Installing DIY Off-Grid AIR CONDITIONING 

I'm a retired Caterpillar engineer and worked on the team that developed the joysticks in your skidsteer. Seeing your love of the skidsteer makes my day!

I design and build custom furniture in Pittsburgh. For years and years my shop was not air conditioned, which made muggy summer days no fun at all. A few years ago I was able to install AC. I don't need it too much, but on the days I do, it's glorious. Enjoy the comfy shop this summer!

Interesting project made before baby was born. We follow weekly with you since left Atascadero for hill country. Bring us up to date. AC project is good. You two are brave undertaking huge projects. Like say, D-8 repair. RU-vid has been good to you and your family. Thank you.

What a luxury, A/C in the shop! It will make shop work in the summer much easier to do! How about an update on your little guy? Just a short clip to see how he is growing?

COOL! In addition to Wreckless Riley, we should add "Where There's a Will there's a Way" Riley. I sometimes work alone on my projects so I use straps, levers, and whatever else I can think of.

Riley you explanation of how the line charge works finally answered how the Mr. Cool units accomplish this. Other videos I have seen do not give a good explanation and a visual of the isolation valves/couplings. Cool video !!

Courtney & Riley, how COOL is that! Nice install.❤

I mounted a 7` x 9` projector screen and some heavy insulated shutters by myself.. just screwed a large eye bolt to the wall, ran a rope around screen and thru the eye bolt, instant pulley like lift for one person. I even bought a fancy pulley that I didn't need or use. The eye bolt worked perfect. Nice touch with the straps, I'll have to remember that one!

16:30 - No bubbles, no troubles. Well done.

Mrs. Cool getting into the skid steer has Aliens Vibes of Ripley 😮

Hi folks I been watching now for 18 months and I’m loving what I see is good ,,Riley you are like me I build things twice as strong overkill but I know it will last for ever ,now you two are my favorite show I just like how you are so gifted and do good jobs great keep on going with videos stay safe and good luck with the baby God Bless all three of you 🧸🧸🧸❤️❤️👍👍😃🦘🇦🇺🇺🇸

Hey guys, I replaced the entire central A/C system at my mom's house in Central Florida during lockdown with a Mr. Cool 2-Ton Universal Series unit. The old traditional heat pump unit was 20+ years old and massively inefficient, including a 10kW resistance heat strip. The old unit had a typical ground-mounted condenser that was noisy and had to be serviced/cleaned at least annually. Like you, I chose to mount the new unit on the exterior wall, keeping it up off the ground where it remains clean, needing the absolute minimum of maintenance. Again, like yours, my mom's unit is whisper quiet; something her neighbors greatly appreciate. Over having the A/C system professionally replaced, going the Mr. Cool route saved my mom over $3,000! Additionally, the new unit uses right at half the power of the old unit, so there's a massive monthly operating expense reduction. These units have several advantages of particular importance: • Inverter technology so there's no in-rush of current at start-up. That, and these units don't cycle like traditional A/C units. Instead, they energize, heat or cool to the desired temperature, then ramp down to maintain temperature. • 100% rating for heating down to -5°F and cooling up to 115°F. Because of heat pump heating efficiency, I opted not to install the optional strip heater. I did have to evacuate the line set as there was an issue making a tight bend for this installation. But that wasn't an issue at all. After three years of flawless service, the Mr. Cool unit continues to exceed all expectations. My *only* issue is that the line set insulation material is far from durable under the Florida sun. This something you shouldn't encounter as you were able to use the line set covers. I'm certain that you'll be extremely happy with both of your Mr. Cool mini-splits for years to come.

Riley, when cutting large holes with a holesaw, try to lean and rotate the arbour a little at a time, so instead of the whole diameter of the holesaw cutting, you lead it in . All the teeth are then just cutting one spot , then the next in a circular motion until you are all the way around. I cut large diameter holes in finished sheet materials every day using this method. Less snagging and saves your powertool life, too. Give it a try.... Love what you accomplish together . Looking forward to your two's next chapter

Your professionalism on everything has paid off well with all the things you get to advertise y'all have earned it

This old lady installed Mr Cool 36k with 2-18k zones all by myself in my place in Florida last summer. They work great! Love watching the 2 of you!

From the Netherlands I’m impressed that you both can make so much things by yourself. So much optimism, I like to watch you channel.

Congratulations On Y'alls new child and new Mr Cool unit

Pro tip, when drilling through metal wall like that to make hole, make your arbor drill hole first, then use you long bit to go through the other wall using the arbor bit hole as a guide, and then use hole saw with pre drilled arbor holes.

