Mitsubishi Mr. Slim Mini Split
July 21, 2010 by Shawn Mack
Filed under Ask Thomas
Name: Carol
Problem: I am pretty handy around the house and after getting several quotes from ductless installers. I will probably install the units myself. I was told that Panasonic is affiliated with the company that makes the Mr Slim units and they are the best. Is this true. Also, the Panasonic condensor that I priced has the old type freon. The discounted price is 2199 and supplies (2) inside units with free shipping and includes the installation kit.
Solution: Mitsubishi makes the line of Mr. Slim air conditioners. Panasonic is a pretty popular compressor for most mini split air conditioner lines, so there is a good chance that the system you are looking at has a Panasonic compressor. If you are looking for a good deal on a dual mini split air conditioner with the new R410 refrigerant and an inverter compressor check out this unit: AmericAire ACDE12HP220I.
This unit has a Sanyo inverter compressor and qualifies for a 30% tax credit.
September 17th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Good review on ductless air conditioning. Depending on the square footage of the zone, considering either a single or dual mini-split would seem to be good options.
September 29th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
The Mr. Slim line of mini splits are manufactured by Mitsubishi in Japan. We make our own compressors and condensing units. Panasonic purchased Sanyo last year. There is no connection between Sanyo and Mitsubishi.
January 31st, 2011 at 8:58 pm
This is for everyone with a “do it yourself” mentality…. You can’t do it yourself!! You are not EPA certified to install this equipment or handle refrigerant, and probably don’t own a vacume pump, but yeah you can do it yourself. And all those “deals” you think you are getting online are at least double what I pay. If you find a reputable hvac contractor, he should be more than happy to tell you the actual cost of material. I will end my rant on this note. Good luck finding ANY company that will honor any kind of warranty through online purchases through unauthorized dealers. I hope I’m not the only one fed up with weekend warriors that think they can do hvac.
February 11th, 2011 at 5:28 am
Regarding “Rich says” - I’ve had three licensed HVAC technicians look at my existing, ducted unit. Not one did a credible job of troubleshooting problems. They all did a cursory job, declared the unit dead, and then offered that they could install a new unit within a day at about $5000 cost. (And, it is my suspicion that one technician put “second-hand” Freon in the unit after fixing a leak. The bill just for the Freon (R22)charging was $505.)
I want to try installing a ductless unit myself at this point. I am an advanced DIY person but not licensed and will have to seek a technician that will support evacuating the lines and indoor unit before starting the system up.
Lastly, I have read that EPA allows non-licensed people to buy these ductless units. If that is incorrect I’ll find out soon.
February 11th, 2011 at 5:56 am
Most ductless systems can be installed by an average homeowner. They should, however, be charged by a professional HVAC person. AmericAire has a 12,000 DIY that charges itself with a 25′ line set. Here is a link to the unit.
http://www.clearanceac.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=96
May 15th, 2011 at 11:13 am
In response to Rich Says: So, Rich, how much should I have to pay a contractor to install a mini-split?
May 25th, 2011 at 3:20 pm
Maybe HVAC companies are different in Rich’s area, but around here none will
tell you what they pay for equipment. To do so would expose that they are charging you ~$450.00 per hour for the 3 newest guys on their crew to come out
and spend all day on an “easy” install.
Mention the word “load calculation” and half will take offense and leave, while the other half will claim to perform one but will never utilize a tape measure or even inquire what kind of insulation you have behind the drywall. I’ve found that handing them a printed page with measurements and R-values is the quickest way to get them off my property.
The reason there are so many “weekend warriors” is because the majority of weekday warriors in HVAC would rather use EPA mandates to extort a victim vs.
providing a service for a customer at reasonable cost like other fields without EPA meddling.
June 3rd, 2011 at 12:08 pm
Most hvac techs are not doing a “complete” job most of the time. It is a very technical field with few REALLY well trained techs. The biggest reason for this is the hvac industry as a whole has very few business people running things ( mostly non business trained techs run things ) and the results are low priced services which turns into low pay for techs, office people etc..
Yes, the hvac industry charges WAY less for comparable services than most
other trades and the end result is poor quality work. Small (or no) profits require a/c companies to cut corners to try to make money. According to the government the average a/c in America is a 3 ton - 10 seer a/c system that on average operates like a 2 ton - 6 seer a/c system. 1/3 capacity loss and 40% efficiency loss with “normal” installation practices. This is the real world in the a/c business. We have a very hard time getting new people into the industry and the minority of companies that are doing things right are always fighting the price battle with the low ballers that do cut corners but tell the customer we do EVERYTHING right and those higher priced companies are just trying to rip you off. This is not the consumers fault it is the a/c industry’s fault. If the company makes little to no profit do you really think they will honor that warranty @ 10 pm on friday ? I know they say they will.
The average a/c company in America has a 30 to 35% overhead according to lennox financial services which does the books for thousands of a/c companies (may be dated #’s). That means if they charge 35% above the cost of materials they would break even and make zero profit. The average a/c company charges $ 60 to 150 per hour for service work. Installations usually do not command that much per hour for labor. Most non union shops pay techs between $10 and $29 per hour, some with benefits and some without.
The few companies making REALLY good money are usually doing a lot of volume. I could rant on forever but I hope you get the point. That Cheap upfront price will probably cost you MUCH more in operating costs than the money you saved on the installation.
July 20th, 2011 at 10:30 am
Don’t try to get technical support they take 24 hours or better to returen your call
December 27th, 2011 at 3:50 pm
People deserve wealthy life and credit loans or just financial loan would make it better. Because freedom is grounded on money.