Dryer vent in garage door for A/C ventilation

[Leros]

The house I'm renting has no windows in the garage and I'm looking for a way to cool it. Since it has no windows, I can't use a window unit. Since I don't own it, I don't want to spend the money on a mini-split.

That leaves me with a portable A/C. I've heard the dual-hose models are much better, so I need two vent holes. All the walls to the garage are brick so the landlord would prefer not to cut holes in those. He gave me the OK to put a couple of vents in the garage door.

It's a bit unorthodox, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work. Cut holes in the garage door, attach dryer vent (something like this) with machine screws, and secure it with caulking. I'll just have to unplug the garage door when I'm using the A/C to make sure I don't open it.

Anybody see any reason not to do this? I know it's not ideal, but it should work.

 

[Corn]

Ummm do your cars sweat?

 

[Leros]

Ummm do your cars sweat?

I'm turning my garage into a workshop. I'm already way past the point of parking in there. I've got 3 work benches, a bunch of stationary tools, and I'm about to move a small laser cutter in there.

The garage is insulated pretty well and the garage door is in the shade so it doesn't get hotter than ambient, but that still means it gets to 100F in the summer.

 

[herm0016]

just make sure that they are flat enought that they will not hit anything when you open the door, i dont see any reason it will not work well.

 

[Leros]

just make sure that they are flat enought that they will not hit anything when you open the door, i dont see any reason it will not work well.

It's going to be pretty flush with the door and I've got several inches of clearance. Should be fine.

 

[olds]

Two vents through the door? Pulling the fresh air though the door as the exhaust exits?

I tried using two of them to cool a tent, didn't work. A garage has better insulation but I'd be surprised if it lowers the temp very much.

 

[Leros]

Two vents through the door? Pulling the fresh air though the door as the exhaust exits?

I tried using two of them to cool a tent, didn't work. A garage has better insulation but I'd be surprised if it lowers the temp very much.

Seems like the good portable A/Cs have an intake and outake vent. I'm looking at a 14k BTU unit. this one

The garage is pretty well insulated. Two of the walls are shared with interior rooms and I have an interior room above the garage. The third wall is an insulated brick wall. I'm also going to be installing insulation on the garage door.

I'm starting to get into wood working with hand tools, but that's not very fun when you're drenched in sweat after working for 3 minutes.

Even if the A/C is a bust, I can use the vent as an exhaust port for my laser cutter.

 

[TheFamilyMan]

The house I'm renting has no windows in the garage and I'm looking for a way to cool it. Since it has no windows, I can't use a window unit. Since I don't own it, I don't want to spend the money on a mini-split.

That leaves me with a portable A/C. I've heard the dual-hose models are much better, so I need two vent holes. All the walls to the garage are brick so the landlord would prefer not to cut holes in those. He gave me the OK to put a couple of vents in the garage door.

It's a bit unorthodox, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work. Cut holes in the garage door, attach dryer vent (something like this) with machine screws, and secure it with caulking. I'll just have to unplug the garage door when I'm using the A/C to make sure I don't open it.

Anybody see any reason not to do this? I know it's not ideal, but it should work.

As the landlord has already been informed of what you want to do, how about take it a step further and present to him the option of prorating the cost of the mini-split over a couple months worth of rent? Like if the mini-split option costs $1,500, ask the landlord if you could take $500 off rent costs for three months?

That would be a better option, IMHO. You get the workshop you want, the landlord gets a professionally installed upgrade for a better garage area that translates to more attractive rental property, and you're not out of pocket for something you can't take with you when you leave.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Definitly go with a dual vent model if they make them. Make sure one is an intake and one is an exhaust. The idea is you want to keep the indoor air, indoors. A typical setup will suck lot of air outside. It's kinda like trying to heat a home with a traditional fireplace. It sucks lot of air outside through the chimney and that air is replaced with outside air.

You could probably do something like what I did:



You just need to locate the condenser intake portion of the unit, box it in, and make that the intake. I actually see a HUGE difference with and without that. This will make it operate sorta like a mini split. You'll want to insulate the exhaust too. If this is going to be a permanent setup where it wont move, I'd even go the extra mile and insulate the intake too and seal it up real tight. In my case it's meant to move around so it's not exactly that well sealed.

For the vents you can go in the section of the hardware store where they sell dryer vents and stuff, they usually have intakes too, the intakes don't have the flaps while the exhaust ones do. You'll want to put some kind of screen in there to stop bugs from getting in (and mice lol).

