Has anyone tried a portable air conditioner in their shop?

[Silas Smith]

I know the northies are going to hate this, but we are maybe a few weeks away from summer in Houston. I am dreading the garage during the summer and I need some way to cool it down. Unfortunately, I have no window, and the garage is surrounded by a brick facade that I really don't want to cut into. I am considering either a portable air conditioner or some setup where I put a window unit under my garage door and then make an insulated blocker for the rest of the door. What have you tried that worked out well?

[Kenneth Hertzog]

Hi I have a portable air conditioner in my shop. I took out the garage door and studed the opening and left a hole for the unit. I insulated all the walls and it runs very little. I put plywood on the inside wall for storage and shelves. works great

[lou sansone]

it gets hot up here in CT as well..I have tried it, but my shop is too big for the window type. I may try simply to run a dehumidifier to lower the dp this summer.

lou

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Raising up your garage door would be very inefficient. The reason for this is that as you raise up your garage door, the top pulls away from the seals. There would probably be a foot gap that you would have at the top of the door. If you were going to put an air conditioner at the bottom of the door, you would have to fill gaps all the way up the door and along the top.

[John Renzetti]

hi, I bought a smaller portable Fedders unit from MSC last year. It exhausts through a port I made in the wall. Works fine. I think it was only about $550.
take care,
John

[bill walton]

Silas,
I live way down almost to Key West and I understand what you are talking about and you've given me a good idea. I'm going to get a small room unit and put it on some sort of rollaround cart sitting very near the ground. I'll sew an insulated curtain out of sunbrella, a polyester canvas-like awning fabric, sewn to some stuff I have that looks like bubblewrap encapsulated with reflective mylar. A bit of chain in a tube at the bottom and I can deploy it from the bottom of the garage door. Thanks for the idea.
Bill

[Tony Sade]

I put a vertical indow unit in an Anderson casement window last summer. I had to take out the window, hinges and casing then creat a new "storm" to minimize heat loss above the unit (the Westinghouse unit I got from Sears comes with a sliding panel that provides a seal, but it's not transparent. I substituted some plexi in that frame and added my storm to creat dead air.) It works fine and helps a lot. While I sure don't miss the heat, I do miss the light I'd get from sweating with both garage doors open.

If I were in your shoes, I'd try Bill W's approach with the ac on a mobile cart and a port cut into your garage door, maybe with a sliding door to seal things up when the ac isn't in use.

I believe that stand alone ac's are made, but you'll probably have to find a way to bring in the warm air you need. Maybe just a smaller port in the garage door like something the automotive places use to vent exhaust.

Good luck. I sure can't imagine working in FL without AC. Great weight loss technique, I'll bet.

[Ellen Benkin]

I know someone who worked in an office where they bought a free standing air conditioner for the summer because the company would not let them install window units. It rolls around like a small dust collector. You do need to vent it to the outside, but a hole in the garage door would work just fine. In fact, a "quick connect" dust collector port attached to the door might work. I think I've seen them for sale in Bed, Bath, and Beyond. The people in that office LOVED it!

[Silas Smith]

The only problem with the free standing ones is the price. A decent one costs over $500!!! I wonder if I could take a window unit and build a cabinet for it? The basic function is the same isn't it?

[Mike Tempel]

Silas, as a fellow Houstonian suffering in our heat and humidity I can't wait to hear what solution you come up with. I would be extremely interested in it as I have the same problem and for me, summer just isn't in the cards for woodworking unless it is extremely early or late in the day as I don't tolerate the heat like I used to.Please, please, please (begging now) keep us updated as to what you come up with. I considered stripping my shop one wall at a time and insulating and then installing some sort of insulation/decking in the rafters of my detached 2 car shop. After insulation I was going to look for a self contained unit like what is used in motel rooms or just a good sized room unit and hope that would do the job without forcing me to float a loan to pay the electric bills for the summer. However, the cost is maybe to prohibitive for me to do anything but wait each year until the fall where I can return to the shop in relative comfort.

I am greatly interested in what you might come up with and how it works.

[Mike Forsman]

Living in the Dallas metroplex, I too experience extreme heat and high humidity in the hot months (May to Oct). I was fortunate enough to have two windows in my garage/shop. The problem was that HOA restrictions would not allow a window mounted A/C unit. So, I needed a different solution.

