Dude, first time watching your videos and I'm very appreciative of your product here. You are explaining essentials without going down rabbit holes or blathering on with personal stories. You are putting the camera in the right place. I'm beyond impressed, Sir. A DIY video king here, folks. RESPECT.
You did a really good job on this sir! Thanks for sharing! You sound like Mike Festiva talking. He's a youtuber who built his on Mule to run around the property, articulating dump truck to move dirt on his property and a saw mill to saw wood from the property. And on and on it goes!
Your videos are easy to follow and very informative. We just installed a Universal 4-5 ton Mr. Cool in a remodel for my son and daughter in law. Big help! Thanks.
Wow, what a great video you just dropped. I'm sure it will help a lot of people in the months to come. I would suggest that you seal the ductwork you fabricated. Something like ShurTape 686 metal on metal tape would work. This will do a great job of closing all those openings and will provide cooler air to the home and you won't be sucking warm air into the conditioned supplies. I would have added a condensate float switch as an emergency cut-off when the condensate line stops flowing. You should have also added a high-quality surge protector to the outside unit. These units are run on sophisticated computer control boards and are sensitive to electrical fluctuations. I've been a fan of the Ditek Kool Gaurd 2, but most other brands will help protect your investment.
Doing an install of the 4 ton version of this system. One thing I learned is finding terminal rings that fit the narrow tight terminals is tricky. What I eventually figured out is I could use a hammer and a concrete slap to make them oval terminals which fit!
15 years ago our hvac company built custom boxes out of plywood for the return air to enter and for the air handler to set on. Maybe cheaper than buying a kit online. Also don’t forget a good sheet metal contractor will make the box for you as well.
ACIQ also has the very same system with hyper heat and the same size. I just finished installing mine and shes a beauty very quiet and cools plenty and heats very quickly.
Great video! I've watched a few DIY HVAC videos in preparation for tackling my own job. One thing you should do once the box/ducting is all done is use the sealing paste/glue on the inside of the joints and then tape the outer joints where you can't put paste.
It's probably already noted, but I'm not going to read 200 comments to see. Shouldn't you use a 2nd tool when torqueing down the cutoff valves at 49 minutes? You were putting some pretty good twist on those fittings.
Went with the MrCool Signature series when my A/C system failed 4 years ago. Been incredibly easy to work with, great quality, was significantly better than the ole Trane setup we pulled out beforehand(Albeit, can't say it's apples to apples because the old system was ancient, plus the ductwork was very undersized. I replaced everything to be new - ductwork, air handler, condenser) I'd say it's definitely harder than using MrCool's precharged linesets because I had to do all that part w/ the gauges, scales etc - significantly more costly, but it all still worked out and works great
Only critique is on the plenums, you could have used S-slip for the joints (helps with the flexing). Duct butter the internal seams, the last seam and cover with insulation. The only ones who will know are the next guy who's there to replace the air handler in 25 years and will likely re-use the plenum. Great work otherwise. I've seen pro's hack in pro made duct. Great vid.
im using 14/3 and 6/3 if your platform for handler is metal you must ground. read manual not every install is the same. good video. his neutral is unsheathed witch seems sketchy but im not an electrician.
Great video, the only issue I see was that the unit doesn’t have a heat strip. You need it as a back up just in case the unit fails with a leak or blockage. Second what will happen when the unit is in defrost mode with no heat strip?
Just finished installing the same mr cool unit. Can you show me how you connected the thermostat wires to the back of the thermostat. Mine has a quick connect but you state that you only have to connect two wires to both sides of the thermostat wire
Great video, I love it. A/C supply houses will not sale a A/c unit without a A/C contractor license. It is a closed world there. You can buy Freon if have an EPA license. But you cannot buy equipment (A/C unit) without it. It is a lot more politics than having the proper certifications. So, this perfect! Thank you.
Unfortunately, even with being EPA certified, a lot of places will refuse to sell you refrigerant without a HVAC Contractor license. I'm universally certified w/ refrigerants, spent weeks looking for a business that would sell to me w/o a HVAC license, eventually found one - but I had to order online, out of state lol.
I replaced the original 20+ year old central A/C system at my mother's house with a Mr. Cool Universal series unit. The entire experience was great, however, I did opt to cut the precharged lines in order to have a cleaner installation without unsightly loops of excess line. Again, every installation of this type is custom. This was just my preference. A fast and affordable service call to vacuum and recharge the lines was all that was necessary. (Note that I had this done *before* opening the valves on both units. That way only a minimal amount of refrigerant was needed.) I mounted the exterior unit on the wall, rather than the ground in order to keep the unit cleaner. The only criticism I have for the Mr. Cool units is the line set insulation. This quickly broke down in Central Florida. All-in, the replacement cost me ~$3,500 (less than half of the lowest bid from an HVAC contractor). The unit is whisper quiet and consumes half of the electricity of the original unit. Lastly, this unit has no problems both cooling and heating my mom's home (no resistance heating strips installed).
