Mini split heat

[Mikido]

It’s all about heat transfer.

On a mini split, an electric element heats up (like an electric stove top), then a fan blows air over it. The line sets have nothing to do with the heating part of a mini split. Same thing as an electric garage space heater.

Fuel burning heaters do the same thing. Combustible burns hot, and heats the air around it, some have fans that blow the air as well.

How much heat you need for your application is up to you. I spent 2 weeks last winter (below zero) changing out my boiler. In that time I used my 24.000btu mini split to heat without issue.

Bring extra clothes and blankets for your first winter and see how it goes. If anything, I’d put in a wood stove (more for the romanticism of it)

 

[CajunNavy337]

Appreciate that. I’ll get them next time I’m there. I’m really just wondering what the best backup is. I’m going to do something for backup. Just kinda curious what everybody thinks is best.


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Ok. There are two options of heat in a dustless system. Heat pump and or electric heat. You probably have a Heat pump system. Heat pumps are not effective when temps reach below freezing. That being said, you may be able to add a heat strip to your set up, but that would require an additional electrical service as well to handle the load of the heat strip.

So propane heaters or old fashion wood are probably your most economical route. Check out the propane wall heaters.

 

[StuckoYota99]

Bbob and cajunnavy337 are spot on. I'll add that outside humidity and windchill can also effect the units ability to absorb and transfer heat. I'd recommend a supplemental heat source as well. Easiest would be electric heaters depending on how much your electrical panel can handle. Or a vented propane heater like an empire wall heater.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I wouldn't spend a cent on a heater...I'd just tell Brandy we need to spoon to survive.

 

[bobr1]

It honestly really depends on where your cabin is also. If you expect a lot of sub freezing temps for prolonged periods and you aren’t going to be there then definitely do preventative measures and shut off your water and drain the lines or at least make sure you have frost free spigots, if you have any on the outside. My house is currently all electric because the chimneys, which are wood burning and needed some serious repairs and took almost 2 years to get a mason to do the work. I have emergency propane portable heaters for back up, so far I haven’t had to use them. I plan to get a backup generator for some of the stuff and keep one chimney for wood heat as a backup/ambiance. I think for a place that size a vented propane system might be better as a backup. Idk, a lot of factors to consider.

 

[Titan]

I have 2 mr cool mini splits. They didn’t have any issues during the polar vortex down here. It was just about 0 for a while.

For backup, you could look at a diesel heater. I just bought an all in one for $130 and it would run on 5 gallons for at least a few days.

 

[hunterjmj]

We live in an old 1 room school house and use a vented propane wall heater. I think it's a Rennai. Thing works great but loves the propane. We're replacing all the single pane windows here soon which should help.

 

[SwiftShot]

Some many splits have a heater core like a cub cadet if it get to cold. The one we had in Korea worked fine way down low. It had the heater core in it. The outside unit does not even turn on, as it was useless to conserve energy.