Shop cooling suggestions

[lasher]

my daughter's father in law put up a fairly large steel building to keep his toys in. he framed up a nice sized office/man cave inside a portion of it. he put in a window unit that heats or cools,,,those run around 500 i think. made a nice little hide away

 

[Perplexed]

Thanks for the advice, folks. I do indeed work with wood, so I believe a swamp cooler would be out. I already have two small ceiling fans and a 44” drum fan, but they don’t really get it done. I’ll look into a window AC unit cut into the wall of the shop.

 

[Gunbuffer]

Large shop fans

And a shop fridge w beer

 

[dennishoddy]

And a shop fridge w beer

That’s a given fact!

 

[Perplexed]

Just had an idea. The back door to the shop opens outward, and the door frame is wide enough that another door can easily be mounted on the inside. What if I get a plain, solid wood door and cut a hole in the upper middle and mount a window AC unit in it. Then hang the door to open inward, and leave it open when not in use. When desired, open the outer door and close the inner door to turn on the AC.

The only issue I can think of might be how far into the path to the doorway the back of the AC unit would project, when the interior door is left open. The door frame is such that the door can’t be opened past about 100 degrees or so of arc, and besides, the end of the workbench would be behind it. Thoughts?

 

[lasher]

If you lived closer I have a 5000 BTU LG, still new in the box, you could have.

 

[lasher]

And a shop fridge w beer

and be certain it's a full size fridge, not one of those little dinky sized things that will only hold a 12 pack...a 4 or 5 case model is what you want

 

[Perplexed]

If you lived closer I have a 5000 BTU LG, still new in the box, you could have.

Thanks, that would have been appreciated. I’m sure someone else closer would be in more need of that unit.

 

[Perplexed]

Well, I ended up buying a 22,000 BTU AC unit on sale, and I welded up a rolling frame that fits into the doorway of the back door to the shop. The unit sits on a shelf welded to a cross brace, with support braces underneath the shelf. I still need to run a 240V outlet to a spot near the AC unit, but the tricky part is done. I’ll soon add sheet insulation to the frame. Pics - and yes, that’s a doggy door, and yes, I know it’ll be a major source of heat infiltration. But my dogs will love being able to snooze near me while I tinker in the shop.

 

[MacFromOK]

Cool (ha!).

I suggest painting the plywood and caulking around the frame below the AC. On humid days, there will be likely be enough condensation to drip on the step, and it will splatter.

You might also find out how bad the dogs really want to come in the shop on those days...