I know that we have a great place to work at DMS, but sometimes you just need to do some work at home in the garage. Here in Carrollton that can be a miserable proposition because of the heat and humidity. I’ve been looking into how to remedy this situation. I have a 2.5 car garage. The .5 has my tools, saws, drill press etc in it. To use them I’m always dragging them into the other part of the garage after the cars are removed. (Our HOA won’t let you park on the street without giving you guff about it and we have three cars)
For years I’ve just used a big ole fan to provide relief, but recently I’ve been considering air conditioning my garage. I know it is a big waste of energy most of the time. I know you have insulate the garage, which in my case is already insulated except the actual garage door. You also have to vent any a/c unit or install the condenser unit out side.
I’ve also looked at swamp coolers, but these don’t appeal to me when you’re working with wood. I’ve also considered ceiling fans, I have a 10ft ceiling in the garage, and other fan solutions.
I wondered what others on this forum have done? Yes, I know DMS is the best solution, but sometimes it is a pain to take all the bits of your project to DMS. It is just easier to build at home.
Thoughts?
Ive looked into the mini split thing. Seems to be the most effective, but expensive. Ive only skimmed the surface so far, interested in what other people have to say.
There’s a thing that I believe is available commercially. It’s basically a ice chest, and a way that air is forced across the ice. Granted, it’d probably have the same humidity issues as a swamp cooler, but it would also be directable. I learned about directing fans the summer that I was soldering components as piece work at home. Cool the person, not the project…
I could fit that lift I want in mine with another 2’… (been considering it with the 8’ ceiling I have).
Whadyamean off topic?
Oh.
Right.
Sorry.
I’m staying tuned for that, but have no real suggestions. Others have already said everything I know, or even think I know…
It’s no secret that a mini-split is my go-to solution for 90% of life’s cooling problems. ACWholesalers.com will ship them to your door and amazon will sell you a cheap vacuum pump to complete the line install yourself.
There is the freestanding “portable” style AC that drains into a hose or drip tray and vents via a dryer-style exhaust to the nearest door. One of my buddies has decided he will just run that vent straight up into his attic. Can’t say I have a real problem with this as he doesn’t run it 100% of the time. But for a 2.5 car garage, I think when you price them out you’ll find that a bigger portable probably costs the same as a decent mini split, and the split will be quieter.
You mentioned you already had a fan. There exists option C. Go buy you a small used radiator from the U-Pull-It and a strainer. Pipe it in to an old Igloo. Connect the tubing to the radiator via whatever cheap used pump you can scavenge for a recirculating pump. Dump ice and water in the cooler, and power it up. Put the radiator in front of the fan… you get the idea. Definitely cheaper than the other two options.
The first was a dual-hose unit branded by Whynter (1201D I believe) which worked reasonably well. The dual-hose design supposedly allows the unit to work like a conventional AC with isolated hot and cold sides. It ran without issue for about five years in my office where air conditioning is a distant rumor.
After five years it stopped working consistently. It might be low on refrigerant, something could be clogged, or the compressor may have run out of lifespan hours. I need to disassemble it to see if there’s something obvious and/or fixable.
For a pittance I obtained a lesser used single-hose unit secondhand. It cools the room effectively, but I’m all too aware that it operates at negative pressure pulling interior air over the hot side of the compressor.
Neither unit has required maintenance of a drip tray. I gather it’s now common practice to run the cold side condensate over the hot side coils to improve the otherwise dreary efficiency of these units.
Both units are surprisingly loud, seemingly moreso than a window unit.
Reviews I’m reading suggest that the efficiency differences between single and dual hose units have dropped to the point that it only makes sense to use a dual hose unit in areas that routinely exceed 95°F (yes that’s a bit bulk of the summers here, but the advice is predicated on using the units as primary cooling for a living space). DoE also supposedly changed their labelling/testing requirements a few years ago and the BTU ratings manufacturers can claim took a nosedive.
The question is what’s the design goal and at what budget? Dropping temperatures by ~15°F does wonders in my experience, but that’s different than truly air conditioning a space which typically demands the capacity to produce a >30° temperature ∆.
If a minisplit is a bit more expense or engineering than you care for, is it possible to shoehorn a window unit through a wall? Or just get a proper through-wall unit?
I have a detached 2 car garage. I framed an opening just like I was going to put in a window but then mounted a large (24,000 BTU) window unit in it. I sized the opening exactly for the “sleeve” that came with the unit. It’s been going for 13-15 years now and keeps things plenty cool. Unit was maybe $400-500 at the time.
Things aren’t as efficient as they could be. I insulated the walls and decked the “attic” but there is no ceiling or attic insulation, nor is the garage door insulated. I suspect I could freeze myself out if I took care of all of that. That’s ~2 tons in less than 450 square feet.
The mini splits seem to be the quiet solution, most of them are heat pumps for the rare winter heating wants, and they are usually higher seer than your household AC units.
As for the parking on the street, unless it is a gated community, and the HOA is paying all the street repairs, one of your homeowners should find a good attorney to explain how things work, and that they can’t enforce any covenants, restrictions or other actions against cars parked on the street. Your driveway, yes, but city owned street, no.
Over 20 years ago I purchased a Hotel A/C & Heat combo unit at an auction. It was in used condition and the cost was about $50. This was the stand alone version that mounted into the wall in a typical Hotel/Motel room. I had to cut the brick wall in my 3 car garage to install it. It has been working fine ever since. Not just A/C in the summer but also heat in the winter.
I could fit that lift I want in mine with another 2’… (been considering it with the 8’ ceiling I have).