You could have saved money by doing a traditional line set instead of paying the extra price for the pre-charged if you were going to cut it. Wasted money down the drain.
@@toddlemons5952 My plan was to use the included pre-charged line set. However, one line kinked while I was trying to bend it such a way as to make for an attractive installation. Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
You have had it heating for a bit now, how is it holding up? What are the outside temps in your area and does the heating keep up or is it trying hard and working harder to keep it warm?
Awesome video Scott, as always. Getting ready to take on the same DIY project and everything was super informative. Only thing I really wish you did was actually go for Nest etc thermostat since the are generally tricky with these "communicating" units. Any chance you can do a separate video to try and upgrade the thermostat as you kept that 18 gauge wire for later "upgrade" project anyway?
I am also replacing my oil burner furnace in Illinois with a heat pump, I am going to use an ACiQ hyper heat, who I believe is who Mr Cool was/is using for their hyper heats. What BTU of an oil burner did you replace with this?
Okay, so I live in an area that 3-4 weeks a year the LOWs can be between -20F to 10F, which for these kind of heat pumps is not a high efficiency range, and so other brands I know of have supplemental coils that HEAT when the heat pump itself can't do so, do you know if Mr. Cool has equipment with this functionality? Loved your work here, right tools, and a mindset to just take it one step at a time, and make it look almost like a pro did it.
Hi Scott, I really impressed with your video. I learned a lot from your video today. Keep up your great work, Scott. You are helping a lot of people like me. I am about to move in a house that has windows AC unit everywhere and it's time to change it out with Central Heat pump unit with MrCool. Do you have the link for the filter rack in your video? I will need 5 ton system, how am I going to make sure that all accessories I buy match with 5 ton system? Thanks Scott.
You'll want to use foil tape and/or mastic to seal the edges of your new duct work. You don't want air leakage on the supply or return through the gaps and cracks or in the ductwork in general. (Even perfectly cut and installed ductwork by default leaks air.)
Around 4:30 minute mark, you mentioned that switching from a right to a left horizontal setup would require reconfiguring the evaporator coil...i have purchase one, and don't find it obvious how this is done...is your thinking to leave the EC in place, and only reconfigure the top drain pan to the bottom (somehow), or actually removing the who coil, flipping it, and exiting the drain lines on the opposite side of where the access panel/lcd screen exists (and obviously then drilling new holes into the back-side sheet metal)? I couldn't come across another video on this, so if you did, could you share? thank you, and very informative video (and subscription).
I have the versapro and had to remove the whole coil and rotate it 180. Also I had to take out the " inside heat sensors" I believe it's called, and tie it to the top
Great video, I'm considering the hyper heat unit to replace my old system in my mobile home at the lake home. And would have to convert to down draft and as a direct replacement here in S.E. Missouri. I'm on the fence with a 24k or 36k unit. 960 sqft . But with old windows and doors puts it at 3tn.
@@EverydayHomeRepairsI read on Reddit If you use smart thermostat it will lose fan control because it's communicating system. Smart thermostat will make it just run on or off Does the normal thermostat provide WiFi feature?
In Florida, replacing an air conditioning system requires a permit...even for DIY installations! I didn't realize this, but found it out the hard way when my mother sold her home. We had to obtain an "after-the-fact" permit for the sale to close. The same was true for a water heater replacement. I served on submarines as a nuclear engineer and chemist, so my work easily passed, but the permitting requirement came as quite a shock as I've done similar work in several states over the years...all without reqiring permits.
Interesting. How was the history established? I have a couple houses in Florida and have done heat pump changeouts on each. Neither contractor pulled or even mentioned permits.
@@GannDolph If I had to guess it's not a "Florida" thing but a county/city/town thing. I am in RI and it depends entirely on what town you live in. My town is quite lax on permits.
I still have to watch the whole thing but can we apply duct mastic to all seams and joints to try to increase air tightness in an hvac system? Throughout the return, air handler box, all the supplies etc?
Awesome video! Respect! Question: I know it's different in every town but aren't there inspections required once completed (at least for the electric and natural gas)?
For this one most states are municipalities would require and electrical permit and inspection. Since this system is all electric the gas lines would not be part of the installation.
