|
|
|
|
Chris
Webmaster
Premium Member
Blogs: 681 (View)
Vehicle: 2005 F-150
Joined: May 2005
Member # 2
From: Whale's V
Visit Gallery
|
 Posted - May 18 2008 : 10:43p
|
With temps this weekend pushing 100F, my garage stays somewhere around 90F during the day. We don't have a cost-effective air-conditioned place to do Truckblog TV anywhere else, so for now the garage is where it will stay. The problem is it's getting unbearably hot to work, between the summer heat and the lights we're using.
With that being said, I've been looking into a way to blow cool air onto us while we work--something other than a fan. There are portable air conditioners that range from 7-13,000 BTU at Home Depot for $500-$600 http://wl.to/9b0fe2 and there are some evaporative "swamp" coolers available as well http://www.quietaire.com/quietcool.php?cid=38 (no prices shown, but I think those are too big) and there are smaller ones at Amazon but the reviews of the few I found aren't good: http://wl.to/cda002
I figure if I can pick up something that will keep us cool for $600 or less it will be a worthwhile investment, as opposed to renting a shop somewhere (which I don't even know if that's possible).
My garage is a standard 20x20 (400 sq ft) garage and it's not very deep so we have to keep the garage door open... which means it's impossible to cool the entire garage, but it would be nice to cool a large area of it where we're working.
It also has to not take up too much space, and be quiet so the camera mics don't pick up the noise.
Anyone have a similar situation and can recommend a product to me? Are those portable a/c units at Home Depot worth a damn? I'd greatly appreciate any help!
|
|
| Check out the latest parts and accessories from Truck Hownd |
|
|
superxcrewfx4
Horsepower Member
Blogs: 0 (Add)
Vehicle: 2002 Ford F-150 Supercrew
Joined: Dec 2006
Member # 1762
From: Flemington NJ
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- May 19 2008 : 4:06a
| | Portable AC is the way to go. My garage used to hold a bar and entertainment stuff and I tied the ac to the garage door to vent. It was awesome, about 500 bucks. They can go anywhere as long as you have a place to vent where it cant suck the exhaust back in the intake on the back of the unit. | |
devnull
Mod Wrangler
Premium Member
Blogs: 4 (View)
Vehicle: 2009 Hyundai 1-Ton
Joined: May 2005
Member # 20
From: PartsUnknown
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- May 19 2008 : 4:20a
| | Look for a used Mov N Cool unit... | |
DAFBFD58
Supercharged Member
Premium Member
Blogs: 1 (View)
Vehicle: 02 F-250 Farm Fab Edition
Joined: Jul 2005
Member # 200
From: Cecil County MD
Visit Gallery
|
|
Texas Termin8er
Supercharged Member
Premium Member
Blogs: 4 (View)
Vehicle: 2003 F-350 PSD
Joined: Sep 2005
Member # 322
From: Spring TEXAS
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- May 19 2008 : 8:01a
| Quietcool was going to be my suggestion also. All they require is a water hose and 110v outlet.
Look for a party supply rental store or equipment rental store. Rent one first and see if it is going to help you. Most party rental stores have all the equipment for cooling outdoor parties. Try everything to see what your cooling output to noise ratio will be. Then buy what you like. Might be able to pick up a used one on Craigslist.
TA |
Edited by - Texas Termin8er on May 19 2008 1:05p |
|
97F1504RAD
Supercharged Member
Premium Member
Blogs: 0 (Add)
Vehicle: 1997 F-150/ 2006 Mustang
Joined: May 2005
Member # 55
From: Nor Cal CA.
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- May 19 2008 : 9:47a
| | Likewise on the Quiet Air suggestion | |
Tom in Tacoma
King of the Forums!
Premium Member
Blogs: 0 (Add)
Vehicle: Truck? What truck?
Joined: May 2005
Member # 9
From: Over yonder WA
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- May 19 2008 : 10:48a
| Just a thought about having to leave the garage door open...
Once you've got a solution to cool it down the challenge is keeping the cool air in the garage and not let it out the open door. You can pick up clear plastic sheets that you can tape to the overhead door frame and allow it to drape over the part of the truck that's sticking out the door. The clear plastic will also allow for natural lighting while keeping in the 'chill'.
...another idea from the mind of 'TinT'  | |
Greez Lightning
Photographer
Premium Member
Blogs: 0 (Add)
Vehicle: 2001 Ford Lightning
Joined: May 2005
Member # 7
From: Santa Clarit CA
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- May 19 2008 : 1:18p
| I was having the same problem while trying to detail Elvira in the garage during the summer for Truck Shows. It got up to 118 degrees in there during August when it was 112 outside.
What I needed was a completely independent system from the house.
I finally went to a Wholesale Distributer with a very bright close friend of mine who taught himself how to install refrigerated Air Conditioning.
