Product Description
Inverter Technology A DC Inverter Air Conditioner cools and heats even when the outside temperature falls to 5º F (-15º C). Klimaire DC Inverter Air Conditioners use the ultimate cooling and heating technology of the HVAC field. Different frequencies supplied to the compressor will result in different running speeds. WHAT IS A DC INVERTER? In a DC Inverter Air Conditioner the Alternating Current (AC) is converted to Direct Current (DC) then the Direct Current is converted back to Alternating Current at any required voltage and frequency. As known, the current supplied through the wall outlet has a fixed frequency which is 60 Hertz. Different frequencies supplied to the compressor will result in it running at different speeds. Klimaire Inverter control systems use Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM) that is the most advanced and energy efficient method of inverting current. DC inverter air conditioners use special compressors, which speed can be changed by increasing or decreasing the frequency of the supplied power. Unlike conventional split Air Conditioners/Heat Pumps which cycle between on and off repeatedly to maintain the room temperature at a desired level, causing the compressor to draw a tremendous quantity of energy each time is starts up; the DC Inverter control system will monitor the room temperature and adjust the compressor speed automatically allowing for continuous environment comfort. · Ionizer - The air ionizer improves indoor air quality (IAQ) producing active hydrogen oxygen ions that eliminate bacteria, viruses, and other harmful agents in the conditioned air. Anions are always found in the forest or near waterfall; these can stimulate blood circulation and help to prevent some respiratory illnesses so improving the lung function. Coverage Area: Up to 1000 sq. ft. Energy Star Exceeds strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the US EPA. Saving energy, saves money to the user and protects the environment. User may qualify for credits.
Product Details
- Shipping Weight: 180 pounds
- ASIN: B005986N9U
- Item model number: KSIM018-H217
Product Features
- Ion Generator: Air ionizer improves indoor air quality (IAQ) by generating hydrogen oxygen ions that eliminate biological contaminants that threat your health, such as viruses, bacteria and mold.
- Carbon Filter: is made of active carbon and electrostatic fiber that eliminates certain kinds of odors such as cigarette smoke, pet odors, other unpleasant odors and deactivates harmful chemical gases. Electrostatic fiber filter traps small particles such as dust and pet fur from the air stream to prevent allergic reactions.
- Self-Cleaning: The unit operates at low fan speed and the condensate water washes away the dust from the evaporator golden, hydrophilic fins, then air dries the evaporator. The whole process cleans the indoor unit coil and prevents the breeding of bacteria and mildew growth.
- Economy / Sleep Operation: In this function the temperature increases (cooling) or decreases (heating) automatically by 2º F per hour for two hours then stays steady for the next 5 hours, and after that it will switch off. This feature can maintain the most comfortable temperature and save more energy.
- Follow Me: When activated the remote control built-in temperature sensor can sense its surrounding temperature and transmit the signal back to the indoor unit at 3 minute intervals and can adjust the airflow volume and temperature accordingly to provide maximum comfort and save energy at the same time.
Klimaire 18,000 Btu 17 SEER, Energy Star, Ductless Mini Split Inverter Air Conditioner & Heat Pump, 220 volt, Ion Generator Air Purifying System, Active Carbon Filter, Evaporator Self Cleaning Function, Follow me Comfort Function on Remote Control + Free 16 ft Installation Kit.
Customer Reviews
[Note -I purchased this exact unit last month but not on Amazon, so this review is just about the unit, not the vendor].
Last week I completed installation in my 2-car attached garage, which is in the process of being purposed as a wood shop. Mine is a typical tract-home attached garage, about 21 x 22, roughly 450 sq ft, located in Northern Virginia. The back and side walls are insulated as is the attic and I have a single garage door with insulated foam core. I installed the indoor component of the split on the back wall with the compressor directly behind it on the outside.
First the positive - I gave it 5 stars for functionality. There are a couple of "cons" below but I'm so thrilled by how it works, the pros (for me) totally outweigh them.
I love this unit, did I say that. While I may be the butt of a few jokes in the neighborhood... it is AWESOME to have air conditioning in the garage This weekend it was in the 90s and humid and my garage was, get this -- 68 degrees I wont run it down to 68 normally but I wanted to see if it could do it.. and it was no problem. Yesterday my wife was doing yard work and opened the garage door several times. I was amazed! Once the temp gets near the target setting, the unit backs off to a (very) quiet level just maintaining. The wife opens the big door to get the mower and for 4-5 minutes the door is open. When she leaves, I notice the Klimaire automatically kick it up to make it up. I was working in the middle of my garage and while I obviously felt the heat encroaching when the door was opened, because of the automatic speed increase, I could also feel the cold air blowing from the back and it never got uncomfortable in the middle of the garage. Once the door was closed it only took a few minutes to recover.
Now the "cons" (or at least warnings)...
These may be a bigger deal to some than they were for me. After researching it, none of this surprised me. And considering the money saved going this route vs buying a marked-up unit from an AC dealer/installer was worth the risk to me.
