Who's using a mini split in youz shop?

[JD Miller]

Did a search, thought id do a new mini split thread

Just a simple ,,,, whos got a mini split in your shop and how do you like it??

 

[dcg9381]

Just a simple ,,,, whos got a mini split in your shop and how do you like it??

2 mini-splits in my shop. Love them. Way too old to be in TX without AC. If you're north, you need to pay attention to capacity in the cold.

Installed another 2 in a buddies shop. He loves them.

Installed another 1 last year in a buddies garage, he loves it.


What have I learned? Stop letting people know that you are handy and can install these things.

 

[thammel]

Love them. Have a 28x32 x12 garage with man-cave attic above. 18k heat pump in garage and 9k heat pump in attic. Love them both!!

 

[ericm]

I have two 24k btu Mitsubishis for the heated part of my shop, 2240 sq ft. It's only been a few months but they have been performing better than expected. They're on the 56' wall side but it's the same temp 40' across the space. If I leave a 12x12 garage door open for an hour while moving equipment they run harder. They catch up 10 minutes or so after I close the door. In this part of Oregon it does get below the 20s at night but not that often. Usually it's in the 40s during the day. The shop has R21 walls and R60 ceiling.

I ran the Manual J and S myself to get the sizes. In the summer, even though it gets hot here, the numbers say I could turn one off. We'll see how that works for real.

 

[WildBill]

I have a 24k Mr.Cool setup, love it. Has worked great for 3 years since I installed it. Lots of threads on here about them, at least a couple per month.

 

[JunkBonds]

I have a Kerr. On its third winter. It has worked flawlessly at temps.

 

[marquess]

Same here. I added a 2 ton minisplit three years ago to one of my outbuildings, a two story 1200 sq.ft. workshop. It was my first minisplit experience. I have been very pleased with how efficient it has been. It cost me $1,600 up front (I did the install as I'm equipped for HVAC work and have the EPA card). My average monthly cost to heat and cool that building for a year is under $20 a month (it has its own KWh meter).

As noted by dcg9381 the heating capacity varies among units with the same BTUH ratings. My workshop minisplit is a mid-grade unit that struggles to meet my 60° setpoint when the outside temp is 10° or below. But it rarely gets that cold here and I'm happy just to have the building at 53° when it does. I no longer find excuses for not doing stuff in that workshop when it's freezing or sweltering outside.

I've since added a second minisplit to another building and have done much of the prep work for a third.

 

[dcg9381]

As noted by dcg9381 the heating capacity varies among units with the same BTUH ratings. My workshop minisplit is a mid-grade unit that struggles to meet my 60° setpoint when the outside temp is 10° or below.

Let me double-down on that. I have a 17 SEER unit in Texas. It will not heat worth a **** below 30 degrees. It cools great. You're in Idaho, so if heating is an issue (and it may be) pay attention. You CAN do units that are not heat efficient, but you need alternate heat. Don't be like me and try and live in the shop for a year when you hit a 100-year cold snap, the only thing colder than the shop will be your wife's icy stare.

 

[bottom feeder]

I have a Fujitsu Halcyon that takes care of the cooling and heating of my 28'x28' shop. When I built the shop I didn't skimp on insulation and the unit has no problem maintaining any temp I choose. it's about five years old now and has been great.

 

[txvwnut]

Dual zone Bosch 36k, been in for a year and so far I’m really happy with it.

 

[Notgrownup]

18000 btu 18seer Blueridge in my 24x24 fully insulated. Would live without one especially eastern NC summers. Keeps my mice exotic lumber dry.

 

[jkeyser14]

Did a search, thought id do a new mini split thread

Just a simple ,,,, whos got a mini split in your shop and how do you like it??

I've had one in my shop for the past 8 years. Absolutely love it.

 

[Steve W.]

I have a 24k Pioneer in my 30x24 shop. A bit of overkill, but they were sold out of 18k units all summer long.

Installed in last August last year. Only had a few weeks to evaluate the cooling, it was good. With the recent Snowmageddon, temps here dipped a couple degrees below zero, with highs about 10 for a week. Was able to maintain 72 degrees, if desired, but I usually keep it at its minimum stable temp, 62.

.

