Heating/Cooling shop

[grabeb]

880sqft garage with 19' vaulted ceiling attached to another 16x18 garage with maybe 12' ceiling height. Everything is mostly insulated and working to finish it off by this winter. Currently, I've been heating it with electric heat and I can fairly easily keep it 60+ in middle of South Central Kansas Winters. I also have a larger room window a/c that will cool the bigger garage some if I try. Debating if I go with a traditional Gas Furnace/AC or dual head DIY Minisplit system. I have a dual head mitsubishi mini on my 2nd floor of house, so I'm well versed in them, just not sure I want to spend the $8000-10,000 it would cost for similar system on garage. Friend installed a Mr Cool on his 40' class A and has been happy. With the traditional, I need to double check the line is still good, but I do have gas line from house to detached shop I ran 18yrs ago, so I should have gas at the ready. I have been told I could have a furnace that was undersized on another house, so it's only half dozen years old if that. I'd just need to get the condensor, which I might just have my houses swapped out for a multi stage unit and use that one. It's only a few years old.

I also have 200amp service to garage, so plenty of power and should have gas so my options are open. With the traditional setup, I would likely need to shift overhead door over a foot or two on my smaller garage, so I can stick the condensor away from my backyard patio. Not a huge task as the header is side to side, so it's an easy reframe.

I honestly, think the mini is the easiest and cleanest with least amount of work, but I've been told they aren't great in a shop due to dust. I try to keep things clean, but it is a shop and I do occaisionally do light woodwork, but I try to catch most with a small dust collection setup.

What have you all found?

 

[930dreamer]

What about a DIY Mr. Cool mini split?

 

[grabeb]

What about a DIY Mr. Cool mini split?

That would be my DIY mini option. Curious if good option or if central system better.

My main goal is to keep the garage above freezing in winter and comfortable in summer if I go out to work on something. I tend to keep it 50-60's in winter. If I can get it to 80's in summer that's find.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

If it was me, and AC was a priority, I'd go with the mini-split.

If you put a bunch of money into a garage/shop build....the HVAC system is not a huge % of the cost but can make a big difference not only in the comfort level of the space, but if you want to even be out there.

I was out in my (NON HVAC) barn Friday turning a small vase for my grand-daughter....and the proof of my love was the half gallon of sweat I lost while I was out there doing it. If it would have been for anyone else, I would have walked out there, felt the heat, turned around and went back into the house.

BTW...the barn is 80 years old and is uninsulated so no HVAC. My garage is fully insulated and I went with in floor heat with NG wall mounted boiler and a standard AC....but mini-splits weren't nearly as popular (or good) back in 2006 when I built it. But, when I built it that was the best HVAC system I could find.

So....buy once, cry once.

 

[dcg9381]

That would be my DIY mini option. Curious if good option or if central system better.

My main goal is to keep the garage above freezing in winter and comfortable in summer if I go out to work on something. I tend to keep it 50-60's in winter. If I can get it to 80's in summer that's find.

DIY or your contractor installed? Either work. Many of us choose the mini because we can do the work ourselves. Around here it's 300% more to pay a contractor to do it.

I'd put an 18-24k unit in 900 sqft (OK to over BTU mini splits). Mr. Cool is the "consumer" brand that will have a warranty-ish. Pay attention to cold weather performance, in colder climates you need to move up to "hyperheat" units to keep them heating worth a darn below freezing....

They do have filters (for dust). Pretty sure you can pre-filter also.

You've got catchment system and could add a secondary filter for shop air if you wanted.

 

[Yankeefarmer]

Six years in, I’ve had great results from my Mr Cool Universal in my 1200 sq ft shop, primarily heating through the winter season and what little air conditioning is needed in the summer. If you search on my user name for my posts on the subject you’ll see I’ve posted ad nauseum, but provided lots of details so I won’t repeat them here. I used this system because I wanted control over air distribution and I wanted good filtration to protect the coils from the shop atmosphere.