5 Year Mr Cool Mini Split Review {BRUTALLY HONEST}

Should you install a Mr Cool Minisplit or ANY Minisplit in your tiny house or garage?

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Are you considering a mini split system for your tiny house or small living space? Join me as I share my 5-year review of the Mr. Cool mini split system in my tiny house. From energy efficiency to comfort and maintenance, I cover all the essential details to help you decide if this system is right for you.

In this video, I’ll discuss:

The installation process and ease of setup.
Energy efficiency and monthly savings on utility bills.
Performance in different seasons (heating and cooling capabilities).
Maintenance and any issues encountered over the past 5 years.
Overall comfort and living experience with the Mr. Cool mini split.
If you’re looking for a reliable and efficient heating and cooling solution for your tiny house, small home, or even a shed conversion, this in-depth review is for you. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more tiny house living tips and reviews!

[punksjutgbd]

Great video. I came here for Mr Cool but stuck around to admire what you did for the home. Neat stuff everywhere.

[dhess]

I enjoy your ideas. Even though you say that you enjoy the more simple, affordable life, there are a lot of specific details to discuss. In my opinion it just comes down to the life you chose. It is exciting and the details are very interesting. Thank you for the time it takes to make this video.

[brianparkhurst]

I have a mrcool diy mini split in my 400 sq ft shop. Also circa 19. I believe its a 12kw. I only run it in high summer and winter, and have done no maintenance except clean the filter and squirrel cage. No problems, works perfectly and very happy. Not sure what the quality is today but 5 years ago they were great. Minisplits are a perfect solution for 1 room applications.

[coloradogirl]

Thanks for this review! I want this unit at my farm house.
I was thinking: could you put a screen over your condensation drain hose, to keep out critters?
Maybe there is some fitting made for this by now?

[lunathecat]

@shedtohouse I've had mini-splits in every room of my 1960's house for 12 years, and I can tell you that cleaning the filter every day won't even help with that fine gunk that builds up on the blower wheel. I suspect it is caused by a unit not draining well, and allowing mold/mildew growth in drainage trays inside the unit, which spreads through the air to the wheel (yeah, gross). One reason I suspect it is this is that we get it in some units but not others, and the only ones we get it in have always had drainage issues (think they weren't installed level/slanted correctly). The other reason is that if I use bleach or vinegar (about 1 part per 5 parts water in a 2 liter bottle) to flush out the front drainage tray about once a month when I clean the filters it takes a lot longer (years) for the gunk to build up.

I have tried cleaning the fins with little pipe cleaner style brushes (without taking the whole unit apart) and it takes forever and is a PITA. I managed to break a couple of the teeth on the blower wheel which makes the whole thing rattle now (unbalanced), but it isn't very noticeable on low/medium speed. The first couple of times I cleaned it I sprayed water on it (without taking it apart) using a pesticide style manual pumped sprayer bottle (never used for pesticide) and that worked well but had to move furniture away and tape plastic to the wall which I draped all the way to a bucket on the floor. Didn't make too much of a mess so I should have stuck to that instead of trying to use the brushes. There are minisplit cleaning kits on Amazon that are basically the plastic that you put on the wall and the unit and they have fins that attach to the unit so that the plastic can come away from the wall to and provide better protection from spray going sideways.

[tonygomez-jkto]

Fyi... mini splits have been around since the 60's. Unlike the US they are very popular over the rest of the world. Ive had my mr cool in my garage for over 7 years, absolutely awesome.

[scottstruif]

Why didn’t you cut the drain hose off as it comes down the exterior wall, instead of running it out into the yard where you said it clogs?

[donnahalvorsen]

Does each unit have to have its own hose running down your outside walls?

[brianwolf]

When you say you couldn't take vacations because you would come back to a flooded house, could you have turned off the unit while away to solve that issue?

[maov]

Thanks for sharing that information! Le me ask you! What cable did you used 8awg wire or 10 awg for electrical connections?

[robsherbonjr]

When you were showing the filters there looked like water damage on the wall under the unit… is that what that was? Do they have issues with leaking and/or sweating and running down the wall?

[ks-bguk]

Here's the truth about Mr. Cool as an owner too. Mr. Cool works great and can save you money being a DIY. But the fact of the matter is that Mr. Cool takes a long time for parts. It took several weeks for the parts during the hot Texas month of July. The other thing is many HVAC techs do not service the MR Cool brand. If you cannot find an HVAC tech that services Mr Cool, don't consider the Mr Cool unit. I guarantee you, any unit will eventually need to be serviced and if you don't find an HVAC tech for your Mr Cool, your unit becomes useless. That's why eventually changed.

[bryantr]

Hello friends! So….the way I’m understanding this is that every split in your rooms needs to have its own drain running to the exterior of the home?

[john_in_phoenix]

I have to laugh when people speak of 90s as "very hot". Add 20 degrees to that.