Thinking about how to cool my garage when it starts getting hot

[Leros]

It's going to get hot soon and my garage will become unbearably hot. It's becoming less of a garage and more of a shop, so I need to figure out how to keep it cool when its 100F or more outside.

I rent my house, so I can't make any modifications which drastically reduces my options.

The best thing I can come up with is buying a 15k BTU portable A/C, but then I have the problem of how to vent. I was thinking about raising the garage door 6-8" and putting a wood barrier in its place. I could then vent through that. It should be easy enough to build a foldable 6"x22' wood barrier out plywood.

I can't think of anything better. Thoughts?

 

[EagleKeeper]

First, is garage insulated? If not, do it. Three sides and ceiling as much as possible.

Gable vent? Put an exhaust fan there.

If you have an external door, cutting an exhaust hole in it. it would be easier that fiddling with the garage door.

Garage doors are not usually insulated. Try to attach bats to the inside of the door. What color is door and side painted? Light colors are best

 

[Mixolydian]

Gable vent? Put an exhaust fan there.

Gable fans are da bomb!

 

[Agent11]

You could bury a watertank and or lots of pipe and pump water through a car radiator. As long as it is deep enough the water should stay pretty cool, and cool the air significantly when blown through the radiator.

Ah rent.. Window AC?

 

[Leros]

First, is garage insulated? If not, do it. Three sides and ceiling as much as possible.

Gable vent? Put an exhaust fan there.

If you have an external door, cutting an exhaust hole I. it would be easier that fiddling with tbe garage door.

Garage doors are not usually insulated. Try to attach bats to the inside of the door. What color is door and side painted? Light colors are best

Only the door and one side are exterior facing. I have a room above the garage. The garage door is not insulated, but is in the shade all day except for early morning.

No external doors. No windows. I rent, so drilling a hole isn't an option.

 

[Leros]

You could bury a watertank and or lots of pipe and pump water through a car radiator. As long as it is deep enough the water should stay pretty cool, and cool the air significantly when blown through the radiator.

Ah rent.. Window AC?

No windows

 

[manimal]

Get a self standing unit and make a duct for it and find an unobtrusive place for it. You could use a mail slot or a exhaust vent.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Beer?

 

[Leros]

Get a self standing unit and make a duct for it and find an unobtrusive place for it. You could use a mail slot or a exhaust vent.

I wish I had a good place to make a duct. The walls around the garage are brick. Considering that I'm renting, I really don't want to drill a hole in a brick wall. I wouldn't mind drilling a hole if it wasn't brick as it would be easy enough to cover up.

 

[phucheneh]

'Portable A/C' is generally an oxymoron.

I have a small window unit sitting in my garage that I originally intended to mount in the bottom of a roll cart. Was going to box it all in with MDF, except for the outlet vents in the front. Then attach a big dryer duct to the back to vent the contained hot side.

Never got around to it. It probably would've been marginal at best.

Generally, the best thing for mobile use is a 'swamp cooler.' Best bang/buck is the smaller units that use a centrifugal fan. Said fans can also be used by themselves to circulate massive amounts of air- you can get them cheap from a home HVAC boneyard.

 

[Rifter]

Invite Ice Cube over, he's so cool he can cool anything.

 

[Meghan54]

Generally, the best thing for mobile use is a 'swamp cooler.' Best bang/buck is the smaller units that use a centrifugal fan. Said fans can also be used by themselves to circulate massive amounts of air- you can get them cheap from a home HVAC boneyard.

Really depends on where you live. Out west, like in AZ, sure, it'd work great. Down south or other areas that're already humid.....not so much.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Is it finished/sealed/insulated? If not that would be the first step. Ask the landlord if you can get it done.

Secondly, get a 2-4 ton mini split in there. Though perhaps even a central AC unit with a basic air handler would be better, add a couple extra filters to catch dust. When you say shop do you mean wood working or auto? Either way probably lot of various dust that will be generated that you'd want to capture properly.

When I redo my garage I'll probably look at getting a small gas furnace/AC in there with some basic duct work in the ceiling. Would be nice to be able to work comfortably in my garage all year round. I don't really work in it now as it's too hot in summer and too cold in winter. We don't get the crazy 100F's thankfully but it can still get pretty hot here in the summer.

 

[jlee]

I saw 4000cfm evaporative coolers at Home Depot for $550ish... I am considering one for my garage this summer.

Edit: Internet disagrees: https://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/t8361/

So maybe I'll look at an AC unit.

 

[phucheneh]

Really depends on where you live. Out west, like in AZ, sure, it'd work great. Down south or other areas that're already humid.....not so much.

You wouldn't think it, but they still provide quite a bit a relief in mid-TN, which is generally humid as balls.

 

[Red Squirrel]

The humidity is probably half of what makes heat so uncomfortable, so AC is better as it also removes humidity. Actually it's funny since in winter I have to run a humidifier as I find its too dry, but in summer I run a dehumidifier. Though the dehumidifier is probably unnecessary but I find it makes the basement feel less damp.

 

[phucheneh]

All I can do is go off of experience here-

I live in the Southeast. I am extremely preferential to cool weather. Evaporative coolers are a godsend in a hot, stuffy shop.

It doesn't make much sense to me, either. I'll sweat when it's 60F if the humidity is high. But during summers with what I believe are probably some of the highest humidity levels with 100+ degree highs around (TN and KY seem to feel the worst to me), an evap cooler feels GREAT. Hell, just the wind from a blower motor jacked out of a home AC unit feels 'great.' An evap cooler is like sex.

 

[Agent11]

Ok just had a brilliant idea for you, if your garage has a side door.

Take your garage side door off it's hinges, buy a new door, buy a window AC, cut the required aperture into the door and reinforce it and make the stand for the AC to sit on. Hang your new AC capable door and install the AC.
(I have used several window AC units, some are very very heavy... So make sure you reinforce the stand appropriately and pay attention to the hinges after you install the AC, if they look like they cannot take the weight get some heavier ones and use better hardware to attach them to the frame.)



Voila, your garage now has AC and your landlord can't bitch.

 

[MarkXIX]

I wish I had a good place to make a duct. The walls around the garage are brick. Considering that I'm renting, I really don't want to drill a hole in a brick wall. I wouldn't mind drilling a hole if it wasn't brick as it would be easy enough to cover up.

Duct into the ceiling space an option?

 

[Leros]

Duct into the ceiling space an option?

I suppose, but do I really want to do that?

 

[Red Squirrel]

Ok just had a brilliant idea for you, if your garage has a side door.

Take your garage side door off it's hinges, buy a new door, buy a window AC, cut the required aperture into the door and reinforce it and make the stand for the AC to sit on. Hang your new AC capable door and install the AC.
(I have used several window AC units, some are very very heavy... So make sure you reinforce the stand appropriately and pay attention to the hinges after you install the AC, if they look like they cannot take the weight get some heavier ones and use better hardware to attach them to the frame.)



Voila, your garage now has AC and your landlord can't bitch.

That's actually pretty awesome. I think there's a market for that. air conditioned doors. :biggrin:

A solid wood door would probably work, and 2x4 stand to hold the unit. Then paint desired color.

 

[MarkXIX]

I suppose, but do I really want to do that?

If it's the only option. You can always just replace whatever duct vent you put in with a vent grate when you leave and no one will be the wiser.