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....its hott....

JoeB

Active Member
Ok, I'm motivated......but its also getting hard to hold that rivet gun in the right spot with the beads of sweat in my eyes.

has anyone come up with a "poor mans" solution to the hot garage/workshop problem?
 
LOL

Builders in Texas deal with this every summer (summer is April 1 thru Oct 1 in S. Texas it seems). LOL, you guys getting a little taste this year it seems....

Wait until you have to prime a bunch of stuff and sweat just keeps pouring off on your newly sprayed parts....grrrr

The good news is, the more you sweat, the cooler it feels in front of a fan. I personally have 2 floor fans (MaxxAir 20") constantly moving air. It doesn't cool the garage down, but it keeps it bearable most of the time.

I would love to get a split system AC for the garage, but at $1500 or thereabouts, I would rather use that towards plane parts....

John
RV-7A, Wings / Fuel Tanks
Houston, TX
 
My head sweats profusely when I run or workout or do just about any activity. I use a "Buff" on my head and it wicks away the sweat and keeps your head cool. Info here.

I think it was well over 100F when I was finishing the rudder.
685282912_jo3S7-M.jpg


Also very important to drink plenty of cold beverages (beer :D )
 
"poor mans" solution to the hot garage/workshop

The best "poor mans" solution I've found is simply closing the garage door and opening the door that leads to the house. A cheap box fan helps move some air. Obviously only works on an attached garage and better when it's insulated. I move my workbench close to the door and it gets down to a frigid 80 degrees when it's over 100 outside. That's enough to make it bearable for me.
 
Fixed that problem, I'm going to build my 8 in the family room. Bandsaw, sander, compressor, and drill press will live in the garage.
 
Water-fueled swamp coolers.

"Swamp coolers" should work well in Omaha's drier climate, compared to the South's higher humidity levels, no?

They're very reasonably priced too.

Best,
 
Swamp coolers usually work pretty good here in north central Texas too. By the time the summer heat really kicks in, the humidity of late spring (if any) is going away. We used a couple big swamp coolers in the hot metal hangar when finishing up the RV-8 in 2010, and they were indispensable. Just having the ability to move a lot of air around helps a lot.
 
Make it hotter!

My pop used to have a van with no A/C, so he'd roll all the windows up and let it really get super hot in there. Then, he'd roll the window down and it would feel soooooooooo good!!!!

Maybe that'll work in your shop? :D:D:D
 
Just picked up a portable swamp cooler for the AZ summers. So far it makes working in the garage soo much easier!
 
Early Morning Workout

OK this only counts for us retired old folks but when I put the big push on to finish my -6 I started work at around 4am most mornings. Of course, around here, by 10am it was hot enough to go home and nap..... :)
 
"Swamp coolers" should work well in Omaha's drier climate, compared to the South's higher humidity levels, no?

They're very reasonably priced too.

Best,

Uh, there's nothing dry about Omaha's climate - 88F, dewpoint 69F right now.

AC units available for a couple hundred bucks. If no window, mount it in an old door.
 
save up money during summer and set an aggressive travel schedule for work, build aggressively during fall/winter

that's my current plan
 
I've seen people cut holes in outside walls and install A/C units.

Personally, I added insulation to my garage and ran a trunk line from my HVAC to the garage with a vent I could open and close as necessary. It made a real difference, both in hot and cold weather.
 
A/C

I found a 5ton Trane used package unit ac that was at a store that closed. (Package unit is a self contained system that has the compressor(s), condenser, evaporator, fans etc. inside the unit) All you do is duct the supply air into the shop and Return air from the shop to the unit. Hook up the electrical and you are in buisness.

Cost $500 plus going to pick it up.

Well worth it in my opinon.

Raised my electric bill some in the summer but I sure got more work done. BTW this is in a 50x60 shop so a garage should take something less.
 
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A cheap way to deal with it is to wet a small towel and put it over your head and under your hat, it works well when working on your roof.:D
 
I have a small window AC unit in my 40x40 hangar. It will keep it around 72 degrees even on a 100 degree day. My hangar is well insulated also. I think I paid under $300 for the unit. Don
 
Uh, there's nothing dry about Omaha's climate - 88F, dewpoint 69F right now.

AC units available for a couple hundred bucks. If no window, mount it in an old door.

Hahaha, 88F. I thought Joe said it was hot there. It was 104 here yesterday with a dewpoint of 69F. Heck, 88F is Great weather to work in!
 
Small Window A/C unit

IMHO - builder comfort has a lot to do with the quality of work (as well as motivation). Just look at the A/C unit as one of the required tools for the build. You can get small units at Lowes, Home Depot, etc. I bought one at Lowes for less than $200 a couple of years ago for my shop. Best $$$ I ever spent. I was kicking myself for not doing it sooner.
 
I fired the poor man

I got something like this. Keeps me cool where I am and is relatively portable.

I think DR had a post at one point about some plastic curtain he put up in his hangar to keep him cool while working on the website. You might hunt around for that. This summer, I may do something like that too.
 
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