What a great DIY package! I think you are right: working in a comfortable shop (especially with your new QA Supervisor (in the bouncy chair / play pen ;-) will be great. Happy spring!

Your wife is an absolute doll! She reminds me of my wife when we were younger. I hope that you two have as many happy years as we have had!

When you first described the scope of the video, I was wondering why the shop? What about Mom and baby upstairs? Then Courtney spilled the beans. You installed an AC upstairs during the confidential portion of her pregnancy. Way to go. Courtney & baby deserve the best, first. That was a very cool video. I didn't know a do-it-yourself mini split like that existed. THANKS MR. COOL!

That is really cool! You also get a warmer office space than shop space.

pratim ovaj kanal oko 3 godine i nevjerovatno kolikoje ovaj momak sposoban i kojom lakočom rješava sve probleme

I had the Mr Plow song in my head the entire time

I installed a Smaller MrCool unit a couple of years ago. Looked into the DIY series but it was not offered in the small size I needed And I also noticed The DIY series was about twice as expensive as their Non-DIY units. I decided to save the money and DIY a non DIY unit. It had a higher SEER number and was cheaper. Drawback was the need to evacuate the system before use and lack of warranty due to me not being a HVAC installer. I already owned a manifold set and used a vacuum pump from the auto parts store with their free tool loaner program. It's been working great for me. I wish more companies would offer DIY solutions like this though as it is really not that difficult to do and Super fabricator skills like the two of you have really are not a requirement.

Mr Cool DIY units are COOL 😅 My wife and I installed a 24k unit in our garage, and it only took us around 2 hours. The hardest part was routing the lines through the attic. We live in Florida so our house is concrete block. It was easier to go up through the ceiling, and out the gable end, and of course we chose the hottest day to do it. 🥵🤣😎 It really works great. Now our garage is a great workshop for us.

Even if it's "banked" before delivery, this is a great little piece, nice editing!

You have to be one of the most blessed people in the world. Work together perfectly. And you answered all my questions for my future Barndominium build.

These mini splits have become so amazingly flexible. Low power draw and huge outdoor operating temperature range. I have them in a bunch of my IT closets. In many it doesn’t even have to cool that much as most tech gear is much more efficient that unused to be. But running the AC at a moderate temperature setting (aka you aren’t trying to turn the room into an ice chest), it’s fantastic for dehumidifying. That alone will make working in the garage SO much more pleasant. On extreme cold days you have your waste oil burner to help out, but on all but those super cold days, the modern inverter should keep your space comfy for use. I’m sure you’ll be enjoying the fruits of your labor on this project as summer heat will inevitably come. I can also foresee you guys leaving a big open space once your little one is mobile. It’s nice to play outside, but there is only so long you can be out there with a toddler. Having some space to play and pedal a small trike will be a life saver when you have to stay inside during a big winter storm. Kids need to burn off pent up energy. Nothing like a good size heated garage to help out with that 😊

Great job! A comment. As a heavy equipment operator for over 40 years, please don't leave the skid steer from under the booms. Block them or wait until you lower them. If something were to happen to a hose or a host of other things (I've either seen or heard of most any disaster), those booms don't care whether you are there or not...they are coming down, and in a blink of an eye. We have all done it, but it is chancy. Pinch points, always remember pinch points.👌👌

Congratulations to you on having a baby y'all did a good job on your videos and I like your attitudes towards life in general thank you so much

Mr. and Mrs Cool. ❤❤🎉🎉

So envious. Looking forward to seeing what else you have planned. Stay safe.

Wish there were a lot more women like her. She’s bright fun and kind!

ok so I'm just catching up on all this amazing content. I heard you say Atascadero! then I search through your old stuff, looks like central cost. I'm in Paso about to move, my house just sold. plan on traveling first, but Utah and Idaho have been my go to for 3yrs. Just never had the opportunity to take the jump. I'm so stoked for you your two. Very inspiring. I'm also a welder fabricator and building up my rig. Great stuff you two!

You gotta keep Oliver cool this summer in the shop. Great job.

You two are going to be great parents. So much positivity.

The spiderweb was an excellent idea ,,

Might need a couple ceiling fans in the shop to push that nice warm air back down in the winter time.

I'm off-grid here in Finland with a system comparable in size to yours. I use an air to water monoblock heat pump coupled to my underfloor radiant heating. In summer, I pump cold water in the floor to cool the place. The advantage is that I can use excess solar during the day, and store it in the buffer tank. This then easily gets me through the night without consuming power from the battery except for the pump (couple of tens of Watts). In winter when I don't have enough solar for the heat pump, my wood burner coupled to the same buffer provides for heat.

