Or lowes........lol

 

I was thinking more in the 100-150 range. Remember, its a small 1 stall garage, but it is still the only garage I have so I would like to make it nice. Is there any way I can adapt the window a/c to be like the portable one? Like build vent pipe for the back and run it somewhere? anyone ever done this?

 

A wall mount a/c unit needs to have the condenser and fan exposed to the outside
air to dissipate the heat it handles. That would make it difficult to vent. If it is any
help BJ's wholesale club has portable vent type units starting at $289. You can see them on their site.

 

You might also check on craigslist. People buy the portable units as a stopgap to cool
rooms in the home, and sell them regularly.

 

Yeah, I found them on craigslist, for about 229. I also found the window a/c for about 25-50 bucks. What I might try doing is getting a piece of foam, then closing the garage door on the window air, and putting the foam down to fill the gap.

 

If you get the 2 inch styrofoam, like is used for foundation insulation/concrete forms,
that will give you something that will hold up some. I have a portable in my garage
that is a better dehumidifier than cooler, but it is not vented outside.

 

I think I will give the window a/c a shot. For 25 bucks (or free if I want to get a really loud one) I dont think I can go wrong. Its not that I dont like the idea of a portable one, I just can afford that right now.

 

Ever consider just trying evaporative cooling a bit? Maybe a fan and a small nozzle spraying water?

 

Yeah, I had though about it, but it was my understanding that that did not work well in high humidity. To tell you the truth it could be 80-90 degrees all day long with 10-20 percent humidity and I wouldnt complain one bit. But the humidity has been around 80 percent i believe, and that is a killer.

 

That's usually the problem here in middle Tennessee. We live in a basin that is like a bowl of soup. However, as of about 5 minutes ago we only had 17%. That would be great, except the current temp according to the weather channel, is 107! Still unbearable. I brought some small stuff in from the garage and worked at the kitchen table earlier. Even the house A/C can't keep up this summer. Running all day non-stop, plus a small window unit just to take the edge off a little more. My grass is the same brown color as the carpet in the house, I've given up on a lot of my plants, and just waiting for fall...

 

Its amazing how much a little rain will green that grass right up. I just had to mow it again (basically the weeds) last friday for the first time since the beginning of june. With just one rainfall since friday it should be mowed again allready! The whole lawn is green as can be.

 

Alright, I was able to get an older a/c unit for FREE! I figured i'd give it a shot and see how it works. When I plug it in to the wall, it runs great and cools, the only problem is the outlet is on the opposite side the garage door is. When I bring the a/c unit to the garage door, and run an extension cord (yeah, i know, extension cords = bad) the units compressor will not turn on. Try a bigger extension cord do you think?

I think that the main problem is my garage is so far away from the fuse panel that it creates a voltage drop. It seems things work just fine until you demand a load on them. A 20 amp breaker should be able to run an a/c unit just fine, but I think the lenght of wiring is the problem.

I'll be the first to admit I know a few things about electricity, but I dont know anywhere near as much as most people on this board do, so please dont make fun of me or flame me when I ask this....

Do they make capacitors that can be wired into your household wiring? Like something I could mount on the wall, and plug into the outlet, then plug my air compressor or my a/c unit into it, to give it plenty of power upon startup? Does something like this exist even? Something similar to capacitors used in car stereo systems? I know the a/c has a smaller one on it allready, but i'm just curious.

Thanks alot everyone so far.

 

They make what is called a hard start kit (capacitor) for A/C compressors. It gets wired to the run capacitor that is wired to the compressor(wiring diagram is usually printed right on the hard start). Some appliance parts stores sell them, if not, any residential A/C service company. The hard starts are usually rated for compressors up to 10 tons(120k btu's). It can help low voltage compressor starts.
Usually the reason people give away old window A/C units is the condenser is dirty(the coil in back), remove the cover and clean.

 

Would it also be possible to install such a capacitor on my air compressor? To aid in starting at the 120 cut in pressure? Then most of my garage electricity problems would be solved! thanks alot!

 

I think they also make breakers with a delay built in.