BajaNomad

Mini-Splits

Marie-Rose - 4-27-2007 at 07:44 AM

I did a search on the board re: mini splits and Pompano had great info but the pics are no longer there so not sure what make you (Pompano) ended up getting and would be interested to know if you are happy with the system.
Also, how do you measure how big of a system is needed. At the moment we are all wired and set up for a/c in the great room and in the master bedroom. The master bedroom is about 35 ft from the great room. Any info??

oops...should be in Baja building and living...no idea of how to move it:no:

[Edited on 2007-4-27 by Marie-Rose]

vandenberg - 4-27-2007 at 08:17 AM

Marie Rose,
We had new splits installed this fall. A A/C guy in California told me once that the rule of thumb for them is 1 ton of air for every 500 cubic ft. of space. We have 12 ft ceilings and had trouble with wall units to bring the temp. down. We installed a multisplit in the living area,which includes dining area and kitchen. 4 ton divided up in one 2 ton diffuser and 2 one ton diffusers. So we can use anuwhere from 1 to 4 ton as needed. In the bedroom, with 13 ft ceiling we installed a 3 ton unit with 2 one and a half ton diffusers. The 2 ton wall unit we had there would not do the job at all. I see the prices of these units in La Paz's City Club and the big grocery stores and found out that we got one hell of a deal from Pancho Lubet in La Paz. We paid $3000.00 for both units and another $1500.00 for installation.

vandenberg - 4-27-2007 at 08:25 AM

Marie Rose,
BTW, we had dinner at both Milano's and Jesse's at the same time as your friends from TD, who mentioned your name. Theirs of course escapes me. Senior moment. ( Have lots of those lately,haha) Very impressed with Jesse's,to say the least, and not much with Milano's, which was to me slightly mediocre with little ambience. Just my opinion Judy:P:P

bajajudy - 4-27-2007 at 10:58 AM

Vandy
In all honesty, I have recommended Milano to several people, who had already eaten there, and they have also told me that they were underwhelmed and in one case couldnt eat what they ordered. I havent eaten there in over 2 years so will withdraw my recommendation until I try it again.:P:P:P:P:P:P:O:saint:

bajajudy - 4-27-2007 at 11:01 AM

jeez did we ever high jack that thread.
Marie-Rose. The only recommendations that we got over and over again was not to buy the alpha by carrier. We bought Trane because they were the only ones we could fine big enough for our usage.

comitan - 4-27-2007 at 12:12 PM

Marie-Rose

Todos Santos?:spingrin::spingrin:

bajajudy - 4-27-2007 at 01:44 PM

Marie Rose
g
Go on some of the a/c companies' web sites and they will have a plug in to figure out what size unit you need.
We also have 3 mitsubishi(sp? salt anyone) that we are very happy with and I have always heard that they are the best. We could not find the size we needed or would have bought them again.

coconaco - 4-27-2007 at 01:48 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bajajudy

The only recommendations that we got over and over again was not to buy the alpha by carrier. :wow::wow::wow:

Marie-Rose - 4-27-2007 at 07:56 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by comitan
Marie-Rose

Todos Santos?:spingrin::spingrin:


Comitan??? Are you saying that we should not worry about a/c in TS:spingrin:

Judy, thanks for the info. Sounds like we will look for Mitsubishi in La Paz I really appreciate the suggestion of looking online to figure out the size needed. Incredibly helpfull

Vandenberg...thanks for info. I actually am going to be able to try Tres Virgines with wrk (whom you met) in a few weeks:bounce: We are doing a girls overnight. Can't wait!!!

Sorry

Dave - 4-27-2007 at 08:56 PM

This thread obviously ain't about small bottles of wine.

min-split photo for you, Marie-Rose.

Pompano - 4-27-2007 at 09:03 PM

We have a 4 ton unit in the main house plus a 3-ton for another area and it appears adequate...so far.

As a sidenote, we also have used a very energy-efficient 6000btu window AC unit in one bedroom in the past. It worked very well off our solar power system only. This unit cost about $300 at Lowes, SD and will cool an average size bedroom with no problem. I believe this bedroom is about 400sq. ft. This a/c only drew 3 amps after intitial startup according to my Trace inverter meter. Certainly something to consider before spending the money for the mini-splits.

The photo below shows one of the installed heads. Good luck with your cooling.

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Mini-split compressor photo

Pompano - 4-28-2007 at 02:22 AM



-0 (3).jpg - 41kB

toneart - 4-28-2007 at 11:02 AM

I have a brand new (last year) Samsung mini-split AC that has never been used. It went through the Mulege flood and when I first saw it in October, plants were growing out of the louvres.....not a good sign.:no:

The dealer who sold the unit to me last year seems to have abandoned his clients. He just makes promises but never shows up. There is only one other guy here who works on restoring damaged appliances. He cleaned it out and put in new bushings (bearings?) in the fan. The compressor was sealed and not damaged. He went inside the house and pulled the plastic cover off the blower (for lack of a better word). He pushed something inside which triggered the AC unit to come on. I heard the motor outside come on and I felt the cold air coming into the house.

The big problem is: the remote control was in the flood and is somewhere in the Sea of Cortez. He canīt get a new one. I canīt tell whether his suppliers are jacking him around or if he is jacking me around. When I get up on a ladder to push the ĻONĻ button on the inside blower, only the blower goes on.....not the motor outside. The repair guy says that I need a remote to turn it on since it controls the temperature settings.

To complicate matters, I ran into the dealer, the one who flaked out. He told me that in addition to needing a new remote, I will need to replace the electronic card in the AC to correspond with any new remote (if I can find a new remote). Can anyone confirm this?

My Spanish is pretty good, but I am just spinning my wheels here with conflicting information. I guess I will have to wait until I get back to California (in a couple of weeks) and try calling a Samsung dealer, with all my model numbers, etc., and see if someone can explain to me in detail what I need to get a new remote, and if I need a new electronic card, and how I can get this perfectly good AC to work for me.
Grrrr!:fire:

Diver - 4-28-2007 at 11:08 AM

Why not wire in a thermostat ???

toneart - 4-28-2007 at 11:18 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Diver
Why not wire in a thermostat ???


....any more, Diver? Iīm still under water and obviously not as comfortable as you there.:O Thanking you in advance. Throw me a snorkle or something.

[Edited on 4-28-2007 by toneart]

Marie-Rose - 4-28-2007 at 11:58 AM

Thanks Pompano, those were the pics I was looking for. We may consider the idea of the window unit for the casita. Really hard to know what to do... the weather is so cool right now that we are wondering if we should just hold off...then we remember the stay in July last year:o Those nights were quite unbearable...but then how often will we be here in July????? Decisions, decisions....

[Edited on 2007-4-28 by Marie-Rose]