Paton..

I think (hope) that supplying it with the coldest(?) air in the house would help the short-cycling. I'm planning on letting the cold air either drop thru the vent right above the unit, possibly assisted by a 1 or 2 watt muffin fan.

Now I just need to get the guts to cut a hole in the cherry flooring I just got done laying a month or so ago......

-michael

Toadman...

Glad your thermostat fixed your problem. Are you attempting to keep track of efficiency? I plan on getting a wattmeter for mine so I can measure BYU's per ft2 per HDD...

-michael

I don't have a watt meter but guessing on what I'm using power day. I can judge most of the items using electric except the hot water tank. The best time isn't when I'm not around and check The wattage before and when I get back. I used 13kw in 11.5 hrs. So the two heat pumps we're using .95 - 1.05kw an hr on a day where temps were around freezing all day.
Hopefully the fan works for you. Too bad there wasn't a way to" duct" to your upstairs to pull only that air since It's colder.

Where and how do you hook these watt meters up?

Toadman..

So I put the hole in the floor and added a mini-fan above the unit yesterday. But it was actually a little COLDer in the house this morning than usual. Whaaa?? I'm measuring intake air around 60 and output around 100 when it's running, which is still about every 3 minutes or so. Starting to think the charge is wrong or something. No matter what I do, it short-cycles. I may have to hire someone who knows what they're doing to take a look at it.

I ordered this wattmeter:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271952136069?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

You run a wire from the mini-split thru the coiil (see photo)..

-m

It should be putting out warmer then 100.
Try turning it up to 80 to see if it pushes the heat output up. The fugitsu I have had a leak and flashed. Rebooted the thing and it didn't make any heat then. If you have just had it installed they shouldn't charge you for the labor.

I didn't see any pics of how the meter attaches. That be nice too see what there pulling.

Toadman..

Not sure what you mean by "flashed."

I was told 60 in and 100 out was pretty good...(?)

My installer already came out a bunch of times and pretty much proved to me he didn't know what was going on. He would want money if I called him back again. I'd rather find someone with fujitsu experience.

click on the 2nd photo...it shows a schematic and the toroid coil the wire passes thru....

-m

The operating light flashed and a red light flashed when it was low on refrigerant. How big is the unit and what's outside temperature? My floor mount fugitsu was putting out temperature off 125 around 50. My mutiny Mitsubishi was putting 120 in negative zeros. 100 seesw low

Pbrane
If you go to the Fujitsu website - they rank installers by their experience (number of registered installations) and certifications. Hopefully that this is a good indicator of their knowledge of the product.
I know that, with my guy, I got an extended 12 year warranty because of his status with Fujitsu.

My 15RLS3H is cranking - it was/is -5F out and seems to be keeping up just fine.


If any of you have a "Smart meter" , you may get a rudimentary reading by seeing how many KWH per day you used in the home versus the avg temperature that day.
My utility sends me a weekly summary showing date, avg temp, KWH used, and the cost - it will be interesting to see what we used for Monday/Tuesday (single digits and negatives) this week.

Patonbike.. Yes, I originally checked out the list of Fujitsu dealers in my area, but they all wanted a lot of moola to install. I also would have had to buy it from them. I saved at least $1000 by going thru an online seller and finding my own HVAC guy to install. We'll see if I made the right decision or not.........

Speaking of meters. The electronic wattmeter I bought for $15 is cool, but it's not accurate on my Fujitsu because of a power factor problem. It will work fine on my water heater, though. Thinking of getting a refurbished utility meter (similar to the one Dana suggested?). Takes up a lot of space, but still pretty cheap @ around $40-50.

-m

AFAIK, most electronic wattmeters account for and report power factor. Plus with recent inverters, it should be close to 1.

Do the Fujitsu wired remote thermostats get wired through the bundle that leads outside, or do they get wired through the drywall?

I'm thinking that even if you (or I) just placed the thermostat on the wall 3-4 feet below the head unit, that would be pretty effective (at least, more effective than the thermostat reading the ceiling air temp) and limit the amount of drywall and insulation we'd need to mess with.

