeze. Previously the oil boiler and piping kept it warm down there.

I am not trying to talk you out of the minisplits entirely, I just think you need a good "plan B" for when it is really cold. If it were me I would fix the steam system.

Funny you mention Vermont, my brother lives outside Springfield and a visit there was my first exposure to modern mini-splits. I prefer to look at the mini-splits as a back up to the coal stove stove lol.

ziggy87 · Post by **ziggy87** » Sun. May. 22, 2022 7:58 pm

The newer mini-splits are good. The 3 major brands now have units that will heat to -15 at full capacity. Don’t go with the cheap ones, you may not be happy. I have installed Fujitsu and Daikin brand units. Both work well and come with a 12 year part warranty.

franpipeman · Post by **franpipeman** » Mon. May. 23, 2022 8:34 am

who are the three major brands ? many times i think they are made in the same factory and just throw different labels on like trane , american standard and mitsubishi . LG?

Post by **Rob R.** » Mon. May. 23, 2022 10:44 am

franpipeman wrote: ↑
Mon. May. 23, 2022 8:34 am
who are the three major brands ? many times i think they are made in the same factory and just throw different labels on like trane , american standard and mitsubishi . LG?

Fujitsu, Daikin, and Mitsubishi.

ziggy87 · Post by **ziggy87** » Mon. May. 23, 2022 9:00 pm

Thanks Rob!

franpipeman · Post by **franpipeman** » Thu. May. 26, 2022 9:22 am

I have never worked with the precharged tubing. is it recommended for someone who has never run refrigerant piping or water piping.? A neighbor is considering it Mr cool is its name. . I would think it could be difficult or maybe risky is a better term for a first attempt at ac piping?

Post by **Rob R.** » Thu. May. 26, 2022 9:37 am

I have never worked with it either, but my uncle installed two of the Mr Cool units last summer and has been very happy with them.

hotblast1357 · Post by **hotblast1357** » Thu. May. 26, 2022 5:43 pm

I have 3 family members that have the DIY units, there pretty easy to install.