Airconditioning in the shop...

[Peter Scoma]

Ok, so lately we've been talking about heat but I would imagine we all find 90 degree heat as uninspiring as single digits. I'm curious to know what you all use as AC units, particularly in a garage setting where a window unit cannot be used. My shop is a 9x10 space in a 1/2 car garage and I was wondering about a mobile AC unit but find the reviews on amazon for most to be rather negative. I am thinking however, that in 90 square feet, one of the better units may just get the job done. What do you guys use in the summer???

PS

[Ben Franz]

You might consider a PTAC unit - the combo heater/AC units used in motel rooms. It can provide both heat and AC. I put one into a hole I cut in the garage side wall and the heat option works great. I'll try the AC this summer. Paid about $500 on Ebay.

[Bob Slater]

I bought a small room air conditioner for $79 (CDN) at Home Depot last summer. I was shocked you could get a unit so cheaply. I would think it would do 90 sq feet. I am using this unit at home on the top floor.
AC in my shop is a Must now that I have experienced it. I can't stand humidity.

[Mike Gager]

i just put insulation in my garage this past winter and im hoping it will make a difference this summer, do you guys have any idea whether the insulation alone will keep it cooler inside or will i need to get a window unit as well? my shop is 24x28 with 8 foot ceiling r13 in walls and r 19 in ceiling. looking at the AC units at lwes last night it looks like ill need a fairly large unit to cool that much space, the windows in my shop arent really all that big so im curious about alternatives as well

[Robert Parrish]

I use a Mr Slim from Mitsubishi to cool my shop. If I had it to do over I would add the heating option as I could have used it a few days this past winter.

[phil harold]

i just put insulation in my garage this past winter and im hoping it will make a difference this summer, do you guys have any idea whether the insulation alone will keep it cooler inside or will i need to get a window unit as well? my shop is 24x28 with 8 foot ceiling r13 in walls and r 19 in ceiling. looking at the AC units at lwes last night it looks like ill need a fairly large unit to cool that much space, the windows in my shop arent really all that big so im curious about alternatives as well

Last year I put a 12000 btu small window air conditioner in my 29 x 38 shop with 12' ceilings.

I need to control humidity so I figured I would use this old air conditioner to get the humidity out. I was surprised that it kept the shop at a comfortable 74 degrees during the summer. I figure that there is only one window, one normal entrance door, the 14' barn doors where never opened, the metal siding is light beige, and the buildings 60' length is orientated east to west are factors that gave me these amazing results.

[Frank Drew]

i just put insulation in my garage this past winter and im hoping it will make a difference this summer, do you guys have any idea whether the insulation alone will keep it cooler inside or will i need to get a window unit as well? my shop is 24x28 with 8 foot ceiling r13 in walls and r 19 in ceiling. looking at the AC units at lwes last night it looks like ill need a fairly large unit to cool that much space, the windows in my shop arent really all that big so im curious about alternatives as well

Mike,

In my experience, insulation alone won't keep your shop cool; maybe cooler than the outdoors temp on a blazing hot day, but not cool in real terms. For that you need active cooling.

I agree with Bob Slater -- it made a huge difference in my workday when I put AC in my shop, and improved the work, too -- no more dripping sweat onto the finish I was applying :eek:!

[David G Baker]

Mike G
Insulation will make a lot of difference. When I go into my pole barn in the Summer when it is hot outside, the building is actually cold. Insulation is still not enough. I get by with a couple of large fans but frequently wish I had some AC. In one of my buildings that runs North and South I can open the North end and the South end and if there is any breeze it is nice to work in.

[Bob Slater]

I use a Mr Slim from Mitsubishi to cool my shop. If I had it to do over I would add the heating option as I could have used it a few days this past winter.

I have a similar Fujitsu ductless ac /heat pump. The heat pump has been a very good heating system this winter. The only problem is that it will not go below 60f for heating, and I would like to keep the shop just under 50 when I am not there. The Ac is basically silent in the summer.

[Ken Garlock]

Trane Heat pump.

I set it to 74/75 in the summer, and 61/65 in the winter.

[Sherzod Niazov]

I got a used portable 12k BTU AC last year, it helped considerably in our 120 degrees heat. I have a 2 car garage, half of it is my shop. Insulating the garage door with styrofoam sheets also helps a lot. Now is a good time to hunt the AC deals, I saw a new one for a 1/4 of the price recently.

Good luck.

