Mini Split Book on Our Website- www.acservicetech.com/mini-split-book Mini Split Book on Amazon- amzn.to/3ytHJSs Mini Split Book on TruTech Tools- www.trutechtools.com/BooksGuides Mini Split E-Book on Google- play.google.com/store/books/details?id=HN-iEAAAQBAJ Mini Split E-Book on Apple- books.apple.com/us/book/id6445178399
Thanks, I have seen all of them. I'm anal on researching things I don't know. It's a curse! Your channel, HVACschool, and HVACRvideos have taught me more that I thought I knew.
@ AC Service Tech LLCAm am not agre with that coment ,you are wrong,you can see how much is freon in unit..you need to turn it on on max ,and low temp ,then read the presure on manometer, and you need to put termostat on indor unit and look how much will go down ...from 9 to 14 C is ok ...but you need to control and outdoor unit is it falling or rising presure...exp... Out 4 bar and in 17 C ...not god ...exp...out 12 bar and in 17 C not god ...exp ..out 9 bar and in 13 C it is ok ....but this is only when you turn it off an let it 10 min ..and then turn it on
Finally got it up and running. The only delays we had was because we realized we needed some extra parts (I’ll list that below) ruclips.net/user/postUgkxihMYiJNXcHdbH-7ihymsLz61l7jVyb5O . So we have a loft where our current hvac just couldn’t seem to keep cool during the summer. We have been using a window unit since we bought this house over 6 years ago (all the houses in this neighborhood were built in the 80’s and majority of the houses built like ours use a window unit). I hate window units because they are just so noisy and the one we had really only cools one side of the loft. I had contemplated upgrading our current HVAC, but with all the rising prices these days, it would take years before saving up enough to do that. With the advice of my father-in-law (used to run an HVAC business), he recommended we get an inverter instead. We thought we bought everything we needed, but there were just a few other parts we didn’t anticipate needing (which is what caused most of our delay). My friend and father-in-law did all the work to get it installed and running and now we have nice cool air circulating nicely throughout the entire loft. It is very quiet and even the outside unit is much quieter than our main HVAC unit. Saved ourselves thousands getting this.
Graig is best HVAC educator ever you my friend are a GOAT I have learned so much watching your videos -Thank you very much for all you do for your trade, a true gentlemen and scholar ..
it is just better for the technician to recover the existing refrigerant from the line, pull vacuum and charge the system with weight scale. these systems are comparatively very small than big ones we usually work with and the above listed procedures doesn't take long to complete. this is the only method that will guarantee you best results in mini splits
@@lordjaashin Thanks for clarifying it for us , now i need to do it my self, no technician here in my city can do that for me, they don't know how a mini split inverter compressor work ...
Great Video. It's nice how you put the temp and gauge together and explained superheat and subcooling. The explanation given was very understandable. Great teacher
This is my favorite ac service video. It's interesting how this unit uses temperature to regulate pressure. In automotive ac we a focused on pressure. What an eye opener
I work in Saudi Arabia, mini splits have been the standard here for well over 10 years. Here we can see ambient temps at a mild 135-140 degrees. When checking a charge it’s not uncommon to see units charged at 2-5 degrees of superheat. Anything higher than that during the summer time and the high pressure sensor will shut the compressor down. Winter time where the temps dip down to 40 degrees we normally are out recovering and charging back to the factory specifications. The units are wonderful but they are very finicky
I had to do a fact check, and here are the results... Saudi Arabia had its hottest temperature ever on June 22, 2010, with a reading of 52.0°C (125.6°F) in Jeddah, the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia ... The record heat was accompanied by a sandstorm, which caused eight power plants to go offline, resulting in blackouts to several Saudi cities. So 125.6 F max T... But give it another 5-10 years of oil consumption, and it will be likely...
@@thetruthserum2816 that may be but the ambient temps up on a roof where the outside unit is located many times, it could see those temps, ambient just means the temp around your outside unit
@@HVACRTECH-83 ahh, so another reason to place the outdoor unit in the shade... That makes sense... The same reason I think that blacktop asphalt (solar heat collector) could be contributing to global warming... the opposite of polar ice reflecting. Did you know that the soot from forest fires is darkening the global ice, thus causing the ice to melt faster than pristine white ice? I see that as an "avalanche effect", where we are creating a runaway train of global warming... The hotter it gets, the more fires, the more fires means more soot, more soot means darker ice, darker ice means faster melting... It seems that we have broken the water cycle and the ice pack... The only solution I can see is "unlimited free energy" from Fusion (to be invented), then take that energy and start pumping CO2 out of the air and oceans... (probably too late). Desalination will be needed as well..
Wow here in NY most units are located on or close to walls so the temperature around them does get really high. So I could imagine if your getting 125F temperatures those poor units must see some serious temps. Sucks when your working on one and there's another one running right next to you and all you want to do is pull it's disconnect before you suffocate. Damn.. Kudos to you working out there man stay safe and cool.
I take care of over 300 minisplits here in Florida. this numbers work for me: Indoor blowing between 55 to 60 Outdoor compressor FLA as close to what the name plate says. Superheat between 1 and 5. clean filters, clean coils. low pressure is different between minisplits. The manufacturer can give you the numbers expected based on model, tonnage, indoor and outdoor unit combo, etc don't over think it.
Yes, a less wordy down-and-dirty procedure is what I need, not a full course in HVAC. I just want to see if my r419a is low from a leak, since my mini isn't heating or cooling like it has in the past.
@@rcmjones this in no way was anywhere near a full hvac course. Craig covered the correct information needed by a tech in the field and I agree with most of what he said from my experience. And you have 410a not 419a and hope you called a professional
@@HVACRTECH-83 Yes, 419 was a typo, I have 410. It was a very small leak at a compression fitting. I found it with soapy water, tightened it, added about 2 lb gas, and no more problems. Checked temps with digital thermistor thermometer and all is right.
@@adobemastr All 3 units are still working flawlessly. I do keep the coils and filters cleaned in a regular biyearly schedule, as well as spraying peroxide in-between servicing. I made a cleaning rig with a 5 gallon bucket with 12v pump, a small hose and nozzle. I bought a large plastic tray to place under the unit to catch the cleaning solution. I only remove the shroud to clean the coil and fan
So what I gather from this video is that writing down all this information for future troubleshooting is golden. I'm struggling with a Mini Split right now. After pressure testing the line sets to 400 psi, and then leaving them pressured to 200 psi for 3 days, checking for leaks every day, one flare started to leak after 3 weeks of running. Seriously disappointing. Now I have to have a guy come in, vacuum all of the refrigerant out and re-fill it. Very expensive. I will check out all of your other articles.
use a product called nylock on your flared fitting it is for the two mating surfaces of a flared air condition to seal it it will not contaminate the refrigerator rectoseal also makes gaskets for flared fittings for mini splits and you cannot use any flaring tool the angle is different than on a air condition flaring tool
Great video! Thx. I especially like seeing the cut open EEV and the accumulator. The accumulator is a bit of a different design with the input at the top and then 2 internal tubes running to the compressor.
