Air Conditioner Installation

I have bought a modern split Air Conditioner/Heating heat pump. I need someone qualified, in the Ottawa Canada area, to install it for me. I did not expect this to be a problem but the local guys I have contacted so far don't want the job since the thing uses a new refrigerant called R410a and they have no experience or equipment to handle this stuff. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might locate someone in my area? I am, of course, working through the phone book but have had no luck so far. If this is the wrong newsgroup I apologise and would appreciate a pointer to the correct place. Thanks AlanC37

Reply to
AlanC37
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Wish I could do more to help. I'm in the US, and as a fairly new HVAC guy, I only work on the older systems. I think the telephone book is a good idea. Might want to call the manufacturer of the equipment, and see if they are any help.

Good luck.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Save yourself some money and buy your own 410a equipment and install it yourself. You can buy it on ebay and after your system is up and running, you can sell it on ebay for a profit.

As they say, it is NOT rocket science.

And by the way, R410a does NOT harm the environment.

ps There are some assholes that consider themselves far superior to others and always tell you such things as "Be careful as you can be hurt by the high pressure of R410a" or "You should hire a professional". Don't listen to them as you and every moron over 2 years old already know that shit and they are insulting your intelligence in telling you that.

Good luck with your project.

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Reply to
deke

In most places ou have to have all the licenses necessary to install split system units! Do NOT mess with that job it is more involved than you know! Retired HVAC contractor. - udarrell

Reply to
udarrell

You could do him a really great service by posting the install instructions. Be sure to use big words like evacuate, braze, superheat, subcooling, and all that stuff.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Are you making those words up????

Reply to
deke

Oddly enough, most AC installers use those words in conversation. It goes something like this:

Gee, lets see if we can get the people to evacuate. If we open enough windows there will be a good braze, and so the house will be superheat. Then we'll get the AC going, and the subcooling, and all that stuff will convince em that we're dune guud.

OTOH: evacuate, braze, superheat, subcooling, and all that stuff might just be AC and refrigeration terms. You'll have to wonder.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

LOL!

The only one I know is the one that describes my girl friend after I took her to the Lakers game last night. She was too long missing after excusing herself to go to the powder room so I went and found her in the locker room. She was not in heat; she was in superheat!

Reply to
deke

Deke, Thanks for the advice and good wishes. I had asked the manufacturer about qualified installers in my area and was told that anyone, even me, could do the job by following their installation instructions. He also said that the machine is pre-charged and no pumps etc. are needed. Nice huh? I still prefer to use someone who knows what he is doing (OK I'm a big chicken :-}) and someone else local is coming to look at the job today. One of the others said that installation costs might be about the same as the equipment cost. This is too rich for me but something like half of this (about $500.00 in this case) might be acceptable. Anyone care to advise on this matter please? Alan C

Reply to
AlanC37

I've been considering a mini-split heat pump to heat/cool my home office without the expense of heating/cooling the entire house.

I'm curious what make and model you selected. Also the approx installation costs. Please do keep us posted and the best of luck finding a good installer.

Reply to
Malcolm Hoar

Sears has some nice quiet window and wall units that cost about $200 and are very efficient - over 11.0 EER.

I've got one in my bedroom that I run max 7 hours/day and only cool my bedroom and one in my office that I run max 7 hr/day. The central unit gets run very rarely as the cool spreads thruout the house.

I did have to cut a hole in the wall and knock out some brick, but I highly recommend it.

Reply to
deke

I will try and do that thing (keep you informed). The model I chose is an AirLux 18500 Btu/hr. It uses about 1.25 kW. and gives some heat, when the outside air is not much below zero Celsius. It will NOT completely heat my old house but should be pretty good for Air conditioning in summer. My existing baseboard heaters will continue to provide the "heavy lifting" in midwinter when outside temperatures are sometimes as low as -40 deg. (C or F, of course). Airlux makes their stuff in China and I bought mine from the site below. I found them through eBay and service and advice has been excellent so far. I only hope the thing actually works as advertised but their approval rating is very high. Here is one way to contact them should you so wish

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They make pure air conditioners as well as the heat pump I bought. Other heat pumps range from 9000 Btu/hr to 24 Btu/hr. My unit cost about C$1000 and a further $200 to get it from BC to Ontario. The problem of getting it installed continues. I found another local company who can handle the r410a refrigerant and they looked at the job and quickly came back with an estimate of $1250, which I think is too much. That quote also required that I get a separate quote for running 3 wires for the 230 V from my service entrance to the outside unit. I can easily do that myself. I haven't decided yet but I suspect I will attempt the job myself. My only real concern is that the inside unit is quite large (4 ft long 13 inches deep and about 1 ft high) and is quite heavy (I'm getting old and feeble!). I will also have to drill a 2 inch hole through the house wall which consists, from the inside, of plaster; horsehair stuff; laths; roughly 12 inch square logs chinked with cement mix; laths; clapboard; soft board insulation; more laths and finally aluminum siding. Might be fun. No doubt I can rent a suitable drill somewhere nearby. This system comes pre-charged and does NOT need vacuum pumps and pumps to charge the thing with refrigerant unless pipes longer than those supplied are needed. Looks fairly simple. Alan C

"Malcolm Hoar" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@nntp.sonic.net...

Reply to
AlanC37

You will need to vacuum your inside unit before you open the K-valves and let the r410a in. You don't want any air or moisture in the lines when you release the refrigerant.

No big deal. You can buy a vacuum pump on ebay for $20. You will hook it up thru your manifold and watch it overnight and then see if it holds the vacuum, which indicates whether you have any leaks.

Reply to
deke

Why waste the twenty bucks? Use your Shop-Vac. Like any good Do-It-Yourselfer.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

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