This was MUCH harder than I expected... DIY Air Conditioning Pt 1

[akio123008]

38 minutes ago, Egg-Roll said:

That's unfair and somewhat untrue.

The max draw goes based on your main breaker. Unless Linus wanted to install a second one or a new one with greater capacity this is the best option.

Afaik there is no limit on incoming power, just what the actual breaker can handle. So if Linus needs to upgrade his main breaker every time then he should just buy/rent a commercial unit to live in.

 

The breaker with X size is there for a reason. You can't just install a breaker twice as big to get more capacity (at least legally). 

 

The only reason for using that split-phase low voltage system is because it was already there and replacing it is too expensive. A 3 phase 240V system (aka 400V) is considered better in every single way.

 

 

[Egg-Roll]

5 hours ago, Dutch_Master said:

Linus is a clever chap and as long as he runs his ideas by Brian, he'll stay out of trouble. At least with Yvonne

I think Brian is the only reason Linus hasn't burnt his house down yet.

 

For the rest, I kind of figured there are limits however only people who know those limits are the electric companies, who would question why you would need such power.

 

  

5 hours ago, akio123008 said:

The breaker with X size is there for a reason. You can't just install a breaker twice as big to get more capacity (at least legally). 

 

The only reason for using that split-phase low voltage system is because it was already there and replacing it is too expensive. A 3 phase 240V system (aka 400V) is considered better in every single way.

 

 

Fare enough, all that was done where I lived when bought was upgrading the panel along with rewiring, but at that time Tesla was still selling Roasters only, making upgrading to something out of the normal wasn't practical nor needed and technically still is, unless you where growing weed (which was a common foreclosure as is issue at the time locally)   _{Got to love the cut/paste bug...}

[aqarwaen29]

you got bad deal linus..a bit google search reveals that this brand uses cheap brand caps what offen fail before warranty end or shortly after warranty 

[danomicar]

Brian's the man. Great addition to LTT videos. Would be interesting to follow him around on other jobs!

[Egg-Roll]

7 hours ago, CircleTech said:

The AC and installation of the unit was done for personal use, so none of it would be tax deductible. But his camera equipment, whatever he pay's himself and his employees to record this, and any food they eat at his house while recording is deductible (food is only partitally in the US, don't know the rules in Canada). 

 

Using company equipment for personal use can get messy from a tax perspective. But Linus has a good CPA so I trust they can do this one right without getting in trouble of whatever the canadians IRS is.

One might be able to write off some but not all of the costs for business as long as one can prove the costs are beneficial to the company, if it is a residential home I think at least in Canada one can deduct a % of costs for business as long as that business consumes that % in space or something along those lines. In this specific case I can't see that happening however for some things it can be. A good  example would be installing a server and any needed upgrades to video editors homes so they can work from home including internet, tho for internet only the added costs of the higher speed internet can be deducted.

 

You are right about food etc, Brian can't be deducted however travel costs from office to his home for all employees (including himself if he left home that day and had plans on returning to the office and do so) are and all food is as well (best to buy out, or shop the day of shooting).

 

You can use company equipment for personal use, so long as you don't try to write anything off doing so unless the company can benefit from it like this video. So Linus can take a Red camera for a birthday party and break it however the repairs are not deductible for the company, same with company cars, one can use it for personal use (with permission) and assume all costs in doing so including depreciation for said use. Most don't because it like you said can get messy esp/usually when things go wrong.

 

One simple way of avoiding all this would be setting up a contract stating the company will use the home to record a video for x amount of dollars, now that could actually cover the costs of installation and purchase of the units plus some and still be completely legal, whether it be a lump sum that exceeds the costs (becomes income taxable to Linus) or by the company paying for all services and equipment to make said video plus paying Linus for use of home which may not be needed. For the later option, it goes down to cost of doing business as without paying for said services they would (could use may, however would sounds better for tax reasons ) not have a video to produce and therefore it becomes an expense in doing the video. Think of it like buying a GTX 3080 Ti Super to do a review and then give it away in a draw, same thing, and likely would cost the same.