I would like to see a video on leak repair service on a multizone mini-split. In particular the refrigerant recovery replacement assuming an unknown loss of refrigerant due to the leak. I will assume the leak has been found and fixed with usual procedures. Probably a re-flare. Some questions based on need to charge by weight are: 1: Best way to recover without oil loss? As a vapor? 2. Entire system evacuated since all refrigerant has to be recovered even if repair was to an isolated line. 3: Should recovered refrigerant be reused? If a leak, recovery tank has less than full charge so it may mean careful weight measure and weighing in remaining as virgin. 4. System test of all zones? 5.What else? 6. Perhaps bringing the remaining system up with removed leaking evap. head. as temporary measure while new on order. Great channel, book, and cards. Thank you!! Helped me get 608 universal and refresh on modern methods and tools.
I have to do a leak search on a mini split with three evaporator heads in a few days. I'm gonna recover all the refrigerant and pressure test with nitrogen to find the leak. Then pull a vacuum on the whole system. Then guesstimate the lineset length for charging.
Perfect video! I knew I was not educated enough with these and your comments highlighted what I need to study next. Thanks for pointing me in right direction
Thanks for the great information on mini split pressures. I just bought one and now I will be able to pressure test and charge the system. I love all your videos and am an avid fan of all of them.
Hi! Acabo de ver que estás subtitulando tus videos al español y t agradezco por ese motivo. Ahora puedo entender al 100% tus videos. Mi inglés es muy básico pero ahora no hay excusas para seguir aprendiendo. Thank you so much!
@@buttercatz99 If you think you know of someone better, I'd like to know who it is. Everything I heard him say was accurate, so I want to know why you are saying "No". Please explain.
Thanks for the video. I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed in the OEM failure to fully exploit the capabilities of the onboard monitoring/control system. The hardware is capable of supporting additional sensors on a bus which could essentially diagnose everything that can go wrong on the unit. It could easily be enhanced to support monitoring/alerting for accumulator levels (in a deterministic state), line temps/pressures, etc. These units should be able to tell the service tech exactly what needs to be done to restore to factory spec. Failed opportunity on the part of OEMs As an embedded systems/real time process automation engineer, I"m half tempted to buy an additional unit and prototype a retrofit kit. Imagine being a service tech, you arrive on site, and you wirelessly connect to obtain a diagnostic report for the unit. It tells you everything you need to know in seconds. For that matter, the customer could simply email the report to the service company.
Unfortunately many technicians do not RTFM. Many technicians do not fly out to the factory training for service Most technicians only attend the installation classes the bare minimum and get there a little certification piece of paper that they can install But the manufactures of better equipment have what is called a test mode that is either activated by dip switches on the control board that somebody will have to read on a piece of paper and we know reading is very difficult. Or they have purchased the software interface between their laptop downloaded the manufacture software that is usually free and available and when attending a software specific class to get all the little tips tricks and secrets instead of learning by making mistakes. You set the unit into test mode and the software takes over and compensates for the ambient conditions and locks in the blower speed motor and condenser fan motor and the motor speed motor do you put it in the test mode needed to determine the refrigerant charge. And the installation manual is not a service manual or procedures. The HVAC distributor warehouses are only interested in how fast and how many contractors and installers they can train to the bare-bones minimum just to sell units quickly make big fast dollars to get the units out the door. And then there’s a lot of whining and crying and complaining that the units are difficult and things get broken by the technicians caused by the installer or the person servicing them because they did not. RTFM And the installation manual is not the manual they need to read. Good OEMs did not fail to exploit the capabilities of the onboard monitoring controls. Owners of companies failure to look farther and spend money on sending and flying technicians out to the main headquarters for more detailed training is where the failure comes in. This is not my grandfather’s HVAC anymore It’s time for us technicians and owners to step up the plate step up the game and educate ourselves to the new level it’s here now so there’s no more excuses. I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars in hotels air flight training classes software interface learning VFR installations for Panasonic for FUJITSU and for LG . And I’m still learning and I’m still making mistakes. My son has become better than me. Thank God. I hope this was helpful and eye-opening. Every morning when we wake up and look in the mirror in the bathroom if we’re having a hard time or problems or problems staring us in the face.
@@shifter8207 all the big manufacturers have the same thing Just like Ford or General Motors or Chrysler or Toyota or Honda you have your factory scan tool that hooks up to a computer so you can have a laptop in the screen
That would require more input, esp indoor wet bulb temp sensor and knowing what the air flow truly was due to dirty filters or dirty blower wheel. As it is however, Midea units can give you a readout of what is going on via their app or at least what it has as a fault.
So my question is why do you even need a precise charge with the mini split? The accumulator obviously accounts for a slight overcharge because it is designed to run on a various amount of line set. So it seems like you can just keep adding refrigerant until you get a good pressure...
One of the easiest ways to work out a low charge on these inverter units is the low lapour line pressure i agree, another way is to check temperature from indoor supply air in cooling mode and compare to room temp.. basically for r410 and r32 if we dont see atleast 10-15°C (50-60°F) temp drop on the evaporator after atleast 15min operation, then i would start digging further for leaks.
I believe your statement of "...if we dont see atleast 10-15°C (50-60°F) temp drop on the evaporator..." is much too high. The widely accepted temperature differential for mini splits and most air conditioning systems is 15-20°F (8-12°C). ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers): ASHRAE guidelines often reference a delta T of 15-20°F for properly functioning air conditioning systems. Please check these statistics and tell me what you think.
very usefull, thanks a lot , just one clarification ..one above case for refrigerant charging we can only get hint from subcoolings if ts shows low saturated temp then its means refrigerant is less.
The impression I got after replaying sections over and over again was that you cannot do what his title says. "Checking the Refrigerant Charge on a Running R-410A Inverter MINI SPLIT Unit", and that you need a wordy show-off HVAC guy standing condescendingly over you slapping your stupid hands with regularity because: "Experience and Apprenticeship garners(sp) Wisdom and Safety."
I would appreciate more of a takeaway conclusion headlining this video. The TL:DR version is that on a mini split you can't actually just easily take pressure and temp measurements and determine the refrigerant charge state, and so they are just very very hard for even a trained tech to diagnose. The most practical advice is at the end about 11:00 mark, where you list a couple of conditions where refrigerant is likely low. It's pretty disappointing to me that these units don't give more feedback in general about what the unit is doing, and more feedback in particular when something is amiss. Even in normal op, mine just beeps once or twice, and the remote only lists what your last setting request was. The lack of a diagnostic data out, leads I think to the technicians just throwing up their hands and replacing the whole unit. This happened to my parents on a unit that just wouldn't cool even after many visits by the tech. They had no clue what was going on. They ended up just having to replace the whole thing at $4 grand. It seems you roll the dice with these things and about all you can do in event of a malfunction is check for leaks on the lines and maybe add a bit of refr. in a blind hope that will fix it. If not . . . replace. You bank on the fact that most of them seem to run for 10 or 15 years I guess and cross your fingers.
literally ran into this today. wish i watched this vid first tho. ended up just condemning the unit because what my company charges for me to to chase a leak would be a disservice to the customer
yes its very frusterating when things go wrong because you have no idea what the unit is doing, unlike a regular split system where its either on or off. when they are working they are awesome though.