<O:p</O:pI purchased a window mount A/C unit and built a plywood cart on casters. The bottom of the cart is used for storage and the top contains and encloses the A/C unit. The A/C enclosure has the front of the unit exposed to the shop. The back has two ports/holes. One port provides intake air and the other port provides exhaust air. There are internal baffles to keep the intake air flowing to the heat exchanger and then out of the exhaust.

<O:p</O:pWhen I use the A/C unit, I back the cart up to one of the open windows and run short ducts for the intake and exhaust ports to a bulkhead that also has holes for the intake and exhaust ducts. This bulkhead goes into the open window and prevents the hot outside air from flowing into the shop. This setup allows outside air to flow into the intake port, through the heat exchanger, and then out the exhaust port.

<O:p</O:pThere is also a condensation drain catch pan under the A/C unit. This then drains into a small tube that I run under/around the garage door.

<O:p</O:pThis setup works ok. The biggest problem is that in the hottest months, the A/C unit is not quite big enough to handle the thermal load. However, it does pull the humidity out of the air and drops the temperature down from over 100 degrees to the high 70s to low 80s.

[bill walton]

It doesn't get much above 85 here, just pretty humid. If I could arrange a unit to give me a bit of relief on the temp side plus some reduction in humidity, I'd be happy. I'll be happy if I don't drip sweat in the varnish. I guess if I want to construct a type of curtain I'll have to make one for the top part of the door as well as the bottom. I've got a large amount of fabric and other material left over from my boating days. Perhaps I can get to it while we are having a cool spell.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Could you build a wall in the garage to partition it and put the A/C in the wall with the exhaust going into the other part of the garage. You could put the machines etc. that you don't use that long like planer, saw etc. in the hot part of the garage. In the air conditioned part you could have a work bench, and anything else you want to use in the nice cool part. Be sure to insulate well and get the correct BTU size A/C. You're may need something pretty big to handle the space depending on size and insulation. Good luck.

[Jack Norfleet]

If your washer and dryer are in the garage like mine, you could always use the dryer vent to get rid of the exhaust. That is what I plan to do this summer.

[George Summers]

Another point of view: I think you would be money ahead, from a cost and an effeciency point of view to go ahead and cut a hole in the wall and mount an appropriate sized window unit. For the $500 + you don't get a whole lot of BTU's plus the hassle of having to set it up and take it down each time you work. I would think that, in fact, a through the wall unit would add to the resale value should you ever sell the home.

There is another option. A split unit. the compressor and all are outside like a central air unit but the fan and face is inside. The only hole requirement is a small hole for the tubing to go through. It is more expensive than a window unit but more effecient than a portable unit (and less cost).

George

[Kevin Herber]

Silas - I live in Austin and am in the process of putting together a portable unit that I am pretty excited about. It uses a Carrier 'Mini-split' system.
This is basically a one- room central system. I live in a condo so I cannot punch a hole in the wall to permanently set this up. I came up with a portable solution that uses the garage door without modification.

The system consists of two pieces: the air handler and a condenser.

The air handler is approximately 36 inches wide, 10 inches tall and 6 inches deep. It would normally be mounted in the room on a wall. The condenser is about the size of a large pullman suitcase. It would normally go on the outside of the structure. They are connected with tubing for the refrigerant, just like a regular central A/C system.

I built a framework that resembles an oversize hand truck. The upright is 6 feet tall and the base plate is 30 inches square.

The air handler will be attached to the top of the upright. The condenser is on the base plate near the front edge and away from the upright.. There is 12 inches of space between the upright and the back of the condenser.

Each corner of the base plate has a wheel which is on a hinge so I can lower the ¼ inch thick base plate to the ground when I place the unit into position.

When I want to use the system, I open the garage door, roll out the unit and position it so the garage door comes down between the two units creating a wall just like the unit was permanently set up in a building. Because the plate is only ¼ inch thick and rests on the ground the door’s weather stripping can still seal the bottom of the door.

The unit runs on 120v. I had a separate circuit put in so it is not disturbing nor is disturbed by other equipment.

When finished using the system I merely fold the wheels back under the plate, unplug it and roll it back into the garage.

If I were able to permanently mount the system it would require only a 4 inch diameter hole through the wall to connect everything.

At this time I have the frame built and the two units ready for mounting. I need to finish mounting the units, get the system charged and begin using it. I’ll post the results when complete.