[BrianTheElectrician]

On 7/20/2020 at 12:38 PM, sub68 said:

@BrianTheElectrician is being useful again

I like being a helpful man

 

While I do refrigeration now, to be clear it's transport refrigeration (reefers on trucks and trailers) so it's mainly maintaining /repairing said units. Installing a system like this from scratch is definitely out of the norm for me.

 

As for mounting height and disconnecting the baseboards... it's very mild here, snows maybe twice a year and even then it's generally just a dusting. We might get a week of - 10c as well but for the most part it stays above freezing. The mini split is also only for the top floor, the main floor is heated by a gas furnace.

 

[Dutch_Master]

Thx for clarifying that Brian. I hope you'll continue to make (frequent) appearances in LMG videos for a long time to come, we love your work, attitude and the great banter you have with Linus.

 

But don't you have an appointment with your pillow like, right now?

 

[BrianTheElectrician]

8 hours ago, Dutch_Master said:

Thx for clarifying that Brian. I hope you'll continue to make (frequent) appearances in LMG videos for a long time to come, we love your work, attitude and the great banter you have with Linus.

 

But don't you have an appointment with your pillow like, right now?

 

I hope to make them too haha I have a lot of fun working with LMG, and glad you guys are enjoying the videos! What no one else here was up at 2am?

[Dutch_Master]

1 hour ago, BrianTheElectrician said:

I hope to make them too haha I have a lot of fun working with LMG, and glad you guys are enjoying the videos! What no one else here was up at 2am?

Vancouver is 9hrs behind on my time zone (Berlin/Amsterdam/Paris), so it wasn't 2AM when you posted

[TechkNighT]

Hey Brian, thanks for all the wisdom, I´m from Brazil, and here we also try to use Fujitsu, Daikin, LG and Carrier, and if possible, with inverter units. But here we tend to use one do one units, max two to one splits, our electricity codes here a way more relaxed here, but we are stuck with only two phases, one neutral and we have a lack of grounding in old buildings. Can you tel more about the "tech cables" please? i tried to google this and had no useful returns...
Another question, why use metal boxes instead of plastic ones? Here we prefer to use plastic ones now because of corrosion.
And what about drainage? Don´t you have condensation there in Vancouver? Here i´m @ Sao Paulo, It´s just 10km down of the tropic line so we have a lot of humidity and rain, and hot temperatures, so our units condensate a lot of water, we use 3/4" piping for drainage and we have molding problems in the line.

Can you tell us more about how are things in a place that snow?

Thanks in advance, and thanks for all the tips.

[BrianTheElectrician]

10 hours ago, TechkNighT said:

Hey Brian, thanks for all the wisdom, I´m from Brazil, and here we also try to use Fujitsu, Daikin, LG and Carrier, and if possible, with inverter units. But here we tend to use one do one units, max two to one splits, our electricity codes here a way more relaxed here, but we are stuck with only two phases, one neutral and we have a lack of grounding in old buildings. Can you tel more about the "tech cables" please? i tried to google this and had no useful returns...
Another question, why use metal boxes instead of plastic ones? Here we prefer to use plastic ones now because of corrosion.
And what about drainage? Don´t you have condensation there in Vancouver? Here i´m @ Sao Paulo, It´s just 10km down of the tropic line so we have a lot of humidity and rain, and hot temperatures, so our units condensate a lot of water, we use 3/4" piping for drainage and we have molding problems in the line.

Can you tell us more about how are things in a place that snow?

Thanks in advance, and thanks for all the tips.

Yeah for Residential here it's a split phase system with neutral (120/240v 60hz) but often for apartments and townhouses the main electrical room will be fed with 120/208v 3 phase, and then two of those phases and a neutral will be fed to each unit. For example, unit 101 would be fed A and B phase, 102 would get B and C phase, 103 get C and A phases etc and it keeps on like that. This keeps costs down for each unit as single phase panels are cheaper than 3 phase while keeping the main 3 phase feed for the building/complex fairly balanced. Commercial and industrial typically get 347/600v Wye 3 phase, or in very old buildings you might see 277/480v Y 3 phase or 240v delta 3 phase systems.