Step 1. Understand that the only way to get the correct amount of freon is to start with en empty system as correct super heat numbers cannot be correctly optained. Step 2: hookup recovery machine and recovery tank and remove remaining freon from the minisplit. Step3: with minisplit completely vacuumed out, break the vaccum with exact weight clearly written on the minisplit cover. R410a container must be placed upside-down as to draw liquid, on a scale, zeroed out before proceeding. If the minisplit calls for 91oz, then add Exactly the amount it calls for to a fully vacced out system. Have to charge on mini split in AC mode unless you know how to unplug stuff inside on the control board.if its wintertime just make sure the head is in a warm room with small space heater in front of it.
@@acservicetechchannel I'm a HVAC Tech of 10 after College and feel you should constantly be further educating yourself every chance you can and double your knowledge every 3/5 years💯👍
Wow, I mean it's really good content, but if you're a beginner watching this video, it will blow your mind because he's spitting out technician jargon at 10x speed. It's like, dude I get it you know your stuff, but I don't. haha!
As usual excellent video! So what should be the limit for inverter units i.e I mean what degree of subcooling (condenser side) and degree of superheat ( evaporator side), one should follow? Is there any rule of thumb? Thanks.
I think something else that needs to be noted is that Freon is not something to play with, you can be seriously injured with it, this really isn't for the amateur.
Thanks for the precise details. Would you say tolerances are quite wide. If you lost a cup full of gas it continues to work? Say for instance if you opened a valve a quarter turn for half a second and let gas escape would it still likely work? Obviously when disconnecting gauges a bit is lost so I'm wondering if you can put a number on it and say how tolerant the system is with losses in different examples like letting out certain amount of gas on purpose.
I don’t have very much experience with mini splits or inverters, but I’m 608 certified and worked HVAC for a little while as a service tech. I installed a mini split in my garage. It worked well enough, but being OCD, I wanted to check the pressure. Unfortunately I had a bad hose, and lost some refrigerant, not a lot, but enough that its performance is not so good. There’s no visible drip from the drain line like there was before the leak. I’m just gonna go ahead and add some 410 a little at a time, until the drain line produces a drip again. From what I understand, the test port pressure should be 110 to 160 psi. I noticed your pressure was in the 150 range for all of the demonstration. Worst case scenario, I can purchase a recovery machine and a scale close to what I’ll be charged by HVAC company.
I also dont have very much experience, but I came to the same conclusion, Have to buy a recovery machine to check the charge? Theres must be another way.
@@nicolasvillagra9186 I charged my system to 125 with the AC on high on a hot day. It’s cooling again, but could use a little more refrigerant. I will likely do that, just adding another five psi from what it reads now until it’s performing as it should. My deltas are a little low, but way better than they were before adding some charge. I’m sure it will be fine provided I only add a little bit, then observe it over several days of operation, then add a little more as needed until it’s performing adequately. I’d be careful overdoing it.
Thank you for this amazing video. I would have 2 questions: - Does the saturated temperature vary depending on the ambient outdoor temperature when the unit is running on lowest temperature setting in turbo mode? - Inverter mini splits show on the outdoor unit plate a value of Amps in cooling mode. Example: For a 12000BTU unit = 4,5A If the 4,5A are not reached in turbo mode on lowest temperature should refrigerant be added? Thank you very much Really appreciate your help SR
Very good video. So, in some ways, it's a bit like automotive AC. Evacuate and weigh-in the charge. Still not sure why they don't provide a liquid line test port?
Can you do a check/recharge video on a MrCool Universal heatpump inverter? The plate doesn't have any subcool or superheat on it just a designed max and min pressure. Thanks. BTW - mine has gone into low refrigerant E3 mode and techs are stumped on how to charge
Nice clip. Very interesting. Thank you. I watched it because I am trying to understand better the functioning of an inverter. In a nutshell, if one out of two mini split wall unit is turned off can I assume that the energy consumption of the compression is cut by half, roughly? If not, what would be the ratio. I have 2x12k minis hooked to a 24k compressor.
Recently had a mini split installed. Technician did not evac the copper lines before turning it on. Its cooling pretty well, but I think should be a few degrees cooler. I wonder if the evap unit is also precharged with refrigerant, or is it empty? Not evacuating the lines let a lot of air and water into the system. It was 85F and 80% humidity the day they installed.
That isnt a "technician" thats a hack. Absolutely nobody who knows anything would disregard vacuuming a system. Theres no way hes licensed and insured.
@@ps2cho I'm in Thailand, so its safe to assume there was no license or training involved. I eventually did get a warranty service on the system from the manufacturer, and its working correctly now.
So may question is this at what condition should I charge the unit with high load or when the thermostat is almost satisfied. I am a hvac tech just looking for some real answers. I am one of your subscribers.
Supposed to be the accumulator must have and eye sight glass in order to see the level of refregerant or any level electronucs just to protect the compressor.
Thanks for all the videos and the book. I’m still unsure about the correct refridgerant charge on my mini split. The outdoor unit lists the charge weight and the instructions say that’s for certain lengths of line sets (my outdoor unit can run 5 indoor units). If my total line set length does not exceed the total length in the manual am I ok with just the charge weight listed on the outdoor unit? Some of my line sets are shorter than the ‘max’ length, others are longer, but in total I’m less than the total length listed in the instructions. Thanks.
So main question: if I discharge my system, and refill with proper amount of refrigerant do I need to add oil or does the oil remain in there when I vacuum and recover? Nobody has a clear answer
Continue to teach us and the functioning of the mini split unit? Wat is specific length on a mini split unit,,,on wen u supposed to add refrigerant????
Love your videos. I have a freezer that after running for 45 minutes the compressor overheats, then after a few minutes it will cool off and come back on, but will overheat again shortly after. Does this indicate a lack of refrigerant?
Are there any brands of mini splits that will allow you to set the eev wide open and the fans full on? basically a unit that is made to be able to test it?
Hey I know this was old but I see a lot of people having trouble with there inverter mini splits showing a pc04 error code ,I was having trouble with my Apoodr given a pc04 code and going into a brief defrost randomly and i cured mine by taking it off the twin breaker and I can put it in the twin and it will throw the code and take it off and it stops so I was hoping I could see if you would make a video explaining and exploring this because I see alot of people haveing thes problems and it would help them if they had this information, thanks for your videos and hope to see one about this problem and cure
Excellent video (like all of your stuff) thank you. At the end you mention recovering the system and weighing in the correct factory charge after pressure testing, fixing leaks, vacuuming … etc. To do this properly, would both the suction and liquid line valves need to remain in their open position to make sure the outdoor unit is included as well?
