Heat and Air Duct Advise

[JimRB]

Off topic but what kind of winter weather does East Texas have? In Atlanta our 12x12 insulated tack room/bathroom/laundry room in the barn has 1/2" foamboard, and R19 in the walls and ceilings. A light bulb, 60-100 watts is enough to keep the room warm enough. Another light aimed at the faucets in the wash rack keeps them thawed during our 15-30 degree winter cold snaps. Dehumidifier keeps the humidity down in the summer keeping the mold off leather but you don't want to be in the tack room for long on hot humid days.

 

[orezok]

Arky - sent you a PM.

 

[WM75Guy]

Last winter we had one stretch where it did not get much above 32 if at all and in the teens at night for about 7-10 days if I remember right. Split would not work at all, kept going into defrost mode. Happens below 40 degrees according to the manual.

 

[JimRB]

Last winter we had one stretch where it did not get much above 32 if at all and in the teens at night for about 7-10 days if I remember right. Split would not work at all, kept going into defrost mode. Happens below 40 degrees according to the manual.

I have not looked at an air heat pump in the winter in a long time. I recall those defrost modes 20 years ago though. We had that same cold weather last winter but that is kind of rare. Of course kind of rare does not help if your heat system cannot keep up. We did geothermal so all it does is run longer when it gets really cold.

 

[OKnewguy]

Just an update gang, meet with one more hvac guy today. He is going to quote me a conventional system and a mini-split. I just do not get warm fuzzies with these mini-splits. I don't know! BTW, here in Ok you can perform hvac work diy, but it needs to be inspected and you can not mess with refrigerant. I do have a connection to charge a mini split and sign off on the warranty if I go the self install route (good idea!)
Oh and I got my third quote in at $9800 for a conventional. Man this quotes are high. These are all for 13seer air and 60 to 70,000 btu furnaces. I think I over simplified this in my head, thinking this is just 800sf.
Thanks everyone for the help and I will keep you posted as things develop.
Dave

 

[JD 4520]

OK - I have a house with a 1000 sqft daylight basement with kitchen, bath living and small room. I have a propane heater that is installed against an outside wall to vent and it works wonderful. It cost less than $1000 with an electronic thermostat. I ran a line to a tank and done. That's it. I've had it more than 10 years and couldn't be happier.

 

[JD 4520]

OK - if you go the route you are thinking, it will be a great system but pricey. All depends on how much you want to spend. Operationally it will cost about the same.

 

[kenmac]

I can understand the prices you are getting. It's difficult to install a system in a home that's already built , someone living there full of stuff that may have to be moved & a mess to have to clean up after cutting holes or possibly causing some damage. If you would save alot of $$ & feel comfortable doing the install yourself using a package unit. That's what I would do. Do you have any DIY cost estimates ? would the duct run up the outside of the home & turn into the attic ? If so, were the estimates for covering this duct work (with some type of enclosure) on the outside of the home?

 

[tglass]

Think I would talk to the renter about it, and see if they would sign a waver from damages to their personal property with the installer to make them aware pictures etc. might have to be removed during installation . Prices you are getting seems extreemly high, but might have saw the brand names, guarentee, and dealer support on weekends, holidays etc.. I'de look for someone that has refences and not from their site. Talk to them and see how their experience was. Quite a few problems are from the installer/dealer and not from the manufactuer. Wrong size duct work installed or existing?

 

[OKnewguy]

Well my last contractor (an old friend, that I remembered is an hvac tech) came by, yesterday. We went over all the options and came up with the following plan.
We are going to go with a mini split system, I asked him about the Mitsu Mr. Slims, and talked about some of the internet sales places, and he checked his supplier. He can get Daikin (which seems pretty good) and he will purchase these units, and let me do the install. He will then come back and take care of the line set's and charging procedure and basically give my install a once over. This is FREAKIN GREAT, we are now looking at less then $5000. I will get a nailed down price when we figure out the line set lengths. I will keep everyone up to date on the progress.
Thanks so much for all the help, this is why TBN is so great, over the years I have saved so much money and aggravation with all of the help from TBN, it really is great to bounce idea's off you guys.
Dave