air conditioner question

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bjbear76

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Sep 4, 2008
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Louisville, KY 40299
I'm thinking of putting an air conditioner in my shop to make it a bit more comfortable during the summer months. Right now, I have a fan mounted in the window of my 20 x 30 garage. I'm debating between installing a window unit or getting one of those portable air conditioners.
Does anyone have any experience with the portable a/c's? And which would be more effective (not necessarily more efficient).
I doubt I would run it all day, just when I plan some shop time.
What are the pros and cons to consider?

Thanks for your input
 
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Charlie_W

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Bill,
While I am not an HVAC professional at all, my instinct would be to go with the window unit/s. I have no experience with the portables though I think some will vent the heat from the unit outside.What about a condensate drain on the portables? Do they need one or do you dump a reservoir?

You have a lot of space there. Is it insulated? What is the ceiling height? You may need a fan or ceiling fans to move air around but that will move dust around as well.

I am thinking you will need the biggest, baddest window unit you can get that will fit....and probably more than one. And then think about power. The larger units will most likely be 220Volt. Do you have power available? Space in your panel and a large enough main to handle the extra load?

I had an old window unit in a small 12X/20 Un insulated shop years ago. You will need to blow out the filter very often as well as the coils.

Good luck!
 
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scotirish

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Dec 10, 2007
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Macomb Twp., Michigan, USA.
Workshop AC

Sawdust! My shop is in the basement. I have an air filter in the overhead and use a large shop vac. I still change my air filter on the furnace, at a minimum, every three months (expensive but well with it). Keep track and watch the filter so it does not get plugged and cause the unit to overheat trying to get air. Perhaps you could run a duct to the return from outside. The cooling effect will be less, but no sawdust.
 

ElMostro

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San Antonio, TX.
Go for a window unit.

I have a portable one for a bedroom in the house that is always warmer than the rest of the house bec one of its' walls takes the brunt of the afternoon sun, anyway, in my opinion it is not very efficient in cooling the room (12x12) considering that it is already cooled.

The unit is self evaporating but still builds up some condensation, so I have to be watching for water build up. It has two 4" hoses out the back (one for intake and one for exhaust) and the exhaust one gets really hot and that heat radiates back into the room. I insulated the hose and it helps but there is still some heat radiated into the room.

It takes floor space and the additional clearance you need to leave behind the unit for the hoses makes the footprint larger than you would like.

The filter area is really small so I think you would have to constantly monitor the buildup.

If I stay in this house I will be installing a mini-split for that room. More efficient, prettier that a window unit but MORE MONEY.

Eugene
 

Edgar

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My woodshop is 15x25 with insulated walls, and a high, open ceiling. I have a fairly small, 6000 btu window unit and it does a decent job of keeping my shop tolerable during the summer, as long as the outside temp is below 95 or so.

If I was going to buy an a/c specifically for my shop, I would probably go with a 10,000 btu unit for better cooling, but this is what I happened to have on hand at the time.
 

Ed McDonnell

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I put a portable unit in my garage / shop, which is about the same size as yours. Made the shop more comfortable at night and morning, but couldn't keep up with the afternoon heating. During the day it was just as effective to open the garage doors and have a fan blowing at me. I would never buy another portable unit. You still need venting to the outside with the portables.

Window A/C gives good bang for the buck if you can use them.

I'm looking at the split / ductless systems for my next shop. More expensive that a window unit, but some significant advantages.

Ed
 

ssalvage

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I agree with most of the statements already made. I have both types of units in my house, and they both work well for their purpose... but the portable unit is a bit more of a pain to deal with.

Either way, you will need a window involved, so I say save the floor space and just go with a large enough window unit for your shop.

I plan to do the same with my garage... once I manage to get out there and clean it out so I can convert it into a shop. :laugh:
 

plantman

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BJ: Portable air units are a pain in the butt, and not that good at catching up with warn weather days. The window unit is the way to go!! No venting of hot air, no air intake hose, no water to drain, noise and heat are outside, and it takes up no floor space and can be covered or removed in cooler weather. A well insulated shop will make it work even better. Since cooler air falls to the ground, you don't need to install a ceiling. I could cool my old house (1750 sq. ft) with the largest 120 Volt air unit I could buy (12000-14000 btus., and one fan to blow air down the hallway to the kid's back 3 bedrooms and bathroom. I installed it in the outside wall of the dining room. Also if you stick with the 120 Volt unit you won't need to run new wires and outlets, and can move it or take it with you if you should happen to move. Use #14 wire, 20 amp breaker, and 20 amp outlet . As far as the old debate about 120 vs 240 volts. If you use the electrical formula volts, amps, and resistance, you will find out they come out the same, only simple difference is your using two circuits as opposed to one. Great if you have the room in your panel. There are also many advatages of one over the other, depends on personal use. Jim S
 
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Charlie_W

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BJ: Portable air units are a pain in the butt, and not that good at catching up with warn weather days. The window unit is the way to go!! No venting of hot air, no air intake hose, no water to drain, noise and heat are outside, and it takes up no floor space and can be covered or removed in cooler weather. A well insulated shop will make it work even better. Since cooler air falls to the ground, you don't need to install a ceiling. I could cool my old house (1750 sq. ft) with the largest 120 Volt air unit I could buy (12000-14000 btus., and one fan to blow air down the hallway to the kid's back 3 bedrooms and bathroom. I installed it in the outside wall of the dining room. Also if you stick with the 120 Volt unit you won't need to run new wires and outlets, and can move it or take it with you if you should happen to move. Use #14 wire, 20 amp breaker, and 20 amp outlet . As far as the old debate about 120 vs 240 volts. If you use the electrical formula volts, amps, and resistance, you will find out they come out the same, only simple difference is your using two circuits as opposed to one. Great if you have the room in your panel. There are also many advatages of one over the other, depends on personal use. Jim S

Jim,
I think you meant to say #12 wire for a 20 amp circuit....#14 is rated for 15 amps. With any circuit, do not load more than 80% of the breaker rating.
 

