[Shop-talk] mini-split or window unit ?

[Eric Russell]

I installed a mini-split in our garage (25' X 40' x 11' 8" with residential
grade insulation). I like it a lot. It is very efficient for moderate
heating needs (it loses efficiency below ~ 35*F) and frequent cooling. Here
in North Carolina winters are not extremely cold but summers need the A/C.

I had an electrician run the circuits for disconnects then I installed the
units (one in the garage, one for the room above) and had an HVAC tech
vacuum the lines and make the final connection.

Eric Russell
Mebane, NC

On Mon, Apr 19, 2021 at 7:49 PM Mike Rambour <lists at dinospider.com> wrote:

>   Ok, I want a cooler garage this year.  I have been planning to install
> a mini-split for several years now and this is the year.    Power will
> be a slight problem, shop has plenty but none where I want the
> compressor to go, so have to run some power. Shop has 200amp sub-panel
> 40ft away from where I want to install compressor. Not a big deal BUT I
> saw a 18k btu window unit at Home Depot and was thinking that should
> work great and be half the price.
>
>   My shop is 24ft x 40ft so 960 sq. ft. 9ft tall walls of 2x6 filled
> with insulation and I went overboard on ceiling insulation also, stays
> cool until mid-afternnon on hot days then becomes a oven for the
> evening, I live in S. Calif.  I already have a Hot Dawg gas heater so I
> don't need the heat that a mini-split would provide, but might be nice
> to get rid of the Hot Dawg (doubt that I would) and have one unit do
> both.   In the "shop" area of the garage I have barn doors that I welded
> up forever ago, 1x2 steel with a plywood exterior, i have not
> used/opened those doors in over a decade, they were installed when I
> built the shop just so I could get my lathe and mill in easily.   I have
> no windows in the shop so I was thinking I could put this window ac unit
> in one of those barn doors, the frame will easily handle the weight and
> it would be a super easy hole to cut and install the unit into, I think
> even the hinges would handle the weight but I can get stronger bigger
> hinges if I need them.  Then I have dedicated 50amp plug right next to
> that for my TIG to plug the unit into, I weld mostly in the front of the
> shop anyway but I wired every wall with a 50amp for the TIG and 30amp
> for the table saw when I built the shop (I really went overboard on
> wiring).
>
>   So what would you do ? mini-split seems to the answer but half the
> price for a easier install window unit and cut a hole in a unused door
> seems like a good idea, good ideas are often the worst...
>
>      mike
>
> --
> A gun is like a parachute, if you need one but don't have it,
> you'll probably never need one again.
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> Shop-talk at autox.team.net
> Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
> Suggested annual donation  $12.96
> Archive: http://www.team.net/pipermail/shop-talk
> http://autox.team.net/archive
>
> Unsubscribe/Manage:
> http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/shop-talk/ejrussell61@gmail.com
>
>

-- 
Eric Russell
Mebane, NC
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://autox.team.net/pipermail/shop-talk/attachments/20210419/9d73d669/attachment.htm>