Mini Split. . Are you happy?

[Rudyjr]

I just helped my neighbor install an 18k Low Ambient Temp Pioneer mini split in his garage over Christmas vacation. We are in central Ohio and it has been in the single digits here off and on since. The unit has been working flawlessly in all temperatures and easily heats his garage and we have seen some crazy temperature fluctuations. he initially was going to install a Mr. Cool DIY but the idea of having a big loop of excess line outside seemed very half assed. We cut the lineset down and ran it inside the wall with the control wire and the condensate line and it created a much cleaner and professional installation.

 

[Slednut]

I've had a two head Mitsubishi working in a living space that we installed in 2014. It has heated and cooled flawlessly.

Last summer I installed a 24000 BTU Mr Cool DIY in my 26x56' attached garage. It has also worked very well, we've had zero degree temps but I really don't ever want my shop above 60 degrees so I just leave it set at 62 degrees.

Half of my garage is not very well insulated so when it gets really cold it's usually 59 or 60 degrees in the morning. It cooled the garage with no problem, had a day when it was 113 degrees and it was 71 degrees in the garage.

 

[rattle_snake]

Pair of Daikin 18s for a few years now. Everything is great except for need to clean them every 2 week when in heavy use. Filters are insufficient at any cleaning interval and coils get dirty. Have to clean coils yearly. Typical shop dust is corrosive.

A typical split system with real filters would solve this, but cost more, more install labor, have duct work to deal with. So would have to design the system into building at build phase or end up with bulky, ugly system installed on the surface.

 

[Shovelhead]

Man oh man.
I "was" sold on getting a mini split for my shop in a shop. Have a 16x30 framed room inside my metal shop. Woodworking equipment will be in this room.

The more I investigated and watched videos on how to clean these things the less I'm sold.
What a pain in the ***.

Not only will it live in a dusty enviroment, I'm in a big time high heat and humidity part of the Country.

Starting to kick tires on window unit A/C's.

 

[Balvar24]

I installed (2) 2-ton Samsungs in my 40x60x12 open shop with maybe R-11 insulation. I got a good price on them and did the install myself. I also received a rebate from the Co-op for installing high efficiency units.

They're sized just large enough for my climate IF I ran them all the time. I don't. Your slab temperature will impact any units performance. In the summer time, it's a little warm after being off for a couple of weeks. In the winter, I have the opposite problem. I run a kerosene wick heater in the winter to make up the difference and I get up to temperature (60F) reasonably in a couple of hours on a cold day. I also run a ceiling fan to destratify in the winter.

I'm happy, but I knew what I was getting going in.

 

[justinjoyal]

Man oh man.
I "was" sold on getting a mini split for my shop in a shop. Have a 16x30 framed room inside my metal shop. Woodworking equipment will be in this room.

The more I investigated and watched videos on how to clean these things the less I'm sold.
What a pain in the ***.

Not only will it live in a dusty enviroment, I'm in a big time high heat and humidity part of the Country.

Starting to kick tires on window unit A/C's.

Cleaning the filters takes 2 minutes.

Cleaning the whole thing once every few years takes like 1 hour.

No big deal IMO.

 

[WisJim]

We installed 2 Fujitsu Extreme Low Temperature Heating 15kbtu units 6 or 7 years ago, in our 100+ year old farm house. They are both downstairs, and we got them to use surplus energy from our solar electric system. They take care of nearly 100% of our heating load through December, then our electric utility pays us for our remaining banked electricity and we start over in January. This year they are keeping the house around 55 degrees F on their own, even when it has been minus 18 to minus 20 F overnight and barely zero for a high. The house is empty this winter as we are moving to town and we are depending on the minisplits for 100% of the heating. They are rated to be efficient to at least 15 below zero F--I don't have the exact temp and efficiency ratings handy. They are capable of keeping the house warmer than I have it set at now, but since we aren't living there full time, I don't need to have it warmer.
They do a great job of air conditioning the entire house in the summer. (I'm in western Wisconsin, about an hour east of Minneapolis-St Paul, MN).
I'm hoping to install a similar unit in my new shop and garage building.

