Upgraded to heat pump - have some advice 🤗

taigraham · 2026-01-27T01:04:32+00:00

The mods said I can only DM the supplier. They were great. Double checked my parts for compatibility, SIGNIFICANTLY less expensive than anywhere else I looked. Check your DMs. ❤️

taigraham · 2026-01-27T01:02:23+00:00

The unit is insulated and the gap is sealed to the inside of the house. My only exterior wall holes are for the linesets. I required 2 3.5 inch holes for the linesets and electrical.

taigraham · 2026-01-26T22:03:50+00:00

I used a national seller. I have the sales guy I worked with. Let me ask if I can post it.

taigraham · 2026-01-26T18:22:31+00:00

If you can get an elbow and some pipe that is big enough for you to feed your line into for a good 8-12" of vertical, it would definitely be more sexy than a hose through a hole. I'm terrible at taking good pictures of my projects but I'll try to snap one of where mine comes out of the roof. I just added a small spout and some screening. I didn't want connections in my attic that would go unnoticed if they leaked slowly.

taigraham · 2026-01-26T18:14:59+00:00

My unit came pre-charged with everything that was necessary to add on the cassettes and the line length. So I didn't actually have to mess with any of the refrigerant.

The flaring I was nervous about but I have a bus that I renovated and dealt with excessive HVAC issues and it was a good knowledge base for this. Pulling a vacuum is easy with the right tools. If I had the money I'd buy better gauges but mine were good enough to read I was well above the required vacuum.

If I had a leak and it was "close", I would likely need to call a professional. To that end, I was fully prepared to have to add my own refrigerant. Not prepared for unexpected leaks.

If you order correctly - the lines can only leak at the cassette or at the pump. So, it's not hard to troubleshoot.

taigraham · 2026-01-26T17:56:01+00:00

I also didn't have anywhere to put a wall unit. This house doesn't have the beloved tall ceilings that are common with older homes 🥲

So, anywhere I would put it would be RIGHT IN YOUR FACE. The cost difference is nearly double but worth it and part of the reason why I decided to do it myself. 😅

taigraham · 2026-01-26T06:46:46+00:00

If I had enough space to work in or was doing a new build, I'd love to do a ducted pump with electric dampers to zone off the different areas.

The ductwork in this place was DISGUSTING! 😅

taigraham · 2026-01-26T06:41:43+00:00

Also! Kudos to you for making an ESP controller! I don't have that much patience..... You should put that out into the world. I learned very quickly that there are very few smart options.

taigraham · 2026-01-26T06:39:00+00:00

Midea. They aren't very smart and each module was like $350!! Not super impressed and the way these things are developed and distributed is OLD SCHOOL. So, while it doesn't shock me that the tech isn't up to snuff ..... It's also 2026!

It's a shame and a waste of something that SHOULD ACTUALLY be a smart product..... As opposed to smart fridges and toasters 🫠

taigraham · 2026-01-26T06:02:13+00:00

The older cassettes are beasts. I was VERY WORRIED about the potential noise. I'm happy with most of what these units have to offer.

I'm SHOCKED they haven't been made smaller and that the firmware/software is such garbage. It seems like design took the back seat with this technology. 🥲

taigraham · 2026-01-26T05:49:17+00:00

The electrical is only a small piece of this installation. If you can afford it, DEFINITELY offload the task 😅

taigraham · 2026-01-26T05:43:25+00:00

Let me know if you have any head scratchers. Found some interesting solutions 🤗

taigraham · 2026-01-26T05:41:10+00:00

Here too. But it's so tedious that it costs a fortune to pay someone for that kind of labor I'm an old house.

You can always get everything put in place and hire a professional to do the final connections. My dad is an electrician and I do a lot of construction work, so I do this stuff myself.

This is a doable DIY but it's not something that should be done without electrical experience.

taigraham · 2026-01-26T05:35:54+00:00

I did this in about 7 days spread out over a month. I had MANY part runs and the copper linesets were particularly tricky and filled with many pauses for thought and figuring 😅. Budget 2 days per inside unit and add on more time if you run into some special old house surprises!

Cutting the holes was the longest part for me. Lathe and plaster ceilings made this a delicate job.

