Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
I just purchased a 2 ton mini split A/C system and all the parts. Was going to purchase the tools and install it myself but the wife insisted to hire a professional.
Has anyone hired an HVAC expert to install such a system? They will need to run the 240 volt electric from the box for about 30 feet, install the compressor outside and the indoor unit, test and charge the system.
I am guessing about $1,500 for it. Is this a ballpark figure? It's a small town so not many choices for competing quotes.
Im interested to see what you come up with.
I did this last year... Baloon frame home, some insulation, but very simple install in terms of seeing where the piping would route and how the system would be installed.
You can easily see retail/wholesale prices for the split units online.
For a $1500 unit, installers wanted $4500-5000 for the system, installed. Lots of useless talk about not knowing what was in the walls (irrelevant because I was allowing them to ruin it down the outside of our home with linehide, as opposed to running it through the wall, a cleaner and better installation, which is what we did).
In the end I bought all USA made tools, spent roughly a day doing the job, and got the unit full wholesale. So $1300 for the equipment $800 or so for the all US made pro-grade tools, and DIY. No issues. Have done more since. I get it that my time is worth something, but sorry... I don't make $2400 even gross for an 8 hour day's work.
All the garbage about not knowing how much it costs to run a business and all that is just that, garbage. HVAC is a first rate thief of an industry, because one can easily make scaled analogies of any other trade from automotive to plumbing or electrical, etc., and find that the numbers don't match up at all.