Hot shop

[Squid]

I see many of you have a problem using your shop in the wintertime because it is too cold. I have the opposite problem ! My two car garage has become my shop. The only problem is that summer afternoons here are many times 95-100 degrees with a humidity of 85%-90%. A fan does not provide any relief. Do any of the portable airconditioners work well enough to cool off a space this large (about 20X20). Two sides of the garage are interior walls of the house and therefor insulated. One is a double pull up door. The last is an uninsulated exterior wall. There is no insulation in the ceiling. It has already been 94 degrees for the last three days.

[Alex Franke]

Take away one car and add about 4.2 million mosquitos, and you've got my garage shop. I usually try to just send some air through it with a box fan -- but it is tough to work in those conditions.

I've been wondering about portable AC units again, too. I'm going to have to keep an eye on this thread.

[dbhost]

My solution is FAR from perfect, but it works for me...

#1. I built a "Mini Wall" the same height as a Window unit AC I use for camping.
#2. INSULATE your garage door(s). I am using Reflectix insulation that is held on with liquid nails for projects.
#3. Put some sort of baffle in the gap where the door rolls up when opened...
#4. Put the AC and mini wall in place, jam your insulating baffle in place, plug the A/C in and crank away...

FWIW, the window Unit AC I have there is nowhere NEAR big enough to GET my shop cold. I usually blow cold air in from the kitchen to cool it off, and keep it cool with the window unit... I honestly need a bigger Window unit...



It's not exactly elegant, but it does what I need it to, and I have the cars in the driveway in front of it, so the HOA doesn't notice it...

More insulation, and some sort of improved A/C is in order further down the road. A dehumidifier would go a long way to helping comfort as well...

[gsmittle]

My shop has no heating/cooling either. In the summer I'm usually in the shop about 6 am and I try not to run anything noisy until about 9 or so. In the middle of summer it's pretty unbearable by noon, especially the second floor.

I use four box fans, and I inherited a big squirrel-cage blower from my father's auto shop. The plan is to enclose the blower and use it as a dust filter/air mover.

g.

[Sawatzky]

In central CA the temps go well above 100 degrees in the summer. Since I grew up here I guess I am used to it. I just tolerate it and drink a lot of water. I figure I could be hot but working in the shop, or board and in the house.

[Uncle Cracker]

My 3-car garage is my shop. I began by using Reflectix inside the garage doors (this helped considerably, since the doors face west). Then I added insulation to the ceiling above the garage. Lastly, since my A/C air handler is in the garage, I put a damper with turning vanes on the discharge stack, so that I can put some cold air in there before I start work. I do not want to take away from my house A/C for more than a few minutes, though, and I do not allow any of the warm garage air into my system through the return ducts. Once I have knocked down the afternoon heat, my high-velocity fans now keep me cool enough to work most of the time.

[dbhost]

I guess it depends on where in California you are... Death Valley might get a southerner's attention... But if you are in Sacramento, or Redding or something like that... Try doubling your humidity, and adding another 5 to 10 degrees...

I've lived in Tucson Arizona, been through Cali at all times of year... Some spots in So Cal are hotter than Hades... But for the most part, fairly dry air... Easy enough to cool off with a box fan and a spray bottle.

[LCHIEN]

blowing A/C air into a room is like filling a bucket with a hose, except that you don't even have gravity to help much.

if the insualtion is perfet then you only have to replace internal heat load with A/C such as machinery, lights, people.
Anywhere the insulation is less than perfect is like a hole in the bucket. A raw garage door, an uninsulated wall and an uninsulated ceiling are basically like sieves.

[jackellis]

You didn't say whether your garage is open to the roof. Mine is, and on hot summer days, heat from the roof shingles radiates into the garage (and the attic). In that case, ridge vents or a gable fan might be quite an improvement.