I’m currently having a shop built myself, and after my son and his friend do HVAC work, this type of unit is what they both recommend for many reasons including what you mentioned. So I will definitely have them installed once I’m ready.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’ll be using ComfortStar actually, and luckily I know someone at our local supply store and my son can install it, I was amazed at the actual cost of these units compared to the “installed” cost


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I just installed the diy mr cool 24000 btu unit in my 24x32 shop right after summer. Took about 3-4 hrs to install myself and has been running like a clock ever since maintaining 68 degrees. It was $1400 out of pocket. Not to bad. The humidity was around 70 to 75% and now it is a
steady at 35-40%.

FYI in case it helps others who are thinking about installing a ductless split system in their shop....

One thing I never considered when I decided to install a ductless split system is the de-humidification feature that the system has available.  Here recently we've had some strange weather with a lot of dampness/humidity. Once I open the garage door all that humidity sneaks in to the shop.  The Mitsubishi unit I have has a setting that is strictly for removing humidity.  I haven't measured the humidity levels once the unit has been running in this mode, but it is quite obvious that the air is dryer after not much runtime.

When I was doing remodel work I used to coordinate with my HVAC sub to get these installed for our customers.  I never gave ductless splits much thought until I got this one installed. I love it and would really prefer to have these throughout the house instead of our builder's grade forced-air system.

@RobZ I am interested in a mini split, can you tell me which one from that link you would suggest. My shop is 400sqft and the weather goes from -30 to 30 Celsuis.

Thanks, Mario

Hello Mario

I just looked at the model numbers of the equipment I bought and they are slightly different from those listed on your link.  But even so, I don't think it would be prudent to try to size your system from afar.  You can look this stuff up on the web and figure out your heating/cooling  load, which will be based on various factors such as square footage, insulation in the walls and ceiling, windows, etc.  I know just enough, as the saying goes, to be dangerous  , so it wouldn't be prudent to choose a particular model from afar.

And I thought you were an expert 

When I built my shop last summer I looked into mini split. I went on another direction adding two convection heater instead, mainly because of the installation price on the mini split. I may reconsider the mini split based on the humidity control feature 

Thanks, Mario

I have the Mitsubishi mini-split, don't remember the model without looking it up, but picked it because it was rated to produce heat at -15 °F outside temperature. I believe that I paid around $1500 for the package, a little higher than some of the other options, but Mitsubishi has a good reputation and I wanted the features. I installed the unit myself, but paid a local HVAC contractor $300 to connect the copper tubing, pump the system down and make all the adjustments. Well worth the money, plus I understand that Mitsubishi gets sticky about the warranty if a licensed contractor doesn't sign off on the installation - I mailed the completed form to them and got an acknowledgement in about a week that the warranty was in effect. And the unit will be three years old this year, working fine.

How's the mini split dealing with the dust of shop life. They don't come with great filtration and their efficiency drops when the evaporator coil gets dirty. They also apparently tend to spit condensation when the coil gets dirty.

I was gung hoe to use one in the future for my garage when it gets redone but I'm cautious to the dust and dirt aspect. At least forced hot air as efficient and relatively cheap filters. Both washable and disposable and the addition of both supply and return register filters make another layer of dust removal.

I love mini splits btw. Easy install. Cheap. And I'd you dont feel you need the warranty can be had and installed by yourself depending on your locations permitting.

Keep the lineset lengths within the parameters of the precharge and you don't need to add refrigeratant nor then require a technician.

Really only need to invest in a set of gauges, an open end torque wrench and a decent vacuum pump.

And now Mitsubishi has some sweet stats and control options if you want to go mobile, integrate with an existing smart stat or need to add a mini split condensate pump. Their one stat is Honeywell redlink ready.

We heat and cool our house with a Sanyo (now owned by Panasonic) mini-split system. Our original installer made several mistakes during the initial install which he chased for 5 years before giving up. We finally found a local HVAC company that has gotten it running correctly, 7 years after the initial install.
Word to the wise, whatever brand you choose RESEARCH THE INSTALLER and make sure they have a LOT of experience with the equipment and getting it to run correctly.