Mini-Split Placement in Garage

[Colin Len]

Just hoping for a sanity check here. I've never installed a mini-split so not 100% certain about the ins and outs of the install. When planning my garage renovation I earmarked an area (red box in picture below) for a possible mini-split install but now that the time has come I realized I made a mistake and there isn't actually going to be room to put it there. So I need to determine a new location. The only wall space I can find which seems suitable is where the green box is in the pic below. There's some flexibility here and it could go slightly more left/right/up but I wouldn't want it to move down any further.

The wall with the green box is the south wall so gets full sun. The backside of this wall is my neighbor's yard so I can't install the compressor there but I can run the line set across the wall to the back of the garage. The compressor will need to be mounted somewhere on the back/west side of the garage (wall with red box).

Is there any reason why this would be a bad place to put it? Seems odd to have it behind a garage door track but there would be ~4" of clearance between the track and the unit and I don't see a door track blocking air flow.

 

[Mikes61]

I installed a 36000 Mr. Cool in my garage about a year ago. Follow the instructions and watch ALL the YouTube videos.

If I were you, I wouldn’t want to run the line set from one side of the garage to the other side. If you can mount the compressor on that outside corner, running the lines across that wall would be way easier than bending them around the corner.

The door track will not block any airflow and you won’t be running the minisplit with the garage door open.

 

[Mikes61]

Another thought is a power source. Is your minisplit 110v or 220v?

 

[aggie113]

Electrical would be the deciding factor for compressor placement. If you can get a 30a run to the side just next to the red then should be fine. Default is usually a 25ft lineset, but I have a run like you are thinking but it also goes up and over a rollup door, took a 50ft lineset.

 

[Colin Len]

I installed a 36000 Mr. Cool in my garage about a year ago. Follow the instructions and watch ALL the YouTube videos.

If I were you, I wouldn’t want to run the line set from one side of the garage to the other side. If you can mount the compressor on that outside corner, running the lines across that wall would be way easier than bending them around the corner.

The door track will not block any airflow and you won’t be running the minisplit with the garage door open.

Thank you. I've already watched some basic vids and would re-watch prior to install. Definitely not ideal to have to run the longer lineset but I don't think there's a better option unfortunately. The kit they have for containing the lineset includes 90 deg elbows so I assumed it wouldn't be too big of a deal to wrap around the corner.

I read thru the instructions for the unit and see that the front has a panel which flips open. So I would need to make sure there's enough room to open that panel with the track in placed. Likely not something I could confirm without having the unit in front of me.

Another thought is a power source. Is your minisplit 110v or 220v?

It comes in both versions but I was planning to to with the 220v since it should be more efficient and I already ran wiring for 220v. During the garage renovation I did all new elec and insulation. Since I planned to have the mini-split where the red box is, I ran the elec for it to that area. Most of that wall has a shed built right up to the wall of the garage but the area in that back corner where my tool box is has some space where there is no shed. So the elec comes out of the wall there and from there I can run some conduit to a disconnect placed near to the compressor. Currently unsure if I'll mount the compressor on the ground in that outdoor corner or more preferably I'm thinking I may put it on top of the shed roof.

Electrical would be the deciding factor for compressor placement. If you can get a 30a run to the side just next to the red then should be fine. Default is usually a 25ft lineset, but I have a run like you are thinking but it also goes up and over a rollup door, took a 50ft lineset.

The backside of that wall is literally my neighbor's yard. It's not a zero lot line so technically I own a small piece of land behind it but in this neighborhood you let your neighbor have this space. On the other side of our property there's the same situation where we use ~1' of land on the side of our other neighbor's garage. So running a lineset on the wall up high on the wall is fine but I can't install anything on the ground behind that wall.

During the garage renovation I did all new elec and insulation. Since I planned to have the mini-split where the red box is, I ran the elec for it to that area. Most of that wall has a shed built right up to the wall of the garage but the area in that back corner where my tool box is has some space where there is no shed. So the elec comes out of the wall there and from there I can run some conduit to a disconnect placed near to the compressor. Currently unsure if I'll mount the compressor on the ground in that outdoor corner or more preferably I'm thinking I may put it on top of the shed roof.

