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Mini Split Head Unit Location

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KENNYMAC16

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Jan 28, 2026
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6
Hello all!

I am looking for help to decide where to put the head units for my mini split. The garage is 40x40x16 tall. One 16x10 garage door and one 12x14 garage door on the same wall. I am building a mezzanine opposite of the doors for a gym. I will be in there frequently to work and work out. My thought would be to put the units on the wall with the mezzanine, spaced evenly apart, about 14 inches from the ceiling. Would this provide enough heating and cooling for the entire shop?

Other facts. I am in Zone 5. It will be a 48k 4ton mini split with two 24k heads. The garage doors are R18.2, the ceiling has R50 blown in. Walls have R19 with housewrap on the outside and painted osb on the inside. The concrete also has 2inch foam base for some insulative factor as well.
 
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Ohmthis

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Jan 20, 2013
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Outside of Louisville KY
Kenny, how comfortable are you wanting to keep the area? That’s a lot of volume to condition there. The insulation sounds great. The high ceilings are the only thing that I see you will need to combat. Fans large enough to move the air to blend it is a recommendation. I like your original plan for placement. In the summer, the cooled air will fall to the floor. With a head at the same level as the mezzanine, that should keep that area fairly cool. I didn’t look up the design parameters for zone 5. What is the average temps for summer and winter? I’m slightly curious if you may be undersized for your space.
 
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inphx

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Phoenix/Scottsdale AZ
Some consideration to routing of freon lines and the condensate drain for any beams or columns when hiding lines (or external channels for runs) should be part of your planning.
 
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KENNYMAC16

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Messages
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Ohmthis said:
Kenny, how comfortable are you wanting to keep the area? That’s a lot of volume to condition there. The insulation sounds great. The high ceilings are the only thing that I see you will need to combat. Fans large enough to move the air to blend it is a recommendation. I like your original plan for placement. In the summer, the cooled air will fall to the floor. With a head at the same level as the mezzanine, that should keep that area fairly cool. I didn’t look up the design parameters for zone 5. What is the average temps for summer and winter? I’m slightly curious if you may be undersized for your space.
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the average daily temp in the summer would be in the low 80's. In the winter months it will average in the 20's. We get the full four seasons here. I may have misspoke with the head placement however on the og post. I plan to have the mezzanine floor at around 7 ft for a full 8ft or so of headspace above. that would put my heads around 14'6 off the floor. Is that still doable?
 
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K

KENNYMAC16

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Jan 28, 2026
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inphx said:
Some consideration to routing of freon lines and the condensate drain for any beams or columns when hiding lines (or external channels for runs) should be part of your planning.
Click to expand...
thank you for the planning. I do plan to put the lines and drain on the outside and cover with the pvc covers
 
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Ohmthis

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Outside of Louisville KY
KENNYMAC16 said:
the average daily temp in the summer would be in the low 80's. In the winter months it will average in the 20's. We get the full four seasons here. I may have misspoke with the head placement however on the og post. I plan to have the mezzanine floor at around 7 ft for a full 8ft or so of headspace above. that would put my heads around 14'6 off the floor. Is that still doable?
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Kenny, we probably aren’t too far away from each other. I have a 12k btu wall mount heating and cooling 860 sqft with 13’ ceilings (my one head is at ~12’ off of the ground). My insulation is quite similar too. I live about 25 minutes NE of Louisville Ky. The space I have is connected to my house, so there is the difference. I think your placement will work fine. I do believe you need maybe a couple larger ceiling fans to help blend the air. I have an obvious thermocline at about 6’-8’. I plan to add a fan to work that around. Those can easily be slowed down, or turned off seasonally. Have decided on a brand style yet?
 
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KENNYMAC16

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Jan 28, 2026
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6
for the mini split i plan just the 48k MR COOL diy unit. I know they are probably middle grade for quality and a bit ore expensive, however my buddy has one and installed himself and he loves it
 
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Ohmthis

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No judgement here, I’ve never messed with one. A lot of people like them and it sounds like they support their products! Enjoy!my one big piece of advice is to connect the drain hose into PVC. The hose used mostly causes problems later.
 
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KENNYMAC16

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Jan 28, 2026
Messages
6
Ohmthis said:
No judgement here, I’ve never messed with one. A lot of people like them and it sounds like they support their products! Enjoy!my one big piece of advice is to connect the drain hose into PVC. The hose used mostly causes problems later.
Click to expand...
thank you for the insight! spending all this money on a shop, id hate to have issues lol
 
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