I was wondering if anyone has experience with these DIY units? I was looking at trying one but didn’t know if they were worth the effort.

I'm interested in hearing as well

Me too, been thinking about one for my shop.

we just had a Fujitsu (sp?) unit installed in our finished basement...

worth every penny.

Our hvac guys at work told me to stay away from the Mr. Cool brand.

I installed 2 Garvee units in my house and have zero complaints. Extremely efficient and very simple to put in.
Fixing to do 2 more.

Airport do those come with the Freon in them?

Yes

Is the Garvee 110V 20 amp?

Are these the plug in window types?

I have two Mr Cools in my house, a 12,000 btu and a 24,000. Lines came pre-charged.

Bought both units complete for roughly 4,000 dollars. Had to purchase line covers and racks, to keep them off of the ground, seperately.

I find them to be much more effecient than NG or oil and I don't have to worry about getting deliveries, the electric is always there.

At first, I had a rep from Home Depot come over to explain everything and they told me that the units, plus them installing them would cost 12,000 thousand. My brother in law and his buddy installed them both for a case of beer in one day, I helped where I could. Saved nearly 8,000 bucks.

The heat and the AC are instant and quiet. I say GO FOR IT!

How are they for producing heat beachcomber? At what temp will they stop heating?. I know they can cool well but my main concern is heating the shop in the winter.

Also, what is the lowest temp setting for heat? I like to keep the shop 55 when I'm out there but anything above freezing when I'm not would be great.

Good morning Lugnut.

The minimum temp is 62. As you know, we have had a cold winter. They never stopped working, even on the below zero nights. They just become less energy effecient. My house, 1,570 sf ranch, is all electric. Use the washing machine and dryer every few days, shower every day and I was happy when I got my Orange and Rockland bill in January, was 353. 43. I kept the heat at a constant 67*. It was early February when the weather started getting REALLY cold and I worried about water lines possibly freezing so I kept the heat at a constant 70*. The difference quickly showed, Feb's bill was 438.00. Highest electric bill I've paid since moving into my house a year and a half ago. The heat's back to 67* again :-)

Mind you, half of my bill is the delivery charge so actual energy use is much less.

they are very efficient and worth every penny. I think the major issue with most brands is the pump to get the condensate outside. other than that, they are a steal in the HVAC business these days.

Mine is awesome, and they really are as easy to install as they say.

We have one that runs off the solar, been over a year so far so good! We couldn't get anyone to install any cooler/heater, so a neighbor and I did it along with doing the solar and some other work. Don't need the AC, so for several months we run the house on solar, only use the heater from Nov-March

I use them in two houses and am mostly satisfied, but perhaps not ecstatic about them, as I had to replace one unit. There was an improperly seated schrader valve that slowly emptied one unit (it was the 4th year after install that the problem revealed itself). Had the valve replaced and the unit refilled by a professional, since I am not licensed and cannot purchase refrigerant, but evidently running on empty damaged other components, so we were flat again within a year. Long story short, a professional repair was going to cost as much as a new unit, and having a pro install one of their units would cost 3-4 times as much. So I installed another MrCool...hoping the issue with the other was a fluke, but time will tell...The unit at the other house has had no issues.

On the whole, for me they are worth it (so far, unless I have another issue come up). The cost is 1/4 to 1/3 of professionally installed units (even with our unit failure, we're still at 50% of the professional cost of a single unit), and anyone who can do some basic handyman work can easily do the installation.

Thanks for the great information beachcomber. You make a pretty good endorsement for the Mr. Cool units. I think I’ll be installing one in the shop this spring.

Most of the units I’ve had installed in remodels use gravity to drain the condensate. I’ve only seen a few where it was not possible to gravity drain that actually had pumps in them.

you may be able to get units up north that do not have the float valve pump system. My brother had 5 of these installed on his house and everyone of the pumps went bad in short order. The AC guy I worked with for years said that was the only drawback. other than that super efficient.

what brand are you using that has the gravity flow drain. That would be the way to go down here in this hades heat and humidity. I cant remember the brands we installed when I was working with him and still working with the Police Dept.

Different brands Sheepdog. I use an HVAC sub-contractor to install them in remodels and new construction. I only remember one time that they had to use a condensate pump, it was in an old stone barn converted to a home. I was contracted to put a master bedroom in an unfinished space on the second floor.

The HVAC guys didn't want to drill through two-feet of stone wall to gravity drain the condensate so they used pumps and ran the lines up into the attic and out the wood-framed gable wall. And there was trouble with the pump on one of the two units installed. It quit working soon after installation and had to be replaced.

About two years later I got a call back, Owners claimed the cultured marble shower I installed was leaking into the living room below. After much searching and tearing things apart I discovered that mice had chewed the condensate line in the joist cavity between the bathroom ceiling and attic floor. Every time the pump ran it was like a sprinkler system. LOL

The water was traveling down the outside of the shower walls and pooling on the living room ceiling where it destroyed a large area if drywall.

But, I was vindicated as were my HVAC guys.