 

[bobg03]

When I had my house built the house unit was sized big enough to do the garage also but we chose not to install a 2nd zone, don't ask me why..lol

After we realized that when it's 100+ degrees out it rendered my 30X20 garage useless. We had an 18K mitsubishi installed as it wouldn't be an area we wished to heat and cool 24x7.

It has performed flawlessly in cooling here in Coastal South Carolina, and was great for taking the chill out on the rare 35 degree mornings we have here. Last week we had some sub 25 degree temps and it worked OK but if I lived in a cold climate and wanted to be comfortable it would not be enough.

All in all for the conditions here it is perfect. Even when we hit the 30's usually by 1000 hours it is up in the 50's. Last week was an anomally that we typically don't experience and when we do it's usually only a day or two.

 

[rattle_snake]

Man oh man.
I "was" sold on getting a mini split for my shop in a shop. Have a 16x30 framed room inside my metal shop. Woodworking equipment will be in this room.

The more I investigated and watched videos on how to clean these things the less I'm sold.
What a pain in the ***.

Not only will it live in a dusty enviroment, I'm in a big time high heat and humidity part of the Country.

Starting to kick tires on window unit A/C's.

Window unit would have same issue.
The high humidity may self-clean the coils better than super dry desert where I am.

Cleaning the filters takes 2 minutes.

Cleaning the whole thing once every few years takes like 1 hour.

No big deal IMO.

Agreed on times so service, just have to remember. I keep a service log taped to wall so I can't get too far off.

 

[Shovelhead]

I suppose once once you take everything apart to clean it, the next time, and the next time will become not quite the chore. Like anything else.
But it still looks like a pain in the *** to me any way you slice it.

You folks living in different parts of the country, and, or installing one in a house or shop that won't be subject to sawdust will not have to clean the unit nearly as often.

The reason there's already not a window unit in my shop is because I want to look out that window!
So more money and more maintenance is kind of a killer in my situation.

 

[PoorUB]

Cleaning the filters takes 2 minutes.

Cleaning the whole thing once every few years takes like 1 hour.

No big deal IMO.

A mini split in a garage, at least one where the owner does some work in it will need the fan and coils cleaned at least one a year, maybe twice.

If you keep the doors closed and do nothing but park the car you might get by every couple years. And sure, it will run for many years without a cleaning, but do you want it to work correctly? Or is sorta working good enough? I have a few friends with them in garages and they clean the fan and coils every year. The plastic fan blade is the worst. The plastic fan seems to attract dirt and they get bad enough in a few months to really kill the efficiency.

But what do I know, I just installed and served them for a living!

 

[ericm]

Mini split filter box for a wood shop:

 

[justinjoyal]

A mini split in a garage, at least one where the owner does some work in it will need the fan and coils cleaned at least one a year, maybe twice.

If you keep the doors closed and do nothing but park the car you might get by every couple years. And sure, it will run for many years without a cleaning, but do you want it to work correctly? Or is sorta working good enough? I have a few friends with them in garages and they clean the fan and coils every year. The plastic fan blade is the worst. The plastic fan seems to attract dirt and they get bad enough in a few months to really kill the efficiency.

But what do I know, I just installed and served them for a living!

Well, of course the cleaning schedule will be dictated by the work done in the garage. Sawdust flying everywhere is a no-no for pretty much any system, or metal dust from grinding, etc.

A typical air handler is easier to clean because it is larger, has large access panels, larger parts, etc. but once you get a hang of cleaning a mini-split, it really is not that bad. I can see how it could be intimidating for someone outside the trade though.

 

[PoorUB]

Well, of course the cleaning schedule will be dictated by the work done in the garage. Sawdust flying everywhere is a no-no for pretty much any system, or metal dust from grinding, etc.

A typical air handler is easier to clean because it is larger, has large access panels, larger parts, etc. but once you get a hang of cleaning a mini-split, it really is not that bad. I can see how it could be intimidating for someone outside the trade though.

One thing about a standard residential furnace and AC in a garage is you can put decent air filers on the system. I do woodworking, metal working and painting in my shop and I have looked the blower wheel and AC coil over, but haven't cleaned it is 17 years, it doesn't need it. I do have a quality air filter in the unit and change it often.

Some mini splits take apart easily, some are terrible.