Depends on if your leak is on the outside unit before the valves or somewhere after the outside unit. In my experience, you should pull the whole system out though no matter what. Less room for errors. May sound contradicting but if the leak is on inside unit then yes you can close your service valves and weigh out what you take out and always put brand new refrigerant back in never reuse refrigerant. For an experiment at our shop we take the valve off recovery tanks every so often to inspect the inside and you'd be suprised how unclean almost every one has been inside,we've done at least 30 I'd guess and maybe 3 or 4 were actually clean looking, there's usually sediment we find in them and unless you are using a refrigerant where you can just charge vapor, which I wouldn't do either,but you can if you have the time, you're going to put that sediment into your system and then you have a nightmare on your hands. Just a heads up
Refrigerant pressure compaired to ambient outside temperatures would give an indication of charge level. The system must be off to allow high and low side lines to equalize and raise to ambient air temps. The resulting psi compaired to temprature chart should give some information on state of charge.
I remember something about ambient temp being relevant. I’m trying to find out how to tell if my system is over or under charged. I have a Della 3-zone system. I need to shorten some line and add some others. And if I pull all the refrigerant down, how do I weigh it back? Just weigh the a vacuum with the refrigerant and then slowly release it in until the scale Reads the difference? I need a video showing/confirming adding or removing refrigerant.
G'Day, I worked with automotive and commercial transport AC systems here in Australia for over twenty years before retiring. I recently successfully installed an MHI mini split inverter system on my own dwelling. I was a bit perplexed by the fact that there was no high side service port. Your video answer my initial question and a few more! Many thanks. PS: How do I obtain your publication?
Hello. My English is not perfect. I hope I understand the main statement of this video: Mini split with capillary as throttling method: recharging can be done with superheat measuring Mini split with EEV as throttling method: recharging can't be done with superheat measuring. In this case you have to recover all the refrigerant and then you have to fill in the correct amount of refrigerant. Is this right?
Hey, i've a Panasonic Mini split inverter (only for cooling no heating) it has a constant speed outdoor fan & a capillary metering device & it has a special mode in which the compressor gets locked on its maximum rpm, also in that mode, the indoor blower runs at its maximum rpm. Now, can i measure the target superheat? Using the DBT & WBT and compare it against actual superheat to find the minisplit's proper charge?
So basically in the winter your air conditioning the outside and the heat from that is blown inside the home. I have always understood that AC was very inefficient.
Sir. Please do a video with this scenario Changed indoor coil. Reclaimed all remaining 410a. Into reclaim tank. Pulled vacuum. Then. Can you explain the correct procedure for adding the exact amount of 410a back. When it’s in a deep vacuum?.
If you don't know how, why would e want to attempt it ? These systems have a critical charge. Manufacturer 's instructions say not to put a gage on unless absolutely necessary. Also, ya must be certified to handle refrigerants.
@@bobgallo2178 maybe you need to mind your own business. Maybe I’m checking to see if the contractor who was hired did it correctly. Maybe I want to enhance my education in hvac industry. ETC. Best thing you could is keep your comments to your self until you know the facts
@@johnb5434 If you already are in the industry you already should know the answer to that. For that matter, if that contractor did the indoor coil he would have moved most the charge to the outdoor unit, not recovered it all out since that's a waste of time.
Delta T is just a merely complementary measurement, it is not a method for chech refrigerant charge. Its explained in other video of Craig, and in other literatures. Saludos a todos desde Mérida Yucatán México .
Mini-splits would put us out of business. I would need to hire a computer scientist/plumber/electrician/carpenter/welder/refrigeration tech/salesman...... Good luck finding one of them.
The correct of changing a minisplit is to charge it correct from start, take all refreigersnt and way in appropiatley . Check your sat temps. Head pressure. And your diff split. You leave that split alone. If you don't have low loss fittings do not touch that unit . They are way more finnicky
I wonder if it might be possible to use an IR camera to view accumulator tank to evaluate how much liquid is in accumulator to evaluate charge of mini-split?
If you had an accumulator that was let's say half-full, couldn't you add a shot or two and then feel your vapor line for getting colder? Then look at your accumulator level again??
Mini Split Book on Our Website- www.acservicetech.com/mini-split-book
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Mini Split E-Book on Google- play.google.com/store/books/details?id=HN-iEAAAQBAJ
Mini Split E-Book on Apple- books.apple.com/us/book/id6445178399
Thanks, I have seen all of them. I'm anal on researching things I don't know. It's a curse! Your channel, HVACschool, and HVACRvideos have taught me more that I thought I knew.
@ AC Service Tech LLCAm am not agre with that coment ,you are wrong,you can see how much is freon in unit..you need to turn it on on max ,and low temp ,then read the presure on manometer, and you need to put termostat on indor unit and look how much will go down ...from 9 to 14 C is ok ...but you need to control and outdoor unit is it falling or rising presure...exp... Out 4 bar and in 17 C ...not god ...exp...out 12 bar and in 17 C not god ...exp ..out 9 bar and in 13 C it is ok ....but this is only when you turn it off an let it 10 min ..and then turn it on
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I think a lot of this is over people's heads, but I appreciate your detail and technical knowledge. Well done!
Finally got it up and running. The only delays we had was because we realized we needed some extra parts (I’ll list that below) ruclips.net/user/postUgkxihMYiJNXcHdbH-7ihymsLz61l7jVyb5O . So we have a loft where our current hvac just couldn’t seem to keep cool during the summer. We have been using a window unit since we bought this house over 6 years ago (all the houses in this neighborhood were built in the 80’s and majority of the houses built like ours use a window unit). I hate window units because they are just so noisy and the one we had really only cools one side of the loft. I had contemplated upgrading our current HVAC, but with all the rising prices these days, it would take years before saving up enough to do that. With the advice of my father-in-law (used to run an HVAC business), he recommended we get an inverter instead. We thought we bought everything we needed, but there were just a few other parts we didn’t anticipate needing (which is what caused most of our delay). My friend and father-in-law did all the work to get it installed and running and now we have nice cool air circulating nicely throughout the entire loft. It is very quiet and even the outside unit is much quieter than our main HVAC unit. Saved ourselves thousands getting this.
Graig is best HVAC educator ever you my friend are a GOAT I have learned so much watching your videos -Thank you very much for all you do for your trade, a true gentlemen and scholar ..
So in other words you can check it but it could mean 100 different things. 😎 I'm back where I was before the video lol.
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Yup always just pull charge to be safe
it is just better for the technician to recover the existing refrigerant from the line, pull vacuum and charge the system with weight scale. these systems are comparatively very small than big ones we usually work with and the above listed procedures doesn't take long to complete.
this is the only method that will guarantee you best results in mini splits
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@@lordjaashin Thanks for clarifying it for us , now i need to do it my self, no technician here in my city can do that for me, they don't know how a mini split inverter compressor work ...
