Killroy was here.

I have a system somewhat like yours that I put in 15 yrs. ago. I used a split system and don't have any equipment outside. It's been cooling and heating my house without much drama and very cheaply.
I can see some problems using valves to divert refrigerant between condensers(system oil charge getting split) and I wouldn't want to have pumps and manifold outside. I don't think it's feasible for the average handyman or even the average HVAC tech. but keep us updated on your experience.

Killroy was here.

Am I understanding that you have the air and the ground both as your heat sink? That is, you have dual source unit>? Do you have the aluminum joined directly to the copper? If so you may get corrosion there. How did you get the conduit down to 15 feet?

Killroy was here.

You are missing a few things that the local "scammers" would have provided....
part and labor warranties
permit
licensing
insurance
refrigerant certification
equipment certification
performance guarantee
Energy Star compliance
utility company, state and federal rebate or tax credit eligibility
formal training
licensing and registration fees

I'm bordering on not believing your story, but I guess I do. Certainly what we do is not rocket science but we are burdened by certain formalities such as those mentioned above.
You have broken local, state (if you didn't have a permit and inspections) and federal law based on international treaty (if you don't have a refrigerant handler's certification). You may also have voided your home owners insurance and if you ever try to sell the house you are obliged to check the "I did work without a permit" box on the sellers disclosure.....

In spite of the tone of this post......

There are many homade systems out there performing well enough and I really hope yours proves to be one.  

My objection is the blanket characterization of the contractors in your area as "scammers".
Following rules is expensive and it is how they make their money and feed their families.
All the hours you spent on your Frankenstein have a dollar value as well; how many have you invested? Don't forget to include research/training, shopping, pick-up and delivery of equipment. Did you include purchase price or wear and tear on your tools? How about the taxes that would have to be paid on an hourly wage for all your time? The health insurance........If you do the math fairly, your system may not seem to be so inexpensive. 

Can you believe someone gets paid more than minimum wage for just typing all day? Isn't that what programers do?

Good luck and keep us posted,
Joe  

1. GSHP isnt the same thing as an ASPH, which is what you purchased, GHPS uses water to extrract heat from the earth, where as a ASHP extract heat from the air. They are not the same thing, other then the fact they both use a heat pump.

2. Goodman isn't exactly top of the line, but the quality of the units has improved some what over the last few years.

3. The COP for a ASHP goes to Sh*t when the temperatures drop below freezing, if you believe your getting good COP at 17 degrees, you fooling yourself. When the temperature drops below freezing, your far better off just using electric resistant heat.   

4. The Goodman GPH1548 uses R-410A freon, it's perfectly legal for anyone to buy and install this type of freon. I think Joe had the impression that you were using R-22 freon, but you may still have violated local permit requirements.  

4. The Goodman GPH1548 uses R-410A freon, it's perfectly legal for anyone to buy and install this type of freon. I think Joe had the impression that you were using R-22 freon, but you may still have violated local permit requirements.

Got me on the missed model, my eyes glaze over on the 20+ line paragraphs.

I would mention though TG that the days of Goodman being a less than major league outfit are over.
They are currently driving the industry into a 10 year part warranty (try that with poor quality). If they haven't yet I would expect them to pass carrier in resi. AC sales soon. The only folks that characterize Goodman as substandard are the competitors. Not the consumers or dealers of the last 5 or 6 years.
I've been an Amana dealer for nearly 20 years and was afraid Goodman would dumb them down, but the opposite appears to be true.
j

Killroy was here.

If you recovered R-22 from an existing system without a license, This is a major volition of the law and you could get huge fines against you.  Regardless weather or not you did it correctly and who ever you had check you work is irrelevant.  You don't have a license period, there's no cause in the law that allows someone who thinks they know what they are doing to do it.

Re-reading you original post, I missed the fact that you custom modified the ASPH to work with water.  I do find it difficult to believe that a custom job would yield the same or better results than the manufacture.   

As I have warned others before, this forum is not DIY friendly. I'm sure that I'm in the small minority but I'm proud that I can do things for myself. I think it's the American way to try to improve (cheaper, better quality) on what is on the market.
There are not many of us out there. It's not going to hurt your business and you may make some money working on them when we kick the bucket but the lack of docs. would probably lead you to just tear it all out and install the latest Chinese system.

As for being DIY friendly it's all relative... try posting on http://hvac-talk.com/vbb/ and they automatically chime in that your robbing the HVAC pros and their kids won't have a motorboat for weekend fun 


Check out some of their forums, no wonder most homeowners don't trust HVAC pros.

CH

you still need 608 certification to handle 410A

I got some good information from HVACtalk when I installed my Trane console unit for my garage. It may have changed since 2000 as I haven't been visiting there.
I had a local contractor do the duct work on my install in 1995. I had known the owner for many years and he always asks how the system is doing. They won't do geothermal as they make a good living doing "wham bam, thank you mam" systems. The owner says it not worth it to deal with the ground work and high expectations that come with the high end systems. Geo contractors in the area quote 3x$ for their systems and he gets the job when they think they are being scammed.

