Anyone installed a fixed, split air conditioner?

[Toby]

With the summer months, and the prospect of a heatwave, approaching, I'm considering installing a permanent split air conditioning unit in the office upstairs.

The issue we have is that we both tend to spend a lot of time in the evening in the "office" (second bedroom). Hot weather, combined with the heat of two people and two computers can make it very uncomfortable in here. It sometimes gets this way even when the weather isn't hot but there's little wind to move air through the house. The GF also suffers badly from hay fever whis is exacerbated by having the windows wide open.

We've got a small portable aircon unit but it just doesn't have the power to deal with the heat in here so I'm considering getting a "proper" split type one installed. I see you can pick them up for a few hundred on the bay but has anyone here ever installed one themselves as I'm wondering what's involved and whether it's a viable DIY job or I should pay someone to install it.

If anyone's done this, either themselves or via a professional installer, can they relay any experiences?

Cheers

[Dr. Z]

I have had one installed - its not that big a deal really! Mount the unit outside, run the pipework and power through the walls, hook up the inside unit, job done.

They do look quite unsightly though, even the smallest ones seem to be huge on the outside.

How many BTU/hr is the one that you have now and what sort of layout do you have to make sure that your portable is doing the best job? (ie how are you dealing with the exhaust?) The reason I ask that is because in my position as Chief Eng at the uni raio station we were in a constant battle to get a proper split system installed in the server room and it didnt happen during my tenure so I went out and purchased a 12000BTU/hr portable and it kept the room at 16-18c even on the hottest days. That room had at about 10 servers/PCs in it, as well as numerous other heat-generating electrical items like amplifiers etc.

Maybe the one you have now has a problem or you are doing something wront with your setup with it, in which case you'll probably find that a split unit wont help you much!

[Toby]

Thanks for that.

The portable one isn't that powerful, probably 8000BTU - it's a cheapish AMCOR thing we bought a few years back from B&Q. The exhaust is one big problem as we don't have anywhere to put it really as it won't reach the windows (plus venting out of a window is a pain anyway) and we've never got round to having a proper vent for it put into the wall. We tend to put it by the door and vent out the corner and into the bathroom, leaving the windows open in there - hardly ideal. That said, the air that comes out of it has never felt that cool tbh so maybe it's even less powerful that I think.

It's also quite extroadinarily noisy so I was thinking about having a split unit put in as it'd be more efficient, there whenever it's needed and quieter.

Size isn't too much of an issue as I'd mount the inner unit on a side wall and then run the pipes down the side of the house and put the external unit at the back. We have a flat roof there and I could mount the external unit on the rear wall just above this as it's easy to access for mounting (no ladders etc) and you'd not be able to see it from ground level. We have our sat dish mounted here too.

Did you install yours yourself then or get someone to do it for you?

[Dr. Z]

Someone installed it many, many years ago on my parents house down in London. I have seen it done elsewhere too, albeit much less involved in the process.

Your setup is far from ideal - before I put in the 12k unit they had an aged 9k unit and they exhausted out the doorway, which was awful as it meant the unit couldnt ever work all the air in the room once to get it cold. As soon as I put the 12k unit in, I knocked a quick and dirty hole in the wall and all was good. Even the 9k unit did a much better job through the hole, but not good enough for what we wanted.

Just to pick up your point about the noise, the 12,000BTU one had a fairly quiet compressor and most of the noise went out of the exhaust so it wasnt really that bad, although it was in a server room I suppose!

Assuming the two of you are just sat there, 8,000BTU is a hell of a lot of capacity for what you have there, even assuming it gets the sun for most of the day etc etc. An installed split unit seems like massive overkill to my mind?

Have you seen the portable split units, btw?

[Toby]

Hmm, just thinking that having a hole put in the wall for the portable unit was a load of hassle (have to get someone in to do that as I don't have the tools nor skills) and would be rather pissed if it made little difference to the performance.

Portable split units? Not aware of those.

[Dr. Z]

http://www.airconditionershack.co.uk/

Have a look at the AMC15000, thats what I mean by portable split - its two units that you can do what you want with yourself. There is no way on earth you could DIY a proper split system but one of those its just a case of finding the appropriate places and then bob's your transvestite aunty!

[Matblack]

There is no way on earth you could DIY a proper split system

That's not true, as long as you have a limited run between the units it wouldn't be hard to fit a split system, in fact you'd need a smaller hole than for the exhaust of a portable :)

They are easily obtained and advertised as being for self install

MB

[Toby]

£500! No thanks - for that much I could get a proper split system installed for me, or near enough.

Matt: exactly my thinking on the install - actually easier to put the required connections through the wall for a split than it is an exhaust for a portable.

Hmm, might give my friendly builder a call and ask what he'd charge to fit such a thing, can then hunt around knowing what the total would be.

[Matblack]

Its a synch, so much so that I'd do it myself and I am certified inept when it comes to DIY. All you need is a big drill and a ladder really.

If our house wasn't laid out like it is I'd have do it already, the problem for us is that the wall it would have to go is either the front of the house or a very exposed (highly viewed) wall to the side and it would look hideous :(

MB

[Mark]

My problem is that I live upstairs - plain and simple. Somewhat rules out split systems. :)

Having said that, I'd certainly like to get a hole punched through a wall to put in a vent. I didn't think it would be doable given our lease, but downstairs had it done so I was obviously wrong.

[Dr. Z]

That's not true, as long as you have a limited run between the units it wouldn't be hard to fit a split system, in fact you'd need a smaller hole than for the exhaust of a portable :)

They are easily obtained and advertised as being for self install

MB

I missed the second half of my thought which was "If you dont think you have the skills to put a hole in the wall for an exhaust" but yeah, its probably overall smaller holes and stuff but you've got to mount the unit and whatnot.

I was also thinking about the process of getting the refrigerant into the system, but I've thought about that a bit more and its not going to be that complicated...

[Burble]

Split systems aren't difficult to install, a colleague and I installed one for the server room in our office in Milan. The challenging aspect was that the office is on the fifth floor of an office block but the job itself was easy.

Charging the system with coolant is also easy, you basically connect a couple of valves together, open them, wait, close and disconnect.

[Toby]

Well there are quite a few attractive units around for £2-300 which is reasonable but they all seem to come with pipework/cables for about 3.5-5m between the internal and external units and I'd need 10-15m.

How hard would it be to extend the distance? Am I best off finding someone who will supply the relevant, longer pipes and cables rather than trying to find some afterward that would fit?

Also, the whole idea of "charging with coolant" terrifies me. Many of the DIY units comes "pre-charged" but this obviously won't be enough if a longer run twixt units is required.