Summer Heat

[ScollSaw Slasher]

Got my medical issues under control and ready to start slicing and dicing lumber again. But the Florida summer heat out in the garage is not helping. In lieu of spending a fortune in air conditioning solutions, has anyone just used those desktop personal chillers right at the saw to keep from melting? Not trying to AC the whole garage, just the 4 sq ft around the saw and me.

[Denny Knappen]

Even here in TN it is hot in the garage.  We bought a portable A/C on wheels.  Cools off the garage nicely.  Now I have the Pegas in the store, so no problem with A/C now.

[Rockytime]

My wife does not handle heat well so our AC Billie out the roof. She has a thing that she drapes around her neck with two small fans to help keep her cool.  The little fans work well. Some folks around here use swampers but would not work with your high humidity. Move to Colorado.

[kmmcrafts]

Build yourself a little igloo with a couple sheets of insulation and get one of those portable AC units is probably your best option.  

 

My shop stays pretty cool so long as I keep the place shut up. But my shop is two levels and I have to say, I'd never build another shop that is single level. Upstairs loft is quite warm. Today the temp is 92F and the shop is 76F. I don't have AC in the shop. Do have if partly insulated and do have heat for the winter finally this last winter installed a heater. I am fortunate to have a large oak tree and a large maple tree that shades the shop from direct sun light from noon throughout the rest of the day. But I do get direct sun in the morning

[lawson56]

Well I myself don't go down to my shop during the day, I am down there before daybreak, I suffer from sleep apnea, so I am up before the chickens, down at my shop by 4am and normally back up at the house by 9am. I do have a small fan just incase of warm mornings, like this morning.

[Norm Fengstad]

You could move to Nipawin Saskatchewan, temp seldom goes over 75F we have AC in the house , use about 3 days in a summer. 

[ben2008]

I live in SE MI and the temps are in the high 80s and low 90s right now. I really can't take the heat. Our central air is on constantly. I try to keep our house at 72 degrees. Our electric bill is outrageous, but we are comfortable and we economize on other things. 

I really don't go down to my workshop much in the summer. I wait until about mid/late Sept before I start woodworking again. Then I'm there up to June the next year. That gives me about 8 months in my workshop. That's enough for me.

 

[OCtoolguy]

It's funny that this topic popped up today. I spent the day installing a window a/c unit in the wall of my little shop. It's only 117 square feet so this little unit will do the job very well. I don't have any insulation in the wall. Its just studs and T-111 siding. But someday I might hit the lottery and I'll insulate the walls. I'm not sure how much longer I've got on Mother Earth but I'm going to be cool when I need to be cool and warm when I need to be warm. I've got a little electric heater that seems to work great. It is fairly humid here but not like you folks in the north and south, east of the Mississippi. That's partly why we decided to stay put. We actually were thinking of moving over to the Phoenix area until we experienced a few days in hot dry conditions on our way back from Tennessee. Not for us. We're spoiled.

 

[FrankEV]

I purchased one of those personal coolers at the end of last summer, but never got to try it.  As I have posted elsewhere, I have installed a small A/C unit in the gable wall of my small shop.  It is now tolerable to work in the shop for a better part of the day, although I limit my time in the shop to early monings anyway.  

If an A/C unit is not feasable for the Garage, I would suggest trying a very high volume exhaust fan to help cool it down.  Then the personal cooler might help at the saw.  

[NC Scroller]

I am in NC where it also can get very toasty.  I cool my 660 sq shop with a window A/C unit.  It has an economy setting and a thermostat.  It runs 24 x7 during the summer and does not greatly effect my electric.  The thermostat is at 78.  Remember it takes less energy to maintain a temperature at a fixed level then to try to raise or low the temperature even 5 or 10 degrees.  Now my shop is insulated including having an insulated roll up garage door.  The other things AC does is to lower humidity which then reduces rust.

[ScollSaw Slasher]

Well I've fought the issue for 47 years. But as I get older the heat bothers me more. Since I can't move to Canada (Americans are still banned), concrete block structure built like the proverbial brick "s---" house, a window not conducive to a window ac unit, rebuild of the home AC at the cost of my first born, a split system going through the concrete at a hefty price, or a inefficient portable system which would mean reconfigure equipment (good bye drill press and 12" chopsaw) to even reach the window for venting. A quandary. But thanks for the suggestions guys.

[OCtoolguy]

6 hours ago, ScollSaw Slasher said:

Well I've fought the issue for 47 years. But as I get older the heat bothers me more. Since I can't move to Canada (Americans are still banned), concrete block structure built like the proverbial brick "s---" house, a window not conducive to a window ac unit, rebuild of the home AC at the cost of my first born, a split system going through the concrete at a hefty price, or a inefficient portable system which would mean reconfigure equipment (good bye drill press and 12" chopsaw) to even reach the window for venting. A quandary. But thanks for the suggestions guys.

Slasher, there has to be some place on a wall that you could mount a small a/c unit. Or is your shop centrally located within your home? You don't have to put it in a window. I just cut a hole through the wall in a place that wasn't being used for anything else. 

[Fish]

I just have a strong fan. I don’t open the garage door unless I have to.  

[ScollSaw Slasher]

Hey Ray, at first your suggestion fell flat because being a chronic DIY man just didn't want to saw concrete block. But then I just thought about writing the check and have someone else do the work putting in a wall banger. Have a perfect spot for it. Probably will get some estimates this week to improve my "man cave" or affectionately known as my  home away from home.

