mini split or conventional setup

[nerraw117]

I live just a little north of Charlotte, NC. I replaced my entire house setup and with the help of a hvac buddy installed the furnace, coil and outside unit in my garage. Everything is completed but not working. I ran new power to garage, made all the transitions mounted everything in the attic etc. When he came over to charge the system he is telling me that the compressor is bad now. I also forgot my current furnace is natural gas and I do not have natural gas ran to the garage yet, but I am currently pricing it out.

So I got a few options. 1) buy a new 410 2 ton outside unit and coil; roughly 1300 with heat pump for heat.

2) scrap the conventional setup and run a mini split with heat and ac.

my garage is roughly 600 sq ft and somewhat insulated.

any ideas? this has been a tremendous headache for me and I will never have a "buddy" do this work again. I am leaning towared buying a new 410 setup just wondering how the heat pump would heat without strip heat since my furnace is natural gas so I would have to buy a new furnace if I wanted to run strip heat.

 

[pseudorealityx]

Without knowing what your 'buddy' installed, hard to recommend if fixing that system is a legit option.

For a 600 sq ft garage in NC with moderate insulation, a mini-split would be hard to beat...

 

[493mike]

I concur!

 

[nerraw117]

well my options are buy a new mini split or install a new outside unit along with a new heat pump furnace. I already have everything there including lineset, pad, wiring and thermostat to run a conventional setup. I have never had first hand experience with a mini split is the reason I ask which would work better. I can get a 2 ton r410a goodman heatpump and multispeed furnace shipped to my house for $1600. Would it still be worthwhile to run a mini split?

 

[pseudorealityx]

Again... lots of questions here, so it's hard to give an answer...

1) Does the thermostat you have capable of running a heat pump?
2) Is the breaker size/wire size/etc the same between whatever outdoor unit you currently have, and the new Goodman 2 ton?
3) Why do you think you need 2 tons for a 600 sq ft garage?
4) Is the 2 ton heat pump capable of reducing compressor loading to match the multi-speed fan coil unit?
5) You've given a price for a conventional unit.... what's your cost for the Mini-split so you can compare?
6) How important is space within your garage? A fan coil unit is going to take up more room than a mini-split.
7) How important is filtering? A mini-split can't do much filtering, while a conventional unit can be installed with a wide variety of filters. If you're into woodworking for instance, I'd avoid the mini-split.


By the way.... "heat pump furnace" makes no sense. It's called either an air handler or fan coil unit.

 

[404]

By the way.... "heat pump furnace" makes no sense. It's called either an air handler or fan coil unit.

True, but a common description in NC.

What is bad about the compressor? Relay, capacitor?

 

[justinjoyal]

Make sure the compressor is indeed bad before spending more cash on any kind of new system.

Btw, just making sure... The 2-ton or mini-split is for the 600 sq ft garage only ? Not used for the house ?!

 

[nerraw117]

True, but a common description in NC.

What is bad about the compressor? Relay, capacitor?

I have had 2 technicians come out and tell me that the compressor is locked up. When the compressor starts the pressures stays the same between the high side and the low side. No pressure change at all. When we removed the unit from my house we sucked the freon in the machine and closed the valves. I cannot see how it could go bad from sitting for 3 months with the freon in it. It normally sits all winter. They are describing something along the lines of the insides of the compressor is stopping freon from being moved. He even had 150 psi on the low side and nothing on the high side until he equalized pressure with the valves on the manifold of his gauges

 

[nerraw117]

Make sure the compressor is indeed bad before spending more cash on any kind of new system.

Btw, just making sure... The 2-ton or mini-split is for the 600 sq ft garage only ? Not used for the house ?!

Yes, the reason I was installing the 2 ton unit in my garage was because it is what I had from my house.

 

[theoldwizard1]

In general, mini-splits work well in large open rooms, like a garage. Of course, if it a very large room, you may need 2 air handlers.

Part of the reason why mini-split are so efficient is that they have no losses from duct work. They just dump their heated/cooled air right into the room.

If you are going to use the HVAC in your garage more than a couple of days a week, a mini-split will pay back because of lower operational costs. It might take 5+ years, maybe 10+ in your case, because the equipment is already paid for and is been re-used,

 

[nerraw117]

Well I ordered a new heat pump and air handler with coil built into it. I am going to try and run the heat pump without strip heat since it doesnt get very cold in my area. I can always install the heat strip later. Once everything gets done I will post up pictures.

 

[nerraw117]

I agree about the mini-split. If I would have done it over again thats what I would have done but considering I already have the ductwork ran, pad poured, lineset ran, thermostat, wiring etc done. I figured best thing was to do was replace the system and utilize what I have.