mini-split

I am considering buying one and am interested in where the best place to buy one would be. I know Home Depot carries LG, Rheem and King brands, but there are other manufactures.
As I do not know anything about the various brands and models, I would appreciate any information you would like to share. Do they usually have end of the season sales on these types of items down here? Would a 110 v or 220 v be better? I also understand some heat as well as cool, what are some opinions on this?
Thanks in advance.

All my neighbors have them and they all say Mirage is the only brand to go with and some of them had Electroventa next to 7 Eleven install them. They are all nice and cool and happy.

We have purchased and had installed mini splits from Alfredo Cabrera, Chapala.
He sells Mirage. We have been extremely satisfied with the product, price and installation.
His contact info is: 331292-3394 / 3339523878
alfredo.cabrera@connectsolutions.com

Try to get one with DC powered electrics - this can slow the fans without burning them out. Also, I think they all have this, a dehumidify function. Many times you can cool the air to a nice comfortable level just by removing the humidity. A lot cheaper than running the AC compressors. Of course you have to have a pretty airtight space for this to work.

sm1mex wrote:We bought 2 mini splits from Alfredo mentioned above.  Best price 4-5 years ago and I highly recommend him.  Broken English but he understands when you speak simply.  We have been running them on timer for a while from 2-3 hours a night. We have solar and our electric bill is usually 80-100 pesos for 2 months, but this latest bill was 396 pesos (22 dollars for 2 months).  So they do consume power. If you have solar, no big deal.  Best to have 220 line for the a/c's to be hooked up to.  Saves strain on the unit and runs more efficiently and less cost than 110 hook up.

How does that work, do you have a separate meter for the 220 or do you change the whole house over to 220? I am afraid I do not know much about electricity. Thanks for your help.

The smaller units can run on 110V and are good enough for one room.

WHERE are you living that you need AC? Just curious. We are in La Canacinta--at the far west end of Ajijic--and we haven't even used the swamp cooler in the last 2 years, and believe me, I am heat sensitive, altho I am skinny, which may help a little, but back in the day--2 or 3 years ago--I was running the portable swamp cooler a lot. Haven't used C3PO (his name) recently, nor have I used R2D2, the portable heater, in the winter. Well, perhaps after 12 years here, I am getting acclimated, altho I doubt that. Please comment--I am wondering. Have a nearby friend who bought an air conditioner because she couldn't stand it any more. Am I in some sort of cool place or acclimated (12 years here) or what???

You would be acclimated by now. The blood thins out in warmer climates. Ceiling fans do the job for us. I freeze my ass at anything less than 18c now which used to be shorts and T-shirt temps in the frozen north....jaja.

JayBear wrote:WHERE are you living that you need AC? Just curious. We are in La Canacinta--at the far west end of Ajijic--and we haven't even used the swamp cooler in the last 2 years, and believe me, I am heat sensitive, altho I am skinny, which may help a little, but back in the day--2 or 3 years ago--I was running the portable swamp cooler a lot. Haven't used C3PO (his name) recently, nor have I used R2D2, the portable heater, in the winter. Well,  perhaps after 12 years here, I am getting acclimated, altho I doubt that. Please comment--I am wondering. Have a nearby friend who bought an air conditioner because she couldn't stand it any more. Am I in some sort of cool place or acclimated (12 years here) or what???

Speaking for those of us who have installed AC of one kind or another and have lived here a while, there's this:
Every body is different. What works for you has nothing to do with what works for someone else and every body knows when it's uncomfortable enough to want more coolth in its life: in our case, nighttime for the minisplit in the bedroom, in a house buried behind walls, with no cross ventilation. Ahhhhh. Relief!

Besides the above, some houses are hotter/colder than others. It can be because of where the building is situated on the lot, the kind of construction, etc.