Cooling in Texas

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hcpens

hcpens

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San Antonio, TX
Misting fan or a/c.

I live in south Texas and have a 10 x 20 un-insulated shop. Tired of getting up at 4am to work in what little cool temperature that we might get down to, in the early morning hours. Even to hot in the early evenings to work after my regular job.

Thinking about a misting system, but worried about the humidity versus an air conditioner.

Any thoughts?

Thanks, Richard.
 
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Nope, no help.

I have the same problem in Oklahoma.
Swamp coolers just don't work in humidity, a long life in the south has taught me that. I just bought a high speed fan and point it between myself and the ways of my wood lathe and out the door so I also benefit from less dust.
I tried a 110 A/C blowing right on me but no help, just couldn't keep up. Hoping for a 220 next year.
4 am or nothing.
 
Insulate the wall's and put in A/C

My little shop up here in central Arkansas you couldn't work in without either. Actually I installer a window Heat Pump unit. I mounted it in the wall. Insulated the walls and ceiling then covered wall with sheet rock and ceiling with foam board.

A little paint and trim work and it is toasty in the winter and cool in the summer.

IS IT WORTH IT? YOU BETCHA!!
 
The problem with any type of evaporative cooling is that it will rust your tools. Johns idea is best. I live in Taylor just north of Austin. I had to insulate and air condition.
 
+1 on what John said

My shop/garage is a 30x50 wood frame structure with a concrete floor and metallic siding & roof. I insulated the lower 8' of the walls of the entire structure & used peg board to hold it in place.

I walled off a 15x25 section for my main woodshop and installed an inexpensive 110V window AC unit near my lathe. It keeps that part of the shop comfortable even when it's 100 or so outside.
 
Wow good info, will insulate and do an A/C then. Thanks for your input, guys. Did not even think about the tool rust, glad I asked.

Richard
 
I guess when you live in one extreme or the other you have to deal with the heat or the cold. I can't give you an answer to your question but I'll let you in on a dream, not that that will help either. I grew up and lived in Texas all my life and the summers are getting harder and harder to deal with. My Dad grew up in Montana and Yellowstone National Park is my favorite place to visit. North or South is going to have it's drawbacks so here's my dream. When I get rich I'm going to by a place in Montana and keep my house here in Texas and follow the geese. They always know when it's going to get hot or cold so I'll move when they do. P.S. I don't think the pens are the ticket to getting rich.
 
I was born and raised in Texas... we lived in a number of places that didn't have electricity when I was a young sprout.... after high school and I joined the navy, spent a number of years in California, then back to Texas until I retired 10 years ago... never had much problem with the heat and still don't as long as I can keep the sweat from dripping onto my finishes...:rolleyes::rolleyes: I keep a 20" box fan blow at my back and out the door of my shop on hot days - I need to air to be moving so I can breathe - and on cold days, I have a little oil radiator that I can sit close to my at the lathe... that works until my feet get cold, then it's time to quit.... my shop is a 12x24 corrugated tin building, uninsulated, but with peg board over all the walls... nothing on the ceiling... I use the rafters for storage.
 
I don't envy you folks in down South. The winters might be mighty cold up here, but I can keep adding layers of clothing to warm up. Once your hot though, not much you can do about it, but suffer. You can only take off so much clothing before someone calls the cops on you!
 
I am in the same pickle. I like to stay up late and sleep late, my prime working time is the afternoon and it is running over 100 here in Arlington Texas.

I have a three car garage, which I am thrilled with, but I can't figure where to put a wall and there are no windows for a unit. Not sure if I could afford to air condition the whole thing. The double side to the garage door is also the back door of the house, I would loose all the air anytime I wanted to drive anywhere.
 
When I built my 10 X 12 shop I put lots of insulation on walls and radiant barrier on the ceiling. This is relatively inexpensive. I now cool it on even 100+ days with a 110 AC unit I bought at Home Depot for $169, then got a $50 rebate from my electric COOP. Best decision I made.
 
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Kenny Durrant said:
I guess when you live in one extreme or the other you have to deal with the heat or the cold. I can't give you an answer to your question but I'll let you in on a dream, not that that will help either. I grew up and lived in Texas all my life and the summers are getting harder and harder to deal with. My Dad grew up in Montana and Yellowstone National Park is my favorite place to visit. North or South is going to have it's drawbacks so here's my dream. When I get rich I'm going to by a place in Montana and keep my house here in Texas and follow the geese. They always know when it's going to get hot or cold so I'll move when they do. P.S. I don't think the pens are the ticket to getting rich.
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My Dad grew up in Northern Montana on the east side of Glacier Park. He always said the winters were brutal, but Summer was wonderful . . . . . . BOTH DAYS! :biggrin:
 
Richard, I know exactly what you mean. I live in Houston, and have been feeling the 104 degree heat for the last week. I decided that I will use that time to do prep work inside the house till it gets a little cooler out. I glued up about 150 stylus pens, casted another 50 or so Sierra blanks as well as some other small stuff that can easily be done while sitting at my desk, where it's about 74 degrees.
 
Olsarge said:
The problem with any type of evaporative cooling is that it will rust your tools. Johns idea is best. I live in Taylor just north of Austin. I had to insulate and air condition.
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Here in Phoenix we run an evaporative cooler most of the summer, going to AC only when the monsoon is in full swing.

Here is what I have found. The humidity in the house when the evap is going full tilt is less than the natural humidity at my brother's shop in OK. Normally the humidity inside my house is about 70 percent with the evap running.

In Oklahoma, where my brother lives, the humidity is peaking every night at about 93 percent. So if your tools don't rust in your Oklahoma or Texas, or Georgia shop, they won't rust in a shop with an evap cooler. That said, I don't use the evap in my shop. It was cheaper to put in a window for an AC unit than to have the ductwork installed for the evap/house AC.

I insulated my shop with a dozen or so sheets of 3/4" foam insulation. It was cheap, and very effective. We just cut it and stuffed it between the studs. You don't even have to drywall over it if you don't want to. Then I put a window AC unit in right beside my lathe. It isn't perfect, but it lets me turn in the summer when the temp is 109, like it is right now! The shop is under the same roof as the house, so the attic was already insulated. Otherwise you would have to put some sort of insulation in the attic or between the rafters.
Sharon
 
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larrystephens said:
I am in the same pickle. I like to stay up late and sleep late, my prime working time is the afternoon and it is running over 100 here in Arlington Texas.

I have a three car garage, which I am thrilled with, but I can't figure where to put a wall and there are no windows for a unit. Not sure if I could afford to air condition the whole thing. The double side to the garage door is also the back door of the house, I would loose all the air anytime I wanted to drive anywhere.
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Buy three or four 4x8 sheets of 3/4" styrofoam insulation. Hinge it together at the corners with duct tape so it is free standing. You can set it up around your lathe area to create a confined space to cool or heat. (My friend put a hole through the wall to take a window ac unit). When you don't need it, it folds flat to about 4 or 5 inches and stands against an empty wall. I use it in the winter to warm my working area with a little oil-filled radiator heater.

It also has the advantage of keeping the sawdust/shavings contained and away from the rest of the garage.
 
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Thanks again, I did make one of the 8 min Air Coolers, and it helps about 10 degrees, in front of it.

Think I will work on getting an AC unit and some insulation.

Thanks again for all of the ideas.
 
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