Their Outdoor Space Was Unbearably Hot (Until This Game-Changing Fix)

[00:00:00]Down here in northern Mississippi, in the American South, we have absolutely brutal summers, which is why I built a pool. But, I figured if I was going to build a pool, I also wanted a pool house. The pool house is still under construction, but before I can finish this job or enjoy the space once I am done, I need a way to keep it cool, and warm in the winter, too, would be nice.

[00:00:18]Today, we're going to fix that with the Tosot 12,000 BTU heat pump mini split air conditioner and heater. Now, first thing, of course, is finding the right spot for the indoor unit. I need it high on the wall, out of direct sunlight, and with enough clearance on all sides for good airflow. Next, I'm going to drill a hole through the wall for the line set, which is all the tubing that runs between the outdoor unit and the indoor unit. Now, a slight downward slope towards the outside is important to make sure any condensation that builds up on these will run out of the building.

[00:00:47]Next, I'm going to connect the command wire to the indoor unit, and just match the heat shrink color on the command wires to the color on the wires inside the unit. We'll make sure this is all connected properly.

[00:00:58]And I need to swap which side the drain hose is on, and move the drain plug, so everything lines up well with my installation.

[00:01:06]With the hole through the building ready, the line set gets fed through and connected to the indoor unit, and then the whole unit hangs onto the bracket.

[00:01:15]And this is has all the certifications and stuff you like. It's also an inverter unit, which is something I like, which means it can ramp up its speed, so it can run at a low speed or a high speed to provide more or less cooling, which means it runs more often, but it's not just hard on or hard off, which means the unit lasts longer, and overall, it actually uses a lot more electricity that way to help maintain versus just kind of those hard stops. It also has high efficiency under the new SEER 2 rating, so 19 for cooling and 8.5 for heating, cuz this is essentially a heat pump. So, very excited about getting this thing and having the space be comfortable all year round for us, cuz this will cool even when it's up to 113°, and it'll even heat all the way down to -13°.

[00:01:59]So, in my climate, like I will never have to worry about this heat pump not keeping the space comfortable for us.

[00:02:06]>> And it's time to head outside.

[00:02:08]The unit sits on a level pad or on a wall bracket you can also order with your unit. Once it's positioned, we'll connect the line sets and the command wire to the outdoor unit.

[00:02:18]>> All right. Now, generally speaking, it's actually a no-no to put any kind of insulated um cable like this SOOW cable, any bundle of wires inside of a sheath through conduit or a raceway. But, my code does require this to be in a watertight um outdoor rated conduit, which this is. And since this is only a 6-ft short whip to a machine that vibrates, it is allowable to actually run this through there. But, any long distance, you wouldn't want to cuz otherwise this can build up way too much heat. Check code, make sure it's okay in your area. Or, you know, your inspector will let you know when they come tell you you got to redo it.

[00:02:56]>> One thing you don't want to skip is the disconnect box. This is the waterproof switch mounted right next to your outdoor unit, and it lets you kill power to the whole system in one flip. It's a safety must, and in most areas code requires one within sight of the condenser.

[00:03:10]>> My unit is a 230-V system, so I just have um two hots coming in. So, one hot will be on L1, the other one will be on L2.

[00:03:21]And I'm going to put those on the bottom, and I'm going to connect the bottom first cuz if I connected the top first, they'd be in my way.

[00:03:27]And that's the power coming from the building to power the unit.

[00:03:30]Now, this is my control wire that actually sends power up to the um unit on the inside. And there's a blue wire here on number one, so I'm just going to match the blue same as I did on the inside.

[00:03:42]We'll go black to black, and then brown to brown. Just matching the color of the wires on the inside.

[00:03:48]>> For the line sets, it's critical to properly torque the flare nuts so the refrigerant doesn't leak out, or you'll be calling an HVAC guy later to fix this.

[00:03:57]Now, before we ever turn this thing on, the line sets need to be vacuumed to pull out any moisture or air. Uh skipping this step and you risk damaging the whole system. So, make sure to get it right. Once the lines hold vacuum, it's safe to open the valves and let the refrigerant throw flow through all the lines and the indoor unit. Once the lines are holding vacuum, it's time to open the valves and let the refrigerant flow. My lines were holding vacuum fine, but now that I have them pressurized, I'm going to go ahead and spray some soapy water on them on the connections and watch for any bubbles that might indicate a leak. Fortunately, I didn't have any, didn't expect to, but always want to double-check now before it's too late. And now, it's time to power it up.

[00:04:35]>> It's nice.

[00:04:36]Oh, yeah, I can feel it over here, too.

[00:04:38]>> We just finished up outside. Uh this unit's been running for about 20-30 minutes and has already cooled down in here. Uh but it's been running half an hour, it is 95° outside with a 98° heat index, and the parts in there are 50°. I really love the features on this. Has a cool mode, dehumidifier mode, um auto, heating, and the louvers on it has louvers that go up and down, as well as left and right, so it can really fill my space with air.

[00:05:08]>> It's the same pool house, but a completely different feel. The unit is so quiet, it's efficient, and honestly, it means the space is going to get finished a lot sooner now that it's comfortable work down here, and it's going to get used so much more instead of just being a place that we walk through to get to the pool.

[00:05:22]>> In this pool house, I basically have a full suite of appliances and don't want my energy prices to go up a ton, which is one things I like about this Tosot unit. It's how energy efficient it is, it's going to help keep my bill down.

[00:05:34]So, nerdy and then simple. At full bore, if I've like changed the temperature and I'm trying to really raise it or lower it, at max this can pull about 2,000 W, but when it's maintaining, like right now, and it's in the 90s out here, but I'm holding in the 70s inside. It's probably running about 20-25% capacity, which is only 4 to 500 watts. Now, to put that in perspective, cuz probably not too familiar with, you know, what that really means, um your microwave is pulling 1,200 to 1,500 watts when you run it. A hair dryer, 1,500 watts. Um your coffee pot can pull 1,000 watts. A game console or TV, you're looking at 4 to 500 watts. So, it's pulling about what a TV or game console is. When I have all my lights and ceiling fans running out here, they're actually pulling more electricity than this is holding temperature year-round.

[00:06:19]If you also have a space you're struggling to enjoy because of the weather, but you've got some tools, an ambitious attitude, and a free afternoon, Tosot's got you covered with the equipment to get that space comfortable so you can enjoy year-round.

[00:06:31]And don't forget to use code hometalk when you check out for a discount.