I have a 12 year old LG mini split (24000 BTU) in my garage currently. I've replaced the control board once, and i've always had issues with the freon getting low. I'm ready to finally just replace it with something else.

I've been looking at windows units just for simplicity/ease of installation. It's just a garage so i don't care too much about the extra noise. When it was working, the 24,000 BTU mini split seemed to be a good size to keep everything cool. The garage is roughly 500sf, walls are insulated but the ceiling is not, and the garage is on the west side of the house so it can get pretty toasty late in the day.

Got my eye on a couple different ones. Midea is another brand that seems to get recommended a lot online.

Freidrich

Fridgidaire

LG Dual Inverter

Anyway, looking for any and all input/suggestions. Let me know if i'm on the right track or if you have any recommendations.

I have the LG and it has done well in my garage, but my walls, ceiling and garage doors are insulated.

Love our LG 10k BTU window units & LG clothes washer!

You'd have to break my arm to again buy either of the other brands listed BUT those stung me a looong time ago in a galaxy far, far .....

I walled off my third car tandem garage. Insulated that wall and installed an exterior door into the main garage. Placed a midea 250sq ft window unit on the new wall and it will cool the room down to 68 in about 15 min. Three walls are insulated but the largest exterior wall is not.

I do have to keep the garage open to account for the heat and humidity dump of the ac.

We have one of the U shaped medias, keep as ac fail contingency but works great to keep a room cold without paying to do rest of house. Inverter is a game changer even with reduced repairability.

I'm leaning toward the inverter unit, but the LG is the only one i can find that's >12000 btu. Most of the reviews are good, but a handful say that it just quit working after a year or two.

I'm probably going overkill, but my old unit is 24k btu and it worked well in the space. And i don't want to be short on cooling.

I personally would fix the minisplit or replace with another. Leaks are typically due to improperly completed flare fittings and tools to detect leaks are common and a good hvac tech should make quick work of it. Also several DIY friendly mini splits available these days.
I went for many years without central AC and only strategic window units. My first 24K frigidaire did not make it two years. My replacement I believe was a GE and it lasted several years and still works at another locations but not used on a continual basis.
They will require 220, are louder and far less efficient than a typical minisplit or inverter device. An unfortunately they they are disposable since no one will work on them. The available extended warranty may help but its always a fight to get a repair completed. I made a few trips to Sams Club to purchase a replacement when one failed since they typically had more and bigger units in stock, and buying the extended warranty made them not fail until I spent 20+K to do central air.