Above 1200 Sq/FT PNW off grid compound
- Thread starter sjvicker
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
That was a pretty cool piece of machinery. Their crew was only 5 people and they were able to screed as fast as the trucks could pour the mud. I was chatting with the owner and they decided to invest in the equipment to take some of the physicality out of the work so they can continue to run their business as they age. I have plans for concrete aprons around the buildings and a house slab over the next few years and will definitely be giving them a call.
We recently had our final inspection approved!!!
The stem wall created a few challenges for us. The stem wall is 10" thick so the man door needed to be set to the inside of the opening or else it wouldn't open past 90deg. It actually looks pretty good to me and eventually I'll build an awning over it. The other challenge with the stem wall was pinning the wainscot to it. I used roofing felt paper between the concrete and the metal for a break and used hammer set anchors every other rib. It worked pretty good but I'll need to go back next year and paint the heads.
The plans for this weekend are to get the wood stove hooked up, clear as much as we can out of our storage unit and to do some dirt/gravel work so we can get a trailer in the lean-to door. After that I need to finish some electrical in the shed and submit for the rough-in inspection on that.
The stem wall created a few challenges for us. The stem wall is 10" thick so the man door needed to be set to the inside of the opening or else it wouldn't open past 90deg. It actually looks pretty good to me and eventually I'll build an awning over it. The other challenge with the stem wall was pinning the wainscot to it. I used roofing felt paper between the concrete and the metal for a break and used hammer set anchors every other rib. It worked pretty good but I'll need to go back next year and paint the heads.
The plans for this weekend are to get the wood stove hooked up, clear as much as we can out of our storage unit and to do some dirt/gravel work so we can get a trailer in the lean-to door. After that I need to finish some electrical in the shed and submit for the rough-in inspection on that.
Adaylate
Well-known member
Wow! Building looks great!
We didn't put any Hardie up. I found some water intrusion on the window sill, no doubt from the wind driven rain we had.
Shifted gears, went inside and built walls.....
We didn't put any Hardie up. I found some water intrusion on the window sill, no doubt from the wind driven rain we had.
Shifted gears, went inside and built walls.....
As great as it was to have the shop signed off, I think I'm most excited about getting organized. I've been working out of a small garage or less for decades and now I can finally not have stuff crammed so far into every nook and cranny that I forget I even have it.
I took a bit of a risk and ordered some cheap cabinets off of Amazon. These are the Letaya cabinets and for the price ($150ea) they are perfect for my needs. They are thin and I wouldn't put too much weight in them but for a cabinet that isn't frequently used they fit my needs perfectly. I'll probably buy a higher quality cabinet for the other side of the shop to hold tools and heavier items.
I also purchased a wood rack off of Amazon and mounted it sideways to hold long material. I need to get a chain around it but, for now it seems like its going to work perfectly.
I took a bit of a risk and ordered some cheap cabinets off of Amazon. These are the Letaya cabinets and for the price ($150ea) they are perfect for my needs. They are thin and I wouldn't put too much weight in them but for a cabinet that isn't frequently used they fit my needs perfectly. I'll probably buy a higher quality cabinet for the other side of the shop to hold tools and heavier items.
I also purchased a wood rack off of Amazon and mounted it sideways to hold long material. I need to get a chain around it but, for now it seems like its going to work perfectly.
I like the way you roll.As great as it was to have the shop signed off, I think I'm most excited about getting organized. I've been working out of a small garage or less for decades and now I can finally not have stuff crammed so far into every nook and cranny that I forget I even have it.
I took a bit of a risk and ordered some cheap cabinets off of Amazon. These are the Letaya cabinets and for the price ($150ea) they are perfect for my needs. They are thin and I wouldn't put too much weight in them but for a cabinet that isn't frequently used they fit my needs perfectly. I'll probably buy a higher quality cabinet for the other side of the shop to hold tools and heavier items.
I also purchased a wood rack off of Amazon and mounted it sideways to hold long material. I need to get a chain around it but, for now it seems like its going to work perfectly.