Great Video. It's nice how you put the temp and gauge together and explained superheat and subcooling. The explanation given was very understandable. Great teacher
This is my favorite ac service video. It's interesting how this unit uses temperature to regulate pressure. In automotive ac we a focused on pressure. What an eye opener
I work in Saudi Arabia, mini splits have been the standard here for well over 10 years. Here we can see ambient temps at a mild 135-140 degrees. When checking a charge it’s not uncommon to see units charged at 2-5 degrees of superheat. Anything higher than that during the summer time and the high pressure sensor will shut the compressor down. Winter time where the temps dip down to 40 degrees we normally are out recovering and charging back to the factory specifications. The units are wonderful but they are very finicky
I had to do a fact check, and here are the results... Saudi Arabia had its hottest temperature ever on June 22, 2010, with a reading of 52.0°C (125.6°F) in Jeddah, the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia ... The record heat was accompanied by a sandstorm, which caused eight power plants to go offline, resulting in blackouts to several Saudi cities. So 125.6 F max T... But give it another 5-10 years of oil consumption, and it will be likely...
@@thetruthserum2816 that may be but the ambient temps up on a roof where the outside unit is located many times, it could see those temps, ambient just means the temp around your outside unit
@@HVACRTECH-83 ahh, so another reason to place the outdoor unit in the shade... That makes sense... The same reason I think that blacktop asphalt (solar heat collector) could be contributing to global warming... the opposite of polar ice reflecting. Did you know that the soot from forest fires is darkening the global ice, thus causing the ice to melt faster than pristine white ice? I see that as an "avalanche effect", where we are creating a runaway train of global warming... The hotter it gets, the more fires, the more fires means more soot, more soot means darker ice, darker ice means faster melting... It seems that we have broken the water cycle and the ice pack... The only solution I can see is "unlimited free energy" from Fusion (to be invented), then take that energy and start pumping CO2 out of the air and oceans... (probably too late). Desalination will be needed as well..
Wow here in NY most units are located on or close to walls so the temperature around them does get really high. So I could imagine if your getting 125F temperatures those poor units must see some serious temps. Sucks when your working on one and there's another one running right next to you and all you want to do is pull it's disconnect before you suffocate. Damn.. Kudos to you working out there man stay safe and cool.
Mini split is not designed for your summer ambient temperatures.
I take care of over 300 minisplits here in Florida. this numbers work for me:
Indoor blowing between 55 to 60
Outdoor compressor FLA as close to what the name plate says.
Superheat between 1 and 5.
clean filters, clean coils.
low pressure is different between minisplits.
The manufacturer can give you the numbers expected based on model, tonnage, indoor and outdoor unit combo, etc
don't over think it.
Yes, a less wordy down-and-dirty procedure is what I need, not a full course in HVAC. I just want to see if my r419a is low from a leak, since my mini isn't heating or cooling like it has in the past.
@@rcmjones this in no way was anywhere near a full hvac course. Craig covered the correct information needed by a tech in the field and I agree with most of what he said from my experience. And you have 410a not 419a and hope you called a professional
@@HVACRTECH-83 Yes, 419 was a typo, I have 410. It was a very small leak at a compression fitting. I found it with soapy water, tightened it, added about 2 lb gas, and no more problems. Checked temps with digital thermistor thermometer and all is right.
@@rcmjones How is your mini split running now since it has been a year since your last comment?
@@adobemastr All 3 units are still working flawlessly. I do keep the coils and filters cleaned in a regular biyearly schedule, as well as spraying peroxide in-between servicing. I made a cleaning rig with a 5 gallon bucket with 12v pump, a small hose and nozzle. I bought a large plastic tray to place under the unit to catch the cleaning solution. I only remove the shroud to clean the coil and fan
So what I gather from this video is that writing down all this information for future troubleshooting is golden. I'm struggling with a Mini Split right now. After pressure testing the line sets to 400 psi, and then leaving them pressured to 200 psi for 3 days, checking for leaks every day, one flare started to leak after 3 weeks of running. Seriously disappointing. Now I have to have a guy come in, vacuum all of the refrigerant out and re-fill it. Very expensive. I will check out all of your other articles.
use a product called nylock on your flared fitting it is for the two mating surfaces of a flared air condition to seal it it will not contaminate the refrigerator rectoseal also makes gaskets for flared fittings for mini splits and you cannot use any flaring tool the angle is different than on a air condition flaring tool
@@troyb9609 Nylock isn't recommended by manufacturers. Fujitsu is actually voiding any warranties if Nylock was used on the flare nuts.
@@MrblobbsterThey can try, but that will not hold up in court. Nylong blue is essential.
@@buttercatz99 it really isn’t used anymore, in NZ and AUS anyway.
Great video! Thx. I especially like seeing the cut open EEV and the accumulator. The accumulator is a bit of a different design with the input at the top and then 2 internal tubes running to the compressor.
Thank you for all your teaching videos. They are making huge difference around the world.
Thanks ! Good job ! That cut away of the accumulater is cool along with the metering devices . I'm a fan . Thanks again & again good work !
Thanks 👍
I would like to see a video on leak repair service on a multizone mini-split. In particular the refrigerant recovery replacement assuming an unknown loss of refrigerant due to the leak.
I will assume the leak has been found and fixed with usual procedures. Probably a re-flare.
Some questions based on need to charge by weight are:
1: Best way to recover without oil loss? As a vapor?
2. Entire system evacuated since all refrigerant has to be recovered even if repair was to an isolated line.
3: Should recovered refrigerant be reused? If a leak, recovery tank has less than full charge so it may mean careful weight measure and weighing in remaining as virgin.
4. System test of all zones?
5.What else?
6. Perhaps bringing the remaining system up with removed leaking evap. head. as temporary measure while new on order.
Great channel, book, and cards. Thank you!! Helped me get 608 universal and refresh on modern methods and tools.
I have to do a leak search on a mini split with three evaporator heads in a few days. I'm gonna recover all the refrigerant and pressure test with nitrogen to find the leak. Then pull a vacuum on the whole system. Then guesstimate the lineset length for charging.
Perfect video! I knew I was not educated enough with these and your comments highlighted what I need to study next. Thanks for pointing me in right direction
Thanks for the great information on mini split pressures. I just bought one and now I will be able to pressure test and charge the system. I love all your videos and am an avid fan of all of them.
You'll Split unit explanation is the best what is over here.
Hi! Acabo de ver que estás subtitulando tus videos al español y t agradezco por ese motivo. Ahora puedo entender al 100% tus videos. Mi inglés es muy básico pero ahora no hay excusas para seguir aprendiendo. Thank you so much!
Creo los subtítulos los genera automáticamente el RUclips, ¿no? Un saludo amigo, desde Mérida Yucatán México.
I really appreciate you putting this video out. Many clients are going this way of the mini split systems. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
@@acservicetechchannelwhat is measuring a negative super heat
Very good teaching of mini-split systems, one of the best I have seen, thank you.
No, no it's not.
@@buttercatz99 If you think you know of someone better, I'd like to know who it is. Everything I heard him say was accurate, so I want to know why you are saying "No". Please explain.
I thought I'd watch this and know how to handle it myself... WRONG!!
