Untimely airconditioning thread

[Grunff]

After the many discussions we had over the summer about aircon, I decided to go ahead and install one, in readiness for next summer.

The room is a very modest home office, 3.5x4.5m, with lots of PCs and two people in it most of the time.

I went for a split unit for obvious reasons and I wanted about

2.5-3kW. After talking to a supplier, they managed to convince me that I ought to go for a cheaper generic Chinese unit rather than the Fujitsu which I initially wanted.

Given that the Fujitsu was about £950, and the unit they recommended was only £550 all in, and that it would only be used for say 2 months of the year, I decided to go for the cheaper one. I may end up regretting that, I may not - I don't know.

The unit included all the hoses, multicore cable and brackets for a complete self install. The install was a piece of cake - the hardest part was the 3" hole through the 2' wall.

Once you've installed it, you bleed off a small amount of refrigerant through the system, which flushes out the air. That's it - no vac pump needed.

It's now running fine (there was a minor problem with the main indoor unit fan rubbing on the case, but a small modification fixed that).

I will post if it breaks or anything bad happens.

[IMM]

What make?

[Paul Boakes]

How noisy is the unit? Would you be able to sleep with it on? I'm looking at a similar project for a loft conversion, so the noise factor is important, as the room will be a bedroom.

Also, what are the power requirements? Did you need a seperate feed from your consumer unit, or is it a relatively low consumption?

Finally, the outside unit: I'd be looking to place this reasonably high up on the wall, out of the way: how big and how heavy (ie: easy for one man on a ladder, or bloomin' difficult will do!) is that part?

So many questions - sorry!

Regards Paul

PS: Mind if I ask where you bought from?

[Huge]

A Haier? We have one of those. It's been totally reliable for 4 years. And it got run more-or-less continuously for most of this summer past.

I'm interested in the answers also. Our current unit is a monbloc and we're thinking of installing a split unit in the bedroom, because the monobloc is too noisy to easily sleep with, and the condensate tank fills up after about 5 hours, waking you up in the middle of the night anyway...

I'd want a split unit that I could take with us when we move, too. There's a reasonably priced HP unit I saw that only has chilled water & power running between the units, so it's easy to disconnect. Anyone know anything about that?

[Grunff]

It's called Millenniumair.

[Grunff]

We sleep with a fan on in the summer anyway - so that may prejudice my feelings.

The fan has different speed settings. On medium, it's about the same noise level as our old 3 speed fan on full. So yes, sleeping with it on would be fine.

It's 3kW, so just plugs into the mains.

It's large (~3'x2'x1'), and weighs about 30kg (~60lb). I wouldn't want to carry it up a ladder on my own.

I mounted it at head height on the outside of the house. That was easy.

No problem, that's why I posted.

[Dave Liquorice]

Ceiling fans on slow speed are near enough totaly silent and make rooms very comfortable it doesn't take much air movement for this. Though I appreciate that getting a 4' dia ceiling fan into a loft conversion might be a bit problematical...

[Grunff]

[Huge]

Ta. I'm looking at the page now.

[IMM]

Simple, heavy insulation and a fan ventilating the place (over the computer equipment is probably best) is what you need. While converting the loft install the extra insulation and ventilation which will be probably a lot less than £550.

[Grunff]

You're missing the point - when it's hot, moving air is all well and good, but high humidity means your sweat doesn't evaporate very easily. Aircon will bring the humidity in the room down to a nice low level, making it much more comfortable.

I've worked in both air conditioned and fan cooled environments, and aircon wins hands down.

[IMM]

A properly design fan cooled office beats air con any day. It requires heavy insulation and correct design of ducting and fans.

[Huge]

Occasionally, I check the articles of yours that my newsreader kills to make sure you're still posting moronic drivel.

Check.

[tony sayer]

In article , IMM writes

In yer dreams M8!...

[Grunff]

I refuse to killfile him - far too entertaining.

[Huge]

Life's too short, though.

[Paul Boakes]

Right - that's something else to go on the Christmas list.

[Grunff]

I know what you mean - I colour code all his posts, a lovely orange, so I can read them when I have some time to waste...

[Simon Gardner]

No they don't. They don't cool and are totally inadequate for most of the summer. Have you considered planting geraniums outside? These will produce a 15 degree drop in inside temperature - or so it is claimed. Apparently theu also drop humidity by 40 per cent.

[Grunff]

Really? 15 degrees? I wish someone had told me that before I spent all that money on the aircon...