I have an insulated garage shop, 520 sq ft. I live in central Texas and suffer from the heat and humidity all summer. I’ve been looking into the mini-split AC units. Lowes has a Mr. Cool, 23000 BTU unit for just under $2000. I like that it is rated for a 1000 square feet space. It comes charged with refrigerant and is designed for DIY installation. I’m hopeful this unit will work well for me and believe I can pull off the install, given the much higher cost of having a contractor install his unit.
Questions – Has anyone had any experience with the Mr. Cool mini-split units? Ease of installation? Reliability?
I know I’ll need to augment the dust filters. Any suggestions on solving that issue?
Due to cost and DIY design, this seems like it will work, but would appreciate it if someone knows of problems I’ve not considered. Thanks.
Replies
I put mini splits in my home about 12 years ago and could not be happier.
I did the work of mounting & routing line sets & wires myself, and accepted a strong 'recco from the folks that sold me the gear to hire a pro to dummy check and commission the system. The vacuum check (for leaks and to clear the lines of air) was totally worth it all by itself. He re-did 3 of my flare connections and tuned the system to where it was blowing ice cubes.
I was told at the time that the air in the lines would have reduced efficiency, and if it leaked the repair call / recharge would have been pretty pricey.
I have installed 3 of these systems in our home. It will work fine in your shop with a 220 volt power source. An issue to consider, if you buy the unit yourself many HVAC companies will not help you with installation because you did not buy it from them. I bought the same units from Amazon and bought a vacuum pump and a gauge set and installed it myself saving a lot of money. You can hire an electrician to provide the 220 power source and then you are good to go. The installation is really pretty easy.
I just did one myself, and also bought a vacuum pump, manifold gauge and flaring tool. For about 160 bucks, I could buy a non-DIY unit, and saved even more.
The thing with the Mr Cool is, the A.C. unit itself is precharged, but the two refrigerant lines are also precharged. You can't shorten them if they are too long. You have to coil up the excess and leave it sitting outside.
If you make your own flared ends, you can cut the lines to the proper length, then vacuum the lines, and the gauge will tell you if the vacuum holds after a wait. If it does, release the precharged refrigerant from the unit.
I find it saved a lot, even over the Mr Cool, even with the tool expense, and now I have some tools I didn't own before.
YouTube has some great videos about installing and vacuuming down a mini split system. You don't want to shorten the refrigerant lines too much because the refrigerant charge takes into consideration the standard line length. One thing you should do is make new and good flares on the tubing.
I put that same unit in my 750 sq foot shop and am thrilled. I'm in central VA, so not as hot as TX, but very humid, and pretty cold in the winter. It has worked great for both.
I hung it on a purpose built bracket that hangs from the ceiling in the middle of the shop, and ran a piece of 4 inch PVC to carry the refridge lines and drip line out thru the wall. My shop is a pre-built type shed, 34 by 20 feet. This unit easily supports the whole shop with no problem.
I have a great Oneida central Dust system that is outside of the shop. So far the dust in the mini split has not been a problem. The dust collector definitely pulls the cooled or heated air out of the shop, I can feel the outside air creeping in around the doors. But the trade off seems worth it to keep the dust outside, and the mini split catches up quickly once I turn off the dust collector.
It is really quiet, and there is very little fan blowing, so it is not at all inconvenient. I had no trouble with the DIY installation. I watched all of the videos I could find on You Tube so I knew what to expect. An extra pair of hands helped in getting the indoor unit up in the air onto its bracket, but the rest was fine.
Now the shop is pleasant all year round, and all of my hand tools have stopped rusting all summer. Good luck with yours.
I did just that installed a mini Split in my 2 car work shop 400 Sq Ft. The first one I installed was a Pioneer 12K BTU, It heated well however the cooling would take hours to cool down the insulated shop.
