# Ordered a Mini-Split Today



## Janderso (Apr 22, 2019)

I am very excited I won't be sweating my tail off this summer in my shop!
My son installed a 100 amp sub panel in the shop and left me a dedicated 20 amp 120v breaker.


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## alloy (Apr 22, 2019)

I have their 36k model.  It works well but I did have a few challenges putting it in.  One of the challenges was the wire was too short that plugs into the compressor.  I had to extend it about a foot. 

I mounted the compressor around a corner in order to use up the 25ft of line.   I also bought a plastic base from Home Depot and sat it on concrete blocks and anchored it down. 

The unit is very quiet but you will find the remote phone app is useless. 

I would but it again given the cost difference of paying a professional to put one in.


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## Janderso (Apr 23, 2019)

I am thinking about mounting the condenser in a spot I hadn't originally thought about due to the 25 foot liquid line.
I wish they offered different length packages as mine is going right outside the shop.
It seems simple enough.
3 tons is a big unit. I assume you use it for heat more than AC in Vancouver.


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## alloy (Apr 23, 2019)

I haven't had the chance to try the AC yet.  I put it in later last year and just used the heat setting. And I'm actually in silverlake, wa.  I moved here last year and changed my location on here and if you look at my profile it says silverlake, but the display says Vancouver.  Not sure why that is.

Yeah those 25ft lines suck,  but I was able to find a way to use the extra length up.  I've seen online different ways of hiding the line. One person made a box and coiled the extra line up in that.

For line covers I didn't use the Mr cool ones.  I bought them and took them back. I got mine off amazon.  I needed two sets of them.

You will need help mounting the unit.  Trying to hold it up and feed the lines through a hole in the wall isn't easy even with a second person helping.  I made a small temporary shelf to take the weight of the unit and I held it there while my wife helped feed the lines through the wall.  It was not an easy task at all.


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## talvare (Apr 23, 2019)

Janderso said:


> I am thinking about mounting the condenser in a spot I hadn't originally thought about due to the 25 foot liquid line.
> I wish they offered different length packages as mine is going right outside the shop.
> It seems simple enough.
> 3 tons is a big unit. I assume you use it for heat more than AC in Vancouver.



Jeff,

In your geographic area, I would recommend installing the condenser on the north side of the building if possible. Southern exposure would be the least desirable. Also, you can cut the refrigerant lines to the desired length if you want. You would then have to evacuate them with a vacuum pump and re-charge the appropriate amount of refrigerant. If you don't have the equipment or knowledge, any local HVAC company should be able to do this for you.

Ted


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## Janderso (Apr 23, 2019)

Good call Ted. Thanks for the heads up.
I may just do that with the lines. I'll know better when I lay it out and see how much excess I'm dealing with. As luck would have it, I will be installing on the North side.
Hey, your only an hour away...wink


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## talvare (Apr 23, 2019)

Jeff,
I wouldn't mind at all helping you with the installation, but when I retired I sold pretty much all of my equipment for that type of work. Of course I then went crazy buying machining equipment 
Ted


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## vocatexas (Apr 23, 2019)

After watching Keith Rucker's recent video on installing his mini-split, I've been thinking about possibly putting one in my shop when I finish it. I'm going to have roughly 1900 square feet split in half by a wall with an average roof height of 17 feet. Am I asking too much from one of these units?


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## alloy (Apr 23, 2019)

vocatexas said:


> After watching Keith Rucker's recent video on installing his mini-split, I've been thinking about possibly putting one in my shop when I finish it. I'm going to have roughly 1900 square feet split in half by a wall with an average roof height of 17 feet. Am I asking too much from one of these units?




I have a 36k unit and a 1700 square foot shop.  This winter it was about 25 degrees in my shop and I turned the heat on the night before I wanted to work.  The unit got my shop to about 50 degrees.  Workable, but chilly.  I'm going to supplement it with a large wall heater for next winter.

The 36k unit is the largest one they make.  In hind sight I probably should have just put a couple or large wall heaters in instead.  I don't really have a problem tolerating the heat in the summer so I probably won't use the AC portion of it,  its' just the 20 degree days in winter where my fingers just don't work very well that I need heat for.

If your going to heat just half of your shop it should work for it, but trying to heat the entire 1900 square feet it just won't be near enough.


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## RJSakowski (Apr 26, 2019)

I will be following this thread with interest.  

I am seriously looking at a mini split for my attic electronics workshop this year.  I have around 300 sq. ft. and I am considering a 12K BTU unit.  The pre-charged feature of the Mr. Cool DIY unit is attractive but the fixed line length may be a problem.  It looks like I will need about 30' of line.


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## Eddyde (Apr 26, 2019)

Janderso said:


> I am thinking about mounting the condenser in a spot I hadn't originally thought about due to the 25 foot liquid line.
> I wish they offered different length packages as mine is going right outside the shop.
> It seems simple enough.
> 3 tons is a big unit. I assume you use it for heat more than AC in Vancouver.


You can just leave the excess refrigerant lines coiled up behind the condenser.


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## martik777 (Apr 26, 2019)

alloy said:


> I have a 36k unit and a 1700 square foot shop.  This winter it was about 25 degrees in my shop and I turned the heat on the night before I wanted to work.  The unit got my shop to about 50 degrees.  Workable, but chilly.  I'm going to supplement it with a large wall heater for next winter.
> 
> The 36k unit is the largest one they make.  In hind sight I probably should have just put a couple or large wall heaters in instead.  I don't really have a problem tolerating the heat in the summer so I probably won't use the AC portion of it,  its' just the 20 degree days in winter where my fingers just don't work very well that I need heat for.
> 
> If your going to heat just half of your shop it should work for it, but trying to heat the entire 1900 square feet it just won't be near enough.



I installed a used gas furnace in my shop, heats up in a couple minutes and cheap to run.  Loads of good used furnaces under $200 available.


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## alloy (Apr 26, 2019)

martik777 said:


> I installed a used gas furnace in my shop, heats up in a couple minutes and cheap to run.  Loads of good used furnaces under $200 available.



I don't have gas available here. Electric only.


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## RJSakowski (Apr 28, 2019)

I measured my needed length to be 30' if I want to install the condenser at ground level. I could do a rooftop condenser mount (I have a hatch to the roof) but it would be a PITA for service and I would have to work a way to get the condenser unit to the roof.

It also appears that Mr. Cool condenser power comes from the mains which is easier to do at ground level.  I have 30 amp 230 volt electric service run to a subpanel in my attic workroom but it is currently dedicated to electric baseboard heating.  Running additional power to the attic space is out of the question so the electric heat would have to be at least partially decommissioned to run  the A/C as a heat pump.

Lots to consider.


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