John Stankus, did the directions come with the unit, or do you have hvac experience? Be cool if there was a book or booklet on how to install these units. If they are really as efficient as rated, they should save a lot of money over their life.
Member
John Stankus, did the directions come with the unit, or do you have hvac experience? Be cool if there was a book or booklet on how to install these units. If they are really as efficient as rated, they should save a lot of money over their life.
Guest
My Mr Slim order showed up this afternoon - I wish the woodworking machines I have ordered where packed this well...
Mr Slim.jpg
This is a 24k outdoor heat pump with an 18k indoor unit for the garage and a 6k indoor unit for my adjacent 'office'. Everything that is needed - two line sets (one is 50', the other is 15') control wire, 'line hide', disconnect, whip, etc
There are plenty of youtube videos on how to install - here are a couple that I book marked
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfXViaWCpRI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsaHI1jCWmE
Guest
Originally Posted by Phil Thien
I'm heating an extra room this year with mine. I haven't seen any real change in the overall power and heat bill, because I've been able to just run the split on some days where it's not that hot out and keep the whole house unit off other than to let it run its fan to circulate everything. If I could convince my wife to do that all the time, our power bill would probably drop, despite heating an additional room, because our whole house A/C is inefficient - it's just not quite inefficient enough to justify replacing it given that it's not that hot where I live.
They are fantastically efficient, first with their EER, but then significantly more so than that because of the way they operate at variable speed.
Guest
I wish there was some way I could achieve the efficiency and cost of the mini split in a whole-house system. Whole-house systems that are extremely efficient are also extremely expensive.
Guest
For whatever reason, the larger splits aren't as efficient, either, and the really large ones just look like two units built into one case. There are some really inexpensive but inefficient (13 seer) splits, too.
If I had more time and wasn't in the middle of remodeling a room, I would've attempted to install the unit myself and probably bought something cheaper than the mitsubishi splits given that there are units with the same warranty that are a mish-mash of parts, but that cost a little less than 2/3rds what the mitsu unit cost me from a plumbing supply place (the price at plumbing supply was about the same as the cheapest online prices).
If I was going to do whole house and wanted high SEER, I might be tempted to put a split on each end of the house, rid myself of the whole house A/C and just let the furnace fan circulate if it seemed necessary. It would cost about the same as getting a single large unit of lesser efficiency if you were installing yourself.
Contributor
I think you answered your own question when you said you only get one afternoon a week in the shop. In my 384SF shop there is a window unit for cooling that does just fine. If you are in the shop on a limited basis, save the funds for tools/wood, and get the window unit.
Member
Just for reference, my shop is in Memphis - 16x20, fully insulted, 10' ceilings. I had a wall unit installed that supplies heat as well as cooling. I keep the shop fairly war/cool when I'm not in there and just adjust it when I go in to work. I can't quote any comparisons or costs, but it has worked quite well for 14 years (the concept - I am on the 3rd unit). I place a fan infront of the unit and run it when I am in there for better air distribution. I also built a filter box over the unit that accepts a pleated filter. No complaints.
Why the third unit? Well, the first one was a great big clunky Goodman that never actually quit, but it sounded like it was about to! The second was a cheapie Freiderich that did quit. It was under warranty, but there were no parts available. There was one motor for both fans and it died. #3 is a GE. I did some research and there are lots of parts available for it and it has two motors. I take it out once a year or so and give it a real good cleaning. The outside coils get covered with something that eventually looks like felt. Bad thing is, the unit has to be removed and taken apart for cleaning. But it works great and is VERY quiet. I actually like the white noice from the fan. This one runs the fan continusously in cooling mode, but not in heating mode.
One issue with these wall units is that the fans don't blow very hard. I find that even in my small shop, the disctribution isn't that great. In fairness, I have a lot of stuff crammed in there that the air has to try and move around. That's why I run a small oscillator in there when I'm working. The overhead air filter helps too. Thought about a solar powered ceililgn fan for during the day just to keep the air moving and the distributed well. Someday....(they aren't cheap).
Oh, there is also a little bit of a lag. It takes a little time for the unit to cool/heat the space to my comfort zone. So, sometimes, I'll go out in the morning and adjust the temp. setting first thing before I go out to work for the day.
Enjoy the new shop!
Tony
[OP]
Member
Got a quote from a local HVAC company. I'll get a 14,000 BTU portable unit and run it when I'm in there. Its comfortable enough with the insulation I'm not going to run it 24/7. I may get a separate dehumidifier. Easy enough to drain that out into the yard.
Thanks for the feedback.
Where did I put that?
Guest
There is always room for more insulting.
Contributor
Here is a copy of the installation manual.
http://ecomfort.com/PDF_files/Mitsub...ion_Manual.pdf
All tasks are completely within the capabilities of a typical woodworker.
