Talk:Split-type Room Air Conditioner

On the back burner ...

Pipes for refrigerant ...additions need experience of another owner or installer

• specified as 1/4 and 3/8inch OD (c. 6.5 and 10 mm) for a smaller system like this one
• maximum kink allowed during bending is a 1 mm reduction in diameter
• larger but similar DIY systems use 3/8 and 1/2 inch pipes ... if 1/4 inch is "straightforward" and 3/8 inch is "difficult but possible" to bend by hand, is 1/2 inch feasible without special tools
• what pipe bending tools are possible ... springs are ruled out in the instructions, and also impractical with both ends of the pipes supplied already made off
• if mentioning the need for a dedicated radial circuit for a larger system is reasonable, then the larger pipes should be addressed too

Maintenance ...additions waiting for experience of ownership

• what is doable by the householder; by a DIYer; needing specialised skills or tools; or needing a qualified or certified professional
• the T valve and its usefulness

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A similar installation I did in 2020 in a 1-bed cottage

I was dry-lining a 2-storey solid-wall extension with 50mm metal stud-work, so I ran some lenghts of 1/4 and 3/8 inch copper pipe through the stud holes. I got a professional air-con company to fit three wall-mounted down-flow units directly onto the plasterboard over the holes where the pipes came out. They're quite light, decent (fireline)12mm plasterboard took the weight well. The main obstacle was the condensate drain hoses which gave me ugly exposed 21.5mm overflow pipes below the units and elbows out through the wall.

I use the unit for heating 364 days a year anyway, cooling never needed as the cottage is very well insulated. The outside unit isn't actually outside. I put in in a fully-glazed south-facing balcony off the upper floor where it collects all the sun's heat and pumps it through to the lounge. I never expect to see a defrost cycle. Again, the balcony windows are only opened on a very few hot days in high Summer.

Systems works well, heats three rooms adequately, runs on about 50 pence a day rising to 250 pence in cold snaps. A very few days I top up with a 10-minute burst of a fan heater. Didn't cost a huge amount as I had run the pipes myself, just under £6,000 paid to a local F-gas firm for the four units and fitting including VAT.

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