 

[Leros]

As the landlord has already been informed of what you want to do, how about take it a step further and present to him the option of prorating the cost of the mini-split over a couple months worth of rent? Like if the mini-split option costs $1,500, ask the landlord if you could take $500 off rent costs for three months?

That would be a better option, IMHO. You get the workshop you want, the landlord gets a professionally installed upgrade for a better garage area that translates to more attractive rental property, and you're not out of pocket for something you can't take with you when you leave.

I thought about that. That option costs me $1000. My option costs me $50 in parts and $450 on a portable A/C I can take with me to my next house (which will mostly likely have a garage window).

My landlord has been fairly cheap when it comes to repairs and such, so I'm not sure he'd go for the mini-split option anyway.

 

[Leros]

Definitly go with a dual vent model if they make them. Make sure one is an intake and one is an exhaust. The idea is you want to keep the indoor air, indoors. A typical setup will suck lot of air outside. It's kinda like trying to heat a home with a traditional fireplace. It sucks lot of air outside through the chimney and that air is replaced with outside air.

You could probably do something like what I did:

[img removed]

You just need to locate the condenser intake portion of the unit, box it in, and make that the intake. I actually see a HUGE difference with and without that. This will make it operate sorta like a mini split. You'll want to insulate the exhaust too. If this is going to be a permanent setup where it wont move, I'd even go the extra mile and insulate the intake too and seal it up real tight. In my case it's meant to move around so it's not exactly that well sealed.

For the vents you can go in the section of the hardware store where they sell dryer vents and stuff, they usually have intakes too, the intakes don't have the flaps while the exhaust ones do. You'll want to put some kind of screen in there to stop bugs from getting in (and mice lol).

This is the dual hose A/C I'm looking at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0028AYQDC. It pulls air from outside for cooling and then vents it back outside. It also acts as a dehumidifier and vents the humidity out the output vent.

Some of the Amazon reviews said that the exhaust hose can get up to 130F, so insulating the exhaust seems like a good idea.

In terms of vents, it has a 5" vent whereas the hardware store only sells 4" vents for dryers. I found 6" vents onnline and I saw 6" to 5" reducers at the hardware store, so I'll probably do that.

 

[Red Squirrel]

This is the dual hose A/C I'm looking at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0028AYQDC. It pulls air from outside for cooling and then vents it back outside. It also acts as a dehumidifier and vents the humidity out the output vent.

Some of the Amazon reviews said that the exhaust hose can get up to 130F, so insulating the exhaust seems like a good idea.

In terms of vents, it has a 5" vent whereas the hardware store only sells 4" vents for dryers. I found 6" vents and I saw 6" to 5" reducers at the hardware store, so I'll probably do that.

Wow that looks like a good unit and probably more efficient than mine. Mine is 12k btu and uses nearly 15 amps. Looks like that should work well.

Also depending on the type of vents you put on the garage door it may stop it from being able to open, so if you plan to open it just check for clearance.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Garage doors aren't cheap. ($450-$1200 each) If you have windows in the doors, see if you can remove the glass and use those openings without actually cutting the metal, etc...

If you have an exterior human door somewhere, you might be able to buy a cheap exterior door the same width (32"-36") and retrofit it to be shorter...then place the vent overhead in a mock header somehow.

 

[Leros]

Garage doors aren't cheap. ($450-$1200 each) If you have windows in the doors, see if you can remove the glass and use those openings without actually cutting the metal, etc...

If you have an exterior human door somewhere, you might be able to buy a cheap exterior door the same width (32"-36") and retrofit it to be shorter...then place the vent overhead in a mock header somehow.

No windows or exterior door. The door is $700. The terms my landlord drew up do not involve removing the vents or replacing the door.

 

[Leros]

Well, I've ordered stuff.

Whynter 14k BTU dual hose portable A/C http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Two 6" vents http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Garage door insulation http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That insulation is only R4.5. I could have gotten fiber glass R8 insulation for the same price (this which is $75 at Home Depot), but the foam insulation seems nicer from an aesthetics point of view and I heard the clips on the R8 insulation kits tend to fall out after a bit.

 

[NoTine42]

Are you going to do something to hold the slats open in the input vent?

 

[Leros]

Are you going to do something to hold the slats open in the input vent?

That's the whole point of the input vents I bought. The slats are always open

 

[NoTine42]

That's the whole point of the input vents I bought. The slats are always open

Then carry on

I completely missed input. I'm used to the little flappy output vents for dryers.

 

[fjmeat]

My garage gets HOOOOOOOOOT. Never do I cool it. If I need to "breathe" in the summer I just open the large door about 3" off the ground.

Just double tap the garage door opener. Some have this feature.