Lennox MS7C mini split? any first hand knowledge?

Users who are viewing this thread

Mar3232

Member
Messages
246
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Indiana
Anyone familiar with lennox mini splits -- good buy on this model at a local surplus place. Good, bad indifferent? What compressor do they use? Stay away or not? Price is right, that's for sure.

thanks
 
Messages
705
Reaction score
48
Points
28
Location
Montreal, Canada
Best = anything commercial grade that installs on a roof. They have beefier everything, bigger amps to run squirrel cages, semi-hermetic compressors, etc.

Good = Your full service ducted heat pump with a high SEER. A healthy 2 ton condensor that's parked somewhere on the side of your house, protected by a condensor cage to prevent copper theft from meth addicts.

Bad = The mini-split is the poor man's "AC". Look ma, no ducts! It's basically a cosmetically wider window air conditioner: they split it in half so the evaporator installs on your wall, and the condensor is hung on the exterior side of the wall. Don't expect this to be made in China, that would cost too much, the retailers wouldn't make enough from the thin profit margins. Components usually from Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, India, "developing" countries.
pro-series-rigid-ac-cage.jpg
 

Mar3232

Member
Messages
246
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Indiana
yeah and that tells me a lot about Lennox -- anyone? I'll probably get it anyway. Have an LG mini split I like but this is for the garage.
 

Mar3232

Member
Messages
246
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Indiana
they both suck. pilsner urquell is beer.

at least they're not made in canada.

-- nevermind and so glad you could entertain yourself with my simple question.
 

Reach4

Well-Known Member
Messages
38,798
Reaction score
4,412
Points
113
Location
IL
Bad = The mini-split is the poor man's "AC". Look ma, no ducts! It's basically a cosmetically wider window air conditioner: they split it in half so the evaporator installs on your wall, and the condensor is hung on the exterior side of the wall.
The mini-splits are usually more energy efficient than the units with the condenser on the roof. Mini-splits and central units are quiet. Window units are less efficient, largely because they don't insulate well. Window units are noisy.
and the condensor is hung on the exterior side of the wall.
The condenser for my Mitsubishi is on a small pad on the ground. The compressor is variable speed rather than cutting on and off. That makes for nice even temperature control.

Like the others, I don't know anything about the Lennox units.
 

Dana

In the trades
Messages
7,889
Reaction score
509
Points
113
Location
01609
I seem to remember that the Lennox units are designed & made by Gree, the largest AC manufacturer in China. (Even the sheet metal of the MS7C series looks nearly identical to the Gree Vireo series.) Compare the price/performance between some Gree & Lennox units if you're really going there, but spending the money on a better mini-split is going to be worth it.

Cheap mini-splits are usually don't have a lot of tech-support or repair part availability- they're essentially "disposable" units, and usually not a great value despite the low price. It's better to buy a decent name brand like Daikin, Mitsubishi, or Fujitsu, but only if there is local distribution and installer support in your area. Support for both Mitsubishi and Fujitsu are pretty good in my area, Daikin, not so much (but some). Daikin is the world's largest vendor of variable refrigerant volume AC & heat pump equipment, but primarily in commercial space, and it's usually pretty good stuff.

Far from being a glorified window-shaker, inverter-drive mini-splits are both much quieter, more efficient, and more comfortable, than window-shakers, and deliver more stable room temps than a 1-2-speed ducted split systems. Key to getting the most comfort out of them is to consider the minimum modulated output as well as the maximum. Turn down ratios are not infinite, and bigger is not better. Sized correctly they run nearly continuously at low speed, modulating output with the cooling (or heating) load, and only cranking to high speed under peak load conditions.

In terms of modulating range, I'm a big fan of the Mitsubishi MSZ/MUZ -FH09NA 3/4 ton heat pump, which can throttle all the way back to 1600 BTU/hr in cooling mode, 1700 BTU/hr @ 47F in heating mode but still deliver 9000 BTU/hr of cooling, and over 10,000 BTU/hr of heating down to -15C/ +5F, less heat but still heating down to -25C/-13F. There's nothing remotely as flexible in the ducted AC / heat pump world.
 
Last edited:

Mar3232

Member
Messages
246
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Indiana
Ok thanks -- hard to beat 513 bucks for a complete Lennox unit -- thought I'd put it in my workshop. Have an LG in the house which has worked out well. Thanks for the tip -- sounds like Gree. I'll look at that Vireo.
 

Dana

In the trades
Messages
7,889
Reaction score
509
Points
113
Location
01609
You can buy a 3/4 ton Gree for about that type of money too , but the minimum modulated output of even the 3/4 ton Lennox beast is over 4400 BTU/hr. If you don't have substantially more load than that it's going to be cycling much more of the time than modulating. The newest 23 SEER version of the 3/4 ton Vireo is ~$800-900 at internet retail (even Sears!) but there are older versions are still around at internet stores for less than that. The newer 9K Vireo modulates down to 3100 BTU/hr, which is a bit better than the Lennox.

Does the $513 price point include linesets and pad/brackets (and warranty :) ) ? Which size is it?

Have you done a Manual-J on the workshop?

How big is the space you're cooling/heating with the thing?

Any of the components look familiar?

83dccce5-b40a-43d4-bd3b-5d634ad5fc84_400.jpg

lyey5uxvkf-63cd50b6-8e6b-77fc-ec7e-3877f2c21a5b.jpg
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks