Ideal Air Mini Split 12k btu

ok so this is my first time on this site, so bear with me a little. I have an ideal air mini split 12k btu air conditioner and was wondering if anyone is familiar with that model or any other kind of mini split. Due to the conditions it would be very difficult to have the outdoor unit, outside. so it is currently in the attic with the piping running straight down to the room below. it doesnt seem to quite do the job of being able to cool 4k of air cooled lights though, what it is supposively rated to do. there is also a 20-some year old central air throughout the house for added help. is it having such a hard time cooling because the outdoor unit is working to hard because of being an such high temps? any clue as to what the rated temp the outdoor unit can handle and still function efficiently? any ideas as to what else can be done help keep temps down

Man mini splits are the way to go. Are you using hoods and fans to pull the hot air from the lights?? I use central air but I also have a sealed room with 1000W being cooled with a hood and 675 CFM fan. My temps stay whatever the AC is set on.

yeah have two 8in vortex cans one on each pair of lights (and yes they are all in 8in hoods). the four lights are in a 8x8 sealed area with the indoor unit of the mini split inside of it. supposively the 12k btu is enough for 4k if theyre air cooled, which they are but the temps are way hot pushing 85 and no way to get them down. i have it set up with an 8x8 sealed tent inside of a 10x15 room. where the central air is being blown into the room with an in can fan sucking in air from outside the tent on the bottom while the two 8in ducts are blown out of the top.

I bet it's hot up in that attic. You need to get rid of the heat that accumulates so the unit can run properly. If it's 130F like it is in mine, it is not an efficient environment.

yeah thats what i was thinking, i got a whole house attic fan that is 1320 cfm and it seemed to help a little. its a kinda soon to tell, but was just trying to plan for other options if it doesnt work. what is an efficient environment? 90's? i know it cant be to low seeing how its made to go outside. any other ideas of how to evacuate the heat from the attic?

90s are better for sure. I have used them in temps near 140F and they work but of course not as well. The whole house fan will help definitely, especially if you have plenty of vents in your attic. (gable vents or roof turbines) Are you exhausting the lights to the attic or to the room?
At 3.4 btu per watt you need nearly 14,000 btu for your area, so with the ducted lights hopefully you will be ok when you have it all dialed in.
Here is a link to a btu calculator if you want to check:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/heating-cooling-and-air/air-conditioners/sizing-worksheet/index.htm

there are plenty of vents in the attic, one on each end of the walls (house fan at far end) with vents in the roof about every 6 or 7 feet. the exhaust from the lights is just going into the room because if they were ducted directly out of the room into the attic it creates a vacuum in the room which really fucks with the central air and causes moisture on the vents/ducts throughout the house. when i purchased the miniplit i was shown a chart that stated 12k btu would be enough cooling power for 4k if they were air cooled.

bump bump bump....

anyone familiar with mini splits??