I'm not sure I mentioned it or not but since earlier this year my Wife and I have been living in our camper while we completed the shop build. In general its been fine but there's been some challenges lately that are making the off-grid life more challenging than we expected. Its nothing we can't overcome but its all been a bit frustrating.
The freeze recently was worse than it typically gets here and I didn't drain out our camp propane water heater so now that's trash. On top of that our HF generator was working great to charge our solar system batteries (no solar panels installed yet at the shop) and decided to have an issue with the start button that will shut it down after 30sec-5min of operation. This isn't a big deal to get a replacement with any other HF generator but these ones are new and in short supply so I can't just get a replacement switch.
This weekend I'm going to buy another HF generator locally and have to plan a day trip to a HF in the near future to swap the 13kw for another one. They only seem to ever be in stock 200+ miles away. Long term I'll have solar as a primary, HF generator #1 as a backup and HF #2 as another backup. I need reliable power for work so redundant systems are a must.
The freeze recently was worse than it typically gets here and I didn't drain out our camp propane water heater so now that's trash. On top of that our HF generator was working great to charge our solar system batteries (no solar panels installed yet at the shop) and decided to have an issue with the start button that will shut it down after 30sec-5min of operation. This isn't a big deal to get a replacement with any other HF generator but these ones are new and in short supply so I can't just get a replacement switch.
This weekend I'm going to buy another HF generator locally and have to plan a day trip to a HF in the near future to swap the 13kw for another one. They only seem to ever be in stock 200+ miles away. Long term I'll have solar as a primary, HF generator #1 as a backup and HF #2 as another backup. I need reliable power for work so redundant systems are a must.
billconner
Well-known member
Into every life a little rain must fall. Sorry about the bumps in the road. Hopefully it will get smoother.
For what it's worth, look up Rep Thomas Massie. He's a MIT grad who started a company, sold it, bought a ton of land in Kentucky. There are no lines (gas, water, electric) to his property. He has a video on YouTube that runs about 40 minutes. Gives the high level view of how he's constructed his property and life. He is the House Rep for Kentucky's 4th District. And I think he is a well grounded man.I'm not sure I mentioned it or not but since earlier this year my Wife and I have been living in our camper while we completed the shop build. In general its been fine but there's been some challenges lately that are making the off-grid life more challenging than we expected. Its nothing we can't overcome but its all been a bit frustrating.
The freeze recently was worse than it typically gets here and I didn't drain out our camp propane water heater so now that's trash. On top of that our HF generator was working great to charge our solar system batteries (no solar panels installed yet at the shop) and decided to have an issue with the start button that will shut it down after 30sec-5min of operation. This isn't a big deal to get a replacement with any other HF generator but these ones are new and in short supply so I can't just get a replacement switch.
This weekend I'm going to buy another HF generator locally and have to plan a day trip to a HF in the near future to swap the 13kw for another one. They only seem to ever be in stock 200+ miles away. Long term I'll have solar as a primary, HF generator #1 as a backup and HF #2 as another backup. I need reliable power for work so redundant systems are a must.
PhantomEB
Well-known member
Just how I see me doing my cabinets at the back more often Hate going to do maintenance on something and the consumables ain’t there!
It's pretty amazing how much I've taken the simple things for granted over the years and how much this past year has made me appreciate things. Just something as simple as shaving inside in front of a mirror and not at a camp shower is so much better. In the end it'll all be worth it.
We had another interesting bump in the road. We have an old septic system at the camp area on the property but now that the trailer is in the shop we bought one of the rv totes to haul our waste up to the septic every week. It turns out that our trailer waste exit is lower than the inlet on the tote so I had to dig a pit to put the tote in to get the elevations right. But hey, the floor is now mopped and sterilized with bleach.
