What did you do today? - 2021 version

[pacergal]

New furniture arrived today. Fun!
Replaced our old leather LR furniture that we've had for close to 20 years.

 

[travelover]

I installed a Mr Cool 24K BTU mini-split heat pump the last few days...........

How did you handle the the line set evacuation and charging?

 

[Walt34]

Got up early and was out heading down the road at 8:00 AM for a fun fly at the R/C club site. Turns out that was yesterday, I'd written the wrong day on the calendar.

So I had the whole field to myself for most of the morning, one onlooker/future club member stopped by to chat and ask questions. I flew through 14 batteries and took some airborne video that turned out to be too ordinary to bother editing and posting on youtube. I did finally get a new airplane "dialed in" to where I wanted it to be trimmed out. It was a nice day, overcast and muggy, but the temperatures were comfortable.

 

[NW-Bound]

By placing the outdoor unit back behind the stairs, it's almost completely hidden when driving down the driveway. It also allowed me to avoid the coiled up line sets typical with Mr Cool installs.

Honestly, I don't think another one would be needed. So far the mini-split has been able to maintain a steady temperature throughout our entire 1456 sq/ft house. If that keeps up during the winter it will be a major energy savings over our electric wall heaters.

Our bedroom is furthest away from the mini-split and runs a degree or two cooler, but I generally prefer cooler temps for sleeping anyway.

It took me about three days to complete the install, mostly because I'm picky about the little details. I had to modify our back stairs in order to run the line set behind them, that took the better part of an afternoon. I also caulked all the gaps and seams in the line set covers. They really didn't fit together very well, with lots of places for bugs and water to get in. It also took me an afternoon to install a new breaker and run a cable in the crawlspace to the new disconnect box. Thankfully I installed several runs of conduit from the breaker panel to the crawlspace when we built the house, so that section was easy.

It will be interesting to see how this unit performs over the winter. Hopefully it will last for many years.

It looks like you managed to use up the entire line set length by that placement of the compressor. That worked out well. I thought you had bought a flaring tool to cut the lines to just the right length.

A unit of 24,000-BTU/hr is 2 tons. For a small house, that may be plenty, except that you may need better air circulation to move air throughout the place. This depends on how hot or cold it is outside.

My location is so hot in the summer (120F outside), such that a floorplan like yours may have a temperature of 75F in the kitchen where the AC is, yet the bedrooms may be more than 85F easily with doors wide open. It may be helpful to place one or two vertical fans at strategic spots in order to blow air into/out of adjacent rooms. Earlier this summer, Costco sold these fans for $20 each. A heck of a deal.

 

[street]

This started Thursday. Our son and DIL were expecting their 2nd son, due date Sept 17th, with a C-section scheduled for Sept 12th. DIL started intermittent light labor on Thursday and they went to the hospital Friday but she wasn't making progress so they sent them home. We had our grandson, 2yrs 9 mo old, with us while they handle all this.

Then late Friday night we got the call, labor has intensified and they are headed to the hospital again. We are just 5 minutes away so I went over there for the night to be with our grandson. I tried to get some sleep but they were texting with updates and who can sleep through such excitement! When our grandson got up I told him that mommy and daddy went to the hospital so the doctors could help his baby brother come out. Also, that he's coming over to our house ALL DAY! Oh boy, he loves being at our house so this was great fun for him.

DIL's labor progressed well and she didn't need the C-section at all. Baby was born Saturday morning at 11:38 am, 5lb, 8oz. A few weeks early and a little small but very healthy! Between texting and FaceTime we had plenty of updates, pictures and tears!

I got asked to pick up some preemie diapers and onesies, etc since they don't have any stuff small enough for him from his brother. I had too much fun shopping and I know I overbought but I was just walking on clouds with the biggest smile on my face!

I was able to visit them in the hospital yesterday. He's a lovely little bundle, there's nothing like a newborn baby in your arms. They expect to come home later today. His name is Luka.

SueJ > You are a very lucky lady!!! Congratulations!!

 

[finnski1]

How did you handle the the line set evacuation and charging?

When I installed mine I bought a vacuum pump and manifold gauge/set. It was very straight forward to evacuate the lines.
But better yet, I believe the Mr Cool units have precharged line sets with a quick connect fittings so there is no need to do the evacuation. This is why they are marketed to DIY folks and are pretty convenient.

 

[mountainsoft]

How did you handle the the line set evacuation and charging?

The Mr Cool line sets come precharged with refrigerant, so there's no need to vacuum the lines or add refrigerant. They have special adapters on each end of the lines that only allow flow when they are fully tightened down. I just bolted up the connections, and checked for leaks multiple times during testing. No leaks, and runs great.

 

[travelover]

The Mr Cool line sets come precharged with refrigerant, so there's no need to vacuum the lines or add refrigerant. They have special adapters on each end of the lines that only allow flow when they are fully tightened down. I just bolted up the connections, and checked for leaks multiple times during testing. No leaks, and runs great.

Wow, that is awesome! A real game changer for the DIY types.

 

[mountainsoft]

It looks like you managed to use up the entire line set length by that placement of the compressor.

I kind of worked backward. I uncoiled all the line, connected to the indoor unit, and wherever it ended up on the other end is where the outdoor unit was going to be. That's basically where I wanted it anyway, so it worked out well. If anything, the spacing from the dryer vent and electrical outlet worked out better than I initially planned. It's like I meant to do that.