OK, so enjoyed your video on Mr Cool, sounds like a great system and easy to install. I was trying to get information from "Mr Cool" whether they have a "heating element" that uses Natural Gas?? And I do not see any 800 number or contact number on their website?? Thank You and for the videos. Raul , Phoenix metro
is there any point using the fused disconnect box indoor? mine has but it melted so i need to swap it with a new one and am not sure if the fused one is needed
At the end of the the union sheet metal job and his diy both do the same function. As long as it is sealed it's fine. There are things I don't agree with the way he did some of the transitions...but he got there in the end.
Best video for the Mr. Cool heat pump. I just purchased a Mr. Cool Universal 4-5 ton heat pump. You spoke of using a Mr. Cool thermostat. Do you have a model # for this? I looked everywhere to buy the Mr. Cool thermostat and even Mr. Cool didn't show it.
Scott installed the Mr Cool Hyper Heat model, different from the Universal (although they are both central ducted). The Universal can use any 24 V thermostat, the Hyper Heat uses RS485 and that proprietary thermostat comes with it.
Isn’t this a heat pump? What are going to do when this goes into defrost and creates water? Mr Cool doesn’t say to have that 10” or more off your slab? Maybe it doesn’t freeze in your location, so it’s not needed.
@@defomatt2684 The question was edited after I replied and now refers to defrost water. Condensation line is needed at the air handler, inside the basement or attic, which this video shows he has.
I installed mine above highest expected snow line. Had first significant snowfall since I installed 4 months ago. Pretty sure I wouldn’t want the outside unit on a ground slab.
3.5 ton unit will have1300-1400 CFM max air flow. Return duct lower 90 deg is too sharp of bend and too small total area that appears to be less than one sq.ft.. A lot of air turbulence created at sharp elbow along with very high air velocity over 1500 FPM. Will raise static pressure resistance.
The Hyper Heat units are still pretty new but a few of the online suppliers are starting to carry them here is who supplied my unit iwae.com/shop/3-ton-16-seer2-mrcool-hyper-heat-central-ducted-heat-pump-split-system-multiposition-ha23525.html
Why did you pick this one over the Universal? Was this because of a sponsorship? Comparing the specs, the universal is more efficient and they both go the same low outside temps. The Hyper Heat looks to have a slightly better warranty and might be slightly cheaper, but otherwise it looks like the Universal is the better option. Also, you said you weren't going to use the thicker filter option. They are definitely better: better airflow with higher MERV ratings and they last longer (I change mine once a year).
I don't have the blog put together yet as I will wait for some additional feedback. It should be published at www.everydayhomerepairs.com in a couple months. 👍
What made you choose the hyper heat over the Universal? Is the hyper heat system a communicating thermostat? I ask because I'm about to purchase either the Universal or the Hyper Heat
I went with the Hyper Heat because it is supposed to have a little more capability in cold conditions. I am interested this winter in measuring the effectiveness of a Heat Pump when the outside temp is below 0F so I wanted to get the Mr Cool most capable unit.
Awesome video Scott! I just purchased the 3 ton unit that is not the hyper-heat model but should do us a good job in North Carolina. Curious to know how the unit worked for you over the winter? I looked for your video on this topic but couldn't find it. Thank you!!!!
My Mrcool only lasted 1year . It kept breaking down so my Ac tech installed a carrier. Mrcool is made in China . First 6 months the evaporator coil had a major leak then 6 months later the compressor went out
Following along as best as possible with the 24k version of this, what am I missing with the weird square drain plugs in the AHU? I had to rotate the components as I'm doing a horizontal right configuration so the original vertical drain plugs I was able to remove but the ones I actually need are stuck fast and the plastic is start to warp. Not sure if there is a very specific tool required here but anyone else had this issue?
@@Skat3WhatThatthe plugs I needed to remove turned out to have been fused during the manufacturing process so they were essentially glued in and had to cut them out, but to MrCool's defence they sent me a new drain pan within a couple of weeks.
Came here expecting to read all the upset hvac contractors saying how they wouldn't work on a diy system and how diy systems won't work right, etc etc etc. You know, basically being butt hurt, they didn't get paid their ridiculous markups!
Yeah, I think even the contractors know that the obscene price of system changeouts these days has forced the explosion of DIY. Overpriced new installs and equipment changeouts , as the bread and butter profit driver, is a decreasingly viable business model in HVAC...
and around here, they're still slinging basic, bare-minimum 13 SEER* / 80% units with 20+ year old technology * _may_ be 14 SEER minimum soon (which, in a way, nothing wrong with that, simpler usually means more reliable, usually ... but their markups on these dumb-as-rocks systems lately are absolutely asinine, "because reasons"...) But heat pumps? Nobody around here wants to install or touch them. It's nuts. But if they did, I could only imagine what their artificial markups would be on heat pumps...
LOL!! that is the VERY FIRST THING I thought right before I attempted to read the comments! lol , the HVAC contractors know they are headed for trouble and its not going to get better for them..