This is pretty pricey. I got the system for $900. The frame cost $150 (I don’t weld). Misc things: wheels, paint, etc was another $50. The A/C guy is charging $200 to plumb, evacuate and charge the system. The new circuit was included in a full electrical change for my garage so I am not pricing it separately. Roughly $1400 to $1500 when complete.

The last step will be to create some sort of air filtration to keep sawdust from being sucked into and across the wet cooling elements. I have some ideas but have not designed anything yet.

Let me know if you have any questions. I’d be happy to share any info.

-- Kevin

[Silas Smith]

There are some great suggestions here, my main goal is to keep down cost to a minimum because hopefully this is our last summer here and I would hate to drop $1000 on something that would only add value to someone who plans on spending alot of time in the garage. I will be moving to Idaho, so I guess then I will be whinning about the cold. At least you can wear a coat for that. I think there is more to the idea of creating my own portable unit out of a window mount. Pics will follow if I go that route.

[Mike Cutler]

Silas. Ellen has the right idea.
I have a Penquino portable air conditioner, 10,000 btu's. It rolls around on wheels and uses a 4" dryer duct for the exhaust. Absolutlely fantastic!
It is expensive,@ $1000.00, but you can take it with you wherever you go. It gets hot in Idaho in the summer so you wouldn't have forfeited your investment, just take it with you when you leave. I'd trade every "window unit" I've ever had for these.
You could put a "cat" door on the garage door and exhaust out the cat door.

[Don Selke]

Hi Silas:

I have a 18 thousand BTU AC unit mounted thru the wall of the shop here in Chandler AZ. The temperatures here can hit 120 degrees from about 2PM till 9PM or later. I am in the shop at 6AM and out of the shop by 10AM If I were to run the AC unit each day all day, I would drive myself into the poor house with the electric bills. I also have to cool a 2300 sqft home as well. When the Monsoon season hits (humidity & heat) I completly close shop. That is the time of year that I decide to spend more time on the computer and my CAD program. I also soak in the pool or the shower. I know, it is a dry heat here in Arizona but 120 or 115 is still hot in all books. That is OK since I am retired and can spend October thru May in the shop with all the garage doors open and plenty of fresh air and sunshine. During the summer months, we do get a lot of particulate air days depending on how many fires are burning in southern California.
Good luck on your project.

[Cecil Arnold]

Silas, there is a place on 34th (I think) that has the condenser units like Kevin described for about $200. I don't know what the air handler and evaperator would cost but you should be able to pick one up used for a reasonable cost. I have an 11,000 btu unit in my 11X24 insulated and sheetrocked shop in the Clear Lake area and it is adiquite. It will hold the temps below 80 on the hottest days. There is, however, one problem with my window unit, and that is dust. The A/C will pull sawdust through the coils and the dust will adhere to them, thus losing efficency. I had an 8,000 btu unit that initally cooled okay and than just lost its umph. When I replaced it I added an additional filter over the really poor factory filter and that seems to be holding up much better. One other thing that would favor the split unit, IMHO, is that with a window type unit you can not remove the humidity from the shop, so it really takes some cooling to keep the heat down. With the split unit you can remove the humidity which adds to your comfort. If you are interested in the condenser PM me and I'll look up the address. It's a used appliance place where we bought a few things for a rent house.

[John Hart]

Silas, I can't help but wonder if your brick facade goes all the way to the top. My reason is, putting an air conditioner near the floor requires that the air conditioner works very hard to cool the whole shop down since the cold air is just going to lay on the floor and build upward slowly.

If you have any area up high where you can cut a hole, the cold air will fall through the warm air and cause natural air movement, which will cool the area more efficiently, and give an out-of-the-way location for your unit.

Depending on the height, you might need a remote control or a ladder though...hmm

[Silas Smith]

Unfortunately the brick goes all the way up so I really don't want to cut into it. My friend had a suggestion where I just roll up the garage door and build a false front in the opening. I know my neighbors would hate it though.

[Jim Becker]

Silas, remove the overhead door (so it doesn't block your lighting, and build a false front that still LOOKs like the garage door...that should satisfy your neighbors...and still leaves you the option of putting a surreptitious hinged door for entry and exit with materials...and more wall space for storage.

