DIY mini-split kit or basic parts kit installation

[Van]

Seems pretty straight forward. Watched a video of one being installed in a home in the  upper peninsula and seem to hold it's own during the winter climate there. 

[luvrbus]

I am happy with my roof tops if I was building a bus today it would have roof tops,since Cruise Air are no longer made like I used on my Eagle,2 units were mounted in the spare tire compartment and 1 was were the battery was remove and moved 21 years later they are stilling working says Matt plus you could adjust the fans to any speed no 3 speed,I had the units installed in Seabrook Tx by a marine dealer best choice I ever made   

[peterbylt]

We have both, a Coleman Mach 15 roof top and a Pioneer 12,000 Mini Split.

The first installed was the Mini split, was a bit of work, Worst part was running the copper lines.

The Condenser was installed in the Front driver's side bay, evaporator up over the windshield.
 
To aid in the installation I bought this gage from Pioneer: https://www.highseer.com/collections/accessories/products/mini-split-r410a-low-side-suction-charging-service-gauge-hose-set-5-16-port?variant=24482164211776

And this vacuum Pump from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/ZENY-Single-Stage-Economy-Conditioner-Refrigerant/dp/B012CFTYX4/ref=sr_1_6?_encoding=UTF8&c=ts&dchild=1&keywords=Air+Conditioning+Vacuum+Pumps&qid=1598886415&sr=8-6&ts_id=15707041

Both worked well, the Pioneer Condenser unit comes precharged with R410A, after the install you vacuum down the lines, let sit for most of the day, if the Vacuum holds release the refrigerant.

This unit works awesome, given enough time will cool or heat the entire bus and it does it efficiently.

Problem comes when the temps start to get into the upper 90s, or when the Bus is hot and heat soaked, the mini Split will not cool the entire Bus quickly.

After much thought we decided to put in a second AC of the roof top variety, whereas the Mini Split is nice and efficient, Cools good and sips electricity, we went completely opposite with the roof top unit and went with the Biggest unit that would work on 110 volts with no thought on efficiency.

Just in case we decide to change up in the future, I did not want to randomly cut holes in the roof and mounted the rooftop unit in the rear escape hatch.

The Coleman Mach 15 15,000 BTU unit kicks @$#, between the 2 units, we can cool the bus from 110 degrees to 78 degrees in around 20 minutes.

We are quite happy with the result, often use Both to bring the temp down and then maintain with the Mini Split, on a hot Florida day we will turn the Coleman on to maintain the Icebox that the Wife likes.

Peter

[chessie4905]

Thanks for mentioning that. Rooftops are noisey but they cool down better, faster than the mini splits. Once their market share starts to degrade significantly, then the mfgrs may make the needed improvements. Problem is there are great peaks and valleys in the rv business. Hard to invest in innovation when a recession may be just around the corner.

[windtrader]

Peter,
Thank you for the links and sharing your experience. I ordered the MRCOOL Advantage that comes recharged except for lines that need the same vacuum procedure as your Pioneer. With those tools available so cheap, I'll need to ponder whether to buy or stay with decision to get free loaner tools from Oreilly's. Not sure how often I'll use those tools on other projects in the future.

Rooftops are noisey but they cool down better, faster than the mini splits

Are you comparing equal BTU output units? Certainly, more powerful mini-splits can outperform a 120vac rooftop which max out around 15k BTU while a 240vac mini-split can easily deliver 20k+ BTU.


As I just made this recent purchase, I'll share my rationale. Getting more than 15k BTU requires 240vac that required purchase of  a new dc/ac inverter. OK, that is understandable but the total cost of a 18k - 24k mini and the inverter was pushing my pocketbook for this upgrade. A second consideration was something I read that mini-splits are or are line heat pumps and prefer to run more often than start/stop. If that is the case, even with mini on low setting, it was unclear how much it would run vs start/stop.


The last puzzle piece is future proofing. Depending on how the mini works in the salon, it may be fine as is or need more BTU at which time I plan to upgrade to 240vac mini for the salon and swap the existing mini with the rooftop in the bedroom. That should provide sufficient flexibility to make the thing an ice box if desired.


A related factor is gaining more real estate up top for more PV panels. Currently, there are six residential panels and room for two more. To add the next pair for a total of ten, the rear rooftop needs to go. If I decided to go to ten, then the bedroom rooftop goes and another mini goes in. Sizing of second mini depends on how things work out with the first mini in and proceed as described above.


Lastly, a couple other considerations. Why not just by a two zone mini-spilt now? Well, they cost quite a bit more and at present it remain unknown how well the one will work with the aid of the back rooftop. How much BTU for each zone is unclear. Also, they all run 240vac so there is added cost and effort installing two at once.


One mini-split now still allows for possibility of incremental upgrade later while deferring spending more $ up front and not installing too little or too much cooling. The path I've chosen provides the benefit of redundancy so there will always be coach cooling, although reduced BTU which are better than zero with a 2 zone unit.


Who knows how it will all actually work, it's all a big experiment and entertainment.

[sledhead]

I had a 9 k  split unit up front above the windshield and a 13.5 k roof shaker above the bed in the back of the M C I  . most times the split unit would keep the coach cold but there was times when I had to turn on both units to super cool down the coach and then turn off the rear unit . because the split unit was so quiet it was used most of the time with a small floor fan to sent the cool air to the bed room . coach was spray foamed and I am sure that helped

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Et8FvK1BRX5Jpupk6

dave