a/c units for FL shaping rooms

General Discussion
1

I am planning to build out a portion of my garage for a shaping room. The problem is- if you think to hard in Central Florida you’ll sweat like a pig during about six months of the year. Ive always shaped in cooler climates where regular ventilation was totally adequate. Im trying to figure out how to set up a/c? What units are you guys using/how many btu’s are necessary for a 10 x 12 room? Can they handle the dust? I made a search of the archives but did not find anything.

Or, does anyone have a shaping room for rent in the UCF area?

2

We run a Samsung in ours, it is 15,000 btu but you could get by easily with a 12,000 btu. Because we built it into the wall the air intake is from outside the shaping room. Run the fan cycle when done and clean the filters every now and then.

3

In a 10’ x 12’, you can get by with a 5000 btu if you insulate the room well. I’m assuming

an 8’ ceiling; if higher, you might need more. All AC units are similar, just different nameplates

on 'em, so brand doesn’t matter much. Rip the plastic cover off the front, get some good filter

material (the intake suction will hold it in place), and clean the filter religously.

If you can afford more btu, by all means do it. The unit won’t work as hard and will cool the

room quicker when you need.

4

Mount your AC unit high so the dust doesn’t have a chance to collect on the filter. We originally mounted ours low and blew out two units in a months time due to being clogged by foam dust.

Troy

5
Quote:

Mount your AC unit high

Good advice, can’t believe I forgot that one. Don’t forget to catch the drips also

if your unit is exhausting into the remainder of your garage.

6

Mike, remember the 23,000 BTU in our shaping room, when you first walked in, it felt like a refrigerator, then the reality of 98 degrees outside set in and even with that cooling power the sweat beads started forming.

Magnolia Street Porch Monkey Madness

7

Yeah Jim, I remember that room well. I’ve still never seen another one set up like it.

Dual racks, end-to-end, two shapers in the same room. The perfect way to watch

your planer magic and pick up the finer points of just about everything related to

shaping. Thanks for all the lessons.

And the environment outside was colorful, to say the least. A cultural learning experience

you had to see to believe. The line outside the store next door at 7:30 am. The dice games

on the loading dock. "June Bug’’ and his bicycle. A free education of a different kind. Those

were some fun days…

8

Mike D. and Jim P.

are you refering to the east side of downtown Cocoa? I know that area and remember when Jim P. had a shop there.

OK back to the a/c location. flatlands my shaping room is 10 x 12 x 8 with all the exterior walls and ceiling insulated with the 2" styrofoam sold at Lowes/Home Depot . I mounted my (a/c 5,000btu) high also, and hung my planer rack next to it. My a/c will only knock down the temperature 10 degrees on a hot Florida summer day. Also I added a heavy duty filter and ducted tapped the original filter molding in place.[/img]

9
Quote:

Mike D. and Jim P.

are you refering to the east side of downtown Cocoa? I know that area and remember when Jim P. had a shop there.

Yep, that’s the place. Jim and I could write a book about what went on there. A neighborhood with a bad

reputation, but actually the residents were 99% kind-hearted and we came to know a lot of them. A little

kindness and understanding can go a long way.

I’m not sure how your room is situated re the exposure to sun, what the outside walls are, etc., but 5000

btu should cool that space better if it’s sealed up and insulated well. Flatland’s room is going to be IN a

garage, so he should be able to get by with a 5000. Of course more btu is always better. I run a 10,000

in a 300 sq ft facility that is very well sealed and insulated and never have to turn it on high.

If you box in your walls and fill the 3.5’’ space w/fiberglass insukation, I think it’ll do a better job than the eps.

My exterior walls are block w/drywall inside which helps a lot.

10

Art thanks for the illustration. I can see this working now! Thanks to everyone else for tips as well. Another happy swaylocks customer!

11

Hey, I think I can see on Art’s wall Johnny Lucas’s boards numbers and the amount he still owes me !!!