The 13kw generator seems to be working fine now so I'm wondering if the switch had some water in it that took time to dry out. I have a backup 9kw predator generator that will take the place of the 13kw when it eventually dies. I'm really curious how many hours and years I can get out of these little generators and if ultimately, this was a better choice than getting a generac.
duneslider
Well-known member
Just curious, but what do you anticipate the total cost of your batteries and solar panels to be? Will you come in under the 40k cost to bring the power to your road?
I purchased everything back in June from Signature Solar so prices have dropped a little since then.
- Batteries, Racking, Wires and Inverters were - $25k
- 34kw of panels was - 11k.
- 2 generators & chargeverter - 2.5k
- PV wire, 4/0 wire and Misc - 1k
- Electrical raceway, 200amp panel - 1k
The 40k estimate was to bring power to my driveway so I'd be way over that with getting it up to my build site on the property and with where I am, I'd still need to have a generator for backup. Since I dont have any panels on my main system yet and am just charging that with a generator I'm basically paying the same in gas every month to charge the system as I'd pay for an electrical bill. As soon as I get panels up I start "paying back" the system costs.
duneslider
Well-known member
That's awesome! I was sort of figuring that you were gonna be in the ballpark of the 40k but you didn't have to put a line in all the way up to your property so it works out well. All your stuff looks really nice too so it should last well.
Jacko264
Well-known member
Hi
I have just read all the posts about your fantastic builds.
i am very impressed please keep the posts coming
and love the colours you chose
Graham
I have just read all the posts about your fantastic builds.
i am very impressed please keep the posts coming
and love the colours you chose
Graham
Man do I like the way you roll. The slight budget "miss" at about 12% is acceptable. Most utilities have a rate for the power and that can fluctuate depending on the season. Then there is the service charge for being connected to their system. That service charge is billed even if you use zero power or sell excess power generation back to the utility. Berkshire Hathaway owns tons of electrical generation because it's a constant money maker. You are crushing it. Thank you for sharing so others can make informed decisions.
Thanks!
I'm happy with it all. I'm not even sure its really a budget miss because I'd still have to run the power about 350' from the road to my buildings.
Now that I'm at a roughly break-even point, I am planning to "pay" an electric bill every month. For me, what this means is I'm going to earmark savings in a bucket to pay for future system repairs and upgrades. Paying for the poles to get put in is nice because the power company owns the maintenance but I need to plan for that eventual cost.
It is pretty crazy how much the cost of off-grid solar systems has dropped over the past few years and how much simpler the setups are now that all-in-one inverters are becoming more common. It wouldn't surprise me if we see an all-in-one inverter soon that can output 200amp split phase
Uofime
Well-known member
It’s been cool to watch. I think the lower cost and quasi standard modular battery systems play a role too.
I could see a 50kVA system as an “easy button” but that capacity is expensive. But it does mean you change nothing else and it is already “standard”.
I’ve always rooted for a smart load regulated system. I think it’s pretty easy to see that with a little planning and intelligent control 20kVA would be ample. It shouldn’t be hard to manage you loads for water heating, water pumping, HVAC, car charging, even laundry drying should be easily possible. It’s really just cooking that you need extra capacity for ( that and the wild stuff a few lunatics get up to in their garages/sheds)
The industry seems to be figuring out battery standardization with the server rack batteries. EG4 seems to be willing to accept communications with batteries that aren't theirs but I've read some stuff recently about the SolArc inverters not working with off-brand batteries.
The new eco flow home backup stuff is pretty cool with how it integrates to the main panel and otherwise is more plug and play than a more traditional inverter/battery setup.
For my house build I'm planning to have all of my appliances as electric and have mini splits for heating/cooling to supplement a propane heater for the in floor radiant. Having this system supporting a house is about 4 years away and If I find I dont have enough inverter capacity I'll just upgrade at that time or consider moving a few appliances to propane.
ericm
Well-known member
The SolArk 15 can do that. I only know because I was looking at the manual as that's the unit in a quote I got.