Herb G

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Get yourself at least a 15K BTU unit. Make sure to put a high efficiency filter in front of the air intake on the unit before you turn it on.
If you can put a floor pedestal fan in front of it to extend the range of the cold air, so much the better.
 

plantman

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BJ: Portable air units are a pain in the butt, and not that good at catching up with warn weather days. The window unit is the way to go!! No venting of hot air, no air intake hose, no water to drain, noise and heat are outside, and it takes up no floor space and can be covered or removed in cooler weather. A well insulated shop will make it work even better. Since cooler air falls to the ground, you don't need to install a ceiling. I could cool my old house (1750 sq. ft) with the largest 120 Volt air unit I could buy (12000-14000 btus., and one fan to blow air down the hallway to the kid's back 3 bedrooms and bathroom. I installed it in the outside wall of the dining room. Also if you stick with the 120 Volt unit you won't need to run new wires and outlets, and can move it or take it with you if you should happen to move. Use #14 wire, 20 amp breaker, and 20 amp outlet . As far as the old debate about 120 vs 240 volts. If you use the electrical formula volts, amps, and resistance, you will find out they come out the same, only simple difference is your using two circuits as opposed to one. Great if you have the room in your panel. There are also many advatages of one over the other, depends on personal use. Jim S

Jim,
I think you meant to say #12 wire for a 20 amp circuit....#14 is rated for 15 amps. With any circuit, do not load more than 80% of the breaker rating.

Charlie; Thank you for the correction !! My mind was thinking #12, but my fingers typed in #14. Jim S
 

Wood Butcher

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Here's my solution, I hope. I got the idea on You Tube and found the 48qt cooler at Wallyworld for $15 and the fan for $10. Add a few bucks for the PVC elbows and about 30 minutes work and wala. I have frozen a bunch of drinking water bottles and will but them in the cooler and turn the fan on. The test run shower output air at around 45 degrees and the cooler wasn't full of the bottles. My shop is about 14 x 24 and very well insulated so I'm hoping it will allow me to stay out there for a few more hours. Why not!
WB
 

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I guess I have a different take on AC in the shop... my shop is 12x24 tin building, sitting under a big oak tree on the back side and a big elm at the front corner... it's not insulated, just has peg board on all four walls. I run a 20" box fan at my back to stir the air... to air condition it would mean closing it up to hold in the cool. I prefer to just open the double doors in front of my lathe and keep the air moving.
 

Charlie_W

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Here's my solution, I hope. I got the idea on You Tube and found the 48qt cooler at Wallyworld for $15 and the fan for $10. Add a few bucks for the PVC elbows and about 30 minutes work and wala. I have frozen a bunch of drinking water bottles and will but them in the cooler and turn the fan on. The test run shower output air at around 45 degrees and the cooler wasn't full of the bottles. My shop is about 14 x 24 and very well insulated so I'm hoping it will allow me to stay out there for a few more hours. Why not!
WB

Who would have thought it was this simple!....Ya know...if you make those up and put online, there are folks at will buy it!

Can one still buy a block of ice to put in front of a fan like they used to do?
 

MTViper

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I have a 30x30 metal building shop, 12' at the peak of the roof, 9' at the eaves. Everything except the 16' garage door is insulated. I looked at all different options and settled on 2 window units. I have small windows and couldn't find any one unit that was rated to cool the whole shop. I'm glad I did. One unit is on the west wall over my workbench and the other is on the north wall. I also have a big fan up high on the south wall so it blows over my right shoulder when I'm at the lathe. Blows the fine dust on the garage door. It also sets up an air movement flow pattern in the shop so it moves the cool air around. Wish I could say I designed it that way, but it was just dumb luck it turned out like that. With the 2 units, I can work mornings in the summer cause they won't keep it at a workable temp when it's over 100 outside.
 

Wood Butcher

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Yeah Charlie, I thought about buying bags of ice but then you have the water to deal with and you have to rebuy it when it melts. I'm using 22 oz. water bottles that we have emptied and I have refilled, it will give me "free" ice that I can get any time. I also figure that the more surface area for the air to pass over the better it will cool. That has yet to be proven but hey, less than $30 bucks and....it's totally portable. Not that I ever "wood" but, one could place beverages in with the ice and have a refresher when needed and one for after work is done.
WB
 

sbwertz

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Phoenix, AZ
When we converted our carport to a shop a few years ago, I opted for a 10' roll up door and a window instead of a full width garage door. First because I wanted the ceiling free of an overhead door, and second because I wanted a window for the air conditioner. The window unit works great, even in a Phoenix summer. The door is insulated, and so are the walls and ceiling, so it is easier to cool and keep cool. My lathe is right in front of the window unit, so I stay REAL cool when I'm turning. The rest of the shop stays comfortable. I put frosted plastic film on the window to allow in light but keep people from looking in to see all the expensive equipment. The door doesn't open from the outside at all. It can only be opened from inside, and rolls up above the door.
 
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