 

[Skellyii]

Self-installed a 24K Pioneer in my 36x28x12 fully insulated attached garage a couple of years ago. Doors face directly south with no trees, so AC was sorely needed. Satisfied with both heating and cooling performance.

 

[AngryBill]

I have 4 TOSOT 18,000 BTU Mini-Split Air Conditioner heating and cooling a 80x40x16. This is the first winter they have been in and have been doing a great job.

Looks like they have replaced them with this unit https://tosotdirect.com/collections...-system-heat-pump?_pos=1&_fid=eae002e47&_ss=c

Couple of times a year they seem to go on sale so picked them up during that time.

 

[Ohmthis]

I’ve installed a bunch of them, wall mount, concealed ducted, and the ceiling cassettes. It’s really important to know what they do great and what what they don’t do good. They are really good at conditioning large open areas (excluding the ducted type). They are quiet, and almost unnoticeable. They do not filter well, I’ve seen people add fiberglass type filter material to the inlet side. Depending on model, they don’t heat well below 5-10*. For some that’s not a big deal. For others, they will need backup heat. I’m installing a Fujitsu in the shop this coming weekend. I’ve gone back and forth about putting one in. It’s mainly because people in my family will open a garage door and forget to close it. I put a sensor on the door and will have it close itself if left open too long.

 

[jblnut]

24k Fujitsu that’s heats down to -5f in the main 54x72x18 and it’ll keep it an ice box in there all summer long. I used it to heat the space until it got down to around 35f outside and then I fired up the outdoor wood stove.

I have a 2nd 9k Fujitsu upstairs in the shop hangout room and have a pair of fans circulating air between upstairs and my downstairs office. It works flawlessly.

Wish I’d done both of them years ago.

 

[racecougar]

I do. I'm thoroughly impressed by its capabilities. Gree 24k unit.

 

[gtae07]

Had a Mr Cool 18k in my old 28x24 shop in Savannah. Worked great all year.

Not sure if I'm going to put one in my new garage or not. Let's get through a summer and see how it feels out there first.

 

[BigTicket]

Mr. Cool and it works great both cooling and heating. I had a 7500W Dyna-Glo heater that I decided to mount on the opposite side of the garage from the Mr. Cool to help with heating.

 

[My Old Tools]

I have a MrCool. I love it. 36k in a 30x40. It's overkill.

 

[The Metric System]

I have a bargain-basement Costway 24k BTU system in my ~25x50 garage.

It is very nearly silent, does a fine job of controlling air temp, and the impact on my power bill was minimal.

It was a great purchase, I would absolutely do it again.

I suspect that most bad experiences with minisplits in shop spaces are caused by some combination of:

• Incorrect system selected for the load
• Incorrect system selected for the climate
• Installation problems

 

[Model A Fan]

I have a 24k Mr.Cool setup, love it. Has worked great for 3 years since I installed it. Lots of threads on here about them, at least a couple per month.

What part of the PNW are you in? How low of temps does it handle? We get blasted by a Nor'easterner every winter and our propane furnace struggles to keep up and the wood stove only does so much for the upstairs.

 

[WildBill]

What part of the PNW are you in? How low of temps does it handle? We get blasted by a Nor'easterner every winter and our propane furnace struggles to keep up and the wood stove only does so much for the upstairs.

The new hyper heat model is good to -22F. My older version is only officially rated to I believe -5F. The heat output from mine starts noticeably dropping when it gets below zero. It still puts out heat, but the temp of the air coming drops off from the 125F range when its above freezing down to around 70F when you get below zero. Its been -25F or so since I've had it installed, in never stopped working, just would put out cooler air and would have to defrost a bunch. I don't have any heating elements to defrost it like some do, so it has to reverse to defrost the outside coil which takes a couple mins and makes an interesting noise. It was about 20F last night and my shop was nice and toasty when I went in this morning, about 65F. I also don't really have any insulation, just a radiant barrier that helps with heat but I don't think does anything for the cold. Besides maybe stop any drafts. Shop is a metal building 24x36x12.

So if you got the new hyper heat one I would say you would be in really good shape.

