1.75 in. x 300 ft. Woven Polypropylene Duct Hanger Strap

Google it, it is what I use here in Virginia. Just wrap it one time around insulated pipe, so as not to compress. I use nails with the 1 in orange plastic washer to attach to boards.

Fold the strap on the end, and nail through fold, so it is secure.

Do not just lay on boards, will compress insulation, and with vibration will at least tear insulation, or rub through piping.

I sleeve penetrations as well. Drill larger hole, use PVC pipe as sleeve, line set through PVC, then foam, and sealant.

I personally think it is a mistake doing this yourself to save money, it isn't rocket science, but quality of installation directly impacts lifetime of unit.

That said, you are here, and you are doing it.

For fun, google hvac hacks... basically, do not do anything you see there in your home.

:-)

Good luck.

Thanks for the replies! The runs come with wall sleeves. If I didn't already have a 220 box outside for the Hot Tub we no longer have, I probably wouldn't have even considered doing some of this myself. As it is, a majority of the delicate work will be done by an HVAC professional.

Thanks so much for your time/info!

Properly sized suspension clamps that don't pinch the insulation, cheap and solid and rubber lined.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillm...ension-Clamp/3013243

As others have mentioned. Fasten the linesets to the joists or trusses. It doesn't need to much more than a coated or foam covered or plastic pipe strap. The linesets carry vibrations generated by the compressor. Primarily, from the uninsulated copper liquid line (the suction line usually has a soft ethafoam insulation covering).

If laid loose against wood, metal or other hard surfaces without dampening, those vibrations easily generate noise either into the air or into the wood framing. On a quiet night, you'd be surprised how loud those annoying noises can be in your home.

I installed and evacuated my pioneer 18K unit last year. It went in my 600sf shop and it is great. 75* all day.

Both lines are insulated in their own foam tubes that are joined at the seam.
Re-flare all pioneers factory flares, theirs are out of spec.. Debur inside diameter prior to flare. Use a quality flare tool like ridgid brand.
Torque fittings to spec.
Pressure tested to 400psi with 100% argon, nitrogen is preferred.
Monitor for an hour considering temp changes effecting rises/falls in psi. Check connections with soapy water.
Vac system, monitor with micron gauge.
Isolate pump and monitor gauge, ensure you hold under 400-500 microns before disconnecting from service port and releasing refrigerant.

Enjoy efficient conditioned air.

There's a bit more to it but that's the gist of it.

Another quick question - I'm wondering about the condensate lines. I have to do an immediate horizontal turn out one of the access holes, and then two of the bedrooms are making immediate vertical turns (up) into the soffit. Should I just drill a hole into the line set cover at the turn and drain right there, essentially where the line set leaves the house? Should I put anything on the end of the drain? Some kind of a cover, etc? Do bugs not try to enter the system, etc?

Thanks guys. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your insight.

quote:

Originally posted by Veeper:
Another quick question - I'm wondering about the condensate lines. I have to do an immediate horizontal turn out one of the access holes, and then two of the bedrooms are making immediate vertical turns (up) into the soffit. Should I just drill a hole into the line set cover at the turn and drain right there, essentially where the line set leaves the house? Should I put anything on the end of the drain? Some kind of a cover, etc? Do bugs not try to enter the system, etc?

Thanks guys. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your insight.

Please hire a professional to do this install. It is beyond the scope of your abilities if you need to ask this.

The condensate drain has to have a slight downward pitch the entire run. Run it outside and the pipedown the wall. It needs to have a trap and you want it to exist not too high above the ground height, a foot or less and I usually run it 24” away from the structure

Thanks! Will do.

You can, but it will stain the side of the house.
Run the tubing/pipe down close to the ground.

If you want to run it up, you can install a condensate pump made for mini-splits.

Btw, the drain line doesn't require a trap.

I like mini splits, but in my experience they are prone to leaking/condesnsate issues more than traditional units. Not that traditional units don’t leak, they certainly do. My experience is 10 years of water damage and mold claims. They are notorious for causing mold issues in hotels, especially if there’s wall paper involved. Keep an eye on your condensate lines and for signs of moisture around the interior units. Should you install a condensate pump, test it a few times a year, certainly before you crank up the AC for the first time as you roll into summer weather.

First of all, thank you thank you thank you thank you to everyone that was willing to comment and assist. I have 4 younger kids and a busy spring/summer so I've been chipping away at it. I've mounted all of the indoor unit brackets and then measured for the exterior wall penetration for the line set covers. All of my line set covers are up, and the z bar mount is affixed to the foundation.