 

Teck was from my understanding originally developed for mining applications, but has since become common for exposed weatherproof installations. It has copper conductors in a cable, wrapped in aluminum armor, which then has another weatherproof coating.

 

We actually just got Linus' drains in today, I just got home 10 minutes ago haha but (keep in mind I'm not a plumber) they're 1/2 inch I believe, and we ran a dedicated drain from each unit to where all the plumbing stacks are joined in the attic and tied them in there. Each indoor unit has a pump in it to get the water out of the drain.

 

We typically use metal boxes indoors with armored cable or in surface mount applications and in commercial/industrial applications due to the connectors and durability. We use plastic boxes typically in residential for in-wall and exterior weatherproof applications.

 

I can't imagine living somewhere so hot and humid, I die here when it's over 25c lol. Usually it stays 28 or less in the summer but being so close to the ocean the humidity can definitely make it feel hotter. In the winter it's typically 0-10c, with maybe a week or two that it's actually below freezing. But that's here, which is a lot different from other parts of the country. Further north and in the prairies -40c is not unusual in winter with a few towns hitting even well below that. Think, you go to pee outside and it's frozen before hitting the ground, and exposed skin can freeze in a matter of minutes. The prairies can get quite hot in summer too, north of 30c but generally not too humid being more inland.

 

[Elvara]

I love watching these videos from europe the electrical system is so different, for the AC I live mostly on the same latitude as Vancouver and we never really have weather to need AC, well maybe 3 or 4 weeks usually at this time but it was 14°C during the night and it should be 22°C during the day. Some shops can have AC but you rarely see houses of apartment with them.
I work in an hotel and we did have AC installed a few years back but with what I saw it doesn't seem to work in the same way, we have a reversible heat pump on the roof and there's a water loop in the whole building that goes to each unit, actually look like a watercooling for PC except the radiator is the condenser/heat pump.

It got me curious in what is running in the lines from the condenser to the cassette.

 

 

[Fizile]

Looking forward to a hopefully filmed pt. 2 seeing Linus (Brian) mount and wire in the ceiling units.  This is something I considered doing for my home, but have been disinclined from due to warranty concerns.  Does the warranty on the equipment purchased stay valid when installed in this manner?  Does the manufacturer required a licensed installer and/or is Brian adequately credentialed to pull the permits and establish that warranty?  Parts and inherent defects are one thing, and operational warranty are another too.  Would like to hear from LTT after its all said and done to know if that financial risk is mitigated effectively.  I'm in New England USA so there are contrasts there, but curious to know what the deal is.

 

I think between myself and some friends we have the equipment and expertise to do an install similar to what was in the video.  None of us are licensed HVAC technicians in my State though and most equipment I found requires someone licensed to establish the warranty.  Knowing I might be on the hook if my $2k cold-air choocher spills all its smoke out in 2 months is off putting.  Then again, if the cost savings of DIY are close to the cost of the equipment .

 

Looks clean and tidy though boys, good work.

[Required]

OMG why is his House so broken with all the Wood? Its a huge Fire hazard!

The same when Louise (or how does his name spell) in NY got a Wooden Floor Spacing. Thats insane! Some spark could start a huge Fire in a Second.

[Intergalacticbits]

After I watched this first episode I felt like it was more of a (this old house type of show) then a tech video.

It wasn't bad, it just seemed way off topic for the channel to me.

I kept thinking there was going to be some hidden tech product in there somewhere.

 

When I want to watch tech I tune into a tech channel.

If I want to watch home improvement I look for it elsewhere.

Just saying. 

 

 

 

[Anishacorn]

Hello all, air conditioning is a very convenient and helpful thing. But it's unfortunate when it breaks down. I can't live without air conditioning because the air in Singapore is scorching. But there are times when the air conditioner breaks down. I had one once. It was probably the hottest day of the summer. Suddenly, the air conditioner starts making a lot of noise and stops delivering cold air. I immediately began to panic because I did not know what to do, and it began to get hot in the house. Finally, I had the idea to call for service. The guys from the air conditioner service company in Singapore came to me very quickly. They were straightforward and quick to deal with my breakdown. The air conditioner started working even better than before the study because they cleaned it. I was delighted with the service.