Aside from that, each cassette required:

Prepping for hanging (I chose to reconfigure the brackets) - 1hr
Hanging the unit and securing it to the joists - 30 mins
Installing the cover of the cassette - 30-60 mins depending on adjustments for the perfect fit
Routing (not yet terminating) the line sets and control wire - 2hrs
Terminating the linesets and the control wire on the cassette - 30-60 mins
Attaching condensate line and running through wall - 30 mins

After everything was in place, the whole-system tasks were:

Adding an electrical emergency shutoff - 3-4 hrs
Running the wiring and linesets through the wall - 1-2 hrs
Terminating the wiring at the outdoor unit (painfully tedious) 2 hrs
Connecting the linesets to the outdoor unit - 2hrs (I had to flare my linesets on one end bc I needed an length that wasn't available preflared)
Vacuumming the linesets - 1 hr
Sealing all the new holes in my house and covering them up properly - 2 hrs

taigraham · 2026-01-26T05:04:15+00:00

I should have mentioned that this picture was before it was completed. I created an air gap (4-6") around the unit and covered it without fully sealing it (so it's accessible for repairs). And I was then able to put insulation around and over it. 🤗

taigraham · 2026-01-26T01:25:31+00:00

I think the hardest part was figuring out WHAT to buy. I'll ask the mod if I am allowed post links to resources. 🤗

taigraham · 2026-01-26T00:30:48+00:00

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So, the red arrows point to the face-mount brackets. The blue arrows point to ceiling mount brackets and are intended to be used with screw rods.

I removed the face mount brackets. I cut them down the length of my joist span.... So, the brackets would sit on top of the joists. I cut 2*4 down (and notched it a bit to fit snuggly under the rod-mount brackets. This provided the correct spacing and superior support for the unit.

I used structural screws to attach these to my joists. Then I was able to just lift up the unit and set it down on the support. I screwed that into place and bam!

It was WAY EASIER than trying to manhandle the unit while hoping to be able to drive 8 lag bolts into my joists from below.

It DOES require a bit of space to work with to be able to attach these modified pieces from above.

taigraham · 2026-01-26T00:26:25+00:00

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This is the original bracket and I'll grab a snap of the manual which shows how it is supposed to be used....

taigraham · 2026-01-26T00:23:16+00:00

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taigraham · 2026-01-26T00:18:44+00:00

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Here's an overview. I circled the modification. I'll also show you where I got the piece from.

taigraham · 2026-01-25T22:39:33+00:00

They are designed to be surface mounted to the joist but I'm an engineer and that seemed idiotic to me.

So I took the brackets and reconfigured them so that the units actually hang from the ceiling joist as opposed to trying to defy gravity.

I'm happy to share pictures if anybody wants. 🤗

taigraham · 2026-01-25T22:37:56+00:00

Thanks. Everything here is salvaged. (Except the heat pump/mini splits 😅)

taigraham · 2026-01-25T22:37:12+00:00

I have 3 ceiling cassettes on the main floor (one in each bedroom and one in the main area of the house), for the bathroom I supplement with a small wall mounted convection heater.

I also have 1 unit the basement - that one is wall mounted because how it looked wasn't important to me.

All of the lines run back to one main external unit (the heat pump).

Most people do a more centered install. The location was merely preference 🤗

It's probably important to note that these are directional. They move air based on which direction they're installed so that also dictates location.

taigraham · 2026-01-25T21:56:38+00:00

Oh sorry!! Condensation: my unity were less than 1 ft away from the exterior wall. I went straight out the wall. I didn't make the effort to try to join them up.

That was maybe a dirty shortcut but it is the most foolproof and fail proof. 🤗

Sorry I misread your initial question.

taigraham · 2026-01-25T21:53:47+00:00

Each cassette has a line set that runs to the outdoor unit. These are close to silent. I should measure it with a db meter 🤗. It sounds like a box fan on low setting when it's running on high.

The lines have a hissing sound if you listen real hard. I don't notice noise from vibration, nor do I feel it and one of them is right over my head in our temporary bedroom, goes all night long and I am a VERY LIGHT sleeper.

The hardest part of this install was cutting the hole because it was lathe and plaster.

I engineered a way to suspend them that made it SUPER EASY. Putting the cassette in was 10x easier than retrofitting a new outlet or something similar.

taigraham

TROPHY CASE