[Robert Parrish]

Bob, this is the first winter in Florida that I could have used some heat. My shop never got below 50 but that get cool after awhile at the scroll saw.

[Frank Drew]

... our 120 degrees heat.

Good Lord, where do you live, Death Valley?!?

[Sherzod Niazov]

Good Lord, where do you live, Death Valley?!?


lol, not too far from that. Las Vegas.

[Matt Edwards]

+1 on the PTAC unit. My shop is 16 x 20 and the unit does a fine job of heating and cooling it. On a 90* day the 9000btu's of cooling will almost make it too cold if you want it to. (the shop is well insulated)

I was lucky enuff to get mine for free. It was in a retirement home, and after so many yrs of service if one breaks down and needs much work they replace it. Mine needed the bearings replaced in the fan motor, and had a sticky relay on the control circuit board. I did all the work myself and gave it a good deep cleaning. I also asked the HVAC tech to keep me in mind for any that get retired in the future for spare parts. :)


Matt

[Matt Ranum]

My shop is 24x24 with 8.5' ceilings. R-19 in the walls and the ceiling and if I leave it closed up, the temps have to be in the 90's for about a straight week before the temp inside will reach close to 80. Even then I turn a fan on and its nice and comfortable working. I'm more concerned keeping it warm in the winter than I am cool in the summer. Even in the winter its rare when I use more than about 125 gallons of LP in the heating season. I'd love to burn wood but the insurance says thats a no-no in any out buildings.

[James Hart]

No matter how small the space is, at least minimal insulation will be key. If the air conditioner isn't cooling the same air over and over it will be forced to run constantly.

I have metal doors that face the afternoon Phoenix sun. It can hit 130 in the garage. Foam panels on those doors lower the temp about 20 degrees all by themselves. Without them I don't think any AC unit could keep up.

I did kind of an overkill, a full 2 ton AC unit with airhandler and heat pump for my 3 car garage. Best climate control in the whole house.

[Sherzod Niazov]

There is one improvement I did for my portable unit. I didn’t like that it sucked garage’s cool air to cool its condenser which was then vented outside. That means it constantly pulls outside hot air into the room. I made up a plywood hood with some DC leftover hose to grab outside air. I didn’t get a chance to really feel the difference last summer, so I’m looking forward to this summer.
Sometimes I have a feeling that I spend more time messing with my shop than actually woodworking… but maybe it’s all part of the hobby

[Peter Scoma]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. With regard to insulation. One wall is concrete, the other is an insulated stick wall, and the other is plaster on wire mesh that people in these houses refer to as "two inch solid." In a 9x10 space framing out the walls, even just laying 2x flat with styrofoam insulation isnt possible as im already fighting for inches in there :mad:

I'm going to look into the Mr. Slim since portable AC's, the supposed good ones at least, are so expensive.

PS

[Kerry Wright]

Do an internet search for "Ductless" or "Split AC". One three inch hole in the wall and your set. No ducting, low noise. Most of them come with a 25' install kit, if you need to mount the inside unit and the compressor farther apart you can always get an extension kit. I just put an 18000 BTU (w/heat pump) AMCOR unit in my 24x24 shop. Took less than a day and works great. I've also got two friends that have had good experiences with these.

[john taliaferro]

i got the bigger heat pump from lows . i keep it hot 75 . 50 to 75 takes about 30 min, the same going down. just my 4 hp lathe will warm it up in a hour by two its hot . without air in the summer its:mad: bwith:D

[David Hostetler]

Okay this is going to sound hokey but here goes...

I have a Goldstar 10K BTU AC that we bought from Home Depot a couple of years ago. I built a "Mini Wall" and simply jam the AC between the mini wall, and the garage door jam, then close the door on top of it, plug the gap at the top with an old sleeping bag, then kick that sucker on.

It will take 110 degrees in the garage, in late August here down to under 80 in about an hour.

[Kerry Wright]

David,

That's not hokey, it's a kludge and by difinition:

Kludge - Noun - a software or hardware configuration that, while inelegant, inefficient, clumsy, or patched together, succeeds in solving a specific problem or performing a particular task.

Or put more simply, a working, work around :D

[David Hostetler]

I should be plenty familiar with Kludge's. I spend plenty of time with computers...

It is a very inelegant solution, but yes, it works, and it is a temp fix... My shop is slated to go in a dedicated building, but this recent economic twist put that on hold until things straighten out...