split A/C - two indoor units? Heat pump?

[Nate Nagel]

Hi all,

after spending the afternoon alternately trying to work on my truck in the driveway and running inside to bask in the A/C and rub alcohol on the skeeter bites to cool them off, I'm thinking that A/C in my garage would be oh so nice. A friend recommended a two piece unit but I am not seeing exactly what I'd like from a quick google search. I'm thinking it would be nice to be able to have two indoor units, one upstairs and one downstairs, and also if either/both could function as a heat pump that would be great, because there's no heat out there either. Is there anything on the market that fits my needs?

thanks

nate

[J.H. Holliday]

I had a little extra capacity in my system so I ran two ducts with registers into my garage-- and it works just fine. I leave them open in the Georgia summer but close them down in winter. One nice side benefit, mold.mildew has fallen way off.....

[Pete C.]

Yes, they do exist. Try LG or Mitsubishi, I think they have mini split systems that can support several inside units.

[Nate Nagel]

Sorry, I didn't specify - this is a detached building; garage bay downstairs, large room and bathroom upstairs. Not connected to house at all, only utilities present electric and water (no gas, hence my question re: heat pump.)

nate

[ransley]

Sure you can do it, but I bet your electric cost per kwh will at least double in the next years for what you have now, or understand your electric co is trying its hardest to raise your rates which could be locked for a present period. You would be smarter spending money to reduce overall costs. In the mean time a portable AC and fan with water vapor will work. They are not the high Seer rating of central AC, but your utility bill will prompt you for higher seer on everything.

There is a good reason we Americans use 25% of the worlds energy, but only encompase 5% of its population, we waste it, We piss it away. And we now have to import oil and Ng, we have NG, alot offshore. We have oil, in Anwar, and I dont give a dam about Anwares purity, nobody lives there , and drilling is much safer these days , congress and butch are morons ,

[Nate Nagel]

This would be for use only when I'm physically in the garage. Although if I could get a unit with a heat pump it might be nice to set it at 50 degrees or something through the winter so I don't have to drain the water down.

nate

[willshak]

Ah, ransley. I always admire your positive outlook on life. I wish that I had the same but these anti-depressants keep getting in the way.

[willshak]

Funny, I see the Google search items right in your header. split ac.

[Nate Nagel]

True, but the question is do I need two outdoor units if I want two indoor units, and do any of them heat as well as cool? DAGS didn't provide a whole lot of info. Another poster suggested Mitsubishi or LG but in my mind neither one of those brands is associated with longevity or reliability. I guess I should pay more attention next time I'm in a large building, because I know they use these things all the time in mechanical penthouses and such, but I haven't paid much attention to brand or capabilities.

nate

[Pete C.]

I'd suggest you look a lot more closely. Those are both reliable, high quality brands. Your lack of familiarity with them is largely due to their lack of presence in the US HVAC market. Both brands are quite big outside the US market where the mini split systems are the norm vs. the US norm of large central units.

[Nate Nagel]

Well, I am a car guy, which gives me a serious mistrust of anything branded with the triple diamond. Their cars are, in a word, shit, with the possible exception of the original Eclipse which they somehow miraculously made reasonably reliable.

My only exposure to LG is asking for opinions on home appliances, and the consensus seems to be the same (although to be fair, some fine, once-proud American brands are peddling the same made-in-china crap)

so are you saying that this doesn't necessarily apply to their HVAC products?

nate

[willshak]

Oh, man!!!! That's what I wanted to say. :-)

[Pete C.]

Their trucks seem to be plenty popular.

LG is *NOT* made in China. LG is Korean and has been around for a long time with an excellent history.

I'm saying it doesn't apply to *ANY* of their products. You need to take another look at who LG is, and the other brand names they have used over the years. They used to use the Goldstar brand name in the US (the G in LG), always maligned by most as a "cheap piece of crap" until they realized that the item they just called a "piece of crap" had been working flawlessly for a couple decades.

[willshak]

I don't blame you for mistrusting Mitsubishi since we blew them out of the sky by the hundreds in WWII, but LG is a Korean Company.

[Nate Nagel]

See, this doesn't give your post a whole lot of credibility. Mitsubishi cars are notorious shit, just ask anyone that bought a Chrysler and then found out that it had a Mitsu engine in it. If it's not smoking like a hot turd after five years, you either should play the lottery or don't drive it. I've also heard of plenty of people with LG washers and/or dryers, and a lot of them have had problems. (problems with a washer or dryer? those ought to be pretty much plug and play for a decade or more.)

My point was, I don't feel like dropping a couple grand on something that's going to crap out on me after five years or less, and that is what I expect of those two companies.

nate

[Pete C.]

As I said, their trucks seem to be plenty popular. I have no experience with their cars, since I'm a truck guy, not a car guy.

You apparently haven't looked at the LG stuff, some of their units are "bleeding edge" technology and those are where the problems may be, as well as operator error, not having read the manual.

Well, your expectations are incorrect. As I indicated both brands are very common and respected outside the US where mini-split is the norm.

[12334]

[willshak]

Then here's a suggestion. Don't buy anything from anyone, because no matter how great a product is touted, you "will" get the one lemon in the whole bunch.

[Nate Nagel]

Gee, I'm sorry I offended your sensibilities. See, I do take your advice to some extent - I very rarely make large purchases, because I maintain my equipment and expect it to last a long time. Therefore, I tend to take some care when I *do* make large purchases, so I don't get stuck with crap. Hence, I'd be more likely, say, to buy a GM product with a 3.8 rather than a Taurus or, yes, a Mitsubishi. I like products with a proven track record of reliability, or if I can't establish that, a manufacturer with a proven track record of reliability. Simply saying "Mitsubishi products are reliable" doesn't wash with me because I know that at least SOME of their products are shit. I'm so sorry that I wasted your time with an honest question that still hasn't received a straight answer.

nate

[Nate Nagel]

thanks, this looks like what I'm really looking for:

looks like these are "comfortaire" products, any comment on longevity/reliability? I'd say a two or three zone heat pump system (three zone if I feel like being fancy and conditioning the bathroom separately) is exactly what I'm looking for.

nate