We’ve got A/C!!!

It is so incredibly exciting…….we’ve got A/C! It’s up and running and it is cold. No more 95° days with 80% humidity in the house, which happened regularly this summer (we have a thermometer/hygrometer in the living room to confirm these numbers). Even in front of the fan, you just sit there and sweat. While we did get much more accustomed to the heat by doing without A/C, we are extremely grateful to have the cool, dry air in the house. For clarity, about a year ago we did install an A/C unit that serves the two side bedrooms, so at least there was A/C in the bedroom when we slept. Now, finally, we have it throughout the rest of the house. The unit that we installed is a three zone mini split unit, it has one outdoor unit with three indoor units. Each indoor unit can be controlled independently, so each room can be a different temperature.

The install

Last week we poured the concrete for where the A/C unit is going to sit. With the outdoor unit in place, I got the indoor unit in the kitchen installed. Next up was installing the indoor unit in the living room. This unit fit right between the ceiling joists so I only had to do minimal framing, which was nice. I got the unit in place and made up my own mounting brackets again, just like for the other unit. I got it fully secured in place and then got out of the attic.

The last indoor unit

Next up was the third and last indoor unit. This one is going in the master bedroom. Unlike the other two units, this is a wall mounted unit. I would have preferred the unit to be mounted to the wall that adjoins the bathroom, which would be in the peak of the ceiling. However, the wall construction wouldn’t allow enough space for the lineset to be ran without completely rebuilding the wall. My second choice was over the door going into the bedroom. I located all of the studs and figured out where I would be able to mount it based on how the lineset had to run. I then drilled some big holes up through the top plate of the wall and into the attic so that I could feed the copper lines that connect the indoor unit to the outdoor unit.

Rigged, but functional

With the drywall cut out and the holes drilled, I installed the mounting bracket over the door. For the time being, I rigged the unit up on a flat 2×4 near the mounting bracket. The connection for the copper lineset would wind up inside the top plate (meaning it will be inaccessible), so I’ll have to do it with the unit away from the wall far enough to make the connections, and then work the unit in place. It’ll be kind of tricky because the roof is maybe 6″ above the hole in the top plate so as I feed the lineset up, it’ll hit the roof. To do this, I’ll need to be in the attic massaging the lines (bending them without kinking them) while somebody sets the unit on the brackets. That’ll happen later.

Running the linesets

I figured out which linesets went to which unit, and then one by one took the linesets and control wires up on the roof. The roll of copper was too big to fit in the attic opening, so I unrolled it across the front porch roof and then drug it through the attic. At the far end of the attic, I drilled holes through the siding above the outdoor unit. The linesets will go out of the attic, down the siding, and then connect to the unit. The other end connects to the indoor unit. One by one I fed the linesets through the attic and then made the connections to each unit. In the future, I’ll build a wooden chase to hide the linesets coming down the siding.

Vacuum pumping the units

After connecting the lineset and control wires to the first unit up in the attic, I came down to the outdoor unit. There I cut the linesets to length and re-flared the fittings. Then I connected the lineset and the control wires to the outdoor unit. Next, I hooked a vacuum pump to the unit and pulled a vacuum on the lines. This removes any residual moisture in the lines as well as any air and other debris. Also, this lets you know if there are any leaks. I let the pump run while I finished the wiring connections and then I shut the valve and turned the pump off. This locks the vacuum in the lines, and if the gauge starts to move, you’ll know there is a leak. I left it this way while I worked on the next lineset.

Next lineset

I repeated the same process for the next lineset. After connecting the lineset to the outdoor unit, I hooked up the vacuum pump. I pulled a vacuum and then shut the valve. The gauge started falling. Doh! I checked the connections at the outdoor unit – both were good. So I went back up into the attic and found the culprit. I had overtightened the smaller line which caused the flare to fail. So I cut off the flare, re-flared it, and connected it again. This time it was all good. I repeated the process for the master bedroom unit.

Topping off the units

While I pulled the vacuum on the master bedroom unit, I went inside and installed the decorative trim covers on the two ceiling mounted units. Next up, I had to add refrigerant to two of the three units. The unit is pre-charged with refrigerant for linesets up to 25′ long. Two of the units had longer linesets than that, so I had to add a certain number of ounces of refrigerant based on each foot of additional length. Using a precise scale and a bottle of R410A refrigerant, I added the necessary amounts to the two units. With the units topped off, I opened the valves holding the refrigerant inside the unit. One last item – electrical.

Running the wire

After figuring out where I wanted the wire to come through the wall/floor, I drilled my holes and stuck a fish tape down into the crawl space so I could see where the hole was drilled. I went down in the crawl space and found the wire that my dad had ran for the unit. He left it coiled so that I could pull it to wherever we ended up setting the unit. I drug the wire to the tight end of the crawl space (it’s maybe 10″ between the sand and the floor joists) and worked my way over until I found the fish tape sticking down. I then fed the wire up into the dining room wall. I shimmied my way out of the crawl space and then tried to dust off the sand. I looked like a sugar cookie. I was wearing coveralls that were completely soaked with sweat so the sand stuck to it. Oh well. I went into the dining room and fed the wire outside. Lastly, I made the electrical connections at the unit. I will need to come back another day and add a disconnect and a whip (waterproof electric conduit) to the unit, but for now, the unit has electric.

Fire it up

Well, here goes nothing. I flipped the breaker and I could hear each of the indoor units chirp as they came to life. I put batteries in each of the remotes and turned the units to cool. After a bit, each of the units was blowing cold air – 49° to be exact. It was glorious. I had been so focused all day that I was completely exhausted after this, not to mention most of the work was in the hot attic, so it was a fantastic end to the day. It was Saturday and Oceana arrived back home in time for the last few connections and then she watched the unit come to life. Sunday, I took the day off and did nothing but sit in the air conditioned house all day. It was awesome.

Installing the master unit

I’ll still need a day to button up odds and ends with the A/C units, but they are installed and working. Monday evening Oceana and I got the master bedroom unit properly installed. For the time being, I had ran the drain line into a 5 gallon bucket. After hanging the unit, I cut out drywall and routed the drain line through the wall and into the crawl space. Maybe next Saturday morning I’ll get back up in the attic (before it gets too hot) and properly run the drains to the two ceiling units.

Remember the bathroom remodel?!

With the A/C working, it was now time to resume progress on the back bathroom. The subfloor is ready to be installed, but the propane lines need pressure tested first. I turned off the shut off valves and pressurized the unit. I checked for leaks and didn’t find any. I left a gauge on the lines and I’ll check for any pressure loss overnight. The next day I checked and it was all good. I finalized the plumbing to the shower drain and then insulated the floor. With the insulation complete, I screwed the subfloor down. We’re ready for drywall.

Oceana the painter

Oceana has become quite the painter. She got the back of the house primed, caulked, puttied, and painted with two top coats. It looks great! She also repainted the concrete stoop/steps on the front of the house. It looks brand new again. She’s really good at putting the finishing touches on everything.

Odds and ends

We have pizza night once a week and we make our own pizza dough from scratch. Oceana’s been having trouble the last few months with sometimes the recipe working, and sometimes the dough would be too sticky. Evidently the high humidity in the house affected the recipe. Well, now that we have A/C, the recipe has worked perfectly (twice). It’s the little things…. We will be taking a few days off this coming week as Oceana and I celebrate 15 years of marriage. We’ll be taking the campervan to a campground where we’ll be parked right on the beach. I’m looking forward to it. That’s all for this week. As always, thanks for following along.