This is a York system approx 20 years old. For the 1st time ever, the drain pipe that runs to the sump pump began to leak at the HVAC unit, just where the outlet pipe connects to the drain pipe. The drain pipe is PVC and is connected to the drain pipe in the unit which is copper. Per the HVAC repair guy, this set-up is incorrect. The entire run should be copper. They can do for about $200. He also told me that if I seal the connection with plumber's putty, that should do the trick. I tried plumber's putty, but the leak is still there although much better. (Drain pipe was clogged too but is now unclogged.) Any ideas on how to seal this? Thanks-

I'm going to wake this thread back up vs starting a new one, and just add to the discussion. I find myself in a similar position to the OP. I have extensive diy experience (flipped 9 houses with 4 historical restorations in the mix), doing all the work myself. While not HVAC certified, I have course credit hours from HVAC classes I took when i was younger, I wouldn't likely try and repair my own HVAC, but a mini split install seems pretty straight forward to me, especially since most of them come pre-charged now with 410a, so charging is not an issue. That said, have been researching mini's for some time now and got the requisite quote from a reputable local HVAC dealer for consideration and comparison. I have a small ranch style house (just shy of 1200 sq ft) located in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. The house was built in 1941, but has been since insulated and new windows by another owner. They seemed to have done a decent job. In the Pacific NW, we don't have the humidity issues that of back east (I lived in the mid-Atlantic 25 years). I.e., it cools off at night. When it gets into the 90's during the summer (i currently only have a gas heater, no air conditioner), it typically gets into the low 60's or high 50's at night. I find the house gets up to 80 during the day with everything closed up, but i can bring that down to 70 opening it up at night, so the temp change is 10 degrees, which strikes me as pretty decent insulation? We don't get too cold during the winter, so I consider this an ideal location for a heat pump. Given our comparatively short spells of hot weather, i am more inclined to look at the HSPF rating than the SEER rating. The local HVAC quoted me on a Daikin 9000 and 12000 btu (one at each end of the house) set up with a total price of $6700. I priced the exact units online @ $2744 and am guessing he gets them for less. I priced the cost for material to run two disconnects (breakers, wire, disconnect boxes) at ~$125. Pricing the cost of gauges and vacuum pump on Amazon, cost is ~$100. and if i want to go the route of a nitrogen pressure check, add another $100. All told, the diy project would cost ~$3000 vs $6700 pro. I'm guesstimating if I want a warranty for diy, it will likely cost about $500-$600 in my area if I can even get an HVAC to do the line test and connect. Am guessing I can since places like Home Depot and Lowe's sell these systems and can connect people with HVAC contractors, am guessing some would be okay with me doing most of the work? Can also pay a higher price for a diy "Mr Cool" unit if i want the warranty. The option i am seriously considering is buying one of the (Many) Chinese built units rebranded (and quality controlled) through western companies. There's quite a few of them out there now, many use Japanese or GMAC compressors. I'm strongly considering Senville, a Canadian company, because their units are made for Canadian winters and they pay more attention to the HSPF rating (it seems) than their American counterparts. I can do a comparable efficiency (actually, the Senville units I'm looking at are higher rated Energy Star units). I can do the same set up, sans warranty, for an all in cost of ~$2000. I'm leaning towards the last option with similar performance at about 30% of the cost. The $4700 difference could pay for a lot of repair work, if even needed. It could actually pay for replacement several times over. Interested to hear other peoples thoughts? [color=#e74c3c]Separated from...... [/color][url=https://www.doityourself.com/forum/air-conditioning-cooling-systems/592302-installing-new-mini-split-need-advice.html]Installing-new-mini-split-need-advice[/url]