Mini splits

[TwinStick]

I'll start off by saying, i know nothing about mini splits. What i have is a drive under basement, that's about 1600sq ft. It's about half under ground, with 2 garage doors on one end. We park my car, my wifes jeep, my 2500 and my boat in there. It's usually fairly comfortable in the basement, with summer time temps getting as high as 80, and winter time temps about 50.

Right now, it's 77, but humid. I'd like to both decrease humidity, and cool it down a few degrees. One of the threads recently on here had me looking at mini splits, but I don't really know much about them.

Price looks pretty good, 1k-2k. Looks like top brands would ve Mitsubishi, LG and the like. I'm not sure what brand, how big, or how hard of an install they would be. My basement is insullated, but unfinished. Any advice would be appreciated. Here's a picture of part of the space.

[cmclairday2]

I've got two, 2 ton LG's on my house. One is on the garage and the other on a sunroom that I turned into a family room. The sunroom is 800 square feet and the garage is about the same. We reduced the amount of windows in the sunroom and the garage is insulated. Both units heat and cool the spaces very effectively. The one in the garage would keep it at 64 in there in the dead of summer if I wanted it to, and so would the unit in the sunroom.

[townsend266]

Looking at mini splits for my shop, going that route for ease of installation. It’s 30x30 with 12ft walls, I’m going with at least a 21k btu

[JBIGUNS]

We’re having 5 put in our house next week for heating and cooling. A lot more than I planned on spending but wanted it done right and built to perform. Can’t wait. You are probably looking at $4-$5K installed by a pro. I went with Mitsubishi.

[TwinStick]

This is what I ended up with. It's from Senville, 24k btu unit, single head. I opted for the wifi add on so I could control it from anywhere in the house. The app actually works pretty well.

https://senville.com/24000-btu-mini-...ner-senl-24cd/

20230902_154326.jpg

20230901_220729.jpg

The install wasn't bad. I poured the pad one day, did the electrical another, then took probably about 3 hours to install the unit taking my sweet time. It seems to work really well. Nice and cool in the basement, and the humidity drop is very nice. It has 4 modes, AC, heat, dehumidify, and fan.

All total i spent $1614.

Senville $1356
Amazon (flare kit, misc) $118
Home depot $140

Hopefully it will last a while. I was originally going to go with a Mr. Cool unitbecause i was nervous to vacuum the system. Turns out it wasn't a big deal, and i saved quite a bit by bit going with this system instead.

[RangrSkipr]

This is what I ended up with. It's from Senville, 24k btu unit, single head.

The install wasn't bad. I poured the pad one day, did the electrical another, then took probably about 3 hours to install the unit taking my sweet time. It seems to work really well. Nice and cool in the basement, and the humidity drop is very nice. It has 4 modes, AC, heat, dehumidify, and fan.

All total i spent $1614.

Senville $1356
Amazon (flare kit, misc) $118
Home depot $140

Hopefully it will last a while. I was originally going to go with a Mr. Cool unitbecause i was nervous to vacuum the system. Turns out it wasn't a big deal, and i saved quite a bit by bit going with this system instead.

I did similar install as you but with a 12K BTU unit from Pioneer in a finished third stall of my garage. The room is only 300 sq ft and it will cool and heat it to whatever temp you want. I also had an HVAC friend flare the tubing and evacuate the system. A couple of very important procedures that I just didn't want to mess with. One word of caution. If you're installing yourself the manufacturers warranty on the system may be null and void. Most will not warranty if the installation paperwork provided is not signed off by a licensed contractor.

[Aj14]

I installed a Mr. Cool unit in my garage.
It is a DIY unit (do it yourself) and it was relatively easy and saved a bunch of money.
Bought from Home Depot. Decent customer support.
You have open walls which will make it very easy.

[BroWhoop]

You don't appear to have a radical temperature problem. You will probably do a lite smaller btu than normal to have the ms be able to dehumidity some. Being partially below grade and under the house removes a lot of the load. The a/c has to run enough to dehumidify but still achieve setpoint. The capacity is key for you, hard to say for your room without seeing. Wouldn't hurt to have a load run if you can. A lot of variables. One thing about doing this application. If you use the mini split for humidity, be sure it's an inverter system. Use a direct drain or a large external condensate pump. The small pumps have a hard time keeping up with the condensate.

[TwinStick]

The unit direct drains to outside via a flexible hose. Imay do pvc in the future, but it seems to be draining well.

I did size it slightly smaller given most of my Nalgene in underground. However, the 24k btu seems to be doing great so far.

As far as warranty, i knew going in that me installing it would probably void the warranty. Not something I'm overly worried about. I can probably buy a whole new unit for what i would've paid someone to install it.

I also looked at the pioneer units. They seem pretty comparable to this one and almost identical pricing. I'm betting the only real difference is the name on the side.

[TwinStick]

Figured I'd do about a 6 month follow up. I should've put a mini split in years ago. My basement is comfortable all year round now. I've been thoroughly impressed. The app has quite a bit more info that just the remote, and was well woth the $75 upgrade.