I hope yours does better than ours we bought one a year ago and it stopped heating mid season with no help from Mr Cool. It was awesome till it wasn’t. Good luck

There are 48v DC operated mini splits available. Direct off the LFP batt bank. No inverters wasting some of the precious solar.

Having a conditioned shop will be wonderful. Working in the heat or extreme cold is not fun, now you don't have to. Great job!!

Love watching how the two you build every thing, loved the snow blower and your deck construction.

Very clean and professional looking install Riley and Courtney. Well done. I'm impressed with how easily your installation went. And Riley, I'm impressed with how easily you designed a set of brackets to support the unit. You guys are just AWESOME! ! ! Enjoy the heated and air conditioned shop that you now have.

The DIY setup for MrCool systems is really easy...love how it sets up and it's worth the premium for the pre-charged lines to just plug it in and have it done!

I installed 3 Mr Cool units and found them to work great. My last unit was for my garage and it does a great job of heating and cooling. Based on issues for service by local HVAC shops not wanting to work on Mr Cool units, I figure it was cheaper to install Mr Cool units by over 50% less, and if needed I could replace a broken unit with another and still be money head. I did follow advice to use a HVAC torque wrench for the line set, and use Nylog on the fittings. Mounting the unit on a pad outside is quieter because it does not transfer noise through the wall.

Great vid!! Gona look for this units for mi house!!

Installing your Mr. Cool AC/Heat Pump was brilliant! Great Teamwork - as always - and smart not having Courtney lift 70 # if Mr. Cool. Impressive planning, welding, spraying and final installation.

"The angle brackets could be spider webs" This is the exact reason why my projects take longer than they should. The restraint not to use the cnc plasma was admirable.

You Guys Rock!! God Bless and have a Wonderful Week!! 😀❤🌹

It’s great seeing your accomplishments during pregnancy knowing that your son was born without complications. Wishing you and your family a blessed week filled with gentle seasonally appropriate weather and restful evenings. Peace

I watched this twice, as air-conditioning was really important for me in Thailand with temperatures common, 40C.104F. Nice to see this couple using all these Cat power tools, forks. For us poor, we have to do it the cheap manual way.

Thanks for the continuing adventure. My wife is now considering Idaho for retirement!

Nicely done. Went with hydronic system in my shop. If summer temps become an issue I'm considering a mini split. See the old 90's vintage Powerstroke winter time umbilical chord program happening. LOL

Nice work. Some anti vibration pads (or however they're called) to be put in place when setting the exteriour unit on the metalic arms, because that thing can vibrate, especially in time and at high power.

Great video. I am considering this for my garage. One concern. At the 9:35 minute mark, you need to rethink how you mounted those brackets. The screws may work in the short term but they are too small a diameter and span to far a distance. They will fail at some point. Maybe use 3/8 bolts with washers and nuts inside the building. Thanks for the content. Darryl

You cant be replaced by ratchet straps, your way more multifunctional...and thats how you got into this situation😂

Mini split for the win! Love em, as an hvac tech opinion great technology and easy way to zone out you’re home

Nice looking work. I installed mine over a year ago an 18k single. It has worked flawlessly so far. I tried the heater just to be sure it works, but here in the piney wood of East Texas, the AC is what gets used. I am off grid living well on a 6k split phase 230v LF inverter. We have averaged 8.14KwH a day for almost two years now. Our max use day was 22.5 kWh maximum day production was 26.5 kWh. We have the water heater rigged where it only runs at float voltage and the well pump only runs when PV voltage is double or more of the battery voltage. I have similar PV wattage as you but nowhere near the battery capacity at 15.6 kWh. Batteries are expensive compared to the rest of the setup. Bless y’all and congrats on your newest family member that will make life even more interesting.

Recommend placing the outside unit on some rubber mounts, with the metal arms it’s going to transfer a lot of sound inside. The unit is already quiet but will help keep it even quieter especially when it turns on/off when shooting videos

CONGRATS GOOD ADDITION TO YOUR HOME!... Man you guys need a big building to park all your toys out of the weather..... good job you 2!

Great work! 😀 From my experience the condensation drain of the outdoor unit will lock-up when the outdoor temperature goes below 3°C. Don't forget to remove the condensation drain before it starts freezing. The indoor unit will be loud while de-icing - don't put it in a sleeping-room but use a forced ventilation between the sleeping-room and the room with the indoor unit. We installed an outdoor air inlet over the indoor unit and an indoor air outlet behind the fan of the outdoor unit to have forced ventilation with heat/cold recouperation. You can also move the generator from outdoors behind the PV-Container into the workshop and add an exhaust heat-exchanger to get a hybrid heating-systen. 😉

2 year progress is unbelievable…. Hard to think it was all woods before

as i sit next to my MR. COOL dule head in my garage with 100w co2 watching RU-vid and engraving leatherette hat patches. AWSOME VIDEO !

