How to install your own DIY Mini Split HVAC in your home, garage or workshop.
Sponsored by Mr. Cool. Get your own system today –
🎥 What to Watch Next:
Building a Sturdy Shed Foundation –
Framing a Sturdy Shed –
➤Plans from this video:
Modular Garage Cabinets bundle (Save 30%) –
Sturdy 2×4 Workbench –
➤Join the Builders Club!!!
More content, early access, FREE plans, video credits
➤Tools/Supplies Used (affiliate):
Mr. Cool 4th Gen DIY Mini Split 18k btu –
Kreg Stud Finder with laser –
ISOtunes Bluetooth Hearing Protection – (10% off code: FTBT)
Crescent wrench –
½ Barb to ¾” PVC –
➤Support the FTBT Channel:
Buy FTBT Woodworking Plans:
Buy FTBT Merch:
Links to My Tools & Gear:
Subscribe:
➤Thank you to these partners for supporting my channel. Go check them out!
Kreg Tool:
ISOtunes: (10% off code: FTBT)
TimberlandPRO:
➤FOLLOW ME on Social Media:
Instagram –
Facebook –
Twitter –
Pinterest –
Music Licensed through Epidemic Sound – Get a FREE month:
I saved over $2,000 installing my own Mini split and I didn't even have to use These Gauges when I decided to do a DIY Install I put up a poll and asked you Guys what was your biggest concern about Doing your own DIY install and the Number one concern by far was dealing With the refrigerant pressures and Hookups and that's why I reached out to Mr Cool the sponsor of today's video and They sent over their fourth generation Do-it-yourself heat pump now I've seen a Lot of videos online on these and their Big selling point is that you don't have To mess with any of that refrigerant and Pumping it down and calling a Professional because the lines are Pre-charged so I want to check it out And see how easy it actually is and Bring you guys along for the ride so Let's get this thing unpacked it showed Up on the pallet and it's got everything That we'll need for the install Including the outdoor pump the indoor Unit and a line set cover and I got some Free palletwood too bad it's not 2016 one thing I do love is they have a Little QR code to an installation video Which is always nice to get a quick Walkr instead of having to read the Instructions and they say to start with The air handler first so let's see what This thing's all
About here's a look at the back of the Air handler and this is the mounting Bracket that we will attach onto the Wall after we get the layout then we've Got our remote control and this is what I'm really excited about the smart USB AC controller so I can hook this into my Smart home and have it on the app and be Able to control it I definitely could Not do that with my last one now before I can get this on the wall I need to Take care of why we're here in the first Place 6 years ago I paid to have this Mini split installed in my garage it was One of the best upgrades I could have Made cuz now I could work out in the Shop all year round and unfortunately a Few weeks ago this guy stopped working And after paying a company 350 bucks for A refrigerant refill this is what Happened so I was faced with a $2,500 Repair bill on a 6-year-old unit or Paying well over $5,000 to get a new one Installed wow that is absolutely Disgusting now since my refrigerant had All leaked out there was no pressure PR In the system so I didn't have to worry About it if it was pressurized you'd Obviously need to have that pumped down And make sure that you didn't spew all The refrigerant Everywhere so now I'm in a spot where I Can start the install and I do have a Few things going for me already I
Already have a pad here that my other Outdoor unit was on you can also Mount Those up against the wall actually they Sell some brackets that you can do that For I have the whip disconnect for the Electrical that is going to a 15 amp cut Off if you're not comfortable with the El work goad and call an electrician to Get that installed for you and the last Thing I have is this hole that goes from The exterior to the interior and a few Things to note about that one don't be Worried about it even I have a brick Foundation all they did was just grab a Cold chisel and they just slammed that Brick out they didn't use a fancy drill Or anything they literally just knocked It out and then stuck a whole bunch of Silicone in there to cover it up you Probably also notice that my pass Through is down low where most of the Times you'll see that up high and that Was intentional so instead of having That big cover in lines coming down the Side of my house I decided to do that Inside so you can think about that for Your install you don't always have to Have the unit on an exterior wall this One is on an interior wall and then I Just ran the pipes over and down and Then out the exterior wall over here so Here's the outdoor unit and this is an 18,000 BTU unit that is sized properly For my garage and this is the secret
Sauce right here which is the Quick Connect line set and this is pre-charged And this has 25 ft of length you can add More if you need to and it has couplers But you can see here on the cap these Are already has all the refrigerant and Everything inside this is Mr Cool's Patented system which is pretty cool and So this is what allows us to be able to Install this as a DIY and not need to Bring in a professional to do all those Pressures and regulations on the Refrigerant and one of the awesome Things about Mini Splits is their Efficiency this guy is rated at a 22.7 To a 23 seater now a typical forced air HVAC unit like most of us have in our Homes is going to be somewhere between 13 and 18 seers so these mini splits are Very efficient so that's another added Benefit is that they're going to cost a Lot less than running a standard hbac Unit now I'm going to start off the Inside install with getting the mounting Plate in place I do have this really Cool template here and it shows you Where all the holes are and so you can Just hold that up and then poke through A scratch all or an ice pick or whatever To Mark the locations where you need to Go and the guys who installed my last Mini split they just uh decided instead Of going into studs they would put in 7,022 drywall anchors and I'm not going
