Best mini-split/HVAC brands?

[Mark Miner]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

I have 2 inverter 12,000 mini splits. I can run one on a 15 amp circuit and have a little left over for other things. Using a kil-a-watt meter, start up is about 2A climbing slowly to 7 or 8A that's the highest I've seen on cool, a bit higher on heat. It makes heat down to almost 0° although, not much below 32°
.

That is exactly the setup I am considering. I have an 84 passenger thomas. I will insulate floors and wall and will cover a few windows inside. I am going with tropicool on ceiling and will be covered with solar panels and an observation deck as well. NO extra insulation in the ceiling. The plan is for one split in the main area and one in the bedroom. (back of the bus rear pusher). At night close off the bedroom and just cool it. During day run both. Does this do an adequate job of cooling? My celing will be shaded on top with solar and obs deck. Will use for heat, but plan to have a diesel heater as well. Do you feel you get a nice cool bus with this set up? I am looking at the pioneer 12k heat and cool mini split times two units.

Mark Miner

[Mark Miner]

Originally Posted by david.dgeorge07

I have the Pioneer 12000BTU units. I like them a lot. Really generator friendly. Heat, air, dehumidify and fan modes.

I run them while driving sometimes...

This is the exact unit(s) that I am looking to purchase. Two of them. 84 passenger thomas with insulated floor and insulated side up to the windows. No ceiling insulation. (tropicool paint and solar and sun deck which will at least block most of the sun.) Are you happy with the cooling that you get from this pair of units. I understand the limitations of the heat, I will use them for heat, but will have diesel heater for when it is very cold.

Mark Miner

One will be in the bedroom and will be a solo unit at night with the bedroom door closed. During day both will be on.

[david.dgeorge07]

Originally Posted by Mark Miner

This is the exact unit(s) that I am looking to purchase. Two of them. 84 passenger thomas with insulated floor and insulated side up to the windows. No ceiling insulation. (tropicool paint and solar and sun deck which will at least block most of the sun.) Are you happy with the cooling that you get from this pair of units. I understand the limitations of the heat, I will use them for heat, but will have diesel heater for when it is very cold.



Mark Miner



One will be in the bedroom and will be a solo unit at night with the bedroom door closed. During day both will be on.

Ceiling is the most important element to be insulated. Before mine was insulated it felt like I was sitting by a wood burning stove all the tome from the radiant heat.

My two splits work well in most conditions and are adequate even in very hot conditions if they can run all the time. If it is over 100 and you leave the systems off all day it’s going to be a bit before it can cool things off.

I have spray foam basically everywhere. My windows are my Achilles heal. I have insulation panels for them though when in extreme weather.

What is your rationale for no ceiling insulation?

And BTW don’t underestimate the heating power of these units. They are actually quite good in my experience. Nice to have a backup like propane or diesel when off grid, but they heat much better than home heat pumps I my experience. Nice toasty hot air that takes the chill off right away!

[david.dgeorge07]

Something I didn’t really compute with until faced with it is to oversize and overspec everything related to A/C.

House calculations have no use for a bus. A full size bus needs 2-3 tons of cooling while parked unless you are very thoroughly insulated. Multiply that number by 2-3x if you want to stay cool while driving.

[cadillackid]

a 14 row 84 Passenger School bus brand new is SPEC'd with 140,000 BTU of air-conditioning.. a conventional often has 120,000.

this maxxes out 2 compressors and large 3 fan condensors.. usually 3 or 4 evaporators.. some of the nicer ducted systems only use 2 evaporators..



once you insulate and convert a bus.. (im talking really insulate like oull the ceiling, walls, and spray foam).. then you can cut that number in half and stay Nice N cool driving..



some like Joe Black are working on custom solution with a small variable speed diesel engine and electric motor (for shore power). to drive one of the engine driven systems for both parked and driving A/C.



if you go out and purchase a pre-built mid or high end motorhome it will come with a good sized dashboard A/C to handle the driver area and a generator that can be run while driving to use the rooftop or central A/C to cool the space behind the driver area if desired...

[o1marc]

Anyone familiar with this brand? I read some reviews and as expected one guy who hates them and many who own multiples and are happy with them. Being the frugal soul that I am and looking for best deals, I found a 24Kbtu for $999.

https://www.amazon.com/Klimaire-Duct...p?ie=UTF8&th=1

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Anyone familiar with this brand? I read some reviews and as expected one guy who hates them and many who own multiples and are happy with them. Being the frugal soul that I am and looking for best deals, I found a 24Kbtu for $999.

https://www.amazon.com/Klimaire-Duct...p?ie=UTF8&th=1

Is this something that needs the genset or shore power? How much power is needed to run it off solar, or is that a dream.

