How are you keeping your shop cool?

[Crazyraceguy]

Question for anyone that is using a mini split style wall mounted fan coil. Has shop dust ever been an issue for you? The filters that ship with the mini split indoor heads are not the greatest for really fine dust. Has anyone found the evaporator coil to get really dusty? I clean the evaporator coils in the house every spring, which isn't a task I look forward to.

In the last couple of weeks, most of what I have done was just moving in and sorting stuff. This week, I have gotten to do some actual cutting and routing. So far the CTs are getting it done.
I have blown out and washed the filters a few times, but they weren't bad.

 

[Malinois Dad]

Thanks for the feedback. I do use a CT for sanding, a dust collector on the large stationary tools, and recently added a 950CFM Rikon air filter suspended from the ceiling. I let the Rikon run the entire time I'm working in the shop and srt the timer for 4 hours after my workday is over. It does seem to keep the fine dust from settling on everything. I change the pleated filter on the Rikon weekly.

 

[SoonerFan]

Question for anyone that is using a mini split style wall mounted fan coil. Has shop dust ever been an issue for you? The filters that ship with the mini split indoor heads are not the greatest for really fine dust. Has anyone found the evaporator coil to get really dusty? I clean the evaporator coils in the house every spring, which isn't a task I look forward to. I'm wondering if I would not be better using a vertical air handler in the shop with some simple ducting. I could then use a 2" disposable pleated air filter. I could very well be overthinking it.

@Malinois Dad I have been using my mini split for five years and for the most part it has been great. It was just so much cheaper than the other options I explored for conditioning the space.

Mine has removable screens that act as the fliter. I vacuum these with my CT one a month or so. One or twice a year I vacuum behind the screens and clean the blades inside the unit. There are Cottonwoods near us so a couple of times a summer I take the hose and clean it off. Finally I have our HVAC contractor check the unit, Freon levels, etc, as part of the maintenance plan we have with them. I run it all summer, never shutting it off. During the day I set it at 74 and then switch it to 77 degrees and “eco mode” at night. During the winter I set it at 60 and leave it there all day and all night. None of the maintenance I do takes more than 3- minutes and vacuuming the screens takes about five minutes.

Only issue I have is maybe once a winter the water freezes. The water comes in from our house and then comes up through the outside wall into the shop bathroom. This year when in gets super cold I think I will let the water dip over those nights. The only good thing about the water freezing is it serves to remind me that adding the bathroom was a great plan. I never realized how convenient it is until it froze the first time.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

@Malinois Dad I have been using my mini split for five years and for the most part it has been great. It was just so much cheaper than the other options I explored for conditioning the space.

Mine has removable screens that act as the fliter. I vacuum these with my CT one a month or so. One or twice a year I vacuum behind the screens and clean the blades inside the unit. There are Cottonwoods near us so a couple of times a summer I take the hose and clean it off. Finally I have our HVAC contractor check the unit, Freon levels, etc, as part of the maintenance plan we have with them. I run it all summer, never shutting it off. During the day I set it at 74 and then switch it to 77 degrees and “eco mode” at night. During the winter I set it at 60 and leave it there all day and all night. None of the maintenance I do takes more than 3- minutes and vacuuming the screens takes about five minutes.

Only issue I have is maybe once a winter the water freezes. The water comes in from our house and then comes up through the outside wall into the shop bathroom. This year when in gets super cold I think I will let the water dip over those nights. The only good thing about the water freezing is it serves to remind me that adding the bathroom was a great plan. I never realized how convenient it is until it froze the first time.

I didn't run mine last winter, since the insulation wasn't finished. I'll find out this year though. I don't have water, in my shop. It's only a few steps into the house and that's fine.

 

[SoonerFan]

CRG I think you will be very happy with how the mini split performs in the winter.

 

[jeffinsgf]

....
The ideal basement shop is one with a walk-out.

Ding, Ding Ding!

Walk-out with a garage door and a concrete drive around to the front of the house. It's a very convenient set-up. According to many things I've read about HVAC, closing vents is generally not helpful, so my basement vents are open and my shop is the same temp as the rest of the house...sometimes cooler. The only downside to my arrangement is keeping the shop sawdust down enough that it doesn't get into the house HVAC. I don't turn anything on without a dust collector attached and I've added an air cleaner. I still need to do more and have some plans, but it's workable for the time being.

Glad to hear your window unit under the garage door is working. Short term housing always presents challenges.

 

[onocoffee]

For those of you with mini-splits, how is the energy consumption? Where I live, the utilities have increased dramatically this year and I'm a bit concerned about adding to that load - no matter how much I'm sweating it out during the summer.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

@onocoffee It's really hard to say. My electric bills have been a little higher, but it has been quite a bit hotter this summer too. So, I'm not sure how to judge it? It's certainly not enough to be alarming, in any way.
The humidity has been crazy this year too.

 

[SoonerFan]

@onocoffee the cost can vary as CRG mention but I think it’s worth it.

As for me, I run mine at 74 during the day an 77 at night. I condition about a 1000 sqft. My shop has terrific insulation in the attic, 6 high quality window, an insulated garage door and the wall have spray foam. The shop is therefore energy efficient. My mini split runs fairly hard in the day as average highs in Jul/Aug are upper 80s or maybe low 90s. I think my electric bill went up by about $1.50 a day or something around that during the hottest times of the year. One huge plus for me is humidity management. I acclimate large quantities of rough sawn and kiln dried lumber at a time. Being able to control humidity is a big advantage for me.

 

[Malinois Dad]

@onocoffee, I have installed at least 150 mini splits for our customers over the years and have yet to have anyone complain about energy consumption. As long as its sized and installed properly I'd say its the most efficient method of conditioning.

Not an apples to apples comparison, but I had a gas fired furnace with an AC coil and AC condenser conditioning my house. Two years ago, I began the conversion to a new HVAC system by removing my furnace/AC and installing a 60K BTU heat recovery VRF system (one could say it's a mini split on steroids). My cost in heating season increased slightly in going from natural gas to a heat pump, but my AC cost of operation during cooling season decreased dramatically. It costs me about $40 per month to condition my entire house with the heat pump, and that it running a 5 ton heat pump with eight individual indoor air handlers, plus a hot water heat exchanger to use the heat pump to provide potable hot water instead of using a water heater. I doubt that adding a 12K BTU air handler to condition my shop will even be noticed on my energy bill. Operating a mini split should be around $10-$20 per month, at least that's the feedback from our customers.