Time to call in a pro. 😞
Great video though. This fella really knows his craft.
Thanks for the video. I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed in the OEM failure to fully exploit the capabilities of the onboard monitoring/control system. The hardware is capable of supporting additional sensors on a bus which could essentially diagnose everything that can go wrong on the unit. It could easily be enhanced to support monitoring/alerting for accumulator levels (in a deterministic state), line temps/pressures, etc.
These units should be able to tell the service tech exactly what needs to be done to restore to factory spec.
Failed opportunity on the part of OEMs
As an embedded systems/real time process automation engineer, I"m half tempted to buy an additional unit and prototype a retrofit kit. Imagine being a service tech, you arrive on site, and you wirelessly connect to obtain a diagnostic report for the unit. It tells you everything you need to know in seconds. For that matter, the customer could simply email the report to the service company.
Unfortunately many technicians do not RTFM.
Many technicians do not fly out to the factory training for service
Most technicians only attend the installation classes the bare minimum and get there a little certification piece of paper that they can install
But the manufactures of better equipment have what is called a test mode that is either activated by dip switches on the control board that somebody will have to read on a piece of paper and we know reading is very difficult.
Or they have purchased the software interface between their laptop downloaded the manufacture software that is usually free and available and when attending a software specific class to get all the little tips tricks and secrets instead of learning by making mistakes.
You set the unit into test mode and the software takes over and compensates for the ambient conditions and locks in the blower speed motor and condenser fan motor and the motor speed motor do you put it in the test mode needed to determine the refrigerant charge. And the installation manual is not a service manual or procedures.
The HVAC distributor warehouses are only interested in how fast and how many contractors and installers they can train to the bare-bones minimum just to sell units quickly make big fast dollars to get the units out the door.
And then there’s a lot of whining and crying and complaining that the units are difficult and things get broken by the technicians caused by the installer or the person servicing them because they did not. RTFM
And the installation manual is not the manual they need to read.
Good OEMs did not fail to exploit the capabilities of the onboard monitoring controls.
Owners of companies failure to look farther and spend money on sending and flying technicians out to the main headquarters for more detailed training is where the failure comes in.
This is not my grandfather’s HVAC anymore
It’s time for us technicians and owners to step up the plate step up the game and educate ourselves to the new level it’s here now so there’s no more excuses.
I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars in hotels air flight training classes software interface learning VFR installations for Panasonic for FUJITSU and for LG .
And I’m still learning and I’m still making mistakes. My son has become better than me. Thank God.
I hope this was helpful and eye-opening. Every morning when we wake up and look in the mirror in the bathroom if we’re having a hard time or problems or problems staring us in the face.
@@coldfinger459sub0 Sincerely appreciate the candor.
Mitsubishi has a service tool you plug into the condenser board and see what the sensors are doing and many other things.
@@shifter8207 all the big manufacturers have the same thing
Just like Ford or General Motors or Chrysler or Toyota or Honda you have your factory scan tool that hooks up to a computer so you can have a laptop in the screen
That would require more input, esp indoor wet bulb temp sensor and knowing what the air flow truly was due to dirty filters or dirty blower wheel.
As it is however, Midea units can give you a readout of what is going on via their app or at least what it has as a fault.
That was great i so appreciate your wonderful knowledge on Mini splits take care
So my question is why do you even need a precise charge with the mini split? The accumulator obviously accounts for a slight overcharge because it is designed to run on a various amount of line set. So it seems like you can just keep adding refrigerant until you get a good pressure...
thanks, Craig!!!! awesome presentation as always.
One of the easiest ways to work out a low charge on these inverter units is the low lapour line pressure i agree, another way is to check temperature from indoor supply air in cooling mode and compare to room temp.. basically for r410 and r32 if we dont see atleast 10-15°C (50-60°F) temp drop on the evaporator after atleast 15min operation, then i would start digging further for leaks.
I believe your statement of "...if we dont see atleast 10-15°C (50-60°F) temp drop on the evaporator..." is much too high. The widely accepted temperature differential for mini splits and most air conditioning systems is 15-20°F (8-12°C). ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers): ASHRAE guidelines often reference a delta T of 15-20°F for properly functioning air conditioning systems. Please check these statistics and tell me what you think.
very usefull, thanks a lot , just one clarification ..one above case for refrigerant charging we can only get hint from subcoolings if ts shows low saturated temp then its means refrigerant is less.
Great video and excellent explanation of how to install a mini split system. Thank you, for sharing.
I’ve seen that the service manual usually tells you what pressure to expect based on indoor / outdoor temps so you can at least verify it’s not low.
The impression I got after replaying sections over and over again was that you cannot do what his title says. "Checking the Refrigerant Charge on a Running R-410A Inverter MINI SPLIT Unit", and that you need a wordy show-off HVAC guy standing condescendingly over you slapping your stupid hands with regularity because: "Experience and Apprenticeship garners(sp) Wisdom and Safety."
@@enginesllc9877 huh?
What about testing inverter boards in general . Thanks you o great work.
Montreal says Hello
They make a device that has some led’s that move in a clockwise direction to check inverter
Very helpful and in-depth information, thank you, you guys are outstanding!!!
Glad it was helpful!
I would appreciate more of a takeaway conclusion headlining this video. The TL:DR version is that on a mini split you can't actually just easily take pressure and temp measurements and determine the refrigerant charge state, and so they are just very very hard for even a trained tech to diagnose. The most practical advice is at the end about 11:00 mark, where you list a couple of conditions where refrigerant is likely low. It's pretty disappointing to me that these units don't give more feedback in general about what the unit is doing, and more feedback in particular when something is amiss. Even in normal op, mine just beeps once or twice, and the remote only lists what your last setting request was. The lack of a diagnostic data out, leads I think to the technicians just throwing up their hands and replacing the whole unit. This happened to my parents on a unit that just wouldn't cool even after many visits by the tech. They had no clue what was going on. They ended up just having to replace the whole thing at $4 grand. It seems you roll the dice with these things and about all you can do in event of a malfunction is check for leaks on the lines and maybe add a bit of refr. in a blind hope that will fix it. If not . . . replace. You bank on the fact that most of them seem to run for 10 or 15 years I guess and cross your fingers.
literally ran into this today. wish i watched this vid first tho. ended up just condemning the unit because what my company charges for me to to chase a leak would be a disservice to the customer
yes its very frusterating when things go wrong because you have no idea what the unit is doing, unlike a regular split system where its either on or off. when they are working they are awesome though.
Thank you once again for an amazing instructional video and procedures for checking charge on mini split
Step 1. Understand that the only way to get the correct amount of freon is to start with en empty system as correct super heat numbers cannot be correctly optained.
Step 2: hookup recovery machine and recovery tank and remove remaining freon from the minisplit.
Step3: with minisplit completely vacuumed out, break the vaccum with exact weight clearly written on the minisplit cover.
R410a container must be placed upside-down as to draw liquid, on a scale, zeroed out before proceeding.
