Window air conditioner - or mini-split - for my garage?

[cabmandone]

Take an IR thermometer and shoot the sheeting of the roof. That'll tell you whether it'll be a problem or not.

[cabmandone]

I have a 24x42 room with 15' ceilings and two windows that when it's hot out, with 24" of blown fiberglass insulation in the ceiling and 8" in the walls, my 18K btu Delonghi will run most of the day just to keep that room at 75 set temp. It all depends on what you want to do. There are some large portable units that you could put in that would do the job. But you'll find what my brother did, that once you insulate, the unit will reduce temp but not humidity.

[ted]

1 ton 110v Mini split in a 2 car 20x20 garage with very little insulation and a thin insulated garage door.
This mini split has AC and a heat pump that works very well.
Warm summer days it keeps it cool enough, cold winter nights the heat pump keeps the garage very warm.

[GH85Carrera]

I put in AC for cheap, as I am cheap.




I have a "people door" that goes from the back porch into the garage. I put this piece of plywood in place and slide the AC into it. I have removed the AC unit by myself, and put it on the shelf I built right net to it. It was at the limit of my strength, and I almost dropped it. So now I get a buddy to help me and it is easy. I can move the wooden frame out of the way, and it is all out of the way. The "frame" is a small door that I can use to go into the back yard if necessary, while the AC is in place.

I have a thread I started on the tech site about garage AC that has the full description of the setup.

My garage is a 3 car oversized garage. The AC mostly cools the work bay where my scissor lift is, and all the tools and workbench. It will keep me comfortable on the hottest days as long as my wife does not go to lunch, and return with a hot car.

It cost be about a buck per hour to run it. So a 8 hour day of working in the garage is 8 bucks of electricity. I can come inside and not be exhausted from sweating. It is 100% worth the cost of electricity. I only run it when I am working out there.

[nota]

just a big fan to exchange the air will be a difference maker esp if you can grab air from shade areas

the other ac device is a inside unit to pipe hot air out most called portables or wheeled portables
they just need a 4 to 6'' hole to get hot air out eazy to install

mini splits can go up to 23 or better eer ratings bosch has one but costs are way up for the rates

locals have 2 ton central units while the most startup costs the least running costs and longer life

mini splits look to me to be replace rather then repair items

[nota]

shade sail over the roof can drop temps a bit without big el bills

[nota]

and even a little bit of gray adds lots of heat

I got cheap very lite gray epoxy paint for the side decks on a houseboat
way too hot for bare feet and quickly repainted bright white

[908/930]

Roof looks pretty flat, how expensive is your water there, keep the roof wet during the day, recapture any runoff water for your lawn. It won't get rid of the humidity problem though.

[GH85Carrera]

Just getting the humidity down in my garage makes a big difference. On a muggy day, the AC makes a huge difference in very short order. I have two ceiling fans over the work area, and a floor fan as well as the AC pumping away.

[Baz]

Thanks again for all the input!

Little bit of a tough call.

The mini-split would be ideal - given it would be less noisey plus the register could be centrally mounted inside. Probably more efficient too, so little more investment up front to pay dividends down the road.

I also wonder how much the prices for these will be going up.

Should I buy one now - just to get in before any price increase?

I can always use one of my window units temporary and then go to the mini later when I get things organized so I can actually use my garage for inside work.

Also - I found the same unit on the eBay listing offered on Amazon. The seller in both cases is the manufacturer. Exact same price. Why is this important? Because as most here know - Amazon has tons of reviews plus a Q&A section - this item's listing alone with 1,000 Q&A's!

I'm a member in good standing on both eBay and Amazon but feel a purchase through Amazon might be better. Either way the manufacturer Senville appears to have a stellar reputation on both product and service.

3,565 ratings - 4.7 out of 5 stars......

Senville LETO Series Mini Split Air Conditioner Heat Pump, 12000 BTU 110/120V, Works with Alexa, White

I'm ready to pull the trigger!

[Seahawk]

Relax.

What are the install costs, etc.?