Uofime
Well-known member
With 4 mini splits it would be massively beneficial to run them with a load manager that can monitor occupancy, setpoints and total system load to make intelligent choices about throttling load. Electric cooking is the most challenging load you’ll have to work around even though it’s infrequent and usually doesn’t need max effort.
Figure 2kW a ton of HVAC and sounds like you’ll have 4tons of cooling so max effort is 8kW. This is very close to a max effort cooking load which depending on your range and oven will be around 9kW.
Managing the HVAC should allow the other without needing to upsize your system. I don’t know what all is available for that kind of HVAC control though. Would want to talk to an application engineer from Mitsubishi or similar.
Figure 2kW a ton of HVAC and sounds like you’ll have 4tons of cooling so max effort is 8kW. This is very close to a max effort cooking load which depending on your range and oven will be around 9kW.
Managing the HVAC should allow the other without needing to upsize your system. I don’t know what all is available for that kind of HVAC control though. Would want to talk to an application engineer from Mitsubishi or similar.
My wife and I both enjoy cooking and its not uncommon for us to be using 2 burners and the oven at the same time. Throw in a vent fan, HVAC and whatever else is going on at the same time and we're gonna be sucking down the power.
I am probably going to end up with more than 4 mini splits but I'm not sure they'll all be on at the same time. My holiday plan is to research how to diy install these. From what I've seen, the process doesn't seem to bad to vac the line sets.
#1 - I am planning to have one in my 400sqft power shed to heat the batteries above their min temp and provide some cooling in the summer when its being used as a gym. The batteries have a low temp charging cutoff at 23deg and the shed will be completely insulated. In my time living in this area I can't recall ever seeing temps this low.
#2 - Shop appt - 480sqft on first floor, 576 on second floor. This is where we'll live while we build out the house and will then be converted into a wood shop on the first floor and game room on the second floor when we move out.
#3-?? House - in the winter we expect radiant to be the primary heating source and are also planning a wood stove. In the summer we want to have some cooling but generally just keep our windows open for 4 months.
What we really have in our favor is our climate. It rarely gets below freezing here in the winter and summer highs are around the 80's but it still will drop into the 60's at night. I have a good friend who's a controls engineer for a major HVAC manufacturer that loves to nerd out about this kind of stuff but I like the idea of keeping things simpler if I can.
I'm in the same boat. Have about 400' from the road and every time I've asked what PG&E would charge to come in there the answer has been "bend over". Paying them 10's of thousands of dollars for the privilege of then paying their jacked up rates isn't super appealing.
So for now, running off grid which is way easier than it used to be. The all-in-one inverters, batteries, etc just make it so simple to setup. Functionally I can make it as good or better than the grid for less cost. The one downside I see, is that off-grid still has a bit of a stigma to it. So if I ever went to sell the place, the utility hookup would be better for property value.
I had that same thought about the resale which is really what prompted me to do my best to have a very clean and straightforward install of the batteries/inverter system so it doesn't look "off grid". I'm also permitting everything so there will be records that it was done correctly.
I do think the stigma will go away over time as the systems get better and the grid gets worse. A lot of us in rural areas are already 3/4 of the way there with wells, septic and propane that the last 1/4 shouldn't be a major hurdle to mentally overcome.
STIBuilder
Well-known member
Great thread im most interested in the low slope roof on the lean to. I just had my designer change mine to be 3:12 at min. All the standing seam roofing systems needed 180* mechanical fold to be certified for slope that low and was 6$ a foot.
Also in the PNW not to far from you just south of JBLM
Also in the PNW not to far from you just south of JBLM
Yeah, I noticed that the snap lock standing seam isn't warrantied when its on less than a 3:12 pitch but they did give installation details on how to go as flat as 1:12.
In the past I've worked for a metal building products supplier and managed their warranty claims. My suppliers warranty is like the bulk of them where it looks good in the pamphlet but by the time its pro-rated and labor isn't covered, you aren't really getting any coverage.