To do that I'm going to go straight into Studs and the nice thing is on the Template they show you exactly where the Stud locations are and I'm going to use My little Craig stud finder and just put Them right in there two screws going to Hold it up it's going to be perfect and After I get that level I'll just move Over to the other one and we should be Good now I am going to verify that there Are studs there by just pushing in the Ice pick yep good there we're good there The back plate is already mounted to the Unit so you can just undo this little Screw there are some little Clips in You're holding it in Place now these are the screws that come In the kit for the mounting plate but do Not use these if you're going into studs Those should only be used if you're Actually using the wall anchors that Come with it to go direct into studs I'm Going to be using these 2 and 1/2 in Construction grade screws with a pan Head on top and that way this thing Won't fall down on my head a week from Now and just like with the template I'm Going to put one threw in first and then Use the level and then put in the other One now I'm not saying that all HVAC Technicians or companies are bad the Problem I have is with those companies Who just are out there and they are Preying on people who don't know what
They're looking at cuz when I was in my Early 20s I had a AC unit that went out And I had a company come over he told me I had a bad capacitor and he also said Due to the age of the system I should Consider getting a hard start capacitor Now he said it would be be a $700 to Install both of those I didn't have that Money and so I didn't get it done and After he left I looked up that exact Model capacitor on Amazon I bought it For $35 and installed it in 10 minutes And my AC was back up and running and The feeling that I got after doing the Repair and knowing I did it myself and Saved a ton of money honestly that's why I do DIY that's why I even have this Channel and I hope that's the same Feeling that you guys get when you do Your own projects All right so we've got to do things a Little weird for this installation I've Got the hose out here and I actually Need to feed it through the wall uh this Whole setup is turning out to be quite a Pain in the butt you'll see what I mean In just a minute but uh Susan is on the Other side of that wall and I actually Have her here on the Bluetooth and I'm Going to feed these refrigerant lines in There and hopefully we can get them Right but the main thing is to try not To Kink these because that would be Really really bad so we's see how it
Goes all right you see it coming through No not yet it's like it's just getting Hung up yeah yeah yeah I got it hold up Oh okay can you see it oh yes all right Okay all right they're through Wo uh I think you need to come in and See it all Right stay there please all right so I Switched spots with Susan and I'm going To try to bend this around again the Biggest thing here is the make sure that You do not Kink the line set so that's What I'm going try to do is just kind of Shape it around and and try to get it Right above these cabinets here so I can Set up the indoor unit and then make the Hook up see what we can do I think we're Good all right for my install things are Getting a little weird and it would be Way easier if you were doing it into a Wall that has a direct access to outside So in the back here we have the Refrigerant lines and the drain hose and What you would typically do is you would Drill a hole down to the bottom right of The wall plate and then you would bend These out and put them through the wall Mount it up there and do all your Connections outside but because I'm on This interior wall and I'm going to be Coming out to the left of the unit I had To cut out the little knockout on the Side of the unit and that's going to Allow the refrigerant pipes as well as
The electric wires to come through and Then we will go out that wall there so If you are putting this on an interior Wall like me and you have to go out to The left I would highly recommend just To go ahead and go straight out at the Top of the wall and then run your line Set down the outside because that way You can make your connections on the Bench and then just run the wires Through the wall and connect them Outside if you want to see how this Normal install looks my buddy Scott over At everyday home repairs did this Recently and you can see how much easier It is just to run the piping straight Through the wall and then be able to Make those connections outside one thing I'm going to do to make it a little bit Easier to hook up the drain line is I'm Going to disconnect it from this left Side and move it over to the right and You can just use some pliers to do that Squeeze it off and then you can just Move the plug to plug up this side and That's going to make it a lot easier to Hook Up so I got the connections made up There and when I was making the Connections I used the two wrench method And I don't have a torque wrench Available so you're just supposed to Tighten it down just until it's nice and Snug and then just a a little bit past
That and so just in case you're Wondering 15/16 will fit that Gray Line The coupler on that to hold it tight and Then a 7/8 box wrench will fit the blue Opening and then I just used a crescent Wrench on the actual coupler that is Turning to tighten that up but there is A little bit of confusion about whether These lines are just vacuumed or if they Actually have refrigerant in them and They do actually have the refrigerant in Them and actually as I was tightening it Down I heard it release into the System Wo so what I want to do now is check for Any leaks so I've got some soapy water Right here and I'm going to put that on The connections and if there are any Bubbles happening then that means there Is something leaking and I need to Tighten it down a bit more there were no Leaks on the connection so I went ahead And dried them off and wrapped them in The sound deadening pads that they give Now if you're doing this through the Wall then you'll want to do that after You hook up the entire system and do the Test run because then you can check for Leaks one more time before you put them On but since they're going to be behind My unit I can't really do that so I had To do them now I do think this is going To be a tight fit cuz normally you have All those pipes going out the back but
