[Esteban]

Originally Posted by jmg

FML my 40 year old HVAC system took a dump a few days ago, right before one of the worst heat waves in Socal I can remember. It's easily 95 degrees in my house.

First purchase was a new furnace, blower, coils and condenser/heat pump. $14k.

[img]https://www.americanstandardair.com/...at-pump-md.png[/img]

Of course, it takes a few days to get the parts and install, so in the meantime I got one of these portable AC puppies for my home office because my head started to hurt from the heat and zoom calls were becoming awkward with my shirt off:

[img]https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/...AC_SL1000_.jpg[/img]

40 years, huh. That's a long run. I expect to replace mine this coming spring. Just the condenser and blower, though.

Only 15 years old but it runs all year set at 70F so it might see an early death, lol. Couldn't stand to be stuck in 100+ temp with no A/C.

[RedX4MC]

Purchased a BMW 50th Anniversary Carbon Fiber Emblem Roundel from bimmerplug.com after seeing an M5 at Detailer's Domain with one. It goes over the top with a piece of double-stick tape.

[P1]

Originally Posted by bosstones

Did you buy the cameras already re-flashed or do it yourself? I tried a quick search for custom FW but only found people DIY'ing and posting questions on forums.

Bought them already reflashed.

[M_Six]

According to that cam comparison guy, Amcrest is a U.S. firm that sources Dahua cameras. Not sure if that means Amcrest reflashes them or not. But I'm using Synology Surveillance Station, so totally different software for viewing. Once I have my cams set up, I may set up a firewall rule to keep them from sending anything out of the network IP range.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Been waffling between getting one of these for the garage or going with a mini-split. I need the cooling more than the heating, so a mini-split is a bit of overkill. But the costs aren't that far apart. And the mini-split doesn't take up floor space.

I would do the mini-split which I imagine are quieter since the condenser is outside. I'm thinking of getting one too, so I don't have to run the central air when no one else is home.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Esteban

40 years, huh. That's a long run. I expect to replace mine this coming spring. Just the condenser and blower, though.

Only 15 years old but it runs all year set at 70F so it might see an early death, lol. Couldn't stand to be stuck in 100+ temp with no A/C.

Yup, furnace was all rusted out. I guess they are supposed to be swapped every 20 years, so it had a long life! The coils were nasty and disgusting. I was still using R22, the old refrigerant, so recharging the system would have been expensive. I also went with an electric heat pump and ditched the gas furnace. Less risk of carbon monoxide, longer lasting furnace.

[M_Six]

Yikes. My HVAC contractor just quote a mini-split for the garage at $5500. Even if I could find someone to do it for half that, it's still way more than a floor unit. Looks like I need to shop for a floor unit. Luckily we're just about out of the major summer heat, so I have until next year to find and install one.

[Awsm66]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Yikes. My HVAC contractor just quote a mini-split for the garage at $5500. Even if I could find someone to do it for half that, it's still way more than a floor unit. Looks like I need to shop for a floor unit. Luckily we're just about out of the major summer heat, so I have until next year to find and install one.

If you are decent at DIY you can buy a DIY minisplit from mrcool or some others. They are really easy to install. I installed one in my office space I built into my garage/shop and they are really easy to do.

[M_Six]

Just dipping my toes into the DIY arena. I'm nowhere near confident enough to try that yet. I can still screw up a free lunch given the chance.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Yikes. My HVAC contractor just quote a mini-split for the garage at $5500. Even if I could find someone to do it for half that, it's still way more than a floor unit. Looks like I need to shop for a floor unit. Luckily we're just about out of the major summer heat, so I have until next year to find and install one.

Cost depends on how big your garage is, and if it's insulated. I have a 3 car, so a mini-split would have to be huge to start with, and it's not insulated, so it would have to be even bigger. I think you are looking at minimum $2k just for something adequate for 600sq-ft. $8k for 1200 sq-ft. Install is probably in the $1-2k range. I don't think it's cost effective for a 3 car garage. Better of insulating it and then getting the duct to the central AC work done, so long as your condenser can handle the extra square footage. If not, what I sometimes do is walk around and shut vents to unoccupied rooms.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by jmg

...If not, what I sometimes do is walk around and shut vents to unoccupied rooms.

I do that. We have a fourth bedroom that we use as storage so I keep that vent closed and the rest of the house gets a little more.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by jmg

Cost depends on how big your garage is, and if it's insulated. I have a 3 car, so a mini-split would have to be huge to start with, and it's not insulated, so it would have to be even bigger. I think you are looking at minimum $2k just for something adequate for 600sq-ft. $8k for 1200 sq-ft. Install is probably in the $1-2k range. I don't think it's cost effective for a 3 car garage. Better of insulating it and then getting the duct to the central AC work done, so long as your condenser can handle the extra square footage. If not, what I sometimes do is walk around and shut vents to unoccupied rooms.

Two car garage and all insulated, including the door. But 700sf, so it'd need a sizable unit. The contractor also suggested just an air handler since I really don't need the heating option from a mini-split. But he still said it would be north of $2k. I'll probably just go with a portable floor unit. I don't need it to be frosty in the garage. Just tolerable if I include a good fan.

[Kilabyte]

Originally Posted by Awsm66

If you are decent at DIY you can buy a DIY minisplit from mrcool or some others. They are really easy to install. I installed one in my office space I built into my garage/shop and they are really easy to do.

What about the wiring? Aren't most of these 220 where you need an electrician?

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Kilabyte

What about the wiring? Aren't most of these 220 where you need an electrician?

Depends on the size, some are 120V. Plus garages are more likely to have a 220V for the washer and dryer.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Esteban

I do that. We have a fourth bedroom that we use as storage so I keep that vent closed and the rest of the house gets a little more.

Thinking of replacing our vents with some kind of smart vent system. Maybe shut off certain rooms at certain times of day. Certainly shutting all the downstairs vents at night would be great. I can count 10 vents off the top of my head though, so it's not going to be cheap.

$1k for this system that works with my NEST Thermostat:

Flair Smart Vent

[UncleWede]

My son shot a big horn Cali sheep in Oregon, single lifetime tag used up. He sent us a pic and I had it printed on canvas at 30x40. When it gets here, I'll have it framed in some antique-looking pale wood, and it should all be ready for Christmas giving!

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by jmg

Thinking of replacing our vents with some kind of smart vent system. Maybe shut off certain rooms at certain times of day. Certainly shutting all the downstairs vents at night would be great. I can count 10 vents off the top of my head though, so it's not going to be cheap.

$1k for this system that works with my NEST Thermostat:

We originally had two zone heating/cooling in our house. Two separate heat pumps and furnace/air units. We used the a/c in the basement so rarely that when it came time to replace that unit, we went with a straight furnace. No heat pump and no a/c compressor. Our basement (walkout) rarely gets warmer than 74F or colder than 62F. The only part of that old system we miss is the dehumidifying feature. I installed a large dehumidifier in the furnace room that drains into a floor drain and a smaller one in our workout room, so those control the humidity quite well now.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

My son shot a big horn Cali sheep in Oregon, single lifetime tag used up. He sent us a pic and I had it printed on canvas at 30x40. When it gets here, I'll have it framed in some antique-looking pale wood, and it should all be ready for Christmas giving!

Need my address?

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

Need my address?

Sausage, or pic?

[///MPhatic]

///M Performance carbon/alcantara shift knob.

[Kilabyte]

^Nice, I really like mine.

[///MPhatic]

Originally Posted by Kilabyte

^Nice, I really like mine.

Haven't made up my mind about it yet. It's different, that's for sure.