As far as function of the mini split. It's been flawless. Kept my basement at 74 (what i set it on) in 95 degree heat, and the lack of humidity is great. I was very curious to see how it would do in the cold. It's down to about 10 degrees where i live, and it's keeping it to within about a degree or 2. I've got it set to 68, and it was 66 when i went down this morning. I think my basement walls transfer a bit of coolness being underground. When it was in the low 20s last week, it kept it perfectly at 68. My thermal gun was showing it was blowing about 105 degree heat out at that time.

All in all, probably the best money I've ever spent on my house.

[Corkpuller]

Figured I'd do about a 6 month follow up. I should've put a mini split in years ago. My basement is comfortable all year round now. I've been thoroughly impressed. The app has quite a bit more info that just the remote, and was well woth the $75 upgrade.

Good info. I have questions about the “app” thing.
I have a Senville 12k unit and it’s the first thing I’ve ever owned that has an “app” for controlling it remotely. So I don’t know shit about it all.

The “app” I have is with Alexa. Have it on my iphone and ipad. I don’t and haven’t verbally asked the fake lady to control my unit, but I have left my shop with the units remote control set at say 63 degrees. Next morning I open the Alexa app from my iphone and bump the temp to 74.

When I go in the shop the unit will display 74 but the remote still says 63, as that’s where it was set when I used it last. Obviously the app controls the unit but not the remote.
Now that I’m in the shop, I use the remote to adjust the temp.
I leave and set the temp back to 63 for the night and the next morning the “app” says it’s set to 74, which is from me setting it there the day before.

Moral of the story is, I don’t think the app is worth a shit. Why would it (the app) not show the actual temp setting of the unit?
As said, I have no experience with this stuff but seems to me if this tech is so great then why don’t the unit, the remote and the APP all hold hands?

Thanks

[Blue Steel]

We have 2 mini splits in our garage. Boat motel is 36x32. Below freezing for last 8 days. 71 degrees in boat motel. One unit is Daikin, one is Mitsubishi. Great investment

[Rick H]

Mr Cool in Ohio 24x36x12 well insulated. Easy install I think. Did it all. Power and all.

Year 3 since install I keep it set on 62 when I'm not in there in the winter. Was 2 above last night and about that every night this week. Holds temp just fine. Have an app I can raise the temp before I go out there but most of the time I don't. Bump it to 73 and 10 mins. its there.

Summer time its set on 82 if i'm not working in there. When I come home with the boat I set it on 75 for a day or two. Just to keep the humidity in check.

Nice to walk in there and it not being a sauna and smelling like the lake since install. Cost of use isn't much I didn't notice much of a difference in the bill. Its on 24 7 unless I have the big door open for a time.

Just make sure you size it right.

[TNsmalliesfan]

The right tools and equipment are needed to install Correctly.Also you will need a place to drain the condensate

[BassinPaPaw]

We have 2 mini splits in our garage. Boat motel is 36x32. Below freezing for last 8 days. 71 degrees in boat motel. One unit is Daikin, one is Mitsubishi. Great investment

What size unit you have? I have the exact same size garage.

[rboren]

They are great for an open area. I can install my own but I went with Mr.Cool so I would not have to vacuum and fill. 18000 btu. Depending on how often you open and close the doors make a huge difference in what size you are going to want. As for my boat storage mine is down under the apartment I am using as a guest cabin. No cooling in it. I keep doors shut in summer and a dehumidifier running. Makes it feel cooler and never seems to get above the low 80’s in mid summer. 4 degrees this morning and with two tiny (electric) heaters putting out less than 2500 btu it was 52 inside boat house. Keep the humidity low and you should be good.

[TwinStick]

Good info. I have questions about the “app” thing.
I have a Senville 12k unit and it’s the first thing I’ve ever owned that has an “app” for controlling it remotely. So I don’t know shit about it all.

The “app” I have is with Alexa. Have it on my iphone and ipad. I don’t and haven’t verbally asked the fake lady to control my unit, but I have left my shop with the units remote control set at say 63 degrees. Next morning I open the Alexa app from my iphone and bump the temp to 74.

When I go in the shop the unit will display 74 but the remote still says 63, as that’s where it was set when I used it last. Obviously the app controls the unit but not the remote.
Now that I’m in the shop, I use the remote to adjust the temp.
I leave and set the temp back to 63 for the night and the next morning the “app” says it’s set to 74, which is from me setting it there the day before.

Moral of the story is, I don’t think the app is worth a shit. Why would it (the app) not show the actual temp setting of the unit?
As said, I have no experience with this stuff but seems to me if this tech is so great then why don’t the unit, the remote and the APP all hold hands?

Thanks

I bought the wifi adapter for around$75. I don't want to control it with an alexa device. I've noticed the same thing on the remote. Honestly, I never use the remote. I couldn't find anywhere where it tells actual temp anywhere but the app. To me, it works really well.

[TwinStick]

The right tools and equipment are needed to install Correctly.Also you will need a place to drain the condensate

I pulled a vacuum, flared my own ends. Haven't had any issues. Condensate drains outside like my traditional units. I did put a bunch of pea gravel down under my deck where it drains, now for looks and to keep the mud to a minimum.

[Blue Steel]

What size unit you have? I have the exact same size garage.

24k btu