I've decided that i'm going to use PVC for the drainage instead of the flexible lines that the line-sets come with. While two of the runs have a considerable drop before I turn horizontally, two run horizontally before the drop or exit point. I feel like the PVC will keep the water moving as opposed to the corrugated flexible lines. Plus I can strap the PVC up and control the level for additional drainage assist. I'm probably over thinking it.

Next up: The actual 2.5" holes, the control wire, and line set runs.

Any suggestions or tricks for bending the lines around corners? Everything seems to say go very slowly and I plan on it. I have a curved metal corner/protection piece from an old PEX project that could work as a jig of sorts. I also have a copper bending tool; however, the lines have insulation on them that I don't want to take off. I haven't tested anything yet, but I suppose as long as I don't get stupid and kink it, I should be in decent shape.

If everything goes to plan, I should have about 3-5' left at the condenser from each run, at which point the HVAC tech can flare a new end and evacuate the lines. (No way I'm going to monkey with that.

Thanks again for the help and knowledge, etc.

Don't bend the copper any more than necessary. Unroll the line set/control wire only when ready, thread through wall and hang unit, preferably with someone outside to wrangle the lines.

The more you manipulate the copper the tougher it gets to form and becomes brittle and subject to kinking due to work hardening. My 18K unit had 1/4 and 1/2 line; the pair seemed to bend pretty easily while inside the insulation. I doubt you'll need a bending tool during the install.

My unit came with a sealant/lubricant for the line connection. I would recommend using it on the threads and copper/fitting interface making sure none gets in the lines themselves. Torque these connections with a crows foot and torque wrench if you have the tools.

Cut/chamfer lines to length. Reflare all the factory formed ones, they are widely known to be sub-par with these units. Make sure no filings get into the lines. Blow them clear if you're unsure.

The small tubing will bend easily. If you need tighter turns, you can remove a section of the insulation, bend the lines with a bender and then install the removed insulation.

Carefully slit insulation on both sides, cross cut and then remove. This way you can reinstall it. Use Armacell 2" insulation tape to seal the cuts. Zip ties installed loosely to keep the tape in place. Be careful to not pull zip ties too tight.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ar...e-TAP18230/100539553

As an update - Everything is hooked up and the HVAC guy is coming back one last time tonight (I hope) to run a pressure test and then pull a vacuum on the line before we release the coolant and add the additional 40ft of line worth of R410a.

I'm getting pretty excited to remove the window units.

Thanks again for everyone's wisdom and advice.

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
The small tubing will bend easily. If you need tighter turns, you can remove a section of the insulation, bend the lines with a bender and then install the removed insulation.

Carefully slit insulation on both sides, cross cut and then remove. This way you can reinstall it. Use Armacell 2" insulation tape to seal the cuts. Zip ties installed loosely to keep the tape in place. Be careful to not pull zip ties too tight.


https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ar...e-TAP18230/100539553

On un-insulated copper tubing, I slide a short 2-4' piece of the hard ice maker plastic water line that's ID is slightly larger than the OD of the copper line over the copper line and you can bend the plastic water line (and copper tubing) any which way and the copper tubing will bend perfectly without bending shut and will not break, to bend the copper tubing and then slide the plastic water line off of the other end of the tubing when you're done.

Finally finished. The HVAC guy came by last night and vacuumed out the last line and added the necessary R410a.

Thanks for all of the suggestions and advice. I would do it again in a heartbeat. The only thing I screwed up was that I didn't pay attention to the size of the lines between the 18K and 9K units and switched two of the copper lines on accident. The HVAC guy noticed the problem and I pulled the two lines down and re-ran them.

The thing runs like a champ. I HIGHLY recommend mini-split systems if your situation warrants it.

shiftyvtec - Spot on with the copper comment. The guy even said that about the line sets being unrolled to add the insulation and then rolled back up before shipping, and it causing some trouble for the installers.

I can't believe how much I learned doing this project. I wish more of my peers and younger/millennial types would take the time to work on their homes.

quote:

Originally posted by Veeper:
I wish more of my peers and younger/millennial types would take the time to work on their homes.

I'm with you on this one. I wish the younger set would get dirty working on not only their homes and apartments, but also their cars. Knowledge and ability is king, and there's no substitute for accomplishing something yourself. It always amazes me when people tell me, "how do you know how to do so many things?". When I hear this, the first thing I think of is, "Compared to everything I'd like to know how to do, I haven't hardly scratched the surface". I guess its all in perspective.

Congrats on your mini-split install.