How to cool a hot airplane factory? i.e. garage

[Kyle Boatright]

In the house where I built my airplane, the HVAC system was located in a closet in the garage. I simply cut a vent into the air handler and capped it when not in use.

Not ideal from an efficiency standpoint, but the idea was to push a lot of cool (or hot, season depending) air into the garage on an as-needed basis.

The garage was never as comfortable as the rest of the house, but the cut-in duct sure made a difference.

[frankh]

Plus insulated the roof some more.

At the time I was taking Friday's off from work to build the plane. Being a bit of a heat weenie I found I pretty much stopped working at about 90F.

So lets see, the value of my time at **dollars an hour and I can't work on the plane!...Made the choice easy, the 2 second hand window rattlers cost $2 a day to run.

And of course...My shop has AC but my house doesn't!...Only a guy could come up with that!

Frank in Co...Back to OR Sunday if I can keep the motor cool!

[smoore]

insulate first, cool later. It's the same order for insulate/heat, as all of us in Colorado know.

if you're just looking for a quick fix and dam the energy costs then strap a window A/C to a cart and roll it around to where you are. It's very expensive but easy.

[morlino]

Originally Posted by David_Nelson

If you install a return and vent in the garage...

A return in the garage might not be a good idea. If you ever use your garage as a garage, it could distribute fumes and potentially lethal gases throughout the house.

Originally Posted by ronlee

But you don't want to do that. Too much snow in the winter. Blizzards. Car wrecks. Oh it is so bad here.

I second the notion that moving to Colorado is a bad idea. Definitely stay far, far away from here, it is a truly awful place.

I got the call today, my wing kit arrives on Monday!

[JohnR]

I vote for the window AC. I have one I got at Wal-Mart in my 30x36 shop and leave it run 24/7. I set it at 74 and the most it has cost when comparing my elec bills from before is $50 and usually less than $35 unless it is a real hot month. It turned out it was cheaper to let it run 24/7 than turning it on and off when I went out to the shop. The shop is insulated well also.

I agree you'll get more done if the shop is comfortable.

[dsyvert]

Best Buy has a 10,000 BTU (~1 ton) portable A/C that is draws about 12-14 amps. It has a good fan on it that puts out a good air flow and is rated at 500 sq.ft. It has a flexible vent to exhaust to the outside. The price w/o tax is $399. The seer is 7.8. Not bad you can get some flexible vent hose and wheel it around to have it blow on you when it is needed. My plan is to use it just when I build after work and weekends. Right now I am just using a box fan to blow air from the house, which does not work bad and it will keep it to about 85F even on hot days.

Davd Syvertson
Sugar Land, TX