Summer is here- cooling your shop?

[Tiger Joe]

Looking for some input on how everyone keeps their shops cool enough to work in during the summer heat.

my shop is 35x50 with 15' ceilings. Ceiling is insulated, walls are not (concrete block). garage is 50/50 shade/sun.

i'd love to have A/C in my garage, but don't think that's realistic $$$. I was looking at the evaporator coolers, swamp coolers, and most seems to say those don't work well in high humidity.

I'm thinking maybe a large ceiling fan right in the center. This is the one I have see with good reviews:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LNV7IA...ing=UTF8&psc=1

curious if anyone else runs a ceiling fan and is happy with it? I don't have any electrical box in my ceiling, plus its 15' in the air, so I'd to be rather sure this is a good idea before I undertake it.

[FleetsidePaul]

That looks like a nice one. I have ceiling fans in both my houses and they make a huge difference. I use my a/c way less since I put them in.In fact I barely turn it on.

I have a house in the high desert, and it get plenty hot up there. It has no a/c and I thought I was going to roast with just a swamp cooler. The swamp cooler did OK, but with the fans, it gets downright cold in there. I have to turn it off. Or get a jacket.

If you have high humidity I'm not sure how much that might effect the efficiency.

I also put in an attic fan. I turn it on early when it's cool and it sucks the hot air out. Then close things up and turn on the fans. Works great.

[bs46488]

I was going to vote a thumbs up for the ceiling fan. We have them in our house. Our bedroom has 12ft ceilings and the fan has about a 2ft drop to it.
Even with the fan on low it help circulate the air.

For my garage I found a deal on craigslist for an AC unit off of an office trailer (apparently it even has heat). Its all self contained, so I just had to mount it and run power to it. I didn't want to mount it on the stucco and cut a bunch of holes, so I used the side door of my garage. I ended up buying a 25ft roll of flexible HVAC tube and ran some vents inside the garage to spread the air.

[mongocanfly]

Later this summer I'm going to put a geothermal cooling system in my shop..mines close to the same size as yours..and planning on the same in my house..
I've got a friend that has the swamp cooler..around here it doesn't work that well and puts a lot of water vapor in the air..

[davischevy]

Look at through the wall Heat and air units. Like a motel uses.

You might even find one on CL.

Any of the big box stores have them.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I just deal with it, and it's HOT where I live... but my garage does have full shade almost all day with the door open the way it's situated, so it's usually at least 10* cooler than the outside temp.

[GR8-68]

We have ceiling fans and air conditioning

[CG]

When I got home from work yesterday it was so cold in the house I turned on the gas fireplace =)

In the summer (whenever that is? haha) in my shop I crack open the large door and open up the man door in the back. Nice little breeze always blows through.

[100%Chevy]

My shop is 50'x75' and 12' high down the center.
I have a fan mounted in the wall up high at each end.
The fans are form old condensing units and move a lot of air.
This creates a good breeze thru the shop from north to south.
And,I usually use a small fan where I'm working.
Best I can do living right on the Ms. coast in all the humidity.
It's at 98 % right now!And,raining!
Mike.

[paul blair]

Industrial Westinghouse--specs and price look good--I'm thinking get two!

[slomotion]

I can understand using a ceiling fan in the winter to bring down warm air, but I'm wondering wouldn't a high-mounted exhaust fan do more for getting rid of hot air?

[davischevy]

It's a shame your not closer. We have several good package units we salvaged from a government job.

They are like the ones used on mobile office units. They are self contained and hang on the wall outside.

[novice]

I have a 30 x 48 x 12 and bought a mini-split unit. Works great for heat and cool. I also have two ceiling fans but hardly ever use them. It has a 10 year warranty. Have had it for about 3 now. Very happy.

[Grumpy old man]

35 x 50 with 15 foot ceilings ?

