5 Year Mr Cool Mini Split Review {BRUTALLY HONEST}

[@punksjutgbd]

Great video. I came here for Mr Cool but stuck around to admire what you did for the home. Neat stuff everywhere.

[@brianparkhurst1019]

I have a mrcool diy mini split in my 400 sq ft shop. Also circa 19. I believe its a 12kw. I only run it in high summer and winter, and have done no maintenance except clean the filter and squirrel cage. No problems, works perfectly and very happy. Not sure what the quality is today but 5 years ago they were great. Minisplits are a perfect solution for 1 room applications.

[@coloradogirl9913]

Thanks for this review! I want this unit at my farm house. I was thinking: could you put a screen over your condensation drain hose, to keep out critters? Maybe there is some fitting made for this by now?

[@lunathecat5787]

@shedtohouse I've had mini-splits in every room of my 1960's house for 12 years, and I can tell you that cleaning the filter every day won't even help with that fine gunk that builds up on the blower wheel. I suspect it is caused by a unit not draining well, and allowing mold/mildew growth in drainage trays inside the unit, which spreads through the air to the wheel (yeah, gross). One reason I suspect it is this is that we get it in some units but not others, and the only ones we get it in have always had drainage issues (think they weren't installed level/slanted correctly). The other reason is that if I use bleach or vinegar (about 1 part per 5 parts water in a 2 liter bottle) to flush out the front drainage tray about once a month when I clean the filters it takes a lot longer (years) for the gunk to build up. I have tried cleaning the fins with little pipe cleaner style brushes (without taking the whole unit apart) and it takes forever and is a PITA. I managed to break a couple of the teeth on the blower wheel which makes the whole thing rattle now (unbalanced), but it isn't very noticeable on low/medium speed. The first couple of times I cleaned it I sprayed water on it (without taking it apart) using a pesticide style manual pumped sprayer bottle (never used for pesticide) and that worked well but had to move furniture away and tape plastic to the wall which I draped all the way to a bucket on the floor. Didn't make too much of a mess so I should have stuck to that instead of trying to use the brushes. There are minisplit cleaning kits on Amazon that are basically the plastic that you put on the wall and the unit and they have fins that attach to the unit so that the plastic can come away from the wall to and provide better protection from spray going sideways.

[@uncontrollabledogs3791]

Super great info in your comment here. A lot to consider. Don't think mold would be much of a problem in AZ now, it never rains anymore. You can carefully rebalance that broken squirrel cage with paper clips or safety pins clipped to the open areas.

[@lunathecat5787]

@@uncontrollabledogs3791 I suspected paperclips might work based on how lightweight the broken fin pieces are, but having someone else thinking (or already done?) it motivates me to give it a try sooner rather than later. Thanks!

[@brianwolf5752]

When you say you couldn't take vacations because you would come back to a flooded house, could you have turned off the unit while away to solve that issue?

[@scottstruif3939]

Why didn’t you cut the drain hose off as it comes down the exterior wall, instead of running it out into the yard where you said it clogs?

[@shedtohouse]

Because down here in Texas where nothing ever dies (especially mud wasps and other bugs).....it is best to be able to access the clog and suck it all out with a shop vac.

[@scottstruif3939]

@@shedtohouse It’s true condensate drains need occasional cleaning, but I’ve never seen one laying on the ground like that.

[@kevinclaypool6345]

@shedtohouse I did this and instead of leaving it open at the end I instead made a screen endpiece that I sprayed with an antimicrobial agent. The water drains out without clogging over time the bugs aren't able to climb up.

[@tonygomez-jk9to]

Fyi... mini splits have been around since the 60's. Unlike the US they are very popular over the rest of the world. Ive had my mr cool in my garage for over 7 years, absolutely awesome.

[@robsherbonjr5880]

When you were showing the filters there looked like water damage on the wall under the unit… is that what that was? Do they have issues with leaking and/or sweating and running down the wall?

[@donnahalvorsen8270]

Does each unit have to have its own hose running down your outside walls?

[@bryantr90]

Hello friends! So….the way I’m understanding this is that every split in your rooms needs to have its own drain running to the exterior of the home?

[@shedtohouse]

Yup! You understand it correctly. 😁👍🏻

[@bryantr90]

@@shedtohouse Perfect. Thank you. My AC unit was stolen off the side of my house. Getting bids for insurance currently. Not 100% sure how much they’ll pay out. Was looking at these Mr. Cool units as an option based on their pricing. They seem like a pretty fair system.

[@tnicnyc]

Can you run the drain line into a house drain pipe rather than outside?

[@djpcinema]

Thanks!

[@john_in_phoenix]

I have to laugh when people speak of 90s as "very hot". Add 20 degrees to that.