I'm sitting here and the set point is 70F. My independent thermostat says it is 65F right below the unit on the wall. My thermostat across the room says 65F too. The unit is cycling on and off which of course makes no sense when the set point is lower than the room temp. I've read recommendations to just turn the set point up but I don't agree. In my experience, it means that it will reach that higher set temp when it's more mild but still come short of the set temp when it's colder.

Posted By pbrane on 18 Dec 2015 08:06 AM
Toadman...

So Mitsubishi offers a wireless thermostat? Fujitsu only has wired options for getting a remote unit with a thermostat inside (the stock wireless control doesn't sense temps). It's not a big issue, but 'd have to fish a wire somewhere... The larger issue right now is the cost: about $300 for the control and the interface board. I'm thinking of dropping cold air from upstairs onto the top of the unit via a small floor vent, possibly with a small muffin fan assisting....

Thanks,
-michael

do you have a part number on the Fujitsu remote thermostat?

Do you have a mitsu or fujitsu? The remotes wouldn't be compatible, if that's what you're asking. Good to know mine isn't the only one that cycles frequently. I'd like to hear from more owners to see what's normal. Thanks. -m

Mine is the Fujitsu 15RLS3H.

My installer said to do the temp adjustment. But my concern is that this will end up with it being too warm when it's mild out, if it's correct when it's colder.

My experience is that the temperature spread between the set point and the room temp increases as it gets colder.

That is to say, for example, when it's 32F out. I get a set point of 70 and inside temp might be of 69F.
When it's 9F out, I don't touch the set point of 70 and inside temp might be of 64F

The issue doesn't seem to have anything to do with capacity, because it's cycling on and off.




Also, it doesn't sound like the remote for Fujitsu is actually a thermostat, it's just a remote to control the temperature (?) like the wireless one, but can be used when not in line of site contact with the head. That isn't going to solve the problem.   EDIT - someone on GBA is saying that  it can in fact be used as a remote thermostat.

I had mine temperature corrected by 8 degrees for a month or so. It tracked the actual temp better, but not great. I decided to try the "high insulation" setting, which erases any temp correction. It seems a little closer now. I think we have to get used to just adjusting the remote to bring the indoor temp up or down. Or....try the wired remotes Fujitsu offers. Go to younits.com or similar or call Fujitsu for part numbers of remotes that have thermostats inside. The cheapest one doesn't. It would cost me around $300 for the thermostat and interface board...assuming I can install it myself. Thanks -m

The thermostat I added on works great. After having temps in the single digits now I can review it. I keep the room set at 68 and the heat itself will kick on at 69.5 and heat up a degree before it shuts off. When it's milder out 50s, the unit will be off for a half hour or more. When temps are lower it well shorten to 15 min. It gets to the point where it will run until it defrosts.

The only problem is when its on single digits, the room stays 68 and not the usual 70 and blows luke warm heat(compressor running low speed). I up the thermostat to 70 and stays 70 and i can hear the compressor sped up. For me I'm happy with spending the extra money as it is more comfortable and more control on the unit. I'm not sure it will save much money on the bill though.

As for the fugitsu floor mount it rarely short cycles and hold the temperature Within a few degrees of the thermostat.

Toadman.. Glad the remote thermostat is working out for you. I wish Fujitsu had a wireless with thermostat. where did you locate it? where's the Mitsubishi? Was it too close to the ceiling? Can you post a photo of where things are? Also, where is your Fujitsu? Not sure what you mean by floor model? Is it in the floor? Or a wall mount close to the floor? Thanks,-m

The Mitsubishi is a foot from the ceiling and located at the end of the living room wall. The thermostat is a wireless one and I set it on the shelf above the fireplace. I'd post pics but I can't get them to upload to the site.
The floor model is raised an 1in off the floor and hangs on the wall. There very nice units. Google fugitsu rffl series for installs.

Call yo units as that helped me a lot with purchasing the unit and answering questions. They could probably help give you insight on a thermostat for your unit.