Item 1 of 2
Item 1 of 2
expiredbargainhunterforever posted Nov 24, 2024 5:26 PM
Pioneer 24,000 BTU 2 Ton 21 SEER2 Ductless Mini Split Air Conditioner Heat Pump
$1,391
$1,748
20% off
& More + Free Store Pickupat Home Depot
& More + Free Store Pickupat Home Depot
Top Comments
1. Verify power supply requirements and available capacity / breaker slots with your existing electrical panel - you don't want to offload this work to the handyman/electrician who's installing the units. 230v units need minimum of 2 breaker slots and 115v units need minimum of 1. Find out how much Amps your current panel supports from the main line outside your house (assuming Single family house). From product specs, find out what breakers you need. Usually you need a MAX of 30amp for 230v units, and MAX of 20amp for 115v units.
You can find out by getting a quote from HVAC companies who will help uncover this info for you. I personally could not afford the rates I was quoted in CA bay region for them to do the entire work (units, electrical work, and installation).
If you need electrical wiring or new panel with wiring done, you have to complete this work before you can get the units installed. This is additional $$. These units are generally pre-charged with refrigerant, so just find out the length of copper tubes needed between the unit's condenser and head, and order appropriate ones.
2. Assuming you have capacity or available sockets / wiring to work with, the next step is finding an electrician. Yelp worked best for me. I searched for Mini split installation, narrowed down companies with good ratings in my service region, and started calling them up. A lot of companies will not agree to install the customer bought units, so be upfront by providing all the details about your purchased units. In my case eventually, a Mexican family owned business person agreed to install them at $1200 - $1400 per unit assuming he didn't have to do any additional electrical work other than hooking the units with available wiring. I had to buy some additional parts such as Line cover kits, surge protection units, breakers etc. but the company took care of entire installation which included drilling and fitting the head units inside, brazing the copper lines outside, securing them to condenser, and connecting the electrical lines with surge protector.
In my case, 2 ton unit was around ~1.8k, installation cost me ~2k with additional parts (surge protection, line cover set to protect tubes against weather, new wiring from panel to condenser unit)
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35 Comments
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1. Verify power supply requirements and available capacity / breaker slots with your existing electrical panel - you don't want to offload this work to the handyman/electrician who's installing the units. 230v units need minimum of 2 breaker slots and 115v units need minimum of 1. Find out how much Amps your current panel supports from the main line outside your house (assuming Single family house). From product specs, find out what breakers you need. Usually you need a MAX of 30amp for 230v units, and MAX of 20amp for 115v units.
You can find out by getting a quote from HVAC companies who will help uncover this info for you. I personally could not afford the rates I was quoted in CA bay region for them to do the entire work (units, electrical work, and installation).
If you need electrical wiring or new panel with wiring done, you have to complete this work before you can get the units installed. This is additional $$. These units are generally pre-charged with refrigerant, so just find out the length of copper tubes needed between the unit's condenser and head, and order appropriate ones.
2. Assuming you have capacity or available sockets / wiring to work with, the next step is finding an electrician. Yelp worked best for me. I searched for Mini split installation, narrowed down companies with good ratings in my service region, and started calling them up. A lot of companies will not agree to install the customer bought units, so be upfront by providing all the details about your purchased units. In my case eventually, a Mexican family owned business person agreed to install them at $1200 - $1400 per unit assuming he didn't have to do any additional electrical work other than hooking the units with available wiring. I had to buy some additional parts such as Line cover kits, surge protection units, breakers etc. but the company took care of entire installation which included drilling and fitting the head units inside, brazing the copper lines outside, securing them to condenser, and connecting the electrical lines with surge protector.
In my case, 2 ton unit was around ~1.8k, installation cost me ~2k with additional parts (surge protection, line cover set to protect tubes against weather, new wiring from panel to condenser unit)
the DIY version with 25 ft. line set.
the DIY version with 25 ft. line set.
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one creates heat, one adsorbs.
BUT...if you are paying $1800 for the unit, and then an extra $2000 with installation costs, you definitely did this the wrong way, regardless of wherever you live.
I know someone who put in a 1 ton in Brickell, Miami for $1700 for everything. Even that seems a lot to me.
But $3800, that is about the cost of a complete 3- or 4-ton traditional A/C, including installation. But $4k for a minisplit...no way is that a good deal. I'd call 5 or 6 A/C installers first to see what their estimates would be for installing a minisplit. Even in the Bay area, I am sure it would be less than $2200. They tried to upcharge you everything a la carte. Not cool.
Have a friend that knows a little about A/C stuff, or home repairs, to call and get quotes on your behalf.
I deeply researched mini splits and live next to an hvac technician. He told me to go with Bosch. I bought on sale at Lowes, with Credit Card Promo. Can select 15 or 25 foot lineset included, or none. Bosch 1.5 and 2 ton (18k and 24k) had been sold out for over 6 months, since April of 2024 and even with email notification set on them, they would sell out within a minute, each time Lowe's got more stock. Home Depot was roughly $900 more for same model.
$1891 Lowes Price for Bosch 18k with 15 foot Lineset
+ $65 pad/base or mounting legs. I went with cambridge composite amazon plus concrete block under that
+ $120 10/2 Electrical Wire, Conduit, Breaker, and Shutoff Box
+ $50 Line set cover
+ misc supplies like gap crack fill and foam tape
+ $80 sensibo Wi-fi / Bluetooth Sensor control
--------------------------------------------------
+ Install
a mini split/Heat pump was way better than Central Air quotes that I received. I'm very pleased with the Bosch 18k unit I purchased and it is doing fine heating the entire 1000 square foot (1st floor of the house), even without it being an open floor plan.
As another note, There is no way I would've been able to DIY. Requires a lot of extra tools and refrigerant, vacuum, bend, torch, drill to get thru brick and foundation, in my case, etc
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Installed it in a 22x23' attached garage that is insulated and in central Alabama. Wanted 2 tons in case internal temps of garage are near 100 when i want to pull it down and also for fast recovery when doors are opened.
Works great , I just keep it at 82 degrees when not in use and pull down to about 76 when I do go work in the garage. Haven't had to really utilize heat yet
Installed everything myself including electrical and pouring pad.
Got lucky and found digital micron gauge at estate sale for $15 and analog gauge set for $10. used vacuum pump on FB marketplace for $40 (change the OIL!).
Bought recertified 20 cu ft Nitrogen tank from Beverage Elements shipped for $66, refilled locally at weld shop for $20.
Regulator was $30 on amazon.
Got 5/16 and 1/4 valve core removal tools by Apion on ebay. Think they were about $60 a piece.
Wostore eccentric flare tool from amazon for $30.
Fun project only thing that made me about pull my hair out was i would get down to 200 microns and close the valve core tool to isolate the vacuum pump and the level would rise a lot, but as soon as I opened it back up to vacuum pump it would go right back down. Called a buddy and he said to just run the vacuum pump for an hour or 2 and its just a lot of high humidity in the lines boiling off as it did pass a bubble leak test. After running for an hour the readings started to stay low, just FYI.
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