You need a Big Ass Fan !
The 14' version


https://www.themine.com/commercial-c...170615025629:s

of course you may only need the 7'

https://www.themine.com/commercial-c..._g2820514.html

[Tiger Joe]

I would love to have one of those fans, but way beyond my budget!

thing this $60 fan is going to be my first shot at cooler air.

experimented a little last night with just a crappy box fan and even the 1/3 or so if the garage where I could get air moving was more comfortable than the rest of my shop.

I foresee many trips up and down a ladder in my future

[a.c.ward]

he two of the fans you linked in my 24x26 with 16 ft ceilings. they work ok. at my big show 50x50 with 16 ft ceilings we put in a 16 foot big ass fan 220 volt, variable speed, reversible. kinda pricey, but worth every penny. drops temps in the body shop by 15-20 degrees, in central texas, high humidity and heat, that is amazing

[Palf70Step]

My mobile shop coolers.

Big one I built from a house ceiling fan, the other is just 36" barrel fan. The move some air and keep the Mississippi shop pretty livable.

[Grumpy old man]

Don't waste money on small ceiling fans in a 35 x 50 foot building . I use Dayton pedestal shop fans , they are expensive but really move some air with 2 speeds , look at the specs and try to find something along these lines . they last for a long time .

https://www.grainger.com/product/6AL...170615225145:s

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...FRY9gQodxxoNhw

[FleetsidePaul]

You could always use the old stand by.

[In The Ten Ring]

I have a ceiling fan in my garage now but I am planning to remove it. Painting my garage door white and using more insulation on it will help I think.

After the renovation I want to put in some wall/window mounted fans, AC is really out of the question.

[custom10nut]

Air movement is key. Consider putting a large fan at one end, and a one way vent at the other. They work best if the vent is on the morning side of the building, and up high near the ceiling. Livestock barns are done this way and work pretty well for air flow. Wher you are you might need to cover the fan in the winter. Ceiling fans will also help, both summer and winter, for the same reason their good in the house.

[71cheyennesuperlongb]

My best friend has a 40 x90 garage. He built one room inthe corner where you could put three cars nose to tail.Two walls ,ceiling,plastic drive through door in the end.One wall mount air conditioner and he is good.One small wood stove for the winter.

[Tiger Joe]

well been about a month so update time.

Ended up installing a pretty nice wall mount oscillating fan. mounted right between my garage doors and aimed in the center of the garage.

it definitely helps, but right now with the high humidity its still miserable in there. Biggest issue for me is I have a day job, don't get home till 4, which is the hottest part of the day. so the garage is already hot when i get home, so trying to open the doors and turn the fan is like too little too late.

leaning towards adding AC now. might try to get the biggest window unit I can, just for a simple installation.

[dieseldawg142]

i've been using a 4 blade ceiling fan in my shop for 22 yrs now. i installed a variable speed, reversible switch on it. can suck air up or push it down. mind you, we only get a couple weeks of intense heat a yr anyways, and i have R40 insul in my attic, garage is always 15-20 degrees cooler than outside.


but for those few intense days, i got the ultimate cheap-o, kick-arse fan.
being in the roofing industry, i take the turbines out of industrial roof heat/air units, the kind on mall roofs, airports, etc, they can move some SERIOUS air. can get these turbines all day long for nothing, even if your not in the trade, a couple bucks at most for one.
i hook up a smaller electric motor to them (usually scavenged out of another rooftop unit...lol) and.... instant fan from hell. my first turbine was twice the size of my current one, and it stripped all the walls of everything but the paint, and blew everything everywhere. stick your head out the truck window at 75 mph, thats how my shop was...
downsized to a much smaller turbine, but it too can start cleaning off the walls, so i put a 3-way switch on it too
my $10 fan ($6 for a switch, $4 for a belt)

[cg285]

my home shop is 50*75*16. i have a 48" fan in a rear upper corner pulling out, in front (by the largest door) i have a 36" rotatable pusher. works pretty decent but if it gets too hot i have one side (15*75) with a build out and 2 mini splits - 1 in the 15' part and one in the 65' part - one condensing unit. they work awesome.