Shop Heating

A ceiling fan creates an artificial convection flow. Whatever air gets moved down moves up in other areas of the space. In that sense, it makes little difference as to whether the fan blows up or down. It is basically homogenizing the air and eliminating stratification.

There are extenuating circumstances that could come to play. If you like the warmer upper air blowing down on you as you sit in your recliner, then set the fan for a downdraft, etc.
 
Let me add the while inconvenient to have a breeze, air movement helps to minimize and mitigate surface moisture (rusting). The only time I turn off my furnace fan is while I'm MIG or TIG welding.
 
How hard is it to install a mini split?

I got a quote of $6k for a Mitsubishi 18k btu and about laughed the guy out of my shop.

There is an el cheapo mini split in Amazon for $750. We have pretty mild winters here that don’t get much below freezing at night. I just want to keep the shop dry year round, above 50 in the winter, and cool if I want in the summer. Tough to justify an expensive mini split.


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I did myu own install for a 50K BTU gas heater all in for 500$....
 
I installed my own mini split. I fab'd up my own mount for the compressor to sit on outside but you can buy them for$100 or so. I gave the hvac guy $200 to come out to hook up the lines at the compressor and verify the charge. Plus the $1400 for my 18,000 btu Friederich from Skipthewarehouse. $1800 all in including some odds and ends.
 
If you have enough ceiling height I’d go with radiant tube heaters. They warm the machines then they give off heat to the air. This keeps them dry and prevents rust. May not be an issue for you but for me in humid SETexas, it’s a big deal.
 
I installed my mini-split too. Pretty easy but I had to borrow a vacuum pump. Unless you have one with the manifold you'll have to pay someone to do that. Rent some scaffolding for the inside unit. My buddy made a unistrut mount for his mini-split.
 
Many jurisdictions require a licensed HVAC person to do the install. I have the necessary equipment, vacuum pump, manifold, etc from working on automotive A/C, but chose to go with the MrCool DIY system as it has prefilled lines and compressor and doesn't require an HVAC person to make the final hookup. My initial location for the compressor was on a rooftop and the idea of hauling all the equipment up and working in a precarious location didn't appeal to me. My final location was on top of a porch roof with a fairly shallow pitch so the location wasn't nearly as demanding but I'm still glad I went with the DIY system.

I see that MrCool has made some changes to their DIY system, offering different lengths of lines and line extensions. Previously, the only option was a 25' line, which was the reason I went with the porch roof installation (I needed 35' to reach the ground). They are also a bit more cagey about installation requirements, probably coming from the legal beagles.

The most difficult part of the installation was the prep work. I had to make a plywood backing board to mount the indoor unit as I couldn't tie into two studs. The coolant lines exited the attic space and into the soffit in an inaccessible location which required the better part of a day of hand labor to make a sufficiently sized passage for the lines. My compressor hangs from the side of the house rather than sitting on the porch roof. To mount the compressor made shims to match the taper of the siding boards to provide a flat surface for the mounting brackets. With all that work done, the actual install was less than two hours start to finish.
 
Mr. Cools are more expensive than non DIY units if I remember correctly. I have a Daikin but believe the Mitsubishi have the reputation as being the best.
One thing to remember if you do buy a mini-split is make sure you know what is included. Lineset, cover for lineset, brackets for mounting the condenser might or might not be included.
 
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