1. The Mini-Split Warranty Myth
After looking at a lot of product literature, poking around HVAC contractor forums, etc... one thing I have taken away is this: Though all the mini-split systems on Amazon and Ebay are promoted as "simple to install" and within the scope of an experienced do-it-yourselfer [which I agree with], the fine print clearly states that if you do, you will likely void the warranty. Most warranties require that the installation be done by "certified" HVAC technician. The supposed work-around to this is to do all the installation grunt work yourself (hang the inside unit, cut the holes, run the lineset, etc), then call your neighborhood AC guy to come out and hook stuff up, leak test, evacuate the lines, then VOILA!.. you are in business for a couple hundred bucks with a full warranty!.. NOPE... Every warranty fine print I've read (including this Klimaire) wants you to register the warranty with the particulars of the installation tech/company who will then be responsible for performing any warranty repairs down the road. Good luck finding any decent HVAC firm that will do that, they won't. It doesn't mean that you can't find an HVAC tech to do the check-out and evacuation as a side job, and I recommend that. But your not likely to find one to sign up for being responsible for the warranty when they don't supply the system and get the mark-up they are legitimately entitled to. So, resign yourself up front to no warranty or buy from a dealer/installer. You'll have to decide for yourself if it's worth the risk.
2. The DIY Installation
Again, after much surfing and reading I decided to tackle the installation myself. It seemed to me to be within the grasp of most competent do-it-yourselfers. Mine was pretty straightforward with only a 4inch frame and siding wall separating the two parts. I only used a 16ft line-set and frankly I wish it had been 10ft. You'll notice that these systems are packaged with different lengths of line-set. The variety is obviously to fit different install scenarios, but an important thing to remember is that the amount of refrigerant charge shipped in the compressor is matched to the line-set length. Altering the length of the line-set after the fact technically changes that balance. So in my case if I shortened the line-set to 10ft I would be creating an overcharged condition and conversely if I had a 25ft line-set lying around and used it... it would be undercharged. I'm not certain how big a deal either of those scenarios might be, but I decided to try to make sure I installed the line-set it was shipped with without alteration. Not wanting to have the line bundle running vertically down the outside of the garage, I ran it inside the wall and had it come out a hole down about 12-15 inches off the ground, then I had to run it 4-5 feet horizontally before bending out to the unit. I wasn't thrilled to have a 5 ft run but its low enough that the plants easily hide it. The lesson here is to put some serious thought into how long a line-set you'll need. When I started planning the install (after receiving the unit) I cut a piece of Romex to the length of the line-set and played with different configurations before deciding the best place to park the outside box. I was pretty surprised how long 16ft was.
The inside and outside parts were pretty straightforward to install. As several reviewers of other units mention, the trickiest thing with the line-sets is bending the larger diameter tube. I spent the money on a fairly good tubing bender, the one that has the two handles and has sized channels for 3-4 different diameters. I think it cost me about $60 on Ebay, but it was worth every cent and the bends went flawlessly. I will probably just re-sell that on Ebay. I also picked up a flaring tool which I never used and will also resell.
So now I was at that "certified tech" part. For those whose successful install reviews I've read, I'm certain I must look like an idiot to you. But really, I have done some fairly sophisticated DIY stuff... lots of electrical, some major plumbing, several tile baths and couple of decks... but this humbled me. From all the reading I did, I was certain that I could do this myself if I was just careful. So I invested in few necessary tools. I bought a cheap vacuum pump on Ebay for about $100, a digital vacuum gauge for about $110 (required to read the necessary deep vacuum down to 200 microns), a set of manifold gauges for about $90 I think and a 410 adapter fitting (on Ebay for about $14). And trust me, you will need that adapter, no matter what the manifold gauges say. Mine said they were specifically for 410A (and that usually means the gauges cover a higher pressure max than the older refrigerant required)...but they did not fit the service valve out of the box. So... do the math... I am out close to $300 for tools I'll likely never use again. Pretty sure I could have found a Craigslist HVAC guy looking for side-work for that, but some of us just like to try to do it to see if we can do it... anyway that's me.
So I dive into playing HVAC tech and spent most of a morning realizing I'm not an HVAC tech. I spent a fair amount of time on the internet trying to figure out which ports on the manifold I should hook up to. Then another couple of hours trying to decide where the vacuum gauge should be hooked in there, suspecting for quite a while that someone must have forgotten to include the specific part I needed. Once I did get it connected correctly enough to actually get a reading on the vac gauge, imagine my excitement as I watched the digital display steadily decline from like 1900... 1840...1810...1790...1750...1710...1693...1643...1609...1588...1557 1557. 1558 .1557 .1557 WTF? It has to down to 200 ! Messed with the pump, oil, connections for another 2 hours... never got it go below 1200. I finally gave up trying to monitor the vacuum and to get a tighter connection I removed everything but the pump, connected it directly to the service port, let it run for an hour continuously, crossed my fingers, disconnected the pump and turned the control valves to release the gas into the lines. After much additional research, I'm pretty sure my problem was cheap Ebay vacuum pump. So I guess I should have dropped at least another $50-$70 on a better pump.. or maybe donated it to homeless HVAC guys.
The end of the story is so far a good one, the unit came up smoothly and works great - did I mention I love it? I'm pretty confident I'll recover most of the $$ for the tools. But whats eating at me is that I don't really know how good an evacuation I got on the lines... so after all this.. I am probably gonna have a guy come out an check it out for me.
I am very pleased with this purchase, if I were to do it again, I would pay a pro to do the final checkout for cash, but again - resign yourself up front - no warranty.
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