Mini Split Opinion in Seasonal Cottages

[feb]

Does anyone have a mini-split system in a seasonal house that you close down for the winter? Since these systems do have condensation drains I'm curious if that creates an issue once the house temp becomes the same temp as the outside during the winter and something in these units is susceptible to freezing.

Thank you.

[Slickcraft]

We have had one on Welch for 10 plus years. Power off all winter, starts up fine every spring.

Alan

[Garcia]

I have them on an island - so far (5 years?) no issues

[AC2717]

have the exact same set up you are asking about and situation. Been 9 years three units no problems. One issue you need to pay attention to is cleaning them. with the temp issues you can get mold and mildew in the drum and the unit. I keep an eye on it every year, two years ago I had to clean them, but years prior i have not. This year I am having them professionally cleaned along with the outside unit. It is extremely hard and time consuming to get to the fan drum let alone getting inside all the little slits in them.
I wouldn't change a thing

[TheTimeTraveler]

Originally Posted by feb

Does anyone have a mini-split system in a seasonal house that you close down for the winter? Since these systems do have condensation drains I'm curious if that creates an issue once the house temp becomes the same temp as the outside during the winter and something in these units is susceptible to freezing.

Thank you.

The only thing I would recommend is that you attempt to put in a mini split in a location where you can utilize a "gravity" drain. In other words you won't need a water pump inside the unit to pump it out whenever the air conditioning function runs. This is what I did in my NH Cottage and it drains fine without the aid of a pump.

Now, I didn't do this in my Florida home and I have had to replace the water pump in each head due to failure or excessive noise. I have a two head system there and the pumps failed in each head after a 3 year time frame. Down in Florida there are plenty of service folks to service the split systems, but up here you may have to do a little hunting should you need service.

By the way, I use Lennox in Florida, and Mitsubishi in NH. I think Mitsubishi may need less maintenance over time (it is rated as very dependable).

[Biggd]

Originally Posted by TheTimeTraveler

The only thing I would recommend is that you attempt to put in a mini split in a location where you can utilize a "gravity" drain. In other words you won't need a water pump inside the unit to pump it out whenever the air conditioning function runs. This is what I did in my NH Cottage and it drains fine without the aid of a pump.

Now, I didn't do this in my Florida home and I have had to replace the water pump in each head due to failure or excessive noise. I have a two head system there and the pumps failed in each head after a 3 year time frame. Down in Florida there are plenty of service folks to service the split systems, but up here you may have to do a little hunting should you need service.

By the way, I use Lennox in Florida, and Mitsubishi in NH. I think Mitsubishi may need less maintenance over time (it is rated as very dependable).

It's always best to have them on an outside wall so they can gravity drain. If they are on an inside wall and it's on piers you can just drain it through the floor into the crawl space. I would avoid a pump if possible, esp on a camp, just another thing to go wrong.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by feb

Does anyone have a mini-split system in a seasonal house that you close down for the winter? Since these systems do have condensation drains I'm curious if that creates an issue once the house temp becomes the same temp as the outside during the winter and something in these units is susceptible to freezing.

Thank you.

I have had mini splits in my seasonal camp for 15 years now. No winterizing whatsoever and never had an issue.

I do recommend you get the hyper heat model. Even though your camp is seasonal you may wish to visit it during the cold winter months. Having guaranteed heat to 15 below zero is real nice option to have when needed. They did not offer hyper heat models when mine were installed and there have been quite a few times over the years I wish I had them…

Dan

[AC2717]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

I have had mini splits in my seasonal camp for 15 years now. No winterizing whatsoever and never had an issue.

I do recommend you get the hyper heat model. Even though your camp is seasonal you may wish to visit it during the cold winter months. Having guaranteed heat to 15 below zero is real nice option to have when needed. They did not offer hyper heat models when mine were installed and there have been quite a few times over the years I wish I had them…

Dan

I second
Again same situation as OP is asking and yes I went to the upgrade outdoor unit

[Winilyme]

I'm interested in how others handle the maintenance of their mini split units. I too am interested in installing these at some point in our camp. I read mostly good things about them but many information sources cite maintenance - sometimes monthly or even more frequent cleaning of filters - as being extremely important. Is it all about filters and are they easy to clean...or is there more to it than that? AC2717 mentions the difficulty of accessing the 'drum' for cleaning. I don't know what the drum is but the maintenance process doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me.

Is DIY maintenance generally onerous? Is it as frequent as I've read in some articles (monthly or even more frequent)? How do those of you with mini splits handle maintenance - DIY or professional?

Maintenance is my main concern at this point.

[John Mercier]

Lavalley Bristol runs six of these units.
Over the last five years, all we have done is keep the filters in the head's clean.

We occasionally check the compressors for debris, but other than that not much.

We just installed a sixth, but this was a Mr Cool unit without hyper heat into the shipping office.

[Biggd]

Originally Posted by Winilyme

I'm interested in how others handle the maintenance of their mini split units. I too am interested in installing these at some point in our camp. I read mostly good things about them but many information sources cite maintenance - sometimes monthly or even more frequent cleaning of filters - as being extremely important. Is it all about filters and are they easy to clean...or is there more to it than that? AC2717 mentions the difficulty of accessing the 'drum' for cleaning. I don't know what the drum is but the maintenance process doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me.

