Save $2000 Installing Your Own Mini Split

How to install your own DIY Mini Split HVAC in your home, garage or workshop.

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[MichaelOstrowski-zwuf]

Just a friendly suggestion. If you are in an area that has freezing outdoor temperatures, and you use this for heating, you will want to put the outdoor unit on a stand. What will happen is the outdoor unit will go into defrost to melt the frost (ice) that accumulates on the outdoor coil. This is done automatically. As the frost melts a build-up of water will turn to ice during freezing temps. When this happens, eventually the ice builds up in the outdoor unit and the coil gets damaged from the constant freezing and thawing. Having the outdoor unit up high will allow the water to drain far enough away from the coil before the water freezes.

[scottbeverly]

I've been looking into the mini-split systems and had a local HVAC business come out and quote me a new system. He discouraged mini-splits because he said they were much more expensive than a traditional heat pump which he quoted me $10, 000.00 for a 1150 square foot home. Thats two HVAC folks that gave me crazy priced systems that I can buy online for half that. Not going to pay two guys $5 grand for one days work. I'll go DIY like you.

[joshuaholt]

I have to give props where props are due, this video literally saved me a fat stack of benjamins. I installed my own precharged mini-split thinking I needed to do nothing else but unfortunately it wasn't cooling and I was in the middle of scheduling a technician to come out to diagnose and fix whatever was wrong but after watching this video I realized all I needed to do was open the refrigerant lines. Insta cold air, thank you thank you thank you 💪🏻💪🏻

[richardrussell]

Installed a Klimaire minisplit in my garage. Going good for 2 years now. It was cheaper too than other brands. I wanted to cut my lines to size so I bought a vacuum pump, gauges, and line tools off Amazon. First time ever installing one. Just watched videos and took it a step at a time. Note you can for about $300 bucks and a test, get licensed yourself to buy refrigerant.

[mikeerin]

Your start is exactly why I do my own repairs and woodworking. Labor rates have sky rocketed and quality has not kept up.

[abad_gtr]

i had a Mitsubishi unit installed in my 2-car garage last summer...absolute game changer. easily maintains the same temperature as my house no matter the temp outside.

[gordonshute]

The filters on a mini split are notorious for getting clogged pretty fast in a wood shop. No matter how good your dust collection system is, you should probably clean/ replace your filter monthly depending on the amount of time you spend making sawdust. If there is a way to figure out a prefilter, that would be best but that's hard with a mini split.
Great video. Doing it yourself is pretty awesome and definitely does give me a great feeling.

[mysticswordsman]

That is why I like DIY and that is why I want to do more DIY and film it.

[pmdinaz]

Well done Brad. Thanks to the wifey for the assist!
I am looking at putting one of these in my shop. Thanks for the info!

[within_cells]

The kreg stud finder might be my favorite part of the video

[dkfkbanderas]

Bought me a Mirage Life 12, 1 ton installed for only $560, cools living room dining room and kitchen. Very quiet and stays cool all day long. people here buying Mr. Cool for an arm and and leg not here. 2 ton only $1200 and a little more for a 3 ton but that is way too big.

[pepperedbeefjerkey]

These things are great and have given me a solution in 3 scenarios so far, saving me

One downside I’ve ran into, and this is location specific, but there is a ton of dust. I guess it’s just a less robust filtration system, but I’ll sweep clean the room it conditions once every other week. No busy road near by and unit backs up to wooded area.

Also, my drain valve clogged up with dirt and dust and cause the internal pan to overflow causing a small waterfall in the bedroom. This is a common problem typically remediated by taking a shop vac to the drain pipe. Still, it can cause damage if unnoticed.

[RaffBuilding]

I installed a Fujitsu 2 zone some months ago. The unit is pre-charged with all the coolant you need, but I had to borrow a vacuum pump and gauge set to vacuum the lines before releasing the coolant. I planned to cut the line sets and flare the ends, but got nervous and simply located everything to work with 25' and 35' line sets. In that case, I could have gone the Mr. Cool route.

[lucasdownunder]

You guys are lucky in the US with all the DIY projects you can do. In Australia, if you do similar work yourself it would void your home insurance as work needs to be done by qualified tradies not to confuse with professionals :) have a good one!

[Danman]

Yea... You might build a filtered intake for that if you have dust in there. Jay Bates has a good one for that.

[isaacfife]

I just bought this a couple days ago. Perfect timing.

[backwardsmachining]

Agree 100% about DIY. The capacitor thingy is kinda dangerous, but
Yea, if you know what you're doing, then it's worth it.

[chrisp.]

It would be great if you could do a video on what and how to do for annual maintenance.

[colonelcoitus]

One of the best install videos I have seen, I like you installed in a different way from every other video I have seen

[insanecnc]

Nice DIY video of how to install. I just ordered a MRCOOL for my garage from Costco and I heard adding an HVAC surge protector at the disconnect may be a good idea to protect the condensing unit. I chose MRCOOL because I get the warranty as a DIYer.