Looking at Mini-Splits

[Jinks]

I'm getting ready to buy a mini-split for my motorcycle garage/home shop. In Florida, 500 sq.ft. area. I don't need heat, so I've decided on straight A/C. I'm looking at Mitsubishi 14,000/15,000 btu. Any opinions, suggestions, experience?

 

[mpire]

LG is cheaper.

Just make sure that whatever you buy comes with the stupid little certificate so you can get the government incentives. It has to be certified, but most of the big manufacturers have those certs on their websites so you can download and print them.

 

[whatuusay1]

mitsubishi & fujitsu are typically your big sellers but when i was looking for a minisplit I decided on an LG and have been very happy with it. I bought mine from https://www.acwholesalers.com They have a calculator to help do the calculations for sizing. I have a typical 3 car garage and went with a 2 ton (24k) heat/cool unit and its perfect.

 

[JakeKohl]

I'm getting ready to buy a mini-split for my motorcycle garage/home shop. In Florida, 500 sq.ft. area. I don't need heat, so I've decided on straight A/C. I'm looking at Mitsubishi 14,000/15,000 btu. Any opinions, suggestions, experience?

That's probably more air conditioning than you need - for 500sq ft, a 9kbtu unit would probably be plenty. I have a couple of LG 18kbtu units heating/cooling my garage and upstairs office...each is about 800sqft and they're total overkill. 12k btu units would have been just fine in my installation (I had an insulation contractor scare me that I didn't have enough heating and cooling so I upgraded to 18kbtu units).

Mine are also LG and I'm really happy with them...mitsubishi also makes a great product.

 

[jonathan75]

mitsubishi & fujitsu are typically your big sellers but when i was looking for a minisplit I decided on an LG and have been very happy with it. I bought mine from https://www.acwholesalers.com They have a calculator to help do the calculations for sizing. I have a typical 3 car garage and went with a 2 ton (24k) heat/cool unit and its perfect.

Did you install it yourself? Does it come charged or do you need to hire someone to charge it for you if you do install it yourself?

 

[RKA]

They come pre charged for a certain distance of lineset. They will give you an adjustment by weight of refrigerant if you have to shorten or lengthen the lineset for your installation. It should be in the manual. If you can't find it online, the supplier should be able to get you a copy.

 

[whatuusay1]

They come pre charged for a certain distance of lineset. They will give you an adjustment by weight of refrigerant if you have to shorten or lengthen the lineset for your installation. It should be in the manual. If you can't find it online, the supplier should be able to get you a copy.

I installed it myself - I hired a local HVAC company to come install the linesets since i didnt have the equipment to pull a vaccume / flare the lineset etc. The HVAC company charged 135-50 for the connection and testing which in my opinion was well worth whatever headache i avoided (or equipment I would have had to buy) to do it myself.

Mines working out great - I have a build log in my garage thread if you are interested. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121344

 

[jonathan75]

I installed it myself - I hired a local HVAC company to come install the linesets since i didnt have the equipment to pull a vaccume / flare the lineset etc. The HVAC company charged 135-50 for the connection and testing which in my opinion was well worth whatever headache i avoided (or equipment I would have had to buy) to do it myself.

Mines working out great - I have a build log in my garage thread if you are interested. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121344

Thank you for the thread link. Your floor looks great! I will remember to ask if the lineset is included after reading what happened to you. But I might end up cutting a hole in the side of the garage and put a window unit I already have. Later I may upgrade and turn the hole into a window.

 

[Jinks]

I want to thank everyone that responded, sorry it took so long to reply. JakeKohl, your advice was right, I was considering the Mitsibushi 14000 as a compromise with my usual A/C repairman. He wanted 18000 or more, & became more of an argument than I needed. I ended up with a Mitsubishi 12000, more than enough for my space. Unfortunately I used the best company I could find. Good sales, reasonable price, Larry, Moe, & Curley for techs. I've straightened out most of the things they did wrong, but would have done a better job on my own. Unfortunately I couldn't find anyone to simply do the pressure test, vacuum, & start up at a reasonable price so I simply payed for the install to get the warranty. Both the indoor & outdoor units are scary quiet & keep the shop cool & dry with little effort.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Both the indoor & outdoor units are scary quiet & keep the shop cool & dry with little effort.

Anyone building new, should really look at mini-split heat pumps ! For a house, a multi-zone setup or even dual units is always an options. Not cheap to install, but cheap to run ! People who live in climates where the temps get down below 20F for long periods will need additional heating.

The only thing cheaper to operate is a ground water source heat pump, but those are very expensive to install !