I did R panel on my 1:12 leanto roof and it does make me a bit nervous to walk it and see drops of water clinging to the gasketed screws but R panel is put on 1:12 pitch roofs all the time so its probably fine. The Kynar painted snap lock roof was MUCH more expensive than I had budgeted for so I needed to make a cut somewhere and I figured, if I have to replace a roof when I'm elderly I'd rather replace a 1:12 pitch roof than a 4:12.
STIBuilder
Well-known member
I got stuck on standing seam, and didnt really look at the R Panel, so I just had them change the pitch to 3:12 on everything. I do have a 20x10 Dormer thats 1.5:12 that ill end up doing the highest end Standing seam on, and mechanically bond it. I can blame that expense on the wife so its not my fault.
Hard to believe its been a month since my last update. I had some work travel, we spent the holidays with family, started framing out my woodshop and I added a water heater. After how busy 2024 was, it was nice to have a slower month.
I did a bunch of searching and couldn't find any good examples of how to mount equipment to R panels. I used 1/2" threaded rod, washers and nuts through the girts to make standoffs for unistrut. My logic here was that I didn't want the unistrut mounted directly to the R panel where water, needles and leaves can pack in behind it. I'll seal the washers/nuts with silicone and should be good for awhile. It's extremely strong too.
Ignore the Romex. I know this is wrong but wanted to test fire the water heater before I put any more holes in the building.
I did a bunch of searching and couldn't find any good examples of how to mount equipment to R panels. I used 1/2" threaded rod, washers and nuts through the girts to make standoffs for unistrut. My logic here was that I didn't want the unistrut mounted directly to the R panel where water, needles and leaves can pack in behind it. I'll seal the washers/nuts with silicone and should be good for awhile. It's extremely strong too.
Ignore the Romex. I know this is wrong but wanted to test fire the water heater before I put any more holes in the building.
Recently I was able to get my off-grid electrical system permit fully signed off, I finished some storage racking and finally have my mill up and running. I'll do a post here soon on what it took to build and permit the solar system with lessons learned.
I bought the mill in July 2023 and with the shop build taking priority, it has always been on the backburner. If I did all of the setup at once it would have probably taken about 3 days with pouring the footing pads.
This log has been sitting in the weeds and growing mushrooms for 3 years so it was a good candidate to test out the mill and get some experience. For my first cuts it went pretty good and took about an hour and a half to cut it from log into 3x6 10' long timbers. I need to come up with a bucket for sawdust and learn a bit more about how to properly set tension and control my push force to avoid waves. These boards are going to become a raised garden bed so its a pretty low risk project to learn on.
I bought the mill in July 2023 and with the shop build taking priority, it has always been on the backburner. If I did all of the setup at once it would have probably taken about 3 days with pouring the footing pads.
This log has been sitting in the weeds and growing mushrooms for 3 years so it was a good candidate to test out the mill and get some experience. For my first cuts it went pretty good and took about an hour and a half to cut it from log into 3x6 10' long timbers. I need to come up with a bucket for sawdust and learn a bit more about how to properly set tension and control my push force to avoid waves. These boards are going to become a raised garden bed so its a pretty low risk project to learn on.
LopezBart
Well-known member
Nice work!
I cut my garden bed timbers from a cedar log using an Alaska mill... took a lot longer to cut the 2" x 12"-14" timbers I needed for the raised bed. How do you like this mill? I have one of their wood chippers on our big tractor which has worked pretty well.
About 5 years ago I bought a big saw and an Alaskan mill, it paid for its-self on the first project and I never want to use the Alaskan mill again. For me there was just too much dust and 2 stroke in the face and time crouched over to get beams cut.
This was a night and day difference. I dont really know what I'm doing yet but so far I'd say its 100% better than using an Alaskan mill. It's much faster and ergonomic but I can see how it is easy to get lost in the fun of processing timber and end up with a stack of off cuts that is a bear to manage.
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LopezBart
Well-known member
Yup.... I was wearing a respirator (cedar dust isn't exactly healthy to breath).... pretty awful experience, but got it done in a weekend iirc. My Stihl Farm Boss worked pretty hard, too; ran a lot of gas through the saw.