If the minisplit calls for 91oz, then add Exactly the amount it calls for to a fully vacced out system.
Have to charge on mini split in AC mode unless you know how to unplug stuff inside on the control board.if its wintertime just make sure the head is in a warm room with small space heater in front of it.
Thanks for the information 👍 , I look forward to watching more videos like this , Very informative 💯👍😎
Glad you enjoyed it
@@acservicetechchannel I'm a HVAC Tech of 10 after College and feel you should constantly be further educating yourself every chance you can and double your knowledge every 3/5 years💯👍
Wow, I mean it's really good content, but if you're a beginner watching this video, it will blow your mind because he's spitting out technician jargon at 10x speed. It's like, dude I get it you know your stuff, but I don't. haha!
This is exactly what I wanted to confirm. Thank you!
Can also check the delta T at the indoor unit while on the highest fan setting. Should get 20-25 temp split from return to supply.
So you spent 12 minutes and 27 seconds to say that there is no answer to the question in your title! Priceless!!
There is an answer!
“You can’t”
The 12 minutes and 27 seconds are teaching you why you cant. Avoiding the pitfalls of "topping off" a system is worth the time spent on this video.
the only time beer can cold is acceptable :D
Very good video man!!!👏
Very articulate but please slow down for us southerners. Good job
Do U have a vid on doing a complete recovery ,pressure test and vacuum of the complete system. Thanks for Ur videos
Sounds like just pure magic!
I normally use Supply Air Temp, Amp Draw, Suction Pressure, and SuperHeat.....Mixed with some experience. But pull charge and weigh it is best way.
Thanks for sharing this Craig. I don’t mini split a bit complicated
Wow, that was a serious schooling lessons!
Excellent, thank you!
Great video! I’m guessing you’re checking this in cooling mode.. how would the numbers look in heating mode?
As usual excellent video!
So what should be the limit for inverter units i.e I mean what degree of subcooling (condenser side) and degree of superheat ( evaporator side), one should follow? Is there any rule of thumb?
Thanks.
I think something else that needs to be noted is that Freon is not something to play with, you can be seriously injured with it, this really isn't for the amateur.
Thanks for the precise details. Would you say tolerances are quite wide. If you lost a cup full of gas it continues to work? Say for instance if you opened a valve a quarter turn for half a second and let gas escape would it still likely work? Obviously when disconnecting gauges a bit is lost so I'm wondering if you can put a number on it and say how tolerant the system is with losses in different examples like letting out certain amount of gas on purpose.
I don’t have very much experience with mini splits or inverters, but I’m 608 certified and worked HVAC for a little while as a service tech. I installed a mini split in my garage. It worked well enough, but being OCD, I wanted to check the pressure. Unfortunately I had a bad hose, and lost some refrigerant, not a lot, but enough that its performance is not so good. There’s no visible drip from the drain line like there was before the leak. I’m just gonna go ahead and add some 410 a little at a time, until the drain line produces a drip again. From what I understand, the test port pressure should be 110 to 160 psi. I noticed your pressure was in the 150 range for all of the demonstration. Worst case scenario, I can purchase a recovery machine and a scale close to what I’ll be charged by HVAC company.
I also dont have very much experience, but I came to the same conclusion, Have to buy a recovery machine to check the charge? Theres must be another way.
@@nicolasvillagra9186 I charged my system to 125 with the AC on high on a hot day. It’s cooling again, but could use a little more refrigerant. I will likely do that, just adding another five psi from what it reads now until it’s performing as it should. My deltas are a little low, but way better than they were before adding some charge. I’m sure it will be fine provided I only add a little bit, then observe it over several days of operation, then add a little more as needed until it’s performing adequately. I’d be careful overdoing it.
Hello.
Good morning
How can I follow the correct sequence of lessons and video sequences
Thank you for this amazing video.
I would have 2 questions:
- Does the saturated temperature vary depending on the ambient outdoor temperature when the unit is running on lowest temperature setting in turbo mode?
- Inverter mini splits show on the outdoor unit plate a value of Amps in cooling mode.
Example: For a 12000BTU unit = 4,5A
If the 4,5A are not reached in turbo mode on lowest temperature should refrigerant be added?
Thank you very much
Really appreciate your help
SR
very helpful information on mini split thx
Very good video. So, in some ways, it's a bit like automotive AC. Evacuate and weigh-in the charge. Still not sure why they don't provide a liquid line test port?
How accurate do you need to be when weighing in a charge on a mini split? What if you can't get an exact measurement of the lineset?
Gree Vireo mini split units have liquid and suction service port connection at the service valves.
Can you do a check/recharge video on a MrCool Universal heatpump inverter? The plate doesn't have any subcool or superheat on it just a designed max and min pressure. Thanks.
BTW - mine has gone into low refrigerant E3 mode and techs are stumped on how to charge
Panasonic inverters Outdoor unit has a PCB. use the test run button to lock in values then charge refrigerant.
Excellent explanation
Nice clip. Very interesting. Thank you. I watched it because I am trying to understand better the functioning of an inverter. In a nutshell, if one out of two mini split wall unit is turned off can I assume that the energy consumption of the compression is cut by half, roughly? If not, what would be the ratio. I have 2x12k minis hooked to a 24k compressor.
I top them off. Get it running at 100 percent (usually two 1500 watt heaters on the inside unit). I shoot for a saturation heat of 40.
Recently had a mini split installed. Technician did not evac the copper lines before turning it on. Its cooling pretty well, but I think should be a few degrees cooler. I wonder if the evap unit is also precharged with refrigerant, or is it empty? Not evacuating the lines let a lot of air and water into the system. It was 85F and 80% humidity the day they installed.
That isnt a "technician" thats a hack. Absolutely nobody who knows anything would disregard vacuuming a system. Theres no way hes licensed and insured.
@@ps2cho I'm in Thailand, so its safe to assume there was no license or training involved. I eventually did get a warranty service on the system from the manufacturer, and its working correctly now.
Great job
So may question is this at what condition should I charge the unit with high load or when the thermostat is almost satisfied. I am a hvac tech just looking for some real answers. I am one of your subscribers.
Would forced cooling mode like the MHIs have for pumpdown help to check ?
Supposed to be the accumulator must have and eye sight glass in order to see the level of refregerant or any level electronucs just to protect the compressor.
Have se en it on industrial equipments (Liebert Emerson Vertiv airs). Saludos desde Mérida Yucatán México
Thanks for all the videos and the book. I’m still unsure about the correct refridgerant charge on my mini split. The outdoor unit lists the charge weight and the instructions say that’s for certain lengths of line sets (my outdoor unit can run 5 indoor units). If my total line set length does not exceed the total length in the manual am I ok with just the charge weight listed on the outdoor unit? Some of my line sets are shorter than the ‘max’ length, others are longer, but in total I’m less than the total length listed in the instructions. Thanks.
So main question: if I discharge my system, and refill with proper amount of refrigerant do I need to add oil or does the oil remain in there when I vacuum and recover? Nobody has a clear answer
Continue to teach us and the functioning of the mini split unit? Wat is specific length on a mini split unit,,,on wen u supposed to add refrigerant????
