Shop Project. HVAC.

[dbhost]

My attached garage workshop for well over a decade had been kind of sort of cooled in the Texas summers via a 13.5K BTU portable AC that didn't have enough fan to pull the hot air in, nor let the cooled / conditioned air out. And there was no heat for the mid Jan - mid Mar time frame where it would be nice to be warm in the shop.

A solution presented itself in a Prime Day deal, why they seem to be doing Prime Day at random times now not sure, but okay, I digress. There was a prime day deal on the unit I have been holding out for.

A Cooper & Hunter 220v 18K BTU mini split heat pump.https://amzn.to/3tSkSRx oddly enough present pricing is what I paid, so $898.99 + tax. This is shipped via freight as it is kind of bulky and of course you need mounting brackets.

When I had the garage sub panel run, the HVAC circuit can support 220v no problem.rated amperage on the cooling cycle is 7.35 and heat cycle is 7.4. Nowhere near a problem for a 20a circuit... Just need to run the wire and outlet for it... No problem...

Going to do some double and triple checking of measurements, but it looks like I will mount the interior bits up between the dust collector and the upright run to the ceiling. Plenty of unused room there. I just need to take down an unused shelf and brackets..

It will be a week or more before I can move forward with the install as I am having a friend that is an AC / heating guy do the job for me in trade for work on his motorhome cabinets, Notably losing his dinette, moving the water tank / plumbing and panelling in the wall for a floating table / chairs. Removing the 32" CRT TV and box in / door the associated cabinet space. We are double checking but it looks like where the big clunky CRT was, we might be able to attach a 42" flat screen smart TV,. He just needs to select on that can work without a web connection, OR fork over for Starlink...

I suspect there will be some butcher block countertop making happening for that RV as well... So we are both currently looking for ample quantities of walnut and hickory or pecan lumber to work with on that project... Or more specivically those projects...

If I can get and keep the shop clean and those last few steps of setup, I should be able to move forward with the big projects that have been waiting too long...

So far we have...

Step 1. Order and receive the unit. Done.
Step 2 get the unit off the pallet. Done.
Step 3. Discard outer packaging / shrink wrap and straps. Done.
Step 4. Break down the pallet, reclaim the lumber if possible. Pending. Need to dig out my pallet breakdown tool... and pliers... Going to try to recover as much lumber as I can from the pallet from this and from the sander.
Step 5. Make space for install. Outdoos done. Indoors in progress.
Step 6 Install mounting bracket for outdoor unit. Pending.
Step 7. Prep electrical. Pending.
Step 8. Install indoor unit / drain lines etc... Pending.
Step 9. Install exterior unit, and make connections and verify. Pending.
Step 10. Vacuum system down. Pending.
Step 11. Charge system and leak test. Pending.
Step 12. Join to network / smart app / test and verify function.

Yes I rammed a couple of steps together to avoid getting to 13...

[capncarl]

Is installing the evaporator next to the dust collector a good idea? Their coils are extremely hard to clean.

[dbhost]

That is a REALLY good question, and probably not, however the only space available to mount where the garage door tracks, plumbing, or electrical won't be in the way is that space...

Coming from the garage door down that wall that it needs to be on is my hanging tool cabinets, which are under the overhead door track, then the tool stacker space that is too narrow and is partially over and will run into the plumbing for the.... water softener system and water main shut off for the house, then the sub panel, the upright for the DC run, the space I am considering, then the dust collector... I am stuck with my perpetual issue, my garage workshop being a 2 car garage was designed for 2 very SHORT and NARROW cars...

I am no expert on electrical code, but I am pretty sure I am not supposed to mount the AC unit over the cable bundle feeding into / out of the sub panel.

So yeah space is a huge issue...

And yes keeping the coils clean was part of the consideration. Up until the bag seal blew itself to smithereens the dust collector corner was the most dust free spot in my shop, next would be the band saw, this unit will be between the two. I selected the C&H with the assistance of some HVAC guys I know as it has a reputation for being the easiest to clean. My model unfortunately does not have the tool-less housing, which is a different series evaporator, but just a couple of fasteners to pop the housing off, a couple more for the diffuser, and then it is right there. Some suction from the shop vac with the brush adapter and encouragement from the air comrpessor and blow gun and it should be ready to reassemble, if it needs a chemical cleaning slide a trash bag under the bottom of it and form a funnel into a bucket, spray it down with cleaner, wait, then rinse with clean water / spray bottle (per C&H service guide).

Not saying it is an easy job, but it is a lot easier than a lot of competing units that have easly 12 or more fasteners for the housing, the filter housing is another layer, the electrical gets popped out, and THEN the cover for the coils blah blah blah... Just nasty.

And even at that, those are still easier to keep the coils clean than my now gone portable unit, which I hope and pray I never see again...

I am not without concern about it, but I just don't see another option that won't cause other problems with minimal if any gain... And this pushes the priority for maintaining and using dust collection even higher... I do wonder if there are HEPA or similar filters that I can use in this thing to help with keeping this from being a problem...