For the price of the Split, you can get a few options that will serve you well, a 12k BTU window unit and this:

https://www.amazon.com/SereneLife-Portable-Conditioner-Dehumidifier-Complete/dp/B07SFJXLYW/ref=sr_1_23?crid=19W02SNI5TJOV&keywords=window+air+conditioners&qid=1658176329&s=home-garden&sprefix=window+air+conditioner%2Cgarden%2C380&sr=1-23

I have used a very similar unit in the link three times after hurricanes, easy plug into the generator or, now, the house circuits I power. Live saver. When it gets really hot, I run the portable unit at the barn.

I am all about options. Those two units and some fans and you are good to go.

BTW, a window unit can get a really nice non window install, like Glen's. I also have a a/c and heater unit at the Stable to keep the pipes from freezing in really cold weather. 22 years old and still cranking.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Relax.

What are the install costs, etc.?

For the price of the Split, you can get a few options that will serve you well, a 12k BTU window unit and this:

https://www.amazon.com/SereneLife-Portable-Conditioner-Dehumidifier-Complete/dp/B07SFJXLYW/ref=sr_1_23?crid=19W02SNI5TJOV&keywords=window+air+conditioners&qid=1658176329&s=home-garden&sprefix=window+air+conditioner%2Cgarden%2C380&sr=1-23

I have used a very similar unit in the link three times after hurricanes, easy plug into the generator or, now, the house circuits I power. Live saver. When it gets really hot, I run the portable unit at the barn.

I am all about options. Those two units and some fans and you are good to go.

BTW, a window unit can get a really nice non window install, like Glen's. I also have a a/c and heater unit at the Stable to keep the pipes from freezing in really cold weather. 22 years old and still cranking.

Hi Paul.....thanks for the input and suggestions...always appreciated!

Those portables look really great! My problem is with a 2 car garage, I don't have very much floor space. So having something mounted on a wall would make more sense - for my situation anyway.

Agree that Glen's installation for his 3 car garage looks great and would be a great option. I already have 2 windows so could just use one of them, should I go that route.

I went ahead and ordered the mini I referenced in my post above. I plan to install myself. Plenty of You Tube vids to help me.

None of this stuff is what I'd call urgent, so plenty of time to proceed with my endeavour.

Threads like this are great for those in the future looking for information for their application!

[look 171]

Glad you decided on the mini split. Now, git it done. Party at Baz's house.

[Cairo94507]

I installed a mini-split in my last garage, a large 3-car. I bought it from Home Depot on one of their holiday sale specials. It was rated for 900 sq. ft. so that worked for me. It was a good solution. I did the install when we remodeled the garage so all the lines were in the walls and all you saw was the actual unit on the wall. Would heat and cool the garage with no problem. Quiet operation too.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Baz

Hi Paul.....thanks for the input and suggestions...always appreciated!

No worries at all, Baz. You made an excellent choice.

The barn workshop is a lot more "dirty" than a normal garage. The workshop is adjacent to the fields and gets really dusty from combines, the occasional plowing, etc. The mini split lasted about 5 years in that environment. I also wanted to cool my shop office, which, since the spaces are all old tobacco barns, was the old "stripping room and separate from the work shop.

You won't have those issues!

Best.

[A930Rocket]

Originally Posted by look 171

glad you decided on the mini split. Now, git it done. Party at baz's garage.

fify

[Rawknees'Turbo]

Baz, for what it's worth, I've had a lot of experience with window units (both high and low power ones), and now have a year with a Mitsubishi 2 ton mini-split (a/c only model as I do not need the heat here in TexASS) - while window a/c units serve their purpose well (easy install, relatively low cost, good performance if sized appropriately, etc.) the split is far superior hands down, in every aspect other than cost and ease of install.

[sc_rufctr]

The "mini-split" air-conditioner has become the standard for good reason. Installation efficiency and effectiveness.

Window air-cons have always been a compromise.

[mattdavis11]

It seems to me the best option would be mini split as well. At least when bottom falls out and they come to steal your stuff, you would only lose half the unit, and it wouldn't leave an open hole for them to crawl through for access to more stuff.

[GH85Carrera]

One of the things about my installation, I close the steel door to the outside, and it is secure. No one is climbing through the window unit hole. The AC system stays ion place, just on the outside.