Electrical 3 wires between units, 2 wires to 220 V
Refrigerant loop 2 pipes to connect at each end. I purchased a premade lineset so I didn't need to do the flares myself
Physical mounting Wall plate for the indoor unit, pad for the outdoor (you can get premade pads, but I cast a concrete pad for less than $10 of Quickrete plus some bolts to tie the unit down)
other plumbing pvc drain line for condensate
Lineset cover - I bought a commercial lineset cover for the piping between the units
Pretty straightforward assembly. Two key points are to use Nylock Blue on the flares to get a good seal and to do a good pump down with a vacuum pump. I went ahead and bought a set of AC gauges, , my brother had a good vacuum pump and I borrowed a good micron vacuum gauge from school. I have been told that there are AC techs that will do a start up (pump down, leak check and release the refrigerant) for $1-200. I did it myself.
Also, this is who I purchased my Mr. Slim minisplit from
https://www.acwholesalers.com/Ductle...inCat=&subCat=
I am happy to answer any other questions
John
p.s. I just saw the posts on insulation, and highly recommend insulating as best you can. In my three car garage I have insulation in the ceiling, one wall is attached to the rest of the house, one wall is garage doors (which my lovely wife cut and installed the foam insulation board in) and two walls are uninsulated limestone. The unit keeps the garage comfy even her in South Texas. I plan on insulating the side walls in the future.
Last edited by John Stankus; 08-06-2014 at 5:10 PM. Reason: added insulation comment
Member
I have a 22' by 32' shop that is framed with a load bearing wall length wise down the center leaving me with two rooms. I installed two small mini splits one in each room. One was a noname Chinese and the other an LG. I did all the work except for hooking up the copper and pulling the vacuum. I had a local HVAC guy do that part for $100 on one unit and a year later I traded a tool chest I no longer need to have him do the other unit. Both units have worked great for a few years now. Last winter the temp got down to 5 degrees and one unit heated the shop with no problem. I have a small Rikon air cleaner in each room that I bought on sale. I have a small plastic tube I hook to the shop vac to keep the heat pump filter screen clean when needed. I am pleased with the setup.
This Fall I am going to install a couple of Fujitsu units in my house that give 80% of their rated heat value at 15 below zero.
Member
Gosh, I reread that post and I'm ashamed. Yes, I did go to kollege!
PS I do run a dehumidifier in the summer months.
[OP]
Member
I bought the Wynter 14,000 BTU unit. One problem is that my windows are upstairs so the upstairs area gets AC as well. I was hoping warmer air would rise and cooler would fall but the unit shoots the cool air straight up. So it's really cooling a fairly large area, more than it's advertised 500sq ft. I may move my finishing area upstairs.
Humidity in the shop has dropped from76% to 55% currently which helps a bunch. Two days ago I was in the shop all day trying to get it setup, 90+ degrees outside, the shop peaked at 79 which is still a bit warm but better than nothing. I do have windows in the garage door and sunlight (heat) pours in for the first half of the day. I may get a tint for the windows. Hate to give up sunlight but it's warm standing in the heat. Plus I'll put blinds on the windows upstairs. Windows are facing east/west so one window is getting full sun at any given point in the day.
I could probably use a second unit for mid summer heat, but once our wonderful fall weather rolls around I should be set. This thing also has a dehumidify option, I need to find out what the target humidity is. I may just use that when I'm not in the shop.
Guest
76% to 55% is great for two reasons, your sweat will actually evaporate and cool you, and 55% is below the rust line if you can keep it there.
Member
I have been looking for this kind of thing for myself. I borrowed at 14k BTU unit from a friend, I was going to buy it if it worked, and here in SLC it would get to only about 82 on a 95+ degree day. This is with a huge amount of insulation above the ceiling but an unknown amount in the walls as they were closed in and sheetrocked and painted when I purchased the house. So I will be changing out to a Mini Split sometime soon.
Interesting I found some that did not need an HVAC expert to do the install. Here is the URL to the manufacturer (not a sales site): http://www.friedrich.com/products/re.../window/breeze
There is a very specialized locking mechanism that you use to connect the two. But that does come with install implications. I was looking at one of these so that I could do the install myself. (I called around and got a number of local bids and well... wow. The installation was a ton and too be honest I just don't have the extra cash right now.) The major install implication is that the interior piece and the line set are permanently attached. So as I understand it you have to feed the length of it thru the wall, rather than just a bit coming back through.
Now to be clear, I don't have one of these. I just saw ads and videos about the install.
Here is a youtube showing the install:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CNn9uNWdoI
This one is better, but I hadn't seen it before. It shows the connection of the interior and exterior devices with the line set at 6:22 into the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwK2-4PaVt8
It would be very easy to do. The questions I have are around is Friedrich a good brand, value for the money, etc....
I just thought I would share what I have found.
Joshua
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