We got a 3 ton Soleus Split System that runs 220 Volts and is low usage. The noise stays outside as the compressor is outside the garage.
It came to a total cost of 1000 dollars and my friend installed it for free.
It Cools in the summer and heats in the winter so I have controlled air all year round.
I went with a big system as I have a 3 1/2 car garage where I now keep 2 F150's a VW GTI VR6 and a Harley Davidson Motorcycle plus a lot of storage. So I had a large area to get cool
Now the garage stays at a cool 70 degrees when its 0ver 100 outside.
Plus its so quite I can hardly hear it.
I highly recommend a system like this.
Those wall units you get at home depot are noisy in inefficient and they still cost 600 up.
As you can see in the picture below the unit has a flap along the bottom that opens and there are other flaps inside that move to direct the air flow to the right, the left, up and down, so you get cool air directed everywhere.
The shot below shows the outside unit.
 |
Edited by - Greez Lightning on May 19 2008 1:37p |
|
DAFBFD58
Supercharged Member
Premium Member
Blogs: 1 (View)
Vehicle: 02 F-250 Farm Fab Edition
Joined: Jul 2005
Member # 200
From: Cecil County MD
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- May 19 2008 : 1:31p
| | Lynn remember the first episode of Truckblog TV................. where they were begging for air tools? I think a "cool" Thousand (had to throw the pun in there) is a little much for these aspiring tv show producers and actors. | |
superxcrewfx4
Horsepower Member
Blogs: 0 (Add)
Vehicle: 2002 Ford F-150 Supercrew
Joined: Dec 2006
Member # 1762
From: Flemington NJ
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- May 19 2008 : 1:32p
| | We have two of those at work near positions that have issues with cooling. They are called mr slim or something, works well. | |
Greez Lightning
Photographer
Premium Member
Blogs: 0 (Add)
Vehicle: 2001 Ford Lightning
Joined: May 2005
Member # 7
From: Santa Clarit CA
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- May 19 2008 : 1:53p
| Dafbfd58
Let me tell you that a cool Thousand can make production go faster, better and easier. There are some things at first glance that you don't think you need until you become miserable trying to film something.
You really need a good and comfortable environment when it comes to film and TV production. Even more than air tools in this case.
First of all you need to keep that garage closed when filming as it puts in too much back light. That means you have to source light everything. And let me add to Chris that the shots under the hood in episode 2 were too dark and most of the time you could not see the parts going in well. It must be clearly lit and that creates MORE HEAT.
With no air conditioning your actor or actors sweat profusely and you get so hot you cant remember your lines and you loose performance as well. You have to wipe the sweat off your brow and keep your wardrobe dry. You dont want to start to see sweat stains all over the actors T Shirt.
The crew also suffers and makes mistakes as they cant think clearly at 120 degrees internal temp in the garage during the summer.
A Comfortable climate inside a stage is of most importance for all.
| |
DAFBFD58
Supercharged Member
Premium Member
Blogs: 1 (View)
Vehicle: 02 F-250 Farm Fab Edition
Joined: Jul 2005
Member # 200
From: Cecil County MD
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- May 19 2008 : 2:08p
| | Oh I am not dissagreeig with you Lynn. I'm just saying if they were tossing ou the idea of the porta cools because of price then I don't think they want the system you have. I love those systems. They are all over the place in the deployed locations I have gone to. They work awesome and like you said the heat is a nice thing too. | |
Jason
Editor
Premium Member
Blogs: 1661 (View)
Vehicle: 08 Mustang GT
Joined: May 2005
Member # 72
From: San Diego CA
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- May 19 2008 : 6:54p
| | sounds like we'll have to extend the garage after all | |
DAFBFD58
Supercharged Member
Premium Member
Blogs: 1 (View)
Vehicle: 02 F-250 Farm Fab Edition
Joined: Jul 2005
Member # 200
From: Cecil County MD
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- May 19 2008 : 7:33p
| Quote: Originally posted by Jason
sounds like we'll have to extend the garage after all
|
Oh what a shame and your going to to plumb it for airlines right?????? | |
Joeg180
Supercharged Member
Blogs: 0 (Add)
Vehicle: 08 FJ Cruiser
Joined: Sep 2005
Member # 285
From: Niskayuna NY
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- May 19 2008 : 9:20p
| MichaelS please pick up the white courtesy phone?
He does HVAC work, think about it. | |
Gentleman Jack
Horsepower Member
Premium Member
Blogs: 0 (Add)
Vehicle: 2009 Harley, 2010 Subaru
Joined: Jul 2006
Member # 954
From: Seattle Washington
Visit Gallery
|
|
Greez Lightning
Photographer
Premium Member
Blogs: 0 (Add)
Vehicle: 2001 Ford Lightning
Joined: May 2005
Member # 7
From: Santa Clarit CA
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- May 20 2008 : 10:15a
| Great Ideas. Now get a roll of neutral density filter from a grip house and lay it over the plastic framed addition and you can balance outside light with inside light and you won't have harsh light coming in from the open door. You would have perfect light throughout the garage for filming.
