Heat and cool 90 square foot room, mini split?

[Strouty]

My shop office is a 6' wide by 15' long room, it is only 7' tall. I am currently using an oil radiator for heat and it works, but not great. In the summer I have to leave the door open to keep it cool, this is creating lots of dust issues. Is this space just too small to heat and cool that way or will it work? I am in Maine so we see zero degrees in the winter, so the heat pump has to work in low temps.

 

[rburke65]

90 sq ft? How about a window unit. That's a small area.

 

[Craptain]

My shop office is a 6' wide by 15' long room, it is only 7' tall. I am currently using an oil radiator for heat and it works, but not great. In the summer I have to leave the door open to keep it cool, this is creating lots of dust issues. Is this space just too small to heat and cool that way or will it work? I am in Maine so we see zero degrees in the winter, so the heat pump has to work in low temps.

I have a 12k unit in my 500 Sq ft home and it works pretty well. I realize that Florida lows are still usually above freezing, but not always. A good unit is designed to work to -15 C. And I don't think you see that often. But I think it would also depend on humidity. They are designed to go into defrost mode if the outside unit freezes. But if it is dry enough this won't happen.
Check out the specifications and go with a good name brand unit.

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[Strouty]

My walls are 8" thick, so not sure a window unit would work that well. Do they have window units that will heat enough?

I was looking at mr cool 9k units home depot has.

 

[PoorOwner]

I have a 12k Mini split that will go as low as 4000 that I will be putting in a similar space. I think mine is around 93 sq ft.

From what I gather 4000 BTU is still a bit oversized, but in the worse case, the compressor would just shut off waiting for a demand to cool again, it's no different than a window compressor shutting off and on. However, 100 sq ft is small and any heat source (including myself) would heat up the room 2 degrees in 15 minutes if there isn't any AC to remove the heat. From my calculation, if you have 2 person in the space, suddenly 4000 BTU is no longer oversized, as least that's what the calculator says.

if you are shopping for new. I see LG makes one that will go as low as 1000 BTU which would be perfect for small room application

http://www.totalhomesupply.com/9000...gle-zone-system-with-heat-pump/p/LG-LS090HSV4


why not window unit, they are too loud, and there is hysteresis range of a couple degrees before turning off and on, means at times your **** would sweat waiting for the window unit to kick on.

 

[Strouty]

I never really thought about a mini split until today. How does the outside unit mount? Can it be mounted up high on a shelf or does it need to be down low or on the ground?

 

[PoorOwner]

You want to elevate it off the ground and don't let it sit in the snow, it can be higher and lower than the indoor unit.

People use brackets to mount on the side of buildings, the better ones only calls for 4" clearance to the wall, but some ask for 12". People mount it to the wall anyway.

 

[Strouty]

How far away can it be? This could be really interesting. Things with mini in them don't usually get me this excited!

 

[PoorOwner]

How far away can it be? This could be really interesting. Things with mini in them don't usually get me this excited!

They can be 30-50 feet away depends on the manufacturer specs, but you probably need to add refrigerant beyond 25'

I don't know why it's called mini split. My mitsubishi is around 36" tall and 30" wide and takes up decent space like a whole house condenser.

In Asia, the literal translation is just "air conditioner that have separate body"

 

[Craptain]

That LG unit has pretty good specs. And it can be mounted with 65' separation. Helluva deal.
One of the things I really like about my mini is how quiet it is. I don't notice it most of the time.

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[shortykorte]

My office is 7'x 20' with a drop ceiling. Also all walls and ceiling are insulated. I used a portable room AC and it works great. During the hurricane power outages or broke AC units it goes to the master bedroom. For the exhaust air, I put a 3/8 plywood panel in the door opening held with a magnet and a bracket to hold the hose. https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=663150&d=1499307806


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[Strouty]

I am trying not to take up any floor space if possible I do have wall space on an outside wall for the unit.

 

[kelpaso1]

You want to elevate it off the ground and don't let it sit in the snow, it can be higher and lower than the indoor unit.

People use brackets to mount on the side of buildings, the better ones only calls for 4" clearance to the wall, but some ask for 12". People mount it to the wall anyway.

And will regret it later. I had mine mounted on the outside wall on my garage and it vibrated the whole wall. This summer I made a metal stand an sat it on 2 sidewalk blocks on the ground. Can't even hear a thing now.

 

[Strouty]

I have an area that I could set it up on stands, but it would be close to 65' away. Could you mount it to the wall and have it sit in rubber bushings, like a generator or something?

 

[kelpaso1]

Mine did have rubber feet under it and rubber between the wall and brackets and it still vibrated the wall. Mini splits are pretty popular here and nobody uses the wall brackets. Also mini splits aren't great in real cold weather. My 18,000 btu gives me about a 30 degree temp difference between inside and outside. If it is -10C I get +20C in the garage. -15C out +15 in and -20C out +10 in. You're right beside me and the winters usually stay around -10 with the odd cold snaps to -20 but they don't last long. They are also very energy efficient. Cost me $30/month in the winter months to keep my garage toasty warm.

 

[Orionrising]

What kind is yours kalp

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[kelpaso1]

It's a Kerr KMH18SD-1.
18,000 BTUH @47 degrees F
9,000 BTUH @17 degrees F
SEER 21.00
Max Amps @230v 6.7