Split Air con

Soldato
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R290 is essentially propane, so may inccur some additional fire considerations, especially with pipe routing. However, it is no more dangerous than the natural gas feed you have running in your house. It can be as efficient if not more so than CFC refrigerants, but depends on the compressor being designed to use it.
 

RJC

RJC

Don
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I suppose fixing this in the winter months would be a lot cheaper. How comes you didnt have more units installed?

I had one in the hall way upstairs which I did a few years ago (Bought in France) and just needed a larger one to do the dinning / living room (and also cools the kitchen :D)

As this Panasonic is so good I will update the upstairs to a multsplit to do my bedroom, front small box room and hallway.
 

Jez

Jez

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Hi Guys,

I am on the cusp of finishing some building work, and now need to actually action my thoughts above and order an AC system for it.

While right now i only want to install one interior unit in the new build, i do plan later to add more into the rest of the house in time. If i think ahead and order a 4 way multi split system now (to avoid the need for multiple exterior units later), am i right in thinking that i can simply store the additional interior units and go ahead with just plumbing one of them to the multi way exterior unit?

Would there be gassing considerations as presumably the multi way sealed system would be expecting a lot more pipework than will be present with just one interior unit?

Forgive my ignorance on this!

Thanks
 

RJC

RJC

Don
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You should be Ok, as the condenser will be large enough to hold the charge.

If one indoor unit was running the other units would be shut off via the control solenoids and chances are the unit would pull the charge form these.
 

Jez

Jez

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That makes sense, thanks for the reply. My thought with that though, was that if it were to be released to four loops rather than one, even in the scenario of only one unit running, the other circuits would still have absorbed the extra within the runs?

I am showing my ignorance as to how the flow of coolant works clearly :)
 

RJC

RJC

Don
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That makes sense, thanks for the reply. My thought with that though, was that if it were to be released to four loops rather than one, even in the scenario of only one unit running, the other circuits would still have absorbed the extra within the runs?

I am showing my ignorance as to how the flow of coolant works clearly :)

Indeed with the extra units connected these will absorb some of the refrigerant charge.
 

Jez

Jez

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Indeed with the extra units connected these will absorb some of the refrigerant charge.
Indeed, so my wonder if whether the system will be OK without this having taken place? I just want to be sure that the system will likely be OK if those lines have never been connected, and therefore nowhere for any "excess" refrigerant to go :)

As i say i know very little about how the system copes with varying levels of refrigerant in it, it just strikes me that with one unit with only approx 1.5m of pipe connected (the first unit will literally be through wall), a system designed for up to 3 units with 10m of pipe each, there might be rather too much!
 

RJC

RJC

Don
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@Jez
What will happen with only one unit connected is you will end up with more refrigerant in the condenser which will produce higher sub-cooling (not a bad thing) but your condensing space will be reduced meaning you will run with higher head pressure and thus using more energy - But! Different factors will take place, load on the unit and external temperatures.

With all units connected and one only in operation the other units I believe have a solenoid valve on the liquid line to stop refrigerant going to these - other wise you will end up with big ice cube! With the suction port still open this will course the compressor to draw any access refrigerant from these but I suspect there will be a small let by to stop these going into a vacuum.

Edit:

Link below, see page 287, shows exploded diagram internal to a Panasonic unit.

http://ampair.co.uk/wp-content/uplo...TBE/CU-3Z52TBE_9,Technical-Service_Manual.pdf
 
Last edited:

Jez

Jez

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@Jez
What will happen with only one unit connected is you will end up with more refrigerant in the condenser which will produce higher sub-cooling (not a bad thing) but your condensing space will be reduced meaning you will run with higher head pressure and thus using more energy - But! Different factors will take place, load on the unit and external temperatures.

With all units connected and one only in operation the other units I believe have a solenoid valve on the liquid line to stop refrigerant going to these - other wise you will end up with big ice cube! With the suction port still open this will course the compressor to draw any access refrigerant from these but I suspect there will be a small let by to stop these going into a vacuum.

Edit:

Link below, see page 287, shows exploded diagram internal to a Panasonic unit.

http://ampair.co.uk/wp-content/uplo...TBE/CU-3Z52TBE_9,Technical-Service_Manual.pdf
Thankyou very much for the reply, that makes sense so thanks again for the reassurance and the link :) Much appreciated.
 

RJC

RJC

Don
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Thankyou very much for the reply, that makes sense so thanks again for the reassurance and the link :) Much appreciated.

You’re welcome, don’t forget to add pics when you do install :D


Wonder if i should get 2 units (One in dining room & one in landing) to cool the whole house?

You can, I have a similar setup and I need to use a fan to help direct the cool into my bedroom, but I am wanting to go the multisplit route.
 
Soldato
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You can, I have a similar setup and I need to use a fan to help direct the cool into my bedroom, but I am wanting to go the multisplit route.

My Dining room and landing are complete opposite sides so i wouldn't be able to use split system without having lots or wiring etc. Be better for one system on each side.
 
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