 

[Mikes61]

Yes it has a door on the front that needs to flip open. Mine is about 6-7” when it flips open. That could be a problem with your garage door track in the way.
Could you mount the inside unit under the center wood colored beam?

 

[Colin Len]

Yes it has a door on the front that needs to flip open. Mine is about 6-7” when it flips open. That could be a problem with your garage door track in the way.
Could you mount the inside unit under the center wood colored beam?

Looking at the instructions the door looks small but looking at the unit itself it seems it could be decently large. I should have 4" of clearance if I mount behind the track but I don't think it'll clear. I was hoping to mount it behind the track because there's not much else I can use that space for so seemed like an efficient use wall space. Now that I'm back home I mocked it up again and looks like there's room to right and down from the green box I have drawn and it would still stay to the left of that upper shelf but also clear the door track. I think I could probably just buy it and then once it's in hand determine the final location.

While I won't say "absolutely not" to the idea mounting it centered on the beam and under the shelf it's not ideal. I have some other stuff I'd like to put on the wall right there so it's not ideal. But, if there's no other spot then it could be a compromise.

 

[Crowbarman55]

What's on the wall behind the camera?

 

[Mikes61]

I was thinking directly under the wood beam. On top of the shelf.

 

[cpakalolo]

Just hoping for a sanity check here. I've never installed a mini-split so not 100% certain about the ins and outs of the install. When planning my garage renovation I earmarked an area (red box in picture below) for a possible mini-split install but now that the time has come I realized I made a mistake and there isn't actually going to be room to put it there. So I need to determine a new location. The only wall space I can find which seems suitable is where the green box is in the pic below. There's some flexibility here and it could go slightly more left/right/up but I wouldn't want it to move down any further.

The wall with the green box is the south wall so gets full sun. The backside of this wall is my neighbor's yard so I can't install the compressor there but I can run the line set across the wall to the back of the garage. The compressor will need to be mounted somewhere on the back/west side of the garage (wall with red box).

Is there any reason why this would be a bad place to put it? Seems odd to have it behind a garage door track but there would be ~4" of clearance between the track and the unit and I don't see a door track blocking air flow.

Wherever you put it, make sure you have really good access. And make sure anything you have below it can get wet.

 

[Colin Len]

What's on the wall behind the camera?

It's a mirror image of the wall you can see except way more stuff in the way. Half the wall is covered in cabinets, there's a window, a fridge, and the man door to the garage. Space is even more severely limited on that side to only behind the garage door track. Plus, it's a lot further from the electrical I ran for the AC and the exterior side of that wall faces our back yard so I would not want the lineset ran across that wall. So basically that wall is not an option.

I was thinking directly under the wood beam. On top of the shelf.

Putting it there would render the shelf useless so that's not a suitable option for me.

Wherever you put it, make sure you have really good access. And make sure anything you have below it can get wet.

Interesting point. I had not considered that there was a chance it could drip water on the inside. Or are you referring to the exterior? Exterior wouldn't be an issue but I definitely wouldn't want water dripping anywhere in the interior of the garage regardless of where it's placed.

 

[cpakalolo]

It's a mirror image of the wall you can see except way more stuff in the way. Half the wall is covered in cabinets, there's a window, a fridge, and the man door to the garage. Space is even more severely limited on that side to only behind the garage door track. Plus, it's a lot further from the electrical I ran for the AC and the exterior side of that wall faces our back yard so I would not want the lineset ran across that wall. So basically that wall is not an option.


Putting it there would render the shelf useless so that's not a suitable option for me.


Interesting point. I had not considered that there was a chance it could drip water on the inside. Or are you referring to the exterior? Exterior wouldn't be an issue but I definitely wouldn't want water dripping anywhere in the interior of the garage regardless of where it's placed.

They also have a condensate line that is plumbed directly out the wall. The power goes to the outdoor unit and the inside unit is usually wired to get power from the outdoor unit.

 

[racecougar]

Interesting point. I had not considered that there was a chance it could drip water on the inside. Or are you referring to the exterior? Exterior wouldn't be an issue but I definitely wouldn't want water dripping anywhere in the interior of the garage regardless of where it's placed.

When the condensate line plugs up, condensation will overflow the pan in the indoor unit. When that happens, it will rain on anything below the indoor unit.

