Buckaroo5
Well-known member
I just purchased a 30+ year old, 1-1/2 story seasonal cabin in southeastern Ohio and going through the first winter - total area is 1200 sq ft with first floor about 900 sq ft. Walls are maybe 4-5" thick pine tongue-in-groove boards with no air space/insulation - windows do not have double panes but well sealed. I need to heat a portion of the first floor in the winter a little to keep the water system from freezing up when I am not there - maybe 50F or so. I heat with a wood burning stove when I'm there which is only occasionally. I currently have 240V baseboard resistance heat throughout which I leave off but set a portion of that (maybe 3000 watts) at 55F while I'm not there in the winter time per former owners recommendation. The water pump, water heater and pressure tank are in the cabin and the line coming from the cistern is in the crawl space with some heat tape on it to keep from freezing. I drain the cpvc piping as much as possible when not there and put some RV antifreeze in the drain piping traps. I am thinking I could save some money and provide some AC in the summer by installing a Mr. Cool 4th Gen 24K Heat Pump unit with a single head downstairs and a supplemental window AC upstairs. No place to mount a head unit in the two bedrooms upstairs as very limited vertical wall area and no water piping up there. I could maybe do a knee wall head install but I don't think Mr. Cool has those for their DIY units. Sizing/Install/Equipment Selection recommendations? Could do the HVAC charging myself if necessary. Thinking also about caulking or chinking the tongue-in-groove joints on the exterior to better seal things up?
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