When we got a quotes for our system, the 2 quotes (Waterfurance v. Climatemaster), were night and day. Like has been said a million times out here, it depends on the installer. Waterfurance quote was more than the climatemaster and required hiring my own electrican and plumber and did not perform a Man-J. Climtemaster quote was turnkey, cheaper, and performed a Man-J, and determined existing heat-pump was undersized by 1 ton.

This is for Indiana.. total cost was 22k, 5ton system, complete replace of entire duct system, ~4000ft loop field (can't remember exactly).

Even quotes amongst installers of the SAME equipment can vary widely. We received quotes from 5 installers for the same exact equipment that ranged in price by as much as $14,000. When I say "get lots of quotes", I'm very serious. Yes, there is more to a job than price. Need to also check qualifications, experience, training, references, etc. The highest bid doesn't necessarily mean the best job, and the lowest bid doesn't necessarily mean an inferior job.

I have found the advise from the pros on this forum to be extremely helpful.

Well if your hourly wage is greater than mine, then the cost of your system is higher than I expected......LOL

Funny thing with DIY's is you are like gamblers you'll be down $200 on the slots, hit a $100 jackpot and call it a win (i.e. "I did it all by myself but 7 people helped" or "I've got $3200 into it if I ignore some of my expenses")....and when did "simple" morph into a word that means- the help of a "Retired HVAC (35 years in business) friend...." or-weeks or years of work and in at least one case I know; serious injury?

I'm DIY friendly, I do ala cart design and installation service, for folks who want sweat equity in a project. But I don't do it for free, nor do I scoff at codes, laws and other requirements (licensing and insurance for instance).

Something smelled funny about your post which is why I mentioned I wasn't sure if I believed you ("I'm bordering on not believing your story"). Come to find out my BS detector works well.
Tell me Mr. "DIY", if what we do is so simple " (It was so easy its scary...)" and if I don't understand the laws ("Get up to date...."), why did you need an HVAC guy at all? By the way, since your HVAC guy is so in touch with the industry and pricing, did he happen to mention that you could have bought a McQuay GSHP anywhere on the internet for about what (you claim) you've spent and you'd have had 1/2 the installation work and all the warranties?
In fact has anyone ever heard of a real pro supporting the butchering of a new piece of equipment and voiding the 10 year part warranties (please don't mention that you intend to commit fraud if a part fails)? Or did you carve it up first and then cry for help? Speaking of which.....

"EPA restrictions on purchases of precharged units or subassemblies were lifted over a decade ago."

True, but once you cut into the coil and refrigeration piping (without a certification) You broke the law. You also strayed from the "listed and labled" portion of the IMC recognized by most communities (if the rubes in your community don't follow the IMC then they are the exception not the rule). If your HVAC guy did it for you then you have again embellished your contribution. So....? more "DIY" embellishment (BS) or....... illegal refrigerant handling?

You wanna make a hobby out of how cheap you can build Frankenstein, that's fine but since somebody, somewhere will want to know why they can't have a heat pump for $3,200 and I'll have to waste my time explaining it, seems like your thread is a great place to try to nip it in the bud, by answering your question- "I keep thinking I am missing something, but is that all there is to it?"

Or was it a rhetorical question?

Honestly if you are so insecure around pros, then why do you ask us questions?
i.e. "Heat pump question - Air vs. Ground" and by the way, what the he!! does this question have do do with your content?
Truth is you wanted to brag on your "DIY" only to reveal later that you are a fraud.

You could have accepted some fair points about the value of time and job cost and not looked like a shrill elitist......."And joe - While you may be certified, licensed, and/or registered in your field, I have a collection of university degrees in mine from two continents, am recognized as an expert, own patents, teach, am published, paid to speak, and have always made considerably more than minimum wage and (I'll bet) you. Minors included physics, ME, EE, and mathematics, so something as simple as refrigeration isn't exactly a leap."
You even concede the point that what you have done may not be a good idea for folks- "you probably shouldn't do anything I've done here at your house."

So what was so offensive or unfriendly?

Was it this comment? "There are many home made systems out there performing well enough and I really hope yours proves to be one. "

Or this one?- "Good luck and keep us posted"

:J

It's not? I think it's a lot more friendly than HVACtalk, you can't even ask a DIY question there. 

"3. The COP for a ASHP goes to Sh*t when the temperatures drop below freezing, if you believe your getting good COP at 17 degrees, you fooling yourself. When the temperature drops below freezing, your far better off just using electric resistant heat. "

nonsense. modern heat pumps work much lower than freezing temp. my heat pump will keep up heating the house into the hi teens before it needs aux heat and even then it only needs aux heat part time.