[david.dgeorge07]

I don’t see where you are getting 24k BTU from.

The bigger 18k unit requires 220-240 volt. If you have a true 50 amp inlet and service you can do that, but generators and inverters will be tougher.

My 12k BTU 120V units use about 10-12 amps each when running flat out.

My Pioneers were like $650 or so each IIRC.

You can air con a small room on your bus with one unit and if you have a big solar setup it may be able to mostly keep up with enough panels and batteries.

If you put in 2KW of solar, which would be basically the entire roof on a full size bus, you could cool a small part of the bus full time I think.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by david.dgeorge07

I don’t see where you are getting 24k BTU from.

The bigger 18k unit requires 220-240 volt. If you have a true 50 amp inlet and service you can do that, but generators and inverters will be tougher.

My 12k BTU 120V units use about 10-12 amps each when running flat out.

My Pioneers were like $650 or so each IIRC.

You can air con a small room on your bus with one unit and if you have a big solar setup it may be able to mostly keep up with enough panels and batteries.

If you put in 2KW of solar, which would be basically the entire roof on a full size bus, you could cool a small part of the bus full time I think.

That's because I didn't link the 24k unit (below). I definitely see the advantage to sticking with a 120v unit, or 2. Can't find a smaller unit at this price.



https://www.ebay.com/itm/24K-BTU-Kli...frcectupt=true


Maybe a couple fo these, they have good feedback. $450, 12K BTU, 120v.
Anyone see any negatives ?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/12-000-BTU-...EAAOSwnXhcz7Su

[CMORGANSKOOL]

I just got a couple of these frigidaire 5000btu units, for those of us on budget AC builds. Fits right in the bus window like a glove. Works well in zones if you have a bed area and living area put one in each.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They run on the solar with a 2000 watt inverter and one will run at a time on my $90 for 12 hours on a half gallon of gas. https://www.amazon.com/Tailgator-630...92741641&psc=1

You'll get a solid 12 hours out of 500ah of battery.

[o1marc]

I had to trim 1/4" off the top lip of one window to slide in my window unit, works fine. But I don't want A/C units hanging outside windows permanently, or have to put them in and out all the time.

[o1marc]

How big is the compressor on your mini-splits? Mine is 31" across, much bigger than the units I've seen pictured here. Mine's a 12kBTU.

[david.dgeorge07]

Mine are 31” wide. Fairly heavy too. 75#

[jofred99]

Has anyone mounted the mini split condenser unit on an extended back bumper? I'm thinking that I want to extend my bumper by about 18-24 inches for the condenser unit and a small diesel generator.

[david.dgeorge07]

I’ve seen them mounted out back. I don’t personally care for it. Seems like it would be easily damaged.

[HazMatt]

How'd you get it to fit? I've only got 9 inches

Originally Posted by CMORGANSKOOL

I just got a couple of these frigidaire 5000btu units, for those of us on budget AC builds. Fits right in the bus window like a glove. Works well in zones if you have a bed area and living area put one in each.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They run on the solar with a 2000 watt inverter and one will run at a time on my $90 for 12 hours on a half gallon of gas. https://www.amazon.com/Tailgator-630...92741641&psc=1

You'll get a solid 12 hours out of 500ah of battery.

of clearance, top to bottom, in my windows...

[o1marc]

The 5000BTU unit's actually fit quite nicely. I'm not using the mini-split in the garage, so I'll keep this one under the bench for when it's needed.

[AaronTSchultz]

Can anybody tell me about LG as a brand for quality. I am looking at doing 2 units front and back, and under mount in enclosed storage bays (I'm building in) with a steel perforated door to the bay (using ceiling panels from the bus).

We will not have shore power, but I will have 4 tesla batteries and 2400W of solar totalling 20KW power at 24V inverted by a 8000W continuous Victron inverter. (oversized a bit I know, but my wife wants everything run electric).

Thanks for any input.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by AaronTSchultz

Can anybody tell me about LG as a brand for quality. I am looking at doing 2 units front and back, and under mount in enclosed storage bays (I'm building in) with a steel perforated door to the bay (using ceiling panels from the bus).

We will not have shore power, but I will have 4 tesla batteries and 2400W of solar totalling 20KW power at 24V inverted by a 8000W continuous Victron inverter. (oversized a bit I know, but my wife wants everything run electric).

Thanks for any input.

What you want to find out is who made the condensor unit. Makes sure it's a quality brand like Toshiba, or Mitsubishi. The system may be Chinese made, but use a quality condensor, so the rest of the unit is pretty generic.

[cadillackid]

you mean compressor? the condensor units are pretty much assembled at the chinese plants.. many of the compressors are Toshiba and panasonic.. my home units have Sanyo compressors..