We have a bunch of dead/dying firs (drainage issues as far as we can tell), so making siding & beams is pretty attractive. Realistically, I should probably not do this, though.
On the other hand, the offcuts can fuel my steamboat
Hmm. Something to consider after the shop is done.
A month or so ago I received my permit signoff on my off-grid solar system. This is by far the biggest electrical project I've done and its been fun doing all of the work myself. As great as it is to have the system "done", more than anything, I think I am excited to have all of the electrical supplies and components in one room so I know what I have for future projects.
System specs:
60kwh batteries
4 - 6000w combo inverter / charge controllers
3kw of solar (for now), around 22k total planned.
Lessons Learned:
System specs:
60kwh batteries
4 - 6000w combo inverter / charge controllers
3kw of solar (for now), around 22k total planned.
Lessons Learned:
- AC and DC can't be combined in the gutter. I based my design off of photos I've seen of other systems and would have done this differently from the start had I known this.
- give enough space under the combiner to fit all of the heavy gauge wire and multi-taps. When I add a line to feed the future house the little gutter channel wont be big enough.
- Wire, Cable and Electrical panels are expensive and I didn't budget enough for them. They cost about as much as all of the solar panels.
- Our electrical inspectors are super easy to work with. It's really been this way with every inspector I've talked to. I'm far enough off the beaten path that I think, in some way, they're just happy I'm getting the work permitted because so many people dont.
Quick update. I've been using the mill quite a bit to do a couple fun timber projects and get some proficiency using it.
The garden bed was my first project and its made out of 3x6's. I have no idea how many years we'll get out of it but the lumber was "free" so it doesn't really matter how long it lasts.
The door frame has 9"x12" posts and a 12"x12" header. It's not notched like real timber framing so I'll cut out some plates and lag them on at some point. For now, in a non-load bearing wall, its just fine.
The mill can handle 26" diameter logs and I have enough track to do about 23' beams. As great as all of that its, I've been surprised to learn just how much harder and time consuming it is to start from larger logs. It took me about 4-5hrs to get that big one in the photo below into a 12x12 and a bunch of 4x4's for misc outside projects. Just rolling and keeping it up against the stops while locking it in place is a challenge.
More posts coming soon to catch up on gutters, armorpoxy, milled joists a solar expansion and a few other little projects.
The garden bed was my first project and its made out of 3x6's. I have no idea how many years we'll get out of it but the lumber was "free" so it doesn't really matter how long it lasts.
The door frame has 9"x12" posts and a 12"x12" header. It's not notched like real timber framing so I'll cut out some plates and lag them on at some point. For now, in a non-load bearing wall, its just fine.
The mill can handle 26" diameter logs and I have enough track to do about 23' beams. As great as all of that its, I've been surprised to learn just how much harder and time consuming it is to start from larger logs. It took me about 4-5hrs to get that big one in the photo below into a 12x12 and a bunch of 4x4's for misc outside projects. Just rolling and keeping it up against the stops while locking it in place is a challenge.
More posts coming soon to catch up on gutters, armorpoxy, milled joists a solar expansion and a few other little projects.
Almost 2 years ago I designed and fabricated this frame for 2 solar arrays. It's pretty basic and is mostly made out of 3/16" 2x2 tube with unistrut to hold the panels. I dont really think I saved any money vs buying a purpose built racking system but at least this way if I take it down or reconfigure it I can always easily repurpose the tube.
When its done, I'm going to put oyster shells under the arrays to reflect light back up at the bi-facial panels.
I also recently finished my woodshop floor with Armorpoxy epoxy. This was my second time using Armorpoxy and I can't say enough for the product and the instructions. The etch, epoxy and top coat steps are super easy to do. The only thing I wish is that I had saved a little to finish my exposed stem walls.
When its done, I'm going to put oyster shells under the arrays to reflect light back up at the bi-facial panels.