Is DIY maintenance generally onerous? Is it as frequent as I've read in some articles (monthly or even more frequent)? How do those of you with mini splits handle maintenance - DIY or professional?

Maintenance is my main concern at this point.

I've had them in my home in Ma for 3 years now. I remove the inside filters in the spring and clean them, very easy. The outside unit collects a lot of debris, so I usually vacuum that every 6 months or more frequently if needed with a shop vac, also very easy.
I've never cleaned a drum, not even sure what that is?

[WinnisquamZ]

Having run them for over 6 years. Just general maintenance as most have said. Would like to add, keep them off the ground. Mount to the side of your house if possible. Mice are the number one cause for concern


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[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by WinnisquamZ

Having run them for over 6 years. Just general maintenance as most have said. Would like to add, keep them off the ground. Mount to the side of your house if possible. Mice are the number one cause for concern


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The only I will say about mounting them to the side of your house is we tried that on my mainland home and had a terrible low frequency hum that drove us nuts! We had them removed from the side of the home and mounted up on a stand about 20” off the ground and the hum was gone. We have had no issues at all since. We Can’t even hear them at all when they are running!

Dan

[feb]

Thank you for all of the comments. I'm encouraged by the ease and satisfaction you all have with them. Along the same lines of condensation and draining, do any of you have the newer ceiling mount cassettes and consider them low maintenance as well for the winter? My understanding is these generally have a water pump to push out the condensation. Thank you.

[AC2717]

Originally Posted by Biggd

I've had them in my home in Ma for 3 years now. I remove the inside filters in the spring and clean them, very easy. The outside unit collects a lot of debris, so I usually vacuum that every 6 months or more frequently if needed with a shop vac, also very easy.
I've never cleaned a drum, not even sure what that is?

underneath the coils in the unit is the fan - it is a drum shape cylinder with slits in it. it pulls the air through the coils on the inside unit and out the directional fins. They can get very dirty which can turn into mold and mildew, and you can have build up the same stuff on the drum/fan compartment - very very hard to clean without the right tools

[bobkatfly]

Originally Posted by AC2717

underneath the coils in the unit is the fan - it is a drum shape cylinder with slits in it. it pulls the air through the coils on the inside unit and out the directional fins. They can get very dirty which can turn into mold and mildew, and you can have build up the same stuff on the drum/fan compartment - very very hard to clean without the right tools

Yes. The filters are very easy to clean but the fan and coils also get a lot of deposits that mix with condensation and can become a moldy mess. This area needs to be cleaned and as you mentioned, it's difficult to access and clean. I've done it a few times with common tools you might have on hand but it can be messy. Having it on the wall with a finished floor underneath requires protecting the floor. Also, the plastic housing can be a bear to remove.
If you don't feel comfortable doing this work on a ladder it might be worthwhile to have a HVAC company do it.
Have a look at this.

https://youtu.be/texGW7Gi3fg?si=B4hq8nNzRZrmvjm1

[Winilyme]

Originally Posted by bobkatfly

Yes. The filters are very easy to clean but the fan and coils also get a lot of deposits that mix with condensation and can become a moldy mess. This area needs to be cleaned and as you mentioned, it's difficult to access and clean. I've done it a few times with common tools you might have on hand but it can be messy. Having it on the wall with a finished floor underneath requires protecting the floor. Also, the plastic housing can be a bear to remove.
If you don't feel comfortable doing this work on a ladder it might be worthwhile to have a HVAC company do it.
Have a look at this.

https://youtu.be/texGW7Gi3fg?si=B4hq8nNzRZrmvjm1

That’s more work than the average homeowner is ever going to DIY. You’d think one of the mini split companies would be looking to distinguish themselves by engineering easy access to all areas needing cleaning versus glossing over those requirements. I don't mind committing to the cleaning. It’s the access that’s a big turnoff.

What’s the cost for an HVAC pro to come in and take care of this?

[WinnisquamZ]

Believe it’s about $[emoji6] a head. Steam clean. Callahan does it


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[ishoot308]

We have ours cleaned every two years since we are seasonal. I believe (not positive) the cost was $249.00 which includes cleaning three indoor head units and one outdoor unit. No way would I do it on my own.

Home energy is the one who installed our Mitsubishi units and they are the ones that service them. They have been fantastic to work with over the years.

Edited to add: Home Energy will only clean what they install...

Dan

[Biggd]

Originally Posted by Winilyme

That’s more work than the average homeowner is ever going to DIY. You’d think one of the mini split companies would be looking to distinguish themselves by engineering easy access to all areas needing cleaning versus glossing over those requirements. I don't mind committing to the cleaning. It’s the access that’s a big turnoff.

What’s the cost for an HVAC pro to come in and take care of this?

After reading this thread I decided to check the drums and fans on mine. After 3 years there is no visible build up on the fan blades or drums and no mold.
This leads me to believe that they don't need cleaning every year, but I guess if you lived in a high humidity environment, like Florida, they would need mold remediation yearly.
I watched a few videos that showed severe mold and dirt build up after only 2 years. I would think that severe dirt build up would be caused by it sticking to high moisture equipment.
I was told by my snowbird friends that they have to keep a daily watch on their Florida properties because if the AC goes out for even a day, mold starts growing everywhere.

[WinnisquamZ]

Absolutely. At my Florida home we set the temperature at 78 and leave it.


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