*Cheap* Air Conditioner for your garage

SuperBee364

SuperBee364

New member
Costco is running a very nice portable air conditioner sale right now.



Costco - $299.99 after $50 OFF Royal Sovereign 10,000 BTU Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioner



Costco - $279.99 after $50 OFF Royal Sovereign 10,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner



I chose a portable over a window mount for a couple reasons... the homeowner covenants where I live don't allow window mounted units, and it's going to be doing double duty: keeping my garage cool in the day when I'm detailing, and keeping our west facing master bedroom cool at night. I got the more expensive one with the remote.



No more sweltering heat this detailing season!
 
I have a 420sq ft garage and my portable unit is "rated" for 400sq ft. It will drop the humidity 10-15% (from 80% to 65-70%) but will only drop the temp a few degrees. I would think that my un-insulated garage door has alot to do with this. I even place a fan in front of the AC unit to spread out the cool air.
 
gmblack3a said:
I have a 420sq ft garage and my portable unit is "rated" for 400sq ft. It will drop the humidity 10-15% (from 80% to 65-70%) but will only drop the temp a few degrees. I would think that my un-insulated garage door has alot to do with this. I even place a fan in front of the AC unit to spread out the cool air.
Click to expand...



Your garage is the same size as mine. Mine has a really high ceiling. About 18 feet if I were to guess. Insulating the garage door last summer really helped with the heat.



Now I'm wondering if I shoulda gone with the 12,000 btu unit.
 
IME, these units just dont produce the amount of cool air needed. You really need to drop about 800 for a quality unit. Just my experience and .03 c's
 
NSXTASY said:
IME, these units just dont produce the amount of cool air needed. You really need to drop about 800 for a quality unit. Just my experience and .03 c's
Click to expand...



Hmmm.. I was kinda wondering about that... I might be trying out Costco's great return policy if it's not up to the job. Luckily it's extremely dry here in the Salt Lake Valley. Many homes use evaporative "swamp coolers" as their sole source of cool air in the summer.. it's *that* dry here. The other advantage is that refrigerated air conditioners also are more efficient.



I've seen a couple of heat pump type units that start at about 800 bucks. It might be worth the investment, since a heat pump can do both cool and warm air.



Ah well, I'll try out the cheap-o and see if it works. It'll be here tomorrow.
 
SuperBee364 said:
Your garage is the same size as mine. Mine has a really high ceiling. About 18 feet if I were to guess.
Click to expand...



18 feet?! I'll trust you because you should know about judging altitude...but that seems really high...whaddya, live in a converted warehouse? ;)
 
Yeah.. I keep waiting for one of the flourescent tubes to go out. The wife is *really* gonna hate having to get that tall on a ladder to change it.
 
I was thinking about an AC for the garage. Need one pretty much all year round, however I hate to use all that energy especially when the garage is facing the sun all day long. I just use a fan.
 
SuperBee364 said:
We'll just see about that when you're down here helping me do some cars this summer. :D
Click to expand...





Well then that changes everything............you need a 35,000 BTU unit......



Or



It will be a great way to loose some extra winter weight.
 
ZimRandy said:
I'd need about four of those units! :lol







And for reference, those walls are 14' high.;)



Randy
Click to expand...



Man, now that's a *garage*. Wish mine was that big. Maybe I can talk the wife into an add-on "Detailing Studio". My garage is way out of wack... really tall ceiling (yup, taller than that), but it barely qualifies as two-car. The ceiling is so tall that the garage door opener is suspended by metal framework hanging down from the ceiling.





Greg Nichols said:
Well then that changes everything............you need a 35,000 BTU unit......



Or



It will be a great way to loose some extra winter weight.
Click to expand...





Mmmmhmm. 's what I thought. :)
 
SuperBee, how can your garage be so disproportioned? Is it attached? Is there a room above it? Was it supposed to have a loft or an attic or a room that never got put in?
 
Setec Astronomy said:
SuperBee, how can your garage be so disproportioned? Is it attached? Is there a room above it? Was it supposed to have a loft or an attic or a room that never got put in?
Click to expand...



It was supposed to have a room in it that didn't get done. It was a model home that the builder had to hurry and finish off as he was behind schedule. He ended up leaving the basement partially unfinished, and didn't do the office that was supposed to be in the garage. It was then used as a model home for a couple years before we bought it right when the real estate market peaked two years ago. It's all part of my "buy high, sell low" investment strategy I have going. Give me a call if you need any advice, as I seem to be very good at this strategy.



Edit: All this talk about my high ceiling got me curious. I just grabbed my sonic measuring tape. It's 15'2" high. So I was off by almost three feet (which really explains my landings lately, "Son, was that a landing, or were we shot down?")
 
richy said:
I bought this 14,000 BTU unit last October off ebay. It was a brand new factory return that still has warranty. It can cool my garage down to 70 degrees when it's in the 90's. I had some help installing a hot air exhaust vent, but it rocks! Check this out:

A/C unit setup - Auto Geek Car Care, Car Wax and Auto Detailing Forum
Click to expand...



Very nice setup. I really appreciate you taking the time to show those pictures. I've been wondering how I was going to get this thing vented to the outside, as the windows in my garage are up very tall. Too tall to reach with the short four foot hoses included with the A/C unit. I think I'm going to try to do it the way you have it. Any chance of getting a pic of what it looks like on the outside of your garage door?



The unit I bought has two venting hoses, so I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to do it yet. I might just buy some longer venting hose and vent it up through one of the (very high) windows. Supposedly you lose cooling capacity by extending the hose length, though, so I'd rather vent it through the garage door if I can.
 
SuperBee364 said:
Very nice setup. I really appreciate you taking the time to show those pictures. I've been wondering how I was going to get this thing vented to the outside, as the windows in my garage are up very tall. Too tall to reach with the short four foot hoses included with the A/C unit. I think I'm going to try to do it the way you have it. Any chance of getting a pic of what it looks like on the outside of your garage door?



The unit I bought has two venting hoses, so I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to do it yet. I might just buy some longer venting hose and vent it up through one of the (very high) windows. Supposedly you lose cooling capacity by extending the hose length, though, so I'd rather vent it through the garage door if I can.
Click to expand...



I believe you are correct about losing cooling capacity by extending the hose length. Is there a way you could mount a ledge on the wall five feet or so off the ground near the window that you could place the air coniditioner on? Even if such an air conditioner couldn't fully lower the temp, lowing the humidity would be great living in a very humid area (Louisville, KY).
 
bert31 said:
I believe you are correct about losing cooling capacity by extending the hose length. Is there a way you could mount a ledge on the wall five feet or so off the ground near the window that you could place the air coniditioner on? Even if such an air conditioner couldn't fully lower the temp, lowing the humidity would be great living in a very humid area (Louisville, KY).
Click to expand...



That's a very good idea. Think I'll shoot for that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top