Great news to see the heat pump going in. Hopefully it’s reverse cycle. Mother Nature loves you. Love your Chanel and your positive vibe.

You may want to consider putting the extra line-set on a horizontal plane to prevent oil traps in bottoms of the piping.

I have several MrCool units, they are awesome. One thing I would add is a soft start device.

Excellent work as usual. Courtney I've never seen a woman as far along as you are do so much work, you're a champion among women!

It's the "That puppy ain't going nowhere!" test lol

Genius use of the ratchet straps.

That's a great looking system. Our heat pump system wasn't able to keep up during that ice storm we had in TX back in 21. But on the plus side, we have 'emergency mode' which provides heat at a substantially larger energy draw. Also learned that having an overhang above our outside unit keeps the fan from freezing up. Definitely a brand to look into if we need to replace our home system again. But the original one lasted almost 30 years and was still running strong. But since it was 30 years old, we decided to update it, and our energy bills dropped almost by 1/2, Always good to see the ongoing improvements and projects. So...when are you going to rebuild that Courier? 🤣

Great job Mr Cool, I love the way you work together. You guys a beautiful place to live in, and the vies are spectacular. You guys are going to be wonderful parents. God Bless the both of you.

I Like the Red 6x6 skid thing!

Good job y’all, you’ve earned it, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

You guys make everything look so easy. Great job ! 👏

Thanks for posting this. It is indeed wonderful to see such a non-dysfunctional family in action. May your new son bring you much joy. BTW, great welding job on those brackets!

I bet that A/C was great to have this last week. 😂

Nice work you guys install looks great . Papa bear now continue taking good car care of moma bear and baby !!! Love you guy's and your build / videos take care .

Sweet! I have the exact same setup in my garage (rebadged, but identical unit!) My only regret is not pouring a pad and mounting the outdoor unit on a stand. The variable frequency compressor start up is loud and shakes the walls and windows of the garage. Nice job, and it's even more awesome to have indoor comfort powered by the sun!

She is so phenomenal. It brings me joy and hope to watch the 2 of you interact. ☮️❤️🌈

Nothing beats an air conditioned shop. I have enjoyed mine. Great job you two or is that three.

This is just So Cool!! Hey Oliver - you're already a good influence on your Dad!! If I'm not mistaken - - I think I see 'Safety Goggles'!!! Who knew!? Great episode guys. And - turns out you're a great company spokesman / sales professional Riley!

We have three mini-splits love them. We were so pleasantly surprised with the first one, we just kept adding on. Good job!

I have been looking at purchasing one of those units for a while and now seeing how easy the DIY install was, I'm going to have to go get one now. Thanks!

Nothing but good luck and health to all of you. Congratulations.

lovely install

Love the secure-ness test. We have 2 phrases that pay. Either we say "That isn't going anywhere", or the sketchy " Here goes nothing".

Looking great!

This is my first time watching this channel. And I just wanna say how nicely quiet and relaxed the pace of everything was! In the current time where most youtubers are "extra" or just yelling the whole time, this was a nice calm video!

She is just ADORABLE!

That's a pretty cool heat pump! The DIY package is a handy arrangement.

Great progress guys! Most people seeing your place for the first time would probably never even think that you are not connected to the power grid because everything just seems so normal but we all know how much hard work has gone into your home. Thanks for sharing the build process with us! Just an idea that you guys have probably already planned out. During the winter you might need a couple of reversible direction ceiling fans in the high-bay area of the shop to push the hot air back down to floor level. Courtney will most likely find her new office space nice and toasty in the winter without those ceiling fans but come summer having the fans cycled in reverse pulling the cold air up will help keep her office space reasonably cool and move the air around the entire open shop area.

Love the renewable electricfaction and the montage bluegrass!

Have you guys given any thoughts for your future house. I have an interesting suggestion just because of the materials you guys prefer to work with. My idea is a Concrete and steel house with wood only used as accents. I thought you guys might like this idea!

Congrats to becoming mom and dad...AWESOME!!!

Thanks for sharing! Looks professional! Really enjoy your channel guys!😊

I think I picked up that Courtney is editing the show- Great work! Beyond the visual decisions, the audio sounds excellent too. Nice mixes, well done. I'm a post-production person, and wanted to tell you that you are doing a great job making a fun show that feels "homemade" and intimate- but not unprofessional in anyway- quite the contrary. Excellent editorial choices. Thanks for making a fun show. Youse guys are the best!

very well done kiddo's, beautiful work shop, wish I had one too.

You should make a full house kinda tour!