 

[pcmeiners]

I suspect that most bad experiences with minisplits in shop spaces are caused by some combination of:

• Incorrect system selected for the load
• Incorrect system selected for the climate
• Installation problem

one more reason.................

• Incorrect system selected for the load
• Incorrect system selected for the climate
• Installation problem
• but the number one, buying the cheapest unit they could find with minuscule knowledge of minisplits.

 

[The Metric System]

but the number one, buying the cheapest unit they could find with minuscule knowledge of minisplits

I don't agree with this one, I bought the cheapest possible minisplit in my size/feature range and it's great.

I would much prefer to have a cheap unit that is correctly sized and installed than have a very expensive unit that is the wrong size and/or installed by a hack.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Biggest problem with a mini-split in a shop ... poor air filtration !

 

[Metallitubby]

Mitsubishi 18K in my shop that is insulated w/ spray foam and bats in the ceiling.

 

[Mikes61]

Mr Cool 36K Advantage in my insulated 1500ish sq ft garage with 9’ ceilings. Its working great now that the bad flare got fixed and the unit got recharged with 454b.

 

[manwithtools]

Mitsubishi Hyper Heat 15k in my 1520 sq. ft. shop with 3" of spray foam on the roof and 2" on the walls. It does amazing well at heating, don't have cooling experience yet.

 

[minytrker]

Have Mr Cool....the work great but last about 4-5 years before the coils start leaking.

 

[jmarkwolf]

I have a Mr. Cool air conditioner only that I installed myself. Works good for air conditioning but not so much for dehumidification. Lowest humidity I've been able to get to is 65%. May install a dehumidifier.

 

[shade]

I have a Mr. Cool air conditioner only that I installed myself. Works good for air conditioning but not so much for dehumidification. Lowest humidity I've been able to get to is 65%. May install a dehumidifier.

Interesting. SW MI and my Mr Cools pull so much moisture out of the air its crazy

 

[Ohmthis]

I have a Mr. Cool air conditioner only that I installed myself. Works good for air conditioning but not so much for dehumidification. Lowest humidity I've been able to get to is 65%. May install a dehumidifier.

Are you running the AC or dehumidify mode? I have a Mitsubishi unit at the lake house in an addition. When I run regular AC mode, it is nice and cool and mostly dry. When I had used dehumidify mode its was cold and damp. When in dehumidify mode, it slows the fan down to make the coil colder and get more water to condense on the coil. I think the lack of extra air movement keeps the air from getting turned over as much. Therefore not getting the moisture out of the air. YMMV.

 

[shakenfake]

@dcg9381 What brand and size? I’ll be in the market soon enough here in DFW.
30x16 space.

 

[dscheidt]

inadequate dehumidification is usually a sign of a massively oversized AC, or horrible air sealing. It is not an inherent problem of split systems. Oversized means it doesn't move enough air across the coil to dehumidify, poor air sealing means the dehumidified air is lost to the outside.

 

[dcg9381]

@dcg9381 What brand and size? I’ll be in the market soon enough here in DFW.
30x16 space.

I went with Daikin, 2 x 24k units, but 2400 sqft.
The "base" Daikins aren't efficient enough to heat well below 30, so be aware of that....

 

[shakenfake]

@dcg9381 I’m not too worried about the heat portion. Just needed a brand direction.

I was thinking about Daikin because of Minute Maid Park lol

 

[dcg9381]

@dcg9381 I’m not too worried about the heat portion. Just needed a brand direction.

So the consumer brand is "Mr. Cool" - I've had good luck with those too, they cost a little more but are the only units that are going to have a semblance of "consumer warranty" that you can exercise without going to a dealer. My self-installed Daikin basically has no warranty as I'm not a licensed HVAC guy.

My understanding at the time was that the Daikin was built slightly better, but honestly I've installed 6 units and really haven't had any issues with either brand. Pressure testing the line overnight is critical.

 

[Ohmthis]

@dcg9381 I’m not too worried about the heat portion. Just needed a brand direction.

I was thinking about Daikin because of Minute Maid Park lol

Installation is more important than the brand. Daikin, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, LG, and Gree are very nice units. I’ve installed a bunch of the first three. A couple of LG’s and no Gree. The Gree has a good reputation around here, I put them in solely on that.