I also recently finished my woodshop floor with Armorpoxy epoxy. This was my second time using Armorpoxy and I can't say enough for the product and the instructions. The etch, epoxy and top coat steps are super easy to do. The only thing I wish is that I had saved a little to finish my exposed stem walls.
Here's the finished solar array. I'm a bit torn on what to do underneath it as its the perfect spot to store firewood but I dont really like the idea of storing that much burnable material so close to the shop and under a key piece of infrastructure.
This is Two arrays of 10 370w panels each. I connected them in late December and haven't had to use my generator to top up the batteries since. I will be powering on mini splits in the shop soon so it'll be interesting to see if this is enough solar to keep me from having to use the generator.
Upcoming:
This is Two arrays of 10 370w panels each. I connected them in late December and haven't had to use my generator to top up the batteries since. I will be powering on mini splits in the shop soon so it'll be interesting to see if this is enough solar to keep me from having to use the generator.
Upcoming:
- Clear more trees. That shading on the panels is the difference between 200w of power generation and 4000w for 2hrs in the mornings.
- wrap the area under the array in barn metal
- decide to use the space for firewood storage or leave empty
- add more arrays
Adaylate
Well-known member
I don't think I would have an issue with storing firewood under the array as long as you kept some ventilation so moisture didn't build up.
You are making great progress with your homestead!
You are making great progress with your homestead!
I'm completely green when it comes to working with anything heat pump / AC related and have been wanting to learn how to install and repair my own mini splits so now's as good of a time as any.
The plan is to install Two 12k mini splits in the shop with the woodshop getting one and the game area getting another. Just about every youtuber I follow has been sponsored by Mr Cool so they've been on my radar as an option. The installs seem straightforward so I priced them up and was shocked to see it would be over $3k for the 2 units. $3k is more than I wanted to spend and I'm planning to put a unit in my shed and multiple units in my future house. From a cost standpoint, it was obvious that I needed to learn how to install the standard units.
So I went to youtube and internet forums and learned everything I could about installing mini splits. There's tons of information out there and I really liked the video done by Will Prowse:
that was extremely straightforward. How hard could it be, buy some tools, follow the process and reap the rewards of heat and AC?
I was wrong, there's way more to this.
Here's what I ordered to kick off this project.
Turbro 12k mini split - $540
Della 12k mini split - $777
Vac pump and gauges - $190
hose adapters - $12
Crowfoot torque wrench adapters - $32
Wall mount brackets - $75
leak detector and nylog - $45
Non fused disconnects and breakers - $60
Total Spend: $1731 (Basically 2 for the price of one MrCool).
Lessons learned so far:
The plan is to install Two 12k mini splits in the shop with the woodshop getting one and the game area getting another. Just about every youtuber I follow has been sponsored by Mr Cool so they've been on my radar as an option. The installs seem straightforward so I priced them up and was shocked to see it would be over $3k for the 2 units. $3k is more than I wanted to spend and I'm planning to put a unit in my shed and multiple units in my future house. From a cost standpoint, it was obvious that I needed to learn how to install the standard units.
So I went to youtube and internet forums and learned everything I could about installing mini splits. There's tons of information out there and I really liked the video done by Will Prowse:
I was wrong, there's way more to this.
Here's what I ordered to kick off this project.
Turbro 12k mini split - $540
Della 12k mini split - $777
Vac pump and gauges - $190
hose adapters - $12
Crowfoot torque wrench adapters - $32
Wall mount brackets - $75
leak detector and nylog - $45
Non fused disconnects and breakers - $60
Total Spend: $1731 (Basically 2 for the price of one MrCool).
Lessons learned so far:
- HVAC "pro's" on forums are... interesting. Most trades give some guff to diy'ers encroaching on their skillset. HVAC is next level. It's a lot of "I know better", "you dont know what you're doing if you dont have X gauges" kind of stuff. The youtube video's seem to be the best.
- It's way cheaper to diy these.