I have an all-metal shop built on a concrete slab, 30’ x 40’ with a 12’ high center ridge. The walls are sheet metal with a little insulation there and on the ceiling. Two metal side doors at opposite ends and an overhead door. No windows.
No heat or air, either. It’s not so bad in the winter, as I can set a space heater on the floor near where I’m working, but the summer heat and humidity are a bear, and I can handle only an hour or two right after sunrise. I can keep working, but being hot and sweaty leaves me grumpy, which defeats the purpose of tinkering in the shop. I’ve been looking at ways to cool the space at least to 80 degrees, with a budget of $500. I can get a pretty good sized swamp cooler at that price point, and put it in front of one open door, pointing toward the other open door. I’ve seen charts that indicate a temp of 80 degrees is doable if the outside temp is no more than 90 and the relative humidity no more than about 65%.
Has anyone east of I-35 actually run a swamp cooler in the summer in recent years? If so, how well did it work? Any other suggestions without going over $500?
No heat or air, either. It’s not so bad in the winter, as I can set a space heater on the floor near where I’m working, but the summer heat and humidity are a bear, and I can handle only an hour or two right after sunrise. I can keep working, but being hot and sweaty leaves me grumpy, which defeats the purpose of tinkering in the shop. I’ve been looking at ways to cool the space at least to 80 degrees, with a budget of $500. I can get a pretty good sized swamp cooler at that price point, and put it in front of one open door, pointing toward the other open door. I’ve seen charts that indicate a temp of 80 degrees is doable if the outside temp is no more than 90 and the relative humidity no more than about 65%.
Has anyone east of I-35 actually run a swamp cooler in the summer in recent years? If so, how well did it work? Any other suggestions without going over $500?
