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Heat pumps and ductless mini-splits, one room at a time
This is one of our own installs, an LG ductless condenser set beside the house it heats and cools. Installation, maintenance, repairs, and Mini-Split Deep Cleaning.
Mini-splits came later than the gas heat Cmags was built on. They get the same 24 to 48 hour turnaround as everything else on the truck.
Heat pumps and ductless mini-splits do a different job than a furnace and a central condenser, and they need a different kind of upkeep too. Installation, maintenance and repairs are the routine end of it.
The part that sets Cmags apart is Mini-Split Deep Cleaning, a distinct service beyond a standard inspection, and the chapter below covers why it exists and when you actually need one.
A Mini-Split Deep Cleaning is a separate job from an inspection. A deep cleaning is recommended once every 1 to 2 years, or sooner if there is a musty smell or any evidence of mold.
Cmags HVAC. EPA-Certified and QIV-Certified. Master Refrigeration II and Master Piper Fitters II licensed. Call (401) 862-4998.
Chapter 01
What a mini-split does that a furnace and a condenser cannot
A furnace and a central condenser heat and cool a house as one zone. Turn the thermostat up and the whole house responds together, whether every room needed it or not. A mini-split system controls room by room instead, so a bonus room over the garage or a finished attic can run at its own temperature without the rest of the house following along.
It also runs without ductwork, which matters most for additions and converted spaces, a sunroom, a garage turned into a den, a basement finished after the original ductwork was already sized and run. Extending a duct system into a room like that is often more invasive and more expensive than a single indoor head and a line set ever is.
One system does both jobs, too. The same indoor head that heats the room in January cools it in July, on the same refrigerant lines, without a separate heating system and a separate cooling system to maintain.
“Chris and Fran and the CMAGS crew are the best! I first contacted them about 4 years ago to replace my condensor and air handler for my central AC. I have found them to be honest, knowledgable, hard working and have never had a service issue.”
Chapter 02, the one that sets us apart
Mini-Split Deep Cleaning, and why it is not the same as an inspection
Every time an indoor head runs in cooling mode, condensation forms inside it. That is just how the coil works. If the head is never opened up and cleaned out, that moisture combined with the dust the blower pulls through gives mold exactly the conditions it needs to grow on the blower wheel and across the coil itself.
The giveaway is usually a musty smell the moment the unit kicks on, or visible growth on the vanes when you look into the head. Either one means it is overdue. Left alone, we recommend a deep clean once every one to two years even without those signs, and sooner if you notice either one.
A standard inspection is not the same job. It checks the system, refrigerant, wiring, filters, the outdoor unit, but it does not open the indoor head and physically clean the blower wheel and coil surfaces the way a deep clean does. Most companies do not draw that line for you, which is exactly why a mold problem inside a head can sit there for years after the system has passed every ordinary inspection.
There is a real payoff beyond the smell, too. A clean head costs less to run in heating mode, and the air coming out of it is fresher, which matters most in a room a mini-split is heating and cooling on its own.
Chapter 03
Where the heads go, and where they should not
An indoor head performs the way it is supposed to only if it is sited well. The line set connecting it to the outdoor unit has to be routed without unnecessary bends that make the compressor work harder than it needs to, and the condensate line has to drain by gravity or by pump to somewhere it is actually meant to go, not just wherever is closest.
The outdoor unit matters just as much. It gets set on a pad clear of grass clippings, leaves and general yard debris, the same debris clearance we check on every inspection, because an outdoor unit fighting its own airflow works harder than it should for the same result.
Get the placement right and the system performs the way it was designed to. Get it wrong and no amount of maintenance afterward fully makes up for it.
Chapter 04
Heat pump service and repair, in both seasons
A heat pump does not get a season off. It is the heating system in January and the cooling system in July, so a problem with it costs a homeowner comfort year round rather than for one season. Installation and maintenance and repairs on both mini-split and standalone heat pump systems cover that whole calendar, not just the summer half.
Free estimates apply here the same as anywhere else Cmags works, Chris comes out and looks at the actual rooms before quoting anything, backed by a one-year labor warranty and a ten-year parts warranty, with service usually available inside 24 to 48 hours.
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Warwick, RI Since 2013
Overdue for a deep clean, or ready for a new install?
Chris walks the rooms himself before he quotes anything. Service is usually inside 24 to 48 hours.