The biggest complaint I hear about mini splits is how ugly they are, like an eyesore hanging on the wall. For sure they have no apparent beauty, even though they are one of the most efficient heating and cooling units available for the price. But even though her heating cost would go down my wife wouldn’t have one because to her, they just don’t fit the décor.
So I said, what if it was painted, it might even become unnoticed? She said, “can you paint a mini split?” “Why I most certainly can! All I have to do is remove the cover to make it easy to paint any color you think will match your room.” The only remaining piece to paint will be the louver, and that I can mask around to keep paint from getting in the unit.
So yes, you can paint a mini split. The covers over the indoor units can be removed with a moderate amount of difficulty. Every brand is slightly different, but every brand comes with a installation manual that shows details on where each screw is and how to lift the cover off.
I have to admit that I get a little hot under the collar every time I have to remove one. All the little catches seem to be stubborn, but for the stubborn do it yourselfer it’s a very satisfying task. Especially when you consider who you’d be satisfying.
I suppose you could paint the indoor or the outdoor unit if you mask everything that shouldn’t get painted. It just seemed a little cleaner to remove the cover and avoid those stinky paint fumes in the house.
The only word of caution I can think of is to be aware that the indoor unit is not securely mounted on the plate that is securely mounted on the wall. Some models the indoor head is just hung onto the wall plate. So when struggling to remove the cover be sure you don’t lift the unit off the the two tabs at the top of the wall plate.
Can A Mini Split Be Something That Goes Unnoticed?
A funny story related to a mini split going unnoticed. I started wanting to install a mini split in our mother-in-law apartment because it’s heated and cooled by our main first floor heat pump. It’s a constant struggle keeping our comfort level and the comfort of those in our apartment.
I had a friend who bought a mini split to install in his saddle shop and it turned out to be too small so we made a deal and I got a one ton mini split for a good price thinking it would be perfect for our apartment.
You would have laughed if you could have witnessed the whole story of how we finally decided that we could have a mini split in the house. But then we had to figure out which wall it was going to hang on. Of course I had my stubborn moments that related to difficulty of installation.
We had two choices in our small 600 square foot apartment. On a wall over the end of the sofa or over the bathroom door.
But we reconciled and the location that worked out to be the easiest won out.
The funny part being that when she entered the room one day she sort of chuckled and said “I didn’t even notice that mini split”. She didn’t even refer to it as “that ugly thing on the wall”.
I Had To Fudge A Little On The Installation
If you have any experience with the installation of mini splits you may notice in the image above that I don’t have much room or the required clearance over the top of the head that’s mounted over the bathroom door.
Sometime you just have to sacrifice one thing for another. With the head closer to the ceiling than installation instructions stated it made it a little difficult to lift the lid and remove the filters, but I got it done.
Also with the head located where it is, the line set exited right out the exterior wall (notice the small cover to the right of the head), near enough to the location of the outdoor unit that I didn’t have to have a long line set decorating the outdoor siding.
My Conclusion
Not every satisfactory ending has to be achieved with an argument. But, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned. Now I’ll hear for some time yet, “when do you think you will get the outdoor unit hooked up?” And my response will be something like “when the whether is suitable, you don’t want me out there in this freezing stuff.”
Since you’ve read this far, why not travel just a bit further and scope out a couple of my favorite heating and cooling products and tools.
Thank you for reading my article. I hope the information has led to your ability to make good decisions in either working on or discovering how to solve problems in your home HVAC equipment. These are affiliate links, so if you do decide to use any of them I do earn a commission. In all honesty they are products that I would use in my own home or the homes of my friends and family.
Fireplace remotes by Skytech Remote Control Products . My wife loves this and it probably took all of 30 minutes to install. Replace that wall switch or thermostat for your gas fireplace. Easy installation and instructions. In fact I wrote an article that covers the job pretty thoroughly I think.
Honeywell Thermostats. My favorite two Honeywell stats are the T6 Pro and the 8000 Pro series but their is a bunch to select from besides those two models. You can select WiFi that has the capability of operating your system from your smart phone no mater where you are. Honeywell tech support for homeowners is the best out there. Call them if you need at 800-468-1502.
Fieldpiece HS33 Expandable Manual Ranging Stick Multimeter for HVAC/R. I carry two of these in my service truck. Just like a spare tire, when I get out away from everything, it’s no time for a break down. The Fieldpiece HS33 gives me the ability to do any aspect of my trade. I can measure motor or element amps, check capacitors, and AC or DC voltages. Even different scales of OHMS for finding shorted windings or grounded conductors in motors or compressors.
