Mini-Split Units?

[javelinadave]

I'm tired of sweating my ass off in the garage. I have a two garages, a double bay and a single bay. I want to put a mini split a/c or heat pump in the single bay garage. Has anybody tried a Mr Cool or other self install,12-15k units? I got a quote for almost $4000 for a Mitsubishi 15k which sounds high to me.

 

[Robert]

Does that include running power? Seems real high if thats not included

 

[javelinadave]

Yup, all 17 feet of electrical run

 

[JimC]

Some people love those things but I hate them. Bad memories of Chigos in Afghanistan and the Russians love them too. Gotta stay up on the filters.

 

[SARTech]

I looked into them. Decided to go with a Mitisubishi unit for two reasons. The lowest outside temp the MrCool was effective at was 35 deg. anything lower it wont provide heat. Second the longest tubing set would be very hard to reach where I needed them. If you just looking for cooling and the plumbing will reach should be good.

 

[BarryO]

I'm looking into that too. Want to turn my 2-bay into half man cave, half D90 garage. Mitsubishi AC+heat. Haven't pulled the plug yet.

I don't get the pricing either. I can get the interior and exterior unit online for about $2K with free shipping. I don't know what the other $2K is for. I've looked over the installation instructions and it doesn't look like rocket science, other than some equipment you need to flush out and evacuate the lines. Would be nice if I could run the power and drill all the mounting holes, etc., and just find some guy who'll spend a couple of hours doing the final commissioning for $400-$500.

 

[Tbaumer]

If the homeowner (or an electrician) provides power from the panel to a disconnect at the outdoor unit, We install homeowner purchased equipment for around $600.00 +/-. I am in Southern Oregon though & our rates may be lower than other areas. The price goes up if it is a difficult install. Be careful which units you order online. Some brands have no parts support & trying to warranty them is next to impossible. I don't know of any that honor a warranty if it is not installed by a licensed contractor (although, BlueStream sent us an entire outdoor heat pump replacement for one incorrectly installed & ruined, by the homeowner). Most brands have some sort of tech support # to call, but a lot of them are just reading off a screen prompt & do not actually know the equipment. You will need gauges & a meter to answer the questions they will ask. It is an easy homeowner install if you order a set that has charged lines that puncture/open when installed to the equipment. Otherwise, you will need to pressure test with dry nitrogen & pull a vacuum on the line set. Without a vacuum pump, you will need to purge the air out of the system (using some of your refrigerant charge). This works, but is easy to misjudge & either not remove all the air or short your charge. They are great systems that are easy to install.

The biggest homeowner install mistakes I see out there are:
Contaminated or low charge (from not removing all the air or removing too much refrigerant purging)
Leaking flare fittings (from under or over tightening)
Wired wrong - connections have to match between units (some brands switch the order between the indoor & outdoor units)
Condensate drain line traps water by going uphill through the wall exiting the wall head

I offer Daikin & Mitsubishi to my customers, because they have local wholesale/parts suppliers, great tech support & warranties & they are trouble free when installed correctly.

In my experience, I would stay away from Fujitsu (warranty problems & poor support), Streamline, Pioneer, Midea, Gree, Aura & the host of other lesser known brands that are ONLY offered on line.

 

[blueboy]

We have 2 Mitisubishi splits connected to a high efficiency unit. Heat works down to 15 degrees. A/C of course no problem. On 3rd year - have HVAC contractor review each Spring. Great splits.

 

[uc4me]

For what it's worth there's no shortage of builds around here in town and almost exclusively I see new Mitsubishi units on the job site in my daily work. Certainly is a line item I'm considering for my own current garage build as recommended by other friends in the trades.

 

[doktorno]

I just paid about $4k to install a similar sized Daikin for my shop, and have been happy with the unit. I did have a long run for the refrigerant lines. Normally we use Mitsubishi units for small server rooms and elevator equipment rooms. My parents used Carrier at their place in NM, and I do not like the controls.

 

[RDavisinVA]

If you don'y want to spend the money on a permanently installed unit and don't want or can't use a window unit, the portable stand up units work well if you have a way to vent the heat exhaust outside.
We use 2 of them in a large shop, and while they don't drop the temperature much more than 10 degrees, they take the humidity out of the air which takes the edge off and makes the environment comfortable.
Total cost was under $400.

 

[Uncle Douglas]

If the homeowner (or an electrician) provides power from the panel to a disconnect at the outdoor unit, We install homeowner purchased equipment for around $600.00 +/-. I am in Southern Oregon though & our rates may be lower than other areas. The price goes up if it is a difficult install. Be careful which units you order online. Some brands have no parts support & trying to warranty them is next to impossible. I don't know of any that honor a warranty if it is not installed by a licensed contractor (although, BlueStream sent us an entire outdoor heat pump replacement for one incorrectly installed & ruined, by the homeowner). Most brands have some sort of tech support # to call, but a lot of them are just reading off a screen prompt & do not actually know the equipment. You will need gauges & a meter to answer the questions they will ask. It is an easy homeowner install if you order a set that has charged lines that puncture/open when installed to the equipment. Otherwise, you will need to pressure test with dry nitrogen & pull a vacuum on the line set. Without a vacuum pump, you will need to purge the air out of the system (using some of your refrigerant charge). This works, but is easy to misjudge & either not remove all the air or short your charge. They are great systems that are easy to install.