As far as where to place it, you really need to be able to open the front panel and access the inside of the indoor unit. If that garage door track prevents doing so, that location doesn't work.

 

[Colin Len]

They also have a condensate line that is plumbed directly out the wall. The power goes to the outdoor unit and the inside unit is usually wired to get power from the outdoor unit.

Yes, I'm aware of all of that. It just didn't make sense how water would get inside. I'm not worried about water outside.

When the condensate line plugs up, condensation will overflow the pan in the indoor unit. When that happens, it will rain on anything below the indoor unit.

As far as where to place it, you really need to be able to open the front panel and access the inside of the indoor unit. If that garage door track prevents doing so, that location doesn't work.

Thank you for clarifying this. I've never heard of these lines getting back up like that in a mini split and causing an interior leak. I believe my whole home AC has an automatic shut off for this purpose and I assumed a mini-split would be similarly safe from water leaks.

As I mentioned, there's enough room to move it right/down so it will clear the track entirely if that access panel needs more room.

 

[racecougar]

Thank you for clarifying this. I've never heard of these lines getting back up like that in a mini split and causing an interior leak. I believe my whole home AC has an automatic shut off for this purpose and I assumed a mini-split would be similarly safe from water leaks.

You know what they say about assumptions...

I experienced this unpleasant waterfall last summer. So now you've heard of this occurring.

 

[aggie113]

Why not both

Yes, I'm aware of all of that. It just didn't make sense how water would get inside. I'm not worried about water outside.


Thank you for clarifying this. I've never heard of these lines getting back up like that in a mini split and causing an interior leak. I believe my whole home AC has an automatic shut off for this purpose and I assumed a mini-split would be similarly safe from water leaks.

As I mentioned, there's enough room to move it right/down so it will clear the track entirely if that access panel needs more room.

Make sure you have enough room to be able to pull off the plastic shell of the unit. This pulls straight out and could be needed to service or clean parts of it.

 

[Mikes61]

Inside the interior unit, there is a plastic pan that sits below the cooling fins. Those fins drip water during the cooling process and the water runs out and down the drain tube. Typically that drain tube is cheap, thin corrugated plastic pipe that gets brittle. I cut mine short and pushed the end into 1/2” PVC pipe. I used a 45* elbow to make it drip outside and away from the wall.

An easy way to stop that pipe from becoming plugged is hook up a shop vacuum to the outside drain line for a few seconds. It will **** out spiders, nests, dirt, etc.

 

[aggie113]

An easy way to stop that pipe from becoming plugged is hook up a shop vacuum to the outside drain line for a few seconds. It will **** out spiders, nests, dirt, etc.

I've used a no-name brand version of this guy to unclog a unit twice. A vac might be easier if I had a good cordless unit. To be clear, this is used on the INSIDE to blow out the line, not on the outside

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-Husky-HVAC-Condensate-Line-Blaster-w-5-Cartridges-HSKY-DB/331890456

 

[Dig Doug]

Just hoping for a sanity check here. I've never installed a mini-split so not 100% certain about the ins and outs of the install. When planning my garage renovation I earmarked an area (red box in picture below) for a possible mini-split install but now that the time has come I realized I made a mistake and there isn't actually going to be room to put it there. So I need to determine a new location. The only wall space I can find which seems suitable is where the green box is in the pic below. There's some flexibility here and it could go slightly more left/right/up but I wouldn't want it to move down any further.

The wall with the green box is the south wall so gets full sun. The backside of this wall is my neighbor's yard so I can't install the compressor there but I can run the line set across the wall to the back of the garage. The compressor will need to be mounted somewhere on the back/west side of the garage (wall with red box).

Is there any reason why this would be a bad place to put it? Seems odd to have it behind a garage door track but there would be ~4" of clearance between the track and the unit and I don't see a door track blocking air flow.

I’d also add a ceiling fan to just move some air around

as others have said watch out for how far away you are from both units 20/25 feet is good
Condensate line will drip out thru the back and then through the wall drip out outside

I would position it where you have full access for maintenance and a direct flow of air maybe slightly under the shelf & above the modular rack / close to the green box as long as your within the range of 25 ft +/-