Very different from the previous content on this blog so far, here is a brief writeup of the process of buying and DIY installing a mini-split.
You'll need to ensure you have a pre-charged split (i.e. comes with refrigerant), most you buy on Amazon / big box stores would say so (and most would be this way anyways, pre-charged is standard for places homeowners can buy from).
If you're doing 220V, which is likely if you want one head for your entire basement or multiple heads, you'll need a line to be ran wherever you are putting your condenser. I was able to steal line that had been ran for a hottub and just install a shutoff switch with a 30Amp fuse.
You'll definitely need to drill a whole through your wall in some capacity. Your refrigerant lineset and communication lines will need to be ran from the inside to the outside.
You'll also need a vacuum pump, as you need to extract moisture from the lines + verify that your connections are good. You'll pull a vacuum on the lineset, wait at least 20 minutes, and verify that your pressure hasn't changed. If it has that means your lines have some leak (recommend nylog for your connections), and that you need to tighten your lines and try again.
The biggest callout is that knowingly releasing refrigerant to the atmosphere is an EPA violation, but that's where the vacuum pump comes in.
There are a few refrigerant types, I recommend going with an R32 system, as that is one of the new approved types from the EPA and is a single component refrigerant as compared to r454b. Most will be 410-A, which is being phased out. If you go R32 you need to ensure you get a vacuum pump with adapters for that, as they're sized differently than 410-A.
More steps to be added :)
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