Thread: Airconditioned workshop?

Hi Greg,

Number 1 - Ceiling and wall insulation and lining are good, almost essential, who am I kidding - they are essential.
My shed is insulated and lined, HWMNBO's shed isn't. My shed is much nicer to work in all year round, his suffers from the weather extremes.
Well worth the cost and time to have the ceiling insulation installed when my totalspan shed was built and the walls i did myself afterwards.

My air con will go in when HWMNBO decides he'll install it for me

2. Dust extraction, an air filter unit and an air compressor are also very useful for dealing with dust. you may want to consider a cyclone for the D.E. as well

3. wood storage - preferably out of the direct line of air from the air con would be good, even a area partitioned off from the rest of the shed may be worth considering too.

cheers
Wendy

Duct outside air inside through the air conditioner, will reduce if not eliminate problems caused by dust.
Dust extraction systems in the shop will minimse dust.

I worked with a guy who, in his younger years, travelled the world with his woodworking skills to pay his way. He had many stories to tell, one of which seems relevant here.

Working in Germany through the winter in a heated workshop, they had major issues with the moisture and temperature changes affecting the timber between the workshop and destinations.

A refigerated air-conditioner would dry the air out and potentially have the same effect in humid areas.

WA has a drier heat and I work in a workshop that uses evaporative air-conditioning. This adds a bit of moisture to the air but with modern evaporatives, not enough to cause any issues that I can see in the five years of use. The added bonus is it refreshes the air taking the fine dust with it. It doesn't cool too well but takes the edge of the heat to make it more comfortable through the summer.

My workshop is fully insulated, including the ceiling, and has baseboard heat and a window airconditioner that I punched through a wall. I only use it when things get unbearable, but it works quite nicely. A remote control JDS dust catcher mounted on the ceiling takes care of any fine dust that my regular dust collector may miss. With windows facing south and west (I am in the Northern hemisphere) I rarely have to use the heat despite night temperatures around -7 to -12 degrees C. Summer heat can get up to around 40 degrees C, yet my shop rarely goes above 32.

Air-Conditioned

7 windows
2 roller doors
1 personal door
2 whirlybirds
3 fixed 1200 ceiling fans [3.6m ceilings]
2 pedistal fans
gumtrees on the western side

Still manages to get to 35 - 43C in summer

Yep AC would be worth it but I need to balance it against that Domino I would love to get.

Originally Posted by RufflyRustic

My air con will go in when HWMNBO decides he'll install it for me

Wendy, just withhold priviledges till the a/c unit is installed

Originally Posted by chocwheaton

......... workshop of about 125 square meters.

..................... Has anyone airconditioned their woodworking workshop? Is there reasons not to do it? It get's pretty blimmin hot in summer so air con would make working during those hot hours much more comfortable.

.................

My shed is tiny by comparison but I got sick of missing out on 4 months of shed time each year so I fitted an evaporative system and haven't looked back. They don't work as well when the humidity gets up a bit but even then it is still helping to clear the dust. Mounted it at the back of the shed blowing in through 2 ducts so it pushes the air straight out the roller door at the front.
No good having another fancy toy if the shed is too hot to get in there and use it
Got pics at home I can post later if you're interested.

Just put a split system in my office, which is in the shed. Sparky that installed it for me tells me if I opened the office window I'd cool the whole shed down real quick.

Only problem is the shed isn't lined, and as others have suggested it is essential, so there goes the idea of the split system cooling the shed - plus SWMBO would crack at the electricity bill and I already generate a good bill down here.

My shed is well lined, but where I live a good heater is more needed than an AC.

Some thirty years ago my wife and I were knocked over at the London Boat Show by the quality of the yachts made by a then new company called Swan Nautor. Based in Finland they had to centrally heat their workshop in the winter, and from there it was a small step to control the temperature and humidity year round.

With the critical temperature and humidity requirements of the then new epoxy resins and the additional stability of the timbers and their workforce, this simple air-conditioning gave Swan a major competitive advantage.

They are now recognised as the Rolls Royce of yacht builders on the world scene.

An air-conditioned workshop was their secret weapon!

Cheers

Graeme

my answer would be simple . trees , trees , trees .and a couple of good fans for airflow
walk into a rain forest on a hot day .
any one been up cunninghams gap on a hot day , drive up the range with your window down and feel the temp drop as you get into the wooded section ( i dont have aircon in my vehicles ) people are getting to soft , harden up australia
this little town of ours had no aircon houses 10 years ago untill some one in town got evap air con must of been the jones's cos now most of the town has em stuck on their roof .
.

that should stir up a few replies

Originally Posted by texx

my answer would be simple . trees , trees , trees .and a couple of good fans for airflow
walk into a rain forest on a hot day .
any one been up cunninghams gap on a hot day , drive up the range with your window down and feel the temp drop as you get into the wooded section ( i dont have aircon in my vehicles ) people are getting to soft , harden up australia
this little town of ours had no aircon houses 10 years ago untill some one in town got evap air con must of been the jones's cos now most of the town has em stuck on their roof .
.

that should stir up a few replies

You're right on the money texx!. Come to think of it, I'm not going to connect electricity to the workshop. Actually not even to the house. My grandpappy did without electrawhateveryacallit, so can I!

yeeee haaaaaa I'm off to shoot holes in road signs

well for your info i dont have electricity at home . and i have lived there for 22 years.
i do have it at my shop in town though .

so its you that shoots the signs , never will understand why people do that .
most of the idiot shooting in our area is done on the long weekends easter and so on when the city folk come out to play

There is something to be said for acclimatising yourself to the weather, but on the other hand, it is nice to be able to cool off or warm up a little more easily than if we didn't have the air con.