Another idea from the mind of T in T with and improvement from Gentleman Jack and an improvement over that! | |
MichaelS
Writer/Photographer
Premium Member
Blogs: 27 (View)
Vehicle: 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Joined: May 2005
Member # 6
From: Long Island, NY
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- May 20 2008 : 3:08p
| ::Dials 0 for operator::
Chris, in my experience with "spot coolers" they are very loud because everything is in one unit. You also have to duct the exhaust (condenser air) out of the room as it would essentially defeat the purpose of air conditioning.
If you were going to spend the money (600-800) I would totally hold off and invest in a ductless mini split like Lynn posted.
These things are super efficient, quiet and really do the job.
There are several manufacturers and I can get you some of MY PRICES (wholesale) to see what interests you. If you make a decision, I will even fly out and install it (for the low low price of - beer and housing). The only thing I will not do is the electrical, but it shouldn't be that bad.
Check out these websites:
Mitsubishi http://www.mrslim.com (best)
LG http://wl.to/6264ad
Sanyo http://www.sanyohvac.com/
Samsung also makes them, can't find a link.
| |
Texas Termin8er
Supercharged Member
Premium Member
Blogs: 4 (View)
Vehicle: 2003 F-350 PSD
Joined: Sep 2005
Member # 322
From: Spring TEXAS
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- May 20 2008 : 3:40p
| We have one that cools our hunting lodge. It is a Friedrich. They are very quiet and very efficient and very dependable.
TA | |
Chris
Webmaster
Premium Member
Blogs: 681 (View)
Vehicle: 2005 F-150
Joined: May 2005
Member # 2
From: Whale's V
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- August 22 2008 : 4:17a
| I thought I'd follow up with the solution I found--it really has been a life saver for us.
The problem with any fixed mounted solution like Lynn and Tek were suggesting is that those are really meant to cool a room, or garage, that's closed. When we're shooting, it's not possible to keep the area closed in--the truck just doesn't fit in the garage all the way so we have to keep the garage door open. It's basically like trying to cool your backyard--nearly impossible.
So I hunted around for a spot cooler that could work in a garage-like setting and found this bad boy at CostCo online:
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11227595
Purchased from CostCo (Item #219580) for $350, free shipping.
Works great... only slightly louder than my in-wall a/c unit which is 10,000 BTU.
The great thing about this is it requires no output hoses to connect to a window and rides on castors so it can be moved around to wherever you need it to cool. We've used it heavily during the past few episodes--obviously not when the camera is rolling--but between takes it really helps us cool down. If I'm working inside the truck, we just roll it around and aim it inside the cab. It's awesome!
Only downside is that since the output isn't directed outside the house, the fan on the other side of this unit (you see the intake side here) is just blows the hot air back into the room so you are only cooling literally what is in front out of the white tube on top. So it's perfect for a garage spot-cooling situation... I wouldn't recommend it to cool down a room because the heat it generates just goes back into the room.
Here's CostCo's specs:
Get powerful spot cooling almost anywhere with the Windchaser 7,000 BTU Warehouse Spot Cooler. Windchaser has taken a portable air conditioner, added a tube to precisely direct the cold air, and removed the exhaust hose. This compact unit rolls easily on its caster wheels and will cool in some of the harshest industrial environments. The removable/washable air pre-filter collects particulate matter from your air while the cooling coils dehumidify your environment (condensation is collected in a drain reservoir with an auto shut-off switch).
This spot cooler directs cold air through its duct tube and exhausts hot air into the ambient environment, so it is not a traditional air conditioner- but it is great for spot cooling warehouse locations, server rooms, work stations, garages, yet it's so quiet that it can even be used in libraries, reception areas, or bedrooms. | |
ArTi54N
Supercharged Member
Blogs: 0 (Add)
Vehicle: 2001 F150 4x4 Supercab
Joined: Jun 2005
Member # 150
From: Austin Texas
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- August 22 2008 : 12:05p
| | Id make a big vinyl sign that says truckblog tv and maybe a few sponser logos.. with some sort of wood to brace it, to cover the other half of your garage door opening, and then make a space in it to put your unit there, blowing the cold air in and the hot air out.. | |
Pro3qtr
Horsepower Member
Premium Member
Blogs: 0 (Add)
Vehicle: 78 F250 XLT, 06 Honda RTS
Joined: Sep 2005
Member # 282
From: Tacoma WA
Visit Gallery
|
Posted
- August 24 2008 : 3:56p
| Red neck style !!
Get a old tub fill with ice, then blow fan over said ice........ Cheap swamp cooler that works for a jet tub, just add beans !
The ProBeans | |
| |
|
|
Cooling a two car garage