Love your videos. I have a freezer that after running for 45 minutes the compressor overheats, then after a few minutes it will cool off and come back on, but will overheat again shortly after. Does this indicate a lack of refrigerant?
Dirty condenser likely but could be other scenarios but check that first
Excellent video sir, thanks for sharing.
Are there any brands of mini splits that will allow you to set the eev wide open and the fans full on? basically a unit that is made to be able to test it?
Best video you have done, very well explained thank you!
Hey I know this was old but I see a lot of people having trouble with there inverter mini splits showing a pc04 error code ,I was having trouble with my Apoodr given a pc04 code and going into a brief defrost randomly and i cured mine by taking it off the twin breaker and I can put it in the twin and it will throw the code and take it off and it stops so I was hoping I could see if you would make a video explaining and exploring this because I see alot of people haveing thes problems and it would help them if they had this information, thanks for your videos and hope to see one about this problem and cure
Cool vid, thanks for all the content you provide
Excellent video (like all of your stuff) thank you. At the end you mention recovering the system and weighing in the correct factory charge after pressure testing, fixing leaks, vacuuming … etc. To do this properly, would both the suction and liquid line valves need to remain in their open position to make sure the outdoor unit is included as well?
Depends on if your leak is on the outside unit before the valves or somewhere after the outside unit. In my experience, you should pull the whole system out though no matter what. Less room for errors. May sound contradicting but if the leak is on inside unit then yes you can close your service valves and weigh out what you take out and always put brand new refrigerant back in never reuse refrigerant. For an experiment at our shop we take the valve off recovery tanks every so often to inspect the inside and you'd be suprised how unclean almost every one has been inside,we've done at least 30 I'd guess and maybe 3 or 4 were actually clean looking, there's usually sediment we find in them and unless you are using a refrigerant where you can just charge vapor, which I wouldn't do either,but you can if you have the time, you're going to put that sediment into your system and then you have a nightmare on your hands. Just a heads up
0
Refrigerant pressure compaired to ambient outside temperatures would give an indication of charge level. The system must be off to allow high and low side lines to equalize and raise to ambient air temps. The resulting psi compaired to temprature chart should give some information on state of charge.
I remember something about ambient temp being relevant.
I’m trying to find out how to tell if my system is over or under charged. I have a Della 3-zone system. I need to shorten some line and add some others. And if I pull all the refrigerant down, how do I weigh it back? Just weigh the a vacuum with the refrigerant and then slowly release it in until the scale Reads the difference?
I need a video showing/confirming adding or removing refrigerant.
Mitsubishi/fujitshu.. you cannot do super heat or subcooling accurately on ANY minisplit system ...
Another great Video, Thank you
G'Day,
I worked with automotive and commercial transport AC systems here in Australia for over twenty years before retiring. I recently successfully installed an MHI mini split inverter system on my own dwelling. I was a bit perplexed by the fact that there was no high side service port. Your video answer my initial question and a few more!
Many thanks.
PS: How do I obtain your publication?
Found and ordered the E-Book in your store. Thanks again, Rob FNQ,Au
Thanks and sounds great! We will also be coming out with a mini split book soon Jan 1st so make sure to check that out too, thanks!
Hey just found your channel and I happen to notice it says Cape May County . Is that Cape may new Jersey?
Yes thats right! I used to be the HVACR teacher at cape may tech
Hello. My English is not perfect. I hope I understand the main statement of this video:
Mini split with capillary as throttling method: recharging can be done with superheat measuring
Mini split with EEV as throttling method: recharging can't be done with superheat measuring. In this case you have to recover all the refrigerant and then you have to fill in the correct amount of refrigerant.
Is this right?
Hey, i've a Panasonic Mini split inverter (only for cooling no heating) it has a constant speed outdoor fan & a capillary metering device & it has a special mode in which the compressor gets locked on its maximum rpm, also in that mode, the indoor blower runs at its maximum rpm. Now, can i measure the target superheat? Using the DBT & WBT and compare it against actual superheat to find the minisplit's proper charge?
So basically in the winter your air conditioning the outside and the heat from that is blown inside the home. I have always understood that AC was very inefficient.
Hi.hi are you doing.
Thank you for your videos.
Do you have a video about condensation?
Sir. Please do a video with this scenario
Changed indoor coil. Reclaimed all remaining 410a. Into reclaim tank. Pulled vacuum. Then. Can you explain the correct procedure for adding the exact amount of 410a back. When it’s in a deep vacuum?.
If you don't know how, why would e want to attempt it ? These systems have a critical charge. Manufacturer 's instructions say not to put a gage on unless absolutely necessary. Also, ya must be certified to handle refrigerants.
@@bobgallo2178 maybe you need to mind your own business. Maybe I’m checking to see if the contractor who was hired did it correctly. Maybe I want to enhance my education in hvac industry. ETC. Best thing you could is keep your comments to your self until you know the facts
You need scale, total lineset length and total charge.
@@johnb5434 If you already are in the industry you already should know the answer to that. For that matter, if that contractor did the indoor coil he would have moved most the charge to the outdoor unit, not recovered it all out since that's a waste of time.
JMM is right , pump down, repair, pressure test, vacuum, release gas. Then test, TD should suffice. No need to add another drop of gas, most likely
L.G. tech training says to check charge by the delta T at the indoor unit (18-20 F) not by gauges
Delta T is just a merely complementary measurement, it is not a method for chech refrigerant charge. Its explained in other video of Craig, and in other literatures. Saludos a todos desde Mérida Yucatán México .
Mini-splits would put us out of business. I would need to hire a computer scientist/plumber/electrician/carpenter/welder/refrigeration tech/salesman...... Good luck finding one of them.
call tech support. they guide you thru the process. even the apps are incomplete.
Thank u for this helpful video God bless
The correct of changing a minisplit is to charge it correct from start, take all refreigersnt and way in appropiatley . Check your sat temps. Head pressure. And your diff split. You leave that split alone. If you don't have low loss fittings do not touch that unit . They are way more finnicky
In mini split is better way to recover the refrigerant then change in weight? Thanks.
I wonder if it might be possible to use an IR camera to view accumulator tank to evaluate how much liquid is in accumulator to evaluate charge of mini-split?
You could see how much liquid is in it yes, but that won't tell you if properly charged still but good question
If you had an accumulator that was let's say half-full, couldn't you add a shot or two and then feel your vapor line for getting colder? Then look at your accumulator level again??
I’ve never understood why the U.S doesn’t make it Celsius at least with HVAC..
So much easier to say below zero is freezing and above is not..
If the line set is increased by 10 feet how much of an increase of refrigerant should be added charging a unit after evacuating it?
f i drain a system from a leaky flare fitting Do I need to add oil when recharging? Thank you for your video. Very educating
Good question and no answer yet.
So you can't check the refrigerant charge accurately?
Great educational video!!!
What about checking the operating pressure in turbo mode with the compressor at full capacity?