Pre-charged mini split air conditioners
June 2, 2009 by Shawn Mack
Filed under Savings Guide
Don’t get fooled by companies selling pre-charged air conditioners. Over the past few years I have received many questions about purchasing pre-charged mini split air conditioners. There are some companies that advertise that their compressors within the condenser are pre-charged with refrigerant. This is a true statement. Every manufacturer I know installs compressors that are pre-charged with refrigerant. This does not mean that you can hook up a copper line set and the equipment will operate properly. Pre-charged compressors usually have approximately 13 to 16 feet of refrigerant. No matter what length line set you use, the refrigerant amount will have to be regulated and charged to ensure proper pressure settings. A professional HVAC installer will have to hook up gauges and increase or reduce refrigerant for proper operation. If refrigerant pressures are not within recommended levels, problems will ensue. Also, before a refrigerant line set is charged, it will need to be vacuumed of any contamination that may have entered. This is also done by a professional HVAC installer. Finally, remember that warranties are void if mini split air conditioners are not charged by a HVAC professional. To date there is only one system that is pre-charged with refrigerant and can be connected without the use of a HVAC professional, AmericAire’s DIY system.
The AmericAire ACEDIY12HP110/ACCDIY12HP110 has a pre-charged compressor and line set that is already connected to the indoor evaporator. The system is vacuumed and charged at the warehouse and built with special quick-lock connecting fittings. This fitting locks into place at the outdoor condenser and charges the entire unit for 25 feet of stainless steel line set. The special stainless steel line set is made special to help prevent leaks that can occur with copper lines. If you need to have a line set longer than 25 feet, the AmericAire DIY system is not recommended. It is a great system and you can check out its specifications at this link.
http://www.clearanceac.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=23
July 15th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Why is it that the ductless mini-split air conditioners are so expensive. There is absolutely no rationale for the prices to be so high except for greed, market share capture and preservation. The price structure across the board is so falsely high that the margins on these units must be enormous especially when a contractor cons an innocent customer as to the necessity of his services when it is not really required. With a little common sense the installation and set-up is so simple any handy man can do it.
It is my contention that the prices will falsely remain high until such time as the general public will insulate themselves from gullibility and begin the greed squeeze on the middle men to adjust the pricing and reduce the margins and greed factors.
December 18th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
As a tech I see quite a few handyman installs of minis. Usually it is a case of replacing the entire unit. These things are not for the handyman to install! They can be very dangerous.
Expensive? Maybe. If you buy the lower end junk then guess what? You get what you pay for. Most lower end systems have a “Side walk warranty” Good luck.
To do it properly there is $300+ materials needed as well as vacuum pump use etc. About 6 man hours should do for a single unit. And we are entitled to a retail markup and if you don’t believe that the big box stores don’t have a markup then you are dreaming.
January 20th, 2012 at 10:18 am
I am a handy man and my install went fine. $300 in materials? for what? I bought a cyclinder of 410a for $200. Thats 25 #’s off refrigerant. First ac i called told me it would be $150 to top off my system once i vacced it down and realized the manafactures precharge was not enough. Jeff Smith is a con artist like all other refrigeration mechanics.