[Glen Blanchard]

Silas. Ellen has the right idea.
I have a Penquino portable air conditioner, 10,000 btu's. It rolls around on wheels and uses a 4" dryer duct for the exhaust.

Mike - How long is your exhaust hose? I have nbeen told that these need to be fairly short - around 4.5 feet.

[Mike Cutler]

Glen the exhaust hose for my penquino is approximately 22 feet. The whole run has a downward slope, which made it easier for me. The Penquino has a backpressure shutoff if you exceed the exhaust backpressure rating.
If you needed to go up and out a window it would be a little more difficult, and that is probably where the 4.5 ft. value comes from.
The biggest benefit for me is that a Penquino can be vented out of an Anderson Casement window very easily, and that it is portable. I tried to order an AC unit specifically made for casement style windows for 2 years and never could get one.
We don't have Texas style heat here in Ct, but July and August can have some 90+/90+ days, and the single 10,000btu Penquino can do my entire house.

[Tom Jones III]

Has anyone tried any AC solution without having insulation? I've got a 3 car garage with a large attic type area. The walls are hardiboard on the outside and nothing else. I would love a roll around AC unit or window unit just to relieve some of the heat but I'm not willing to finish the garage. Will a small unit help any?

[Ellen Benkin]

I recently replaced an old VERY NOISY window unit that still worked and the guy who did the work said he would take away the old one because he could sell it to someone for their garage. As long as you can vent it somehow it should work

[John Hart]

Has anyone tried any AC solution without having insulation?

This reminded me....At work, in the center of our production area, there is an office where the production guys hang out. They wanted that office space air conditioned and it was not insulated in any way. The maintenance people installed a window unit in the wall with the exhaust going into the production hallway.
The result you ask? -- The area surrounding the production office was about 120 degrees F and the inside was at a comfy 70 F. It ran all the time of course...But it worked

[Mark Duksta]

I have two in my garage shop. They do OK for most of the summer. They have a hard time in August in the late afternoon. My garage door faces West. The door is insulated but the sun still heats it up pretty well. I cut two vent holes in the wall to exhaust the moist air.

Mark (in hot Austin,TX)

[Carl Eyman]

About 30 years ago an office built in the factory area had to be air conditioned. A window unit wasn't practical but the maintenance guru found a neat little unit about the size of a 2 drawer file cabinet cooled with WATER. Thaty is, instead of discarging the heat into the air as a window unit does it discharges it into water. The water goes quietly into the sewer and every one is happy. This was in Wisconsin where tap water is about 52* year round. So it probably was more energy efficient than a window unit. But it sure worked well.

[Ed Blough]

I live in Florida and I put in a 10,000BTU window unit into my 22x22 garage. The construction is concrete block covered with stucco. The back connects to the house and the front has a 18 foot aluminum door. There is no attic insulation other than all the junk up there. My unit will cool the garage down to about 75 with no problem. To be cooler I need to start it in morning before things heat up then the unit will keep it around 70-72 all day.

I looked at the portables that you have basically two hoses one for exhaust and the other for intake those units were about twice my window units cost. You might do what I was considering go to one of these places that buy old mobile homes. Most of moblie homes come with a simple two piece unit and you can get a used one fairly cheap. Then all you would need is a hole for a freon supply and return and 110 electric.

[Bill Fields]

Here in the PHX Metro area, I work in a 3-car garage w/tools on mobile bases.
Garage doors--mostly open--face East--heat in the AM-Shade in the PM.

A couple of high capacity fans do the cooling job OK---although it gets a little windy.

Weather Bureau advertised humidity at a local (10 miles away) airport is usually
20-35% humidity in Summer--and I'm better considerably at my home.

"Dry heat" is tolerable for yourself if you stay hydrated, and wear appropiate clothing--and --most important--work in strong shade.

I admit I work in a different environment from most in the Creek.

The machines don't seem to mind.

Bill

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I live in Dallas and have a window unit....it works well since it was the biggest one in the lot (I got several AC units free last year from a client). I sold the rest on ebay at $125 each and kept the good one for my shop. Works out great for staining large projects or seembling big bookcases. Keeps the shop around 85 or so. I need to insulate the garage door (faces west) this year, that'll lower it to 75-80*.

[John Shuk]

My grandmother bought one for our place in Maine. It stinks for the money spent. About $1000. Not worth the dough. Go for the dehumidifier.