[OzarkSawdust]

On 6/11/2021 at 7:42 PM, octoolguy said:

It's funny that this topic popped up today. I spent the day installing a window a/c unit in the wall of my little shop. It's only 117 square feet so this little unit will do the job very well. I don't have any insulation in the wall. Its just studs and T-111 siding. But someday I might hit the lottery and I'll insulate the walls. I'm not sure how much longer I've got on Mother Earth but I'm going to be cool when I need to be cool and warm when I need to be warm. I've got a little electric heater that seems to work great. It is fairly humid here but not like you folks in the north and south, east of the Mississippi. That's partly why we decided to stay put. We actually were thinking of moving over to the Phoenix area until we experienced a few days in hot dry conditions on our way back from Tennessee. Not for us. We're spoiled.

 

You still in CA? I thought you moved to somewhere in TN a while back?

[OzarkSawdust]

Here in SW MO it went from 65* first of the month to 85* for a week then 90*+ now! I got out the window A/C a few days ago and shoved it in the only window in the shop. It's only a 5,000btu but that's the only one that would fit in the window, but where I have my scroll saw I can direct the cold air right on me   

My shop is a 18 x 30 metal building I had put up 3 yrs ago. The cement floor helps in the summer...not so much in the winter. The first winter after it was finished I stumbled on a great deal on insulation! A guy from KS was doing a large spray foam job in my area and had enough leftover chemicals to do my shop. Rather than just throw away the chemicals he just charged me the labor and turned my shop into an Igloo cooler! Like Kevin, I have trees that shade it from noonish on so the baby A/C will keep it tolerable most days. 

[CSull]

It does get hot here in Montana on occasion. Last year I added extra insulation in the roof over my shop and as long as I keep my doors closed it stays comfortable even on the days in the mid 90's.  What is worse here is when fire season ramps up and there are days that even in the shop with doors closed you are still breathing smoke.

[Jim McDonald]

I cut sitting on the patio on the west side of the house. Mornings are great and in later afternoons, there is a 50 foot maple tree shading me. With a breeze, it is quite tolerable--except on the 90 degree, high humidity days we had last week.

I have placed a floor fan blowing up my back when I am on a deadline and have to fight the humidity. 

[OCtoolguy]

6 hours ago, OzarkSawdust said:

You still in CA? I thought you moved to somewhere in TN a while back?

Still here. We just can't find a place that is comfortable on a year round basis. Too hot, too cold, too humid. Yada yads yada. And, we're old. So, we'll just stay here and ignore the politics and high cost of living. Oh, and the ever-increasing crowds. 

[CSull]

Ray, I thought everyone was leaving California for Texas

[dgman]

2 hours ago, octoolguy said:

Still here. We just can't find a place that is comfortable on a year round basis. Too hot, too cold, too humid. Yada yads yada. And, we're old. So, we'll just stay here and ignore the politics and high cost of living. Oh, and the ever-increasing crowds. 

Ok Ray, if you’re staying, we have to meet! Next time you head to Santa Barbara, you need to stop by if I’m not working. I’ll even give you a gallon of M/S !

[new2woodwrk]

I have finally solved my garage heating problem!

First I installed weatherstripping around my garage door - I must say, that alone has decreased the temperature in the garage. I bought 4 of these garage weather strips from Lowes. They are white so I didn't have to paint anything and there are no more light/air gaps around my garage door

Next I put a curtain over an existing door with a window - also helped cut down on the temp

And now the biggest feature that made all the difference...

I had a small (5k btu) window A/C unit that I put in a window in my garage

Then bought this curtain hanging item and some clear plastic.

I have a bunch of grommets left over from another project I did a few years back and made a curtain out of the plastic

I put up an 'L'' shaped frame on my ceiling and attached the curtain hanger and hung the curtain leaving an opening/slit in the front for a door

Turned on the A/C unit and put a standing fan next to it to blow the cool air towards the work area.

The whole area itself is about 180 SQ FT plenty small to cool with the 5k unit.

When I want to put the car back in the garage, I just push the tables back a few feet, open the slit and the car pulls right in

Here are a few pics before I changed the whole thing to clear plastic - I'll take more pics tomorrow

Ceiling track

More track

Brown curtain - I've replaced with clear so I can see out

Using clamps, I seal up the gap and very little leakage

I checked the temperature difference, and with this set up the temp dropped 15 degrees total!

It also helps keep the rest of the garage a bit cooler

 

 

[new2woodwrk]

Here are some updated pics of my isolated work area

Exterior - clear plastic

Interior - work area with work tables, fans, dust ctrl and all machinery except table saw

The overhead wen is included in the work area for sanding

You can see the AC unit and Fan on the far side

The way this is set up, I can work with the garage door open and it still keeps the work area very cool

Thanks for reading

Edited June 14, 2021 by new2woodwrk

[OCtoolguy]

19 hours ago, CSull said:

Ray, I thought everyone was leaving California for Texas

They are but most are much younger. And once the reality of hot/humid summers sets in, they may be sorry. As bad as some things are here, you just can't beat the weather. If S. Dakota had weather like ours, we'd move there. Love the Black Hills!

[rjweb]

Yes they are coming in from California by the truck loads, housing is much cheaper, and cost of living is down, RJ