The biggest homeowner install mistakes I see out there are:
Contaminated or low charge (from not removing all the air or removing too much refrigerant purging)
Leaking flare fittings (from under or over tightening)
Wired wrong - connections have to match between units (some brands switch the order between the indoor & outdoor units)
Condensate drain line traps water by going uphill through the wall exiting the wall head

I offer Daikin & Mitsubishi to my customers, because they have local wholesale/parts suppliers, great tech support & warranties & they are trouble free when installed correctly.

In my experience, I would stay away from Fujitsu (warranty problems & poor support), Streamline, Pioneer, Midea, Gree, Aura & the host of other lesser known brands that are ONLY offered on line.

Have a friend and forum member who just went with the Daikin for his well insulated 40x50 shop. He got dinged $7k for a two zone, single outdoor 4 ton system installed. We have the new 30x40 space with 12-13.7ft ceiling but cant justify $7k needed elsewhere. Ours is a simple through wall single room albeit large room. Capable of self install if line set is precharged, wiring it no problem, have backup propane radiant tube setup for heat in winter what would you suggest ? Would prefer exterior unit foundation wall mounted on a bracket. Daytime ambient temp has been 91-98 for all of July with high humidity. Daikin seems to have a bunch of 30k units priced all over the map.

 

[brdhmltn]

I've been pricing for my workshop (24x40x10). I had electrical prewired.

My father has two minisplits from one of the less expensive brands. He has had electrical boards replaced twice due to bugs getting into the housings - large centipedes that shorted out the control boards, always on main power. That's a problem in the south, I don't know about elsewhere. The housings could definitely be designed better. He thinks larger bugs are able to climb the ribbed flexible condensate drains. That's the only complaint he has had in 6 years. During the last repair he got some small wire mesh and addressed all the entrance points and hasn't had an issue since. He did the install himself but had a pro do the refrigerant part and look over his install. He also called his A/C pro before buying and found out which less expensive ones had parts availability. He doesn't have codes to worry about where he lives.

I have access to run PVC condensate drains and plan on bug proofing at install. I haven't ordered yet but a two zone pioneer system should be around $2k for what I need and that's what I will probably go with. (2nd zone will be the 11x40x8 area in storage attic being turned into a room)

Everything I have researched says Mitsubishi are best (they pretty much invented the minisplits) but are also expensive. One of my good friends spent bank on a Mitsubishi and he's had several service calls and determined his unit was probably dropped in shipping. Can happen to any brand.

 

[D901560]

We have Mitsubishi units in my wife's art studio. I'm not sure how old they are as they were already installed when we bought the property, but they have been very effective and trouble free the last 5 or so years. This space is used by my wife for her ceramics business and I use it for wood working projects so the units are subjected to clay and saw dust regularly. I just periodically clean / replace the filters and have had no issues.

 

[supertreeman]

We decided to use mini splits for our 1000 square feet garage with 14 foot ceilings. Its new construction and we may have gone overboard on the insulation, but the consensus was that a dual head Mitsubishi was the way to go to adequately heat and cool. I forget the model exactly but if I recall it was on the larger side. Happy to provide feedback once the project is finished.

I think this was mentioned before, but be careful where you buy them. Some wont warranty if purchased online or not installed by a HVAC pro. Which in my opinion is pretty silly because if you read the installation instructions it seems like a pretty easy DIY..

 

[BarryO]

If the homeowner (or an electrician) provides power from the panel to a disconnect at the outdoor unit, We install homeowner purchased equipment for around $600.00 +/-. I am in Southern Oregon though & our rates may be lower than other areas

Do you do work in Bend?

 

[BarryO]

At the shop in my last place (24x48 by 12' high) I put in a big window unit, mounted in a hole in the wall about 7' high. 24K-26K BTU's I believe. Worked real well once I got the ceiling and walls insulated. The downside is that they're noisy as hell, The minisplits are much superior in that regard.

 

[Tbaumer]

Do you do work in Bend?

Love visiting Bend. It's a great place, but unfortunately a few hours away, so we don't travel there to work.

 

[Tbaumer]

I'm always surprised at the pricing difference for the exact same HVAC equipment & parts on line. Even more surprised at the range of install quotes from different companies - Gotta love capitalism! It's worth your time to get at least three estimates. If you can find one who is willing to finish an install that you do most of (you set the outdoor unit on a pad or wall bracket, power to the disconnect at the outdoor unit, mount the wall head(s), run the line sets & control wire between units, drain line) it shouldn't take them more than a couple hours to complete (connect the wiring, flare & connect the line sets, pressure test, pull a vacuum & release the charge, adjust if needed for line set length, no surprises).The cost should reflect the time & materials, plus a bit for having the right tools to do the job.

I have a buddy in Sonoma, CA, who checks pricing with me to make sure he isn't getting ripped off. I tell him not to ask - We live in two different worlds & he'll lose sleep thinking about how much more he pays.

 

[rocky]

Boston area is bad. My zip code triggers contractors to raise their prices further.