 

[Shovelhead]

Yeah I’ve seen that video and heard all about adding filter boxes.
First off, that looks like total **** to me. And, what’s the point really?
See my new mini split and see what I had to build to make it work right without destroying it.

Thats like wearing flip flops in the feed lot to shovel cow **** because they are so comfortable on my feet, but I gotta duck tape 10 trash bags around my feet to keep the **** out my toenails. ~grin

Y'all "in the trade" of servicing these things...what models would you suggest that:
1) are easiest to take apart and clean
2) have the most robust parts, internal and external(the plastic bits you R&R to service them)
3) most reliable over time in a shop enviroment
shop enviroment not meaning the fellers that shops are mostly a lady cave

Thanks

 

[justinjoyal]

One thing about a standard residential furnace and AC in a garage is you can put decent air filers on the system. I do woodworking, metal working and painting in my shop and I have looked the blower wheel and AC coil over, but haven't cleaned it is 17 years, it doesn't need it. I do have a quality air filter in the unit and change it often.

Some mini splits take apart easily, some are terrible.

Yeah, some are a PITA to take apart. Most Gree and Midea-made units I've serviced where easy to work with.

I've seen some cheap, hardware store / ebay style stuff that would make you wanna rip the whole damn thing off the wall...

Yeah I’ve seen that video and heard all about adding filter boxes.
First off, that looks like total **** to me. And, what’s the point really?
See my new mini split and see what I had to build to make it work right without destroying it.

Thats like wearing flip flops in the feed lot to shovel cow **** because they are so comfortable on my feet, but I gotta duck tape 10 trash bags around my feet to keep the **** out my toenails. ~grin

Y'all "in the trade" of servicing these things...what models would you suggest that:
1) are easiest to take apart and clean
2) have the most robust parts, internal and external(the plastic bits you R&R to service them)
3) most reliable over time in a shop enviroment
shop enviroment not meaning the fellers that shops are mostly a lady cave

Thanks

Stick to the main brands and you'll be fine. A good install job and routine maintenance is what will keep pretty much any unit running.

Filtration is definitly not a strong selling point for mini-splits.

 

[My Old Tools]

My shop is 30x40x12 with a 6/12 roof pitch, 22 feet to the top, conventional roll insulation, double on the roof. I put a 36k MrCool in two years ago. We see 100+ with humidity in the summer (20 yards to the lake). The MrCool barely gets above idle most of the time. I doubt it would have pulled 80 degrees when it was -8, but in any normal conditions it will. So far it just works, and makes the shop a pleasure summmer and winter.

 

[Yankeefarmer]

Yeah I’ve seen that video and heard all about adding filter boxes.
First off, that looks like total **** to me. And, what’s the point really?
See my new mini split and see what I had to build to make it work right without destroying it.

Thats like wearing flip flops in the feed lot to shovel cow **** because they are so comfortable on my feet, but I gotta duck tape 10 trash bags around my feet to keep the **** out my toenails. ~grin

Y'all "in the trade" of servicing these things...what models would you suggest that:
1) are easiest to take apart and clean
2) have the most robust parts, internal and external(the plastic bits you R&R to service them)
3) most reliable over time in a shop enviroment
shop enviroment not meaning the fellers that shops are mostly a lady cave

Thanks

Take a look at the MRCOOL Universal. May be more $ than you wanted to spend, but warranty with DIY installation if you use their NoVac lineset, and you can set the air handler up with conventional furnace filters for easy cleaning or changeout. Minimal ductwork required for an open work area. There’s a video on YouTube of a guy who set one up in his workspace with no ductwork at all and he was happy.

 

[bobkat]

You have to be very careful selecting the proper mini-split for heating application. Performance start to drop off on some around 30-40F. Others still give 100% until down below 0F.

I have the senville 24k unit for 1,000 sq ft shop,, A/C wise it is great ,100-degreeTexas days I can cool down to 72 pretty easy. Heat wise last week we had 20–30-degree temps with little sun, output at the unit was 78- 85 degrees. At 50 degrees and sun on the condenser output was 114 deg. I bought mine more for A/C than heat so what I learned is if my climate was 10-20 degrees for long periods it would not be a great source of heat but where I live it gets by.