12

…hello Art,

with that 2" PS insulation, do you have a sound (noise reduction towards outside) proof bay?

thanks

13
Quote:

…hello Art,

with that 2" PS insulation, do you have a sound (noise reduction towards outside) proof bay?

thanks

reverb,yes it does cut down on the noise. I can’t here the planer running until I get within 25’ of it. I am fortunate as far as the noise goes. I live on a dead end street and the neighbors have no complaints as long as the noise stops around 9:00pm.

The shed is 24 x 20 and the north side is the shaping room. Here is a picture of the framing. The old pink trailer you see in the background is not there anymore.[/img]

Plus I have a new privacy fence around the whole property.

14
Quote:

Art thanks for the illustration. I can see this working now! Thanks to everyone else for tips as well. Another happy swaylocks customer!

you are welcome. If you would like to see my set up send me a PM. I live appx. 5 miles north of Cocoa.

Jim P. I will add up the numbers on the wall and forward them to you as soon as tropical storm Fay passes over.

art

15 
Howzit T, One of my shapers went through 3 5000 btu AC's in about a year and it was mounted over 6' high. I kept telling him to clean the filters every day but he didn't and it's there's a good chance that what was killing his AC's. He finally got a 12000 BTU unit and doubled up the filters, this unit has been working for over 6 years with out any problems ( he also cleans the filters more often). Aloha,Kokua
16
Quote:

Art thanks for the illustration. I can see this working now! Thanks to everyone else for tips as well. Another happy swaylocks customer!

here is another view I found.

http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=226656;guest=19858098#226656

17

To the OP, I live near campus also and just shape in the garage… the heat isnt that bad? I’ve also been away for the last few months and home here on maui so im starting to get used to the lack of humidity and narly heat :slight_smile:

you could just leave your garage door closed and open up the door to your house and let the air in, when shaping I set up couple big fans to keep the air moving and the dust off the board and out of my face, try sticking to evenings too…

before i left i did a 4-5 boards in april- early june and the heat wasnt a problem

18

CC had a room with a 20,000 BTU unit at NA. He wanted to switch rooms with me and I thought he’d lost his mind. Turns out he had. I remember coming out to put a finished board in the rack and my skin would burn in the heat. Kept the room in the mid 60’s all summer. In short, I like power!!

19

Caution: Hijack in process!

The late Robert (Redman) Manville liked his rooms cold! Must have been that Palos Verde

heritage. At the Outer Banks WRV shaping facility they have really good central air that cooled

the rooms well even though they all have 12’ ceilings and generous dimensions. But it wasn’t

cool enough for Red. He had a 12000 btu window unit on HIS room running at the same time,

resulting in refrigerator-like temps. Way overkill, but your beer wouldn’t get warm sitting on

the shelf either.

20

just came across this :

SURFING VOLUME 11, NO. 1 (1975)   Greg Loehr takes first place in the 1974 Eastern Surfing Championships at Cape Hatteras, while Rick Rasmussen captures the 1974 United States Surfing Championships, also at Hatteras. In "Who Controls the Beaches," Part Three, Bette Marsh examines coastal access issues in North Carolina. "Locals: Five Guys From California" profiles Tony Staples, Joey Thomas, Mark Leavy, Russ Short, and Dan Flecky. Plus "Our Heritage: Surfing in Ancient Hawaii," featuring the likes of Clyde Aikau, Raymond Lii, Craig Wilson, Derek Ho, Reno Abellira, Barry Kanaiaupuni, and George Apeloet.

This copy is in very good or Betty condition, about 80 percent of mint. Insect damage on spine has resulted in a 1/4-inch split at top and bottom edge. Some minor nibbles around perimeter of cover. Otherwise light cover and spine wear with no pulling at staples and no staple rust. Color poster has been removed. No torn or missing pages and no cutouts.

Packaged in an archival-quality clear plastic sleeve with an acid-free mat backing board.

Click Here for a closer look.

« BACK

    <img src="http://www.surfwarez.com/ProductImages/SurfingVol.11.1.250.jpg" alt="" class="bb-image" />