# Cooling the Garage in a Memphis Summer



## BRad704 (May 24, 2010)

Any ideas?  

We put our 2 dogs (german shepard and american bulldog) in there when we leave the house, and it gets WAY too hot in there to do that this summer.  My solution Saturday was to use a styofoam cooler and taped a fan to the top of it and filled the cooler with ice... worked ok for the day, but I dont have that much ice every day...  

What are some ways to keep the garage cool without just running AC ducts to it?  because as soon as the door is opened, its gonna be hot again and start all over.  

Plus, we like to play darts with friends on the weekends, and I'm afraid its just going to be too dang hot for it all summer...


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## rustywrangler (May 24, 2010)

AC duct connection with a baffle lever.  Will cool the garage when you want it to.   At least in theory.

Other than putting in a wall mounted unit, that is my only other thought.


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## BRad704 (May 24, 2010)

I just dont know where I would connect into the ducting that is already in teh house.  There is a finished room over the garage, making access basically impossible.

I just thought about this idea...  I know they are expensive, but the portable units use an exhaust hose, I wonder if I could run that hose to vent out the furnace ventpipe?  Something tells me that would be a code-violation of some sort...

I would love to have somethign that stayed in the nook where the furnace is, and was strong enough to supply 4 registers that would be along the ceiling...


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## havasu (May 24, 2010)

I was going to also recommend one of those self contained AC units which have a duct pipe in it. I've seen them fairly cheap at Sam's Club and Costco, and thought about getting one for my garage at Havasu, to keep my boat cool! (actually, my workbench is in there and it would be nice to putter inside without dripping a gallon of sweat in the summer!)


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## BRad704 (May 25, 2010)

the cheapest I have seen the 10,000-12,000btu portables is about $400, and that's the lowest end of the spectrum.  I do like the idea of using one of those, and I would need to build a cabinet for it to stand in, and have a high CFM fan as an outlet to the cabinet, so that all 4 registers get good airflow.  

EDIT on picture... I should have said Water Heater Exhaust Vent, instead of furnace... both furnaces are in the attic...


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## havasu (May 25, 2010)

Does anyone know how much water accumulates or how the water is discharged on the portable A/C units?


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## rustywrangler (May 26, 2010)

havasu said:


> Does anyone know how much water accumulates or how the water is discharged on the portable A/C units?


 

My grandparents have a portable unit in their living room. they empty a small bucket bilt into the base of it. Somewhat like a dehumidifier setup.


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## havasu (May 26, 2010)

That sounds like a pain in the a$$!  I myself would try to put a 12 v boat bildge pump with tubing to make it automatic and self dumping.


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## BRad704 (May 26, 2010)

Now THAT sounds like a PITA...  why not just run a 3/4" pvc line along the base of the wall and have it drip out at the corner of the garage door?


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## rustywrangler (May 26, 2010)

I know I suggested it before but You can't run, and shouldn't, A/C or heat between the house and garage  due to exaust fumes.  You need a separate system for the two in order to  be safe.   When the unit is off, CO2 from your cars can run into the  house thru the vent system.


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