Last June 2020 Installed a 24K DIY MRCool mini split I love it! and I live in West Texas extremly hot 100+ is not un common, Winter I have seen zero degrees here. in the summer with a typical 96 plus degree day I turn on my AC and the ambient temp in the shop would be 92-94 in 30 minutes it was cooled down to 80 degrees. This last week we had our first Freeze and ice storm the shop was very comfy.
My MRCool is very efficient 22 sear I am thinking. The DIY aspect was very easy for me. I not an HVAC guy but I have installed systems in past.
This DIY unit you do not have to evacuate the lines or the evaporator. the Line set is pre charged as well at the Condenser and the evaporator. It is idiot proof.
You do NOT cut and flare the lines as they have their own designed line set fittings and they don't leak.
I went with the DIY unit a little more expensive than the non DIY but with the DIY unit I have 5 year warranty. (300.0 difference well worth it to me) had I purchased the non DIY and I installed it my self I would not have a warranty.
I would also add That This unit is very quite and moves a lot of air when needed. Much better than the first unit.
Another plus is I have the ability to control the unit via WIFI from anywhere with and app on my Iphone and android phones . and it came with this unit that was a $50.00 option on the Pioneer.
All though I have a 400 Sqft shop everything I read said the 12K Pioneer would serve me well, Not so. so I decided to install the 24K BTU unit. it does not short cycle meaning the AC comes on and off and leaves the room humid. (we do have humid days when the winds are out of the south)
Now I will say we have another room that was added on the house that is the same Sq Ft area. 4 years ago we had a Gree Min Split installed at a price of $ 4000.00 for the DIY MRCool I was happy to pay $1700.00
I highly recommend the DIY unit unless you have a Licensed or Certified HVAC person in your back pocket.
You may get a lot of feed back from those n the HVAC world that s not aware of the new technology in this DIY unt. Some may even say it is illegal to install this. It is simply not so. I contacted my local mechanical building code inspector and we talked about it. I had the 240 volt line already run for the other unit. The inspector even stopped by to see it out of curiosity, not as an inspection.
Lane,
Wow, there are some people way more daring than me!
We all want to save money, but .....
The new DIY MR. Cool units are pretty . . . well . . . cool. My requirements for distance and so forth led me to some Pioneer units. There are a few solid players in the mini-split arena and some bargain junk as well. Some require professional installation for the warranty to work, others do not. If the Mr. Cool units would have worked I probably would have gone that way.
Jay Bates on YouTube had a recent video (within last two months) about what he does to minimize dust related issues for his mini split. Think plywood boxes with tight fitting furnace filters.
I installed the exact model you mentioned. It’s fantastic. You need a 220vac circuit at 30amp. I also installed a disconnect at the outside unit. Watch the install videos and take your time. It comes with 25’ of pre-charged lines connected to the inside unit. Think about the distance to the outside unit in relation to the inside unit. If it’s to close you end up with a large amount of copper tube that is unsightly. I picked a location about 22’ feet away. I also installed the duct cover kit and painted it the same color as my siding. Looks great. It takes two people to install the inside unit because your passing the copper lines through as you are moving into place.
Probably tmi but it’s a great unit.
Good Luck!
I had an LG unit installed in my basement (mainly for heat), but also does a nice job dehumidifying our muggy Virginia summers. The warning that came with that unit was that then would not honor the warranty unless installed by a certified HVAC technician. Don't know if the Mr. Cool unit has the same caution but I'd check that out.
Enjoy the shop!
Dusty77
Dusty77,
I grew up in Chesapeake, VA I know the humidity you speak of.
Mr Cool has a DIY unit and a non DIY the non DIY is less expensive and does require A lic/ Certified installer for the warranty to be effective.
However the DIY has does not require a licensed installer and you still have a warranty the extra cash was worth it to me for the DIY unit for the warranty. Here in West Texas it get cold how cold you ask I have seen zero degrees Fahrenheit. and it has already snowed here in Abilene,TX Oct 27, 2020. but it does warm up quickly. the point is we have wild temp swings and the MR Cool Diy work very well for me.
Lane,
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