Buried Linesets

[Husky250]

What you guys think of buried linesets on the VRF ductless systems. I heard a couple people say it is no problem and doesnt harm as long as piping is covered in armaflex. I know most of the systems of today have a refrigerant/oil flush feature. With that being said is really a good idea to run piping under dirt? Couldnt that affect subcooling and superheat?

[declan simmonds]

hello husky id put the line sets in plastic drain tube instead of putting them directly the armflex would rot through pretty quick im sure
cheers dec

[frank]

Running the pipework under ground should not be a problem so long as it is run in some sort of duct.

I don't know of any installations that are buried directly in the ground.

I would also want to know that the duct is waterproof or can can get rid of any water that enters as this could lead to ice on the pipe/pipes

[powell]

Here's a picture of the foundation of a house I built in Florida. The linset was encased from the garage (see green pipe) to the back of the house where the condensing unit was placed (top left). The encasement was approximately 6" in diameter and somewhat flexible. The lineset, 3/4 pvc drain and low voltage wire were ran through this. I don't what type of pipe it was, some sort of PVC.

[Husky250]

Thanks for the insight

[ozairman]

Denso tape around the pipe insulation then mechanical protection with some pvc piping, you will get some condensation of oil into refrigerant during the off cycle. Hard to say if it will be problematic or not, oil recovery on VRF type units normally works on accumulated hours of compressor operation and operating mode more than oil level itself.