This video provides a step-by-step guide on cleaning a Mitsubishi outdoor ductless AC unit. The process involves removing debris from the exterior and grilles, running a vacuum across the grilles, and scrubbing with soap and water if needed. The housing is removed to access the inside, and the area is vacuumed and cleaned. If dirt is found, the coils are brushed.
To clean the outdoor unit, switch off the breaker and remove the panels using a screwdriver. Open the air conditioner by removing the side. The Mitsubishi mini split air conditioner consists of an indoor unit with the evaporator coil and blower, and an outdoor unit with the heat exchange grilles. To clean the interior surfaces, use a soft brush or cloth to gently wipe down the interior surfaces.
The video also discusses the use of aircon bags to catch runoff and spray coil cleaning spray onto the cooling fins. The video is for educational and entertainment purposes only and does not offer any warranty or service. The video is intended for beginners and DIYers, and the steps are simple and easy to follow.
📹 How to Clean Your Mini Split AC Condenser – Make it Cold Again
Save hundreds of dollars with this easy Air Conditioner maintenance takes minutes & will help extend your Split Ductless system …
📹 How to: Outdoor Servicing of Mitsubishi Electric M-Series Splits MSZ-EF | Mitsubishi Electric
This video demonstrates how to service the outdoor unit of a Mitsubishi Electric M-Series split system. The process involves a visual inspection, cleaning, and leak detection. The video also covers how to reassemble the unit and test its operation.
35-year vet of the NYC HVAC wars here, I would recommend starting at the bottom, so you do not miss shooting the cleaner into the coil. it’s too easy to miss getting the cleaner into the coil when it’s covered with foam from above. very similar to washing your car I suspect, too easy to miss a spot due to soap running down over dirt. you can also use a mixed solution and a coil gun hose sprayer. they are useful for more than just cleaning HVAC units. maybe look into the “coil gun” sprayers we use on the job and some mix it yourself cleaners for your next article on the topic? thanks for another great DIY article.
when you replace a screw into anything you have opened, place the screw into the hole and with the oppropriate screwdriver, first turn it anti-clockwise ( lefty-loosy ) slowly and you should either hear and/ or feel the screw click into the original starting position. this procedure is most important for plastic objects, so as to stop cross-threading. P.S. you may need to repeat this a few times, but you will get the the idea.
I am an AC technician, newer coils should not be using chemical cleaners. You are stippling coatings off that help it stay clean. The coil can also start to oxidized because of stripping those coatings off. To properly clean your coil blow it from inside out first with compressed air then use water from inside out. There are also coil combs that will strain the fins
I’m impressed with how easy it is to clean a mini split condenser. Which the central compressor we had from the 80s, you pretty much had to completely dismantle the thing to get to those coils. If I got a mini split, I think I’d like to put it on top of cinder blocks. Our window until never got as filthy as the central compressor, and I think it’s because it sits at ground level. Even setting it six inches higher might help a great deal in keeping the coils clean. In some cases, they’re just mounted on supports on the side of the house like a few feet above the ground. I never saw any point to waiting until it was completely dry to use it. It’s made to get wet, and it’s self-drying. When I’m just giving the window units a quick spray, I’ll actually just leave them running. If you hear the motor spin down, just lay off the water to let it spin back up. Don’t set them stall out. Window units are designed to retain water, and the fan blade slings the water onto the condenser coil extra cooling. The fan has to be powerful enough to sling that water. The water also helps cool the fan motor and compressor.
Moved into a home & had the pros come out & do a maintenance for the inside & outside units of my mini split…yep $700. Later that the fall a tiny mouse got into my outside unit & got killed by the fan trying to escape. THIS TIME I decided to get the mouse out & clean the entire outside unit myself. I disabled the power, took the top & front grill off, vacuumed & hand wiped the inside down ( took photos in case I forgot the order of putting it back together). This summer I will TRY and do the COILS …Thanks LOVE your articles !
Iits a good to cover the electronics with plastic to ensure no water gets in there. The electronics are at the top at the power entry end and often not that well sealed. Some brands encase the circuit board in resin but others dont! So go easy with the water around the black plastic or alloy box to avoid issues.
Had split system installed few years ago and i live up the mountain area and extremely cold 🥶 during winter season Last year for the first time my unit stopped working during an extremely cold night running on heat. The inside unit displayed DF I quickly did a search online and turns out these units can’t handle extreme cold temperatures and goes to sleep defrost mode kicks in. Usually takes about 10 minutes then kicks back on. Thankfully got wood heating.
Great as always! Thank you. On the topic of airflow, the coiled up line-set behind the condenser are restricting some of that airflow. Many DIY folks that have installed this or similar units have the same issue. It would be a great article to see a DIY custom line set length, evacuation, etc… Obviously this wouldn’t work if the line set comes pre-charged vs the outdoor unit being pre-charged.
Thank you for the great article.. I’m shopping for a mini split for my 1500 sq ft home here in Wa. Where as everyone knows it rains a lot so my concerns are I’d think for it to last longer would be to keep it from sun beating down on it and same for rain. Is there any concerns about building a large cover with good size vents so it gets plenty fresh air and to keep dry and from sun exposure?
snake oil. Foam doesnt do anything to the oxidation off. And what cause oxidation? You guessed it! Water. So adding water to the mix is stupid. The cover in this ac unit was designed by a moron. It allows rain to accumulate on the aluminum. someone needs to immediately modify this to resemble a regular whole house unit. AT the very least, put awnings on it.
Say anyone that has a mini split with heater did you notice anything different on your electrical bill? Winter cold months is it cheaper and perform better with the mini split heater than you whole house heater or space heaters? Looking to get 18,000 btu in our one big area the family room, dinning room and kitchen which is a rectangular room about 550-600 ft. Then for the master and two other bedrooms I’d need at least 9000 btu units in each bedroom and maybe a bit more but’s in the master which is about 20×25 plus bathroom. It’s a small house with hot flat room that I need to decide what to put on its black tar and paper roof to reflect the sun from heating it up so much. I rolled on some white sun coating stuff a few years ago over the r over the main Pat of the house were in during the days and evening which really cut down on the heat soaking down from the roof into the house, but it’s wore off and like it was never done. So need suggestions anyone would be greatly appreciated. Well if you read all this that is very cool. With thanks
Good article, quality content. I’m curious, however, about the placement of your system: on the ground, on a concrete pad. I recall last winter you had an issue where you got something like three (or more) feet of snow over a couple of days. That would totally bury this unit. In an area where you get so much snow, shouldn’t the exterior unit be placed off the ground by a couple of feet?
I’m also in NH and I have a 36k DIY MrCool in each my house and my woodshop. Both of them are marvelous air conditioners but neither of them, since day one, have been able to bring heat inside during the winter. One kind of barely works and the other throws a fault code and disables itself. My hvac guy (a young guy getting into the industry, who is willing to take a risky client like me with a DIY system) told me that these units just dont have enough pressure in them to do heat. I am curious if anyone else has anything that corroborates this.