Since they're all coming through I might Have to jostle it around but we'll get All this going through the pipes and we Should be good I don't Care oh Crap oh there we Go Before I button this up I do need to Attach the condensate drain line and Make sure that that water is Flowing out There for any of that condensation that Forms on the coils so Mr Cool does give You this flexible drain hose which would Be fine if I was going straight out of The back and then down but because I Have so many little twists and turns I'm Actually to be using hard pipe for my Drain line and to make that connection Between the drain hose and the pipe I'm Using two pieces one is this little Irrigation adapter it's actually a Barbed end on one end that I'll put into The drain hose and then it's threaded on The other end which will go into this Threaded coupler for the 3/4 in PVC I Made sure to tighten this down and I Actually put a little bit of sealant Around it just to make sure it won't Leak and now I can make that final Connection with the PVC cement and Everything should be buttoned Up I got the outdoor unit in place and Here's a little Pro tip if you leave it On the pad that it chips in you can
Actually scooch that across the grass Nice and easy worked really well also Worked great to push the old one out This is is a pad specifically for Mini Splits I put that there and I put the Little rubber feet underneath it so That's make sure it's nice and dampened And I'm going to secure it to the pad Here before the end of the install I'm Want to bend these pipes down to go Underneath and again just be real Careful because at this point the last Thing you want to do is thinkink a line And hopefully I don't I've got the Connections routed over to this side and It is a bit tricky to just kind of just Bend and get these to go where you want To without kinking them uh but the idea Is you want to make sure that there is As little pressure as possible uh when These are just sitting there without Being connected so it's not pulling on That joint and it'll cause stress over Time I'm going to use that same wrench Technique as before and get these Connected everything's hooked up and now We can let the refrigerant into the Condenser outside and that's through These two little valves right here so I'm going to take the heads off that and Then I'm just just going to turn them Counterclockwise all the way to open it Up and that will let the refrigerant go Into the entire system so it's the
Condenser all the way through into the Evaporator inside or air handler Probably calling it the wrong thing and Then all of our refrigerant lines will Be all charged Up and before I move on to the Electrical I am going to test these with Soapy water see if we have any Leaks looks good let's move on to Electric the electrical connections are Actually really straightforward and I Just removed this plate here we're gonna Have two different sets of wires coming In these are the wires coming from my AC Disconnect so this is going to a 240 Volt 15 amp breaker and that's going to Go in right here to the line one and Line two and then my ground here so that Is going to power up the unit and this Is the DIY Pro cable that's coming from The indoor air handler and we've got Four wires here we've got one ground and Then we've got a red white and black That are marked one two and three which Is really nice because there's one two And three right here on the connection Points and so all we have to do is just Match up the Numbers you can just take off the little Lock nut here that comes on the wires Then feed the wires through the hole in The mounting plate here and then this Nut just goes right back over the wires And locks everything in
Place no now making these connections is Pretty easy unless of course you unscrew The grounding screw and drop it into the Case thankfully I had a few more Inside now I just need to do a few peels We can check if this thing's Working I did the satisfying peel of all The little packaging and now I'm going To put in the smart USB controller and That's just this little guy right here And it just goes right under the front Cover now instead of just turning this On and going oo it feels cold I've got My thermal camera here and uh yeah That's you guys right there and I'm Going to point this up at the unit I'll Be recording all of this and we can see Exactly how cold and warm the Temperature is right so right now we can See that the unit and the wall are Pretty much the same exact temperature Because it's just been sitting in here And it's sitting right about 69° I'm going to go ahead and Power on Max cool and we'll see what Happens I'm going to crank it all the Way down as low as it'll go we're going To go mode cool all right let's see what Happens oh there we go look at the blue All right oh you can definitely tell Everything else is getting orange and Just in the grills there is nice and Deep purple oh that is Cool Mr Cool the cooling is definitely
Working let's check out the heat all Right I'm going to change the mode to Heat we're going to go why as little let Us go just is 86° all right here's some Things happening I think the Heat's Kicking On oh yeah there we go so 97 98° that is so cool to see this is Working and you can also control this Through the mobile app on your phone and The app for this is awesome you have all The controls of obviously the Temperature and the mode but you can Also do cool things like scheduling look At your esaver so setting up Geo fencing All kinds of other cool stuff history And even a timeline of all the commands That you've sent to the unit if you want To save a ton of money with your own DIY Install I've got a link Down Below in The description for Mr Cool a big thank You to them for sponsoring this video And also a thank you to the ftbt Builders Club until next time guys get Out there and build something awesome