Suppliers for bits and pieces

[ajpb]

Hi,

We're about to do a 12,000 btu MillenniumAir DIY install this weekend. The building is a bit quirky in places so we've had to take a fair bit of advice (thanks Simon!) and be a bit inventive about how we do things. As a result, we've had to find large trunking, and some different methods of mounting the outdoor unit.

Simon suggested we look at UniStrut system for mounting the outdoor system, and we initially called City Electrical Factors (CEF). But they weren't able to deliver to us, because they do not accept credit card over the phone!!! So we had a scrape about to find online suppliers, and discovered Operational Resources at www.opres.co.uk.

They sell all the unistrut bits and pieces, and seemed very helpful on the phone. In case anybody else wants to make their own brackets, we ordered :-

600mm galv cantilever arms
a 3m section of slotted unistrut 41x41mm rail
some short (21mm i think) hex bolts for bolting arms to rail
some longer (51mm i think) hex bolts for bolting the unit down
a box of spring nuts...

This system is really clever. You slide the sprung nut into the rail. The spring holds the nut in position while you bolt the bracket on... Once tightened up the whole thing is really rigid. Impressed.

Do make sure you order everything galvanised though, otherwise it will rust.

Finally we used TLC www.tlc-direct.co.uk to supply our trunking. Order 100mm x 50mm PVC. It has rounded edges so it looks OK indoors, and I assume it will last OK outdoors too.

I'll try and get photos of the install as we do various bits of it. Ours is a bit of an atypical install in that we have no solid wall to attach the outdoor or indoor units to.