Climate for the enclosed outdoor kitchen, posted up front
Along the I-35 north corridor from Jarrell through Temple and Waco, an enclosed outdoor kitchen still cooks the crew. A live fire, a steel griddle, and a closed-in prep room will push the air past what a ceiling fan can handle. Screens keep bugs out. They do not hold cool air.
Old West Minisplits posts a flat price for a new mini split install and holds it: one zone $2,000, two zones $3,700, three zones $5,400, with four or more quoted individually. That figure covers equipment, labor, line set, standard electrical, refrigerant, testing, cleanup, and a Home Depot run for touch-up paint, with no trip fees. Licensed contractors do the work. Send the layout through the form at /#quote.
When the kitchen is closed in enough to cool
A mini split is a heat pump. It cools through brutal Central Texas summers and takes the edge off mild winters without a furnace. It only earns its keep if the outdoor kitchen or prep space is enclosed on the sides and has a real ceiling, not a breeze-through pavilion. If the walls are mostly screen, you are paying to condition the county.
Doors that latch, solid or glass walls, and a roof that is not open to the ridge give the head a volume it can hold. A three-season room off the patio, a walled pit house, or a prep room with windows that close all qualify. A pergola with insect mesh does not. If the enclosure is borderline, say so on the form at /#quote rather than guessing.
Live fire, grease, and where the head goes
A smoker or grill is a heat source the unit has to fight, not a reason to skip climate control. Place the indoor head high on a wall that is out of the grease plume and out of the steam from the sink. Keep it off the wall that backs the pit. The condenser sits outside the enclosure on a pad or brackets, away from the wood pile and the walk path.
Old West Minisplits does not install range hoods, make-up air, grease ducts, or plumbing. Those trades stay with the people who built the kitchen. We also do not run a commercial exhaust system or add insulation. If the roof or walls need sealing first, the homeowner arranges that separately so the heat pump is not leaking into the yard.
What the posted price includes, and what it does not
These flat prices are for new installs only, never repairs or service calls on an outdoor kitchen unit that already exists. One indoor head for the prep space is a one-zone job at $2,000. A second head for a connected dining porch is two zones at $3,700, and a third head is $5,400. Other contractors in Central Texas commonly quote $3,000 to $6,000 per zone after an in-home visit.
Honest exceptions sit up front. A very long line set from a distant condenser, a panel upgrade the house already needed, or unusually difficult mounting on a thin pavilion post can change the job. Standard electrical is in the price, while a licensed electrician handles a panel the house already needed, arranged by the homeowner. Name the run and the structure on the form at /#quote.
How we compare
| Factor | Old West Minisplits | Window units and portables |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront Cost | New install: 1 zone $2,000, 2 zones $3,700, 3 zones $5,400, posted before anyone rolls up | Cheap to buy, then you keep replacing them. A custom ductless quote from other contractors commonly runs $3,000-$6,000 per zone after an in-home visit |
| Holding the room | A wall-mounted heat pump sized to an enclosed kitchen or prep volume, with doors and walls that actually close | Cool air dumps through screens, under the eaves, and out every open pass-through to the pit |
| Heat from the cooker | Head mounted off the plume so the zone cools the crew, not the firebox | A window unit or rolling cooler sits in the grease path and short-cycles the moment the lid comes off the smoker |
| What is in the number | Equipment, labor, line set, standard electrical, refrigerant, testing, cleanup, touch-up paint. No trip fees. | A second trip for a longer cord, a wobbly sleeve through a stone wall, and no plan for mild winter nights at the prep table |
Straight answers
Is the $2,000 one-zone price for a new outdoor kitchen install or a repair?
New installs only. It is not a repair or service-call price. If an existing head in the pit house is dead, that is a different job and not what this page prices.
Will a mini split cool a screened pavilion kitchen?
Not in any honest sense. Screens do not hold conditioned air. The space needs walls, a ceiling, and openings that close. Finish the enclosure first, then use the form at /#quote.
Can one zone handle a smoker running all afternoon?
The unit cools the room. It does not swallow the fire. Place the head away from the plume and vent the cooker the way the kitchen builder specified. A connected dining porch or a second prep room is a two-zone job at $3,700.
What if the outdoor kitchen sits far from the house panel?
A very long line set is an exception we name up front. Standard electrical is included. A panel upgrade the house already needed is not, and a licensed electrician handles that as a separate arrangement. Unusually difficult mounting on a light post can also change the work. Put the run length on the form at /#quote.
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