The only real issue I ran into is not having enough couplings for the sections of the line set cover. Naturally, Mr Cool doesn't sell them individually and I wasn't going to buy another $80 kit. I already had two kits, so I cut off the tapered section of one end piece and made my own coupling out of it. It actually worked out fairly well.

A unit of 24,000-BTU/hr is 2 tons. For a small house, that may be plenty, except that you may need better air circulation to move air throughout the place. This depends on how hot or cold it is outside.

With the indoor unit placed up on the wall in the kitchen, it blows towards the living room and our bedroom nicely. Plenty of air circulation. I was actually surprised our two offices off to the side get airflow too. I'll have to wait and see how it performs in the winter, but so far I'm impressed.

I wasn't expecting it to take care of the entire house, so it's no big deal if we still need to use the heater in our bedroom. We tend to close the door while sleeping anyway.

We do have a ceiling fan in the dining room that works well for circulating air if we need it. We typically use it when we fire up the wood stove in the winter.

 

[roadtripper]

First day of school--went out to lunch!

I retired from teaching in 2020, but last year school was remote for most of the year and we were in pretty strict lockdown here, so I never really got to celebrate. Today was the first day back in our district, so DH, son and I went out to lunch outside at a favorite watering hole and toasted our good fortune and hard work!

 

[Ronstar]

Weight workout, trail bike ride, took DW to the mall, stopped by the hardwood store and picked up a bunch of cherry, BTD on a $100 lunch for 2, and went to REI where I bought nothing.

 

[MuirWannabe]

Weight workout, trail bike ride, took DW to the mall, stopped by the hardwood store and picked up a bunch of cherry, BTD on a $100 lunch for 2, and went to REI where I bought nothing.

Perhaps your biggest accomplishment was that final one. I have great difficulty purchasing nothing at REI

 

[finnski1]

Spent 4 hours installing a new trailer hitch on the Subaru Outback.


Etrailer said it should only take 2 hours but i am picky, took my time and cleaned some things off as I went. Did come out good though.

 

[Ronstar]

Perhaps your biggest accomplishment was that final one. I have great difficulty purchasing nothing at REI

I also have great difficulty getting out of REI without spending anything. But this time I never got past the Nat Geo trail maps before DW was checked out and ready to leave.

 

[RobbieB]

Played computer games, ordered prescriptions online, tested my hole saw for installing the boat speakers and now smoking a chicken.

Hot and smoky outside -

 

[USA]

Expended some anger and sadness by vacuuming tile, followed by light mopping with vinegar & water. Did over 2k sft. Kept me some what away from the news.

 

[Lisa99]

Spent my 60th bday packing and cleaning the house in prep of selling. My 31 year marriage is ending and I’m moving out on Saturday.

The silver lining is that we’re both ok financially since I found this site 11 years ago.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Spent my 60th bday packing and cleaning the house in prep of selling. My 31 year marriage is ending and I’m moving out on Saturday.



The silver lining is that we’re both ok financially since I found this site 11 years ago.

Wow- sorry to hear this. Wishing you a happier future.

 

[Luvtoride]

I had my daughter pick up school supplies to donate in our community. She works for Staples and got great deals…

“30 folders, 10 packs of loose leaf paper, 30 notebooks, 72 mechanical pencils, 140 pens, 6 binders all for $51.87 with my discount!”

We like to share our good fortune via donations that can have a direct impact on others.

 

[1242Vintage]

Worked my part-time gig yesterday. It’s a very fun job performing performance testing on construction materials.

Today is “Mom Day”. Heading over to spend a couple hours with her this morning. And if the wildfire smoke isn’t too bad, will get out on my bike this afternoon.

 

[Music Lover]

One of my bands had our first rehearsal last night since February 2020. It sure was nice to play music in a band setting again.

 

[ivinsfan]

Spent my 60th bday packing and cleaning the house in prep of selling. My 31 year marriage is ending and I’m moving out on Saturday.

The silver lining is that we’re both ok financially since I found this site 11 years ago.

I'm so sorry to read this, I don't remember you mentioning this in other posts. Not a very happy birthday.

 

[finnski1]

Spent my 60th bday packing and cleaning the house in prep of selling. My 31 year marriage is ending and I’m moving out on Saturday.

The silver lining is that we’re both ok financially since I found this site 11 years ago.

Sorry to hear that. Hope for better days ahead.

 

[aja8888]

Let's start with yesterday.....I installed a non-OEM replacement power antenna in my friend's mint condition 1999 Cadillac yesterday. it was hot out, this took three hours due to non-standard antenna mounting, wiring, etc....but it's in and working.

This morning at ROMEO coffee meetup, he mentions (sheepishly) that he drove the car through a self-service drive through car wash and forgot to turn off the radio......the big, moving brush in the car wash broke off the antenna mast..

next one is on him.

 

[Gumby]

...
This morning at ROMEO coffee meetup, he mentions (sheepishly) that he drove the car through a self-service drive through car wash and forgot to turn off the radio......the big, moving brush in the car wash broke off the antenna mast..:facepalm

Yeah, that's never happened to me in a 1993 Honda Accord.