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Thinking of cooler climates.....

John Hicks

John Hicks

Joined
Jan 23, 2020
Messages
695
Likes
975
Location
Shingletown CA
So we moved to northern California a little over a year ago. We live at about 2000 ft elevation.
It was 107 degrees in the shop today! I have a portable swamp cooler that I blast at my lathe area from a few feet away.
Any wood I have processed cracks quickly and I have triple-sealed most of my logs. Rough turned Claro walnut that is double sealed seems to survive. But not oak, or anything else.
It is literally like a kiln in there. That added to very low humidity (12% today); I don't even think it's possible to have blanks that don't crack!
So I've been dreaming of cooler climates and higher humidity; Not just for my wood, but for us.
What do you folks do that live in such climates to keep from melting?
I have gotten a few estimates for insulating the shop, but the cost is astronomical with inflation the way it is; and in the summer, it will still be hot in there, even with insulation.
I suppose I could put an air conditioner in there, but the electric rates here are 3 times the national average.

-M E L T I N G AWAY
 
This summer most days were over 100℉ and many were over 110℉. The relative humidity is usually over 30%f which just makes the high temperature even worse. A swamp cooler won’t work here so I have a little air conditioner, but I can’t run the air conditioner while making dust.
 
If you can place your wood stash in the coolest spot you can and maybe add a tray of water to keep the humidity up and as it evaporates he wood acclimatises tp it new environment
 
Bill Boehme said:
This summer most days were over 100℉ and many were over 110℉. The relative humidity is usually over 30%f which just makes the high temperature even worse. A swamp cooler won’t work here so I have a little air conditioner, but I can’t run the air conditioner while making dust.
Click to expand...
yeah found that out myself, so now come summer just wear less clothing as it gets up around and over 40C or 104F
 
Get a swamp cooler that uses outside air, (window mount is likely easiest) you can get 20 degree F temperature drop, It will also move fine dust out. Run it almost all the time, never turn the water pump off, (helps prevent funky smells) get a purge pump to reduce mineral build up, use purge water on your plants, locate cooler in the shade, use aspen pads, change them at least twice a season. You can have a cool shop in the morning and get work done, moderate the heat in the day. Coolers will be on sale soon. We use a swamp cooler for the house and keep the fans on, and have only used A/C once this year. When it's not hot or cold you can use cooler to blow fresh air in and dusty air out. Good luck from Cottonwood CA. I get about a $30 to $40 jump in my PG&E bill when I start using the cooler. Only a guess as things change with the seasons. You should be below the snow line and have a reasonably mild climate. We have four seasons here Spring, Summer, Indian Summer, and Fall.

Don't have cooler blowing directly at / close to your cast iron surfaces

Inflation has hit cooler market $919 smaller ones available
www.homedepot.com

Champion Cooler 4700 CFM 2-Speed Window Evaporative Cooler for 1600 sq. ft. (with Motor and Remote Control) RWC50 - The Home Depot

Champion Cooler Window Evaporative Cooler is built for high performance, easy installation and low maintenance. Comes with motor and remote control.
www.homedepot.com
 
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Well I live about 10 miles south of the source of the Mississippi river so that could be considered a cooler climate. The temp this morning was 66 degrees F and the humidity at 99% but during the day it will reach 80 to85 F and about 65% H. The shop is insulated mostly to keep heat in during the winter when last winter the temp reached a low of -40 F/C multiple times. During June and July there were several 100 degree days but keeping the shop doors closed and having a fan blowing at me made it livable.
 
Well, if I was to locate there, I would want a basement shop. If it is dug into the dirt, the dirt stays cooler than the outside air, and one method of cooling air is to bury coils of pipe in the dirt, then pump air through that. If you do insulate your shop, I found out an insulation company can install it for about what it would cost you to buy the materials. In my old shop, they put on a white paper/plastic barrier over the fiberglass bats. Any sunny sides of your building would need blinds or coverings on the outside to keep the walls from heating up.

I don't envy your location. I love my rainy winters. Must be the Irish in me....

robo hippy
 
With the windows open, the house and shop will cool down pretty much, we do need a blanket on though.

We did have a few days with temps one 90 F this summer, right now it is very comfortable really as you can see, less so in a couple months, so I have been busy cutting trees, bucking and splitting for next years firewood, a couple more logs and I'm done with that.

As for keeping turning blanks from splitting, I am still doing my regular routine, fresh blanks rough turned right away and turnings then stuck into the brown paper bag, and a split free outcome well over 90%, works for me :)

next 14 day forecast.jpg

When it gets too cold we can go south for a couple 3 months, and in that way people could go North when it gets too hot :D
 
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I have an air conditioner in the shop and use HVAC filters to cover the factory filters. Just cut them to size and attach them. It works REALLY well for keeping the dust out of the unit. Before I used the filters, dust would get into the internals and reduce airflow and it would also blow water. Also the shop is insulated with mineral wool not traditional batts because it needs to be fire resistant. Might give you a few ideas. Could you insulate it yourself?
 
Gabriel Hoff said:
I have an air conditioner in the shop and use HVAC filters to cover the factory filters. Just cut them to size and attach them. It works REALLY well for keeping the dust out of the unit. Before I used the filters, dust would get into the internals and reduce airflow and it would also blow water. Also the shop is insulated with mineral wool not traditional batts because it needs to be fire resistant. Might give you a few ideas. Could you insulate it yourself?
Click to expand...
Not really; my days in the Army have left me with a few bad parts.
 
If you could partition off a smaller area with the lathe inside, you could keep your turning area cool with a small ac unit without cooling the entire building. It will cool down quicker and the AC unit won't run continuously like it would cooling the entire building.
 
John Hicks said:
So we moved to northern California a little over a year ago. We live at about 2000 ft elevation.
It was 107 degrees in the shop today! I have a portable swamp cooler that I blast at my lathe area from a few feet away.
Any wood I have processed cracks quickly and I have triple-sealed most of my logs. Rough turned Claro walnut that is double sealed seems to survive. But not oak, or anything else.
It is literally like a kiln in there. That added to very low humidity (12% today); I don't even think it's possible to have blanks that don't crack!
So I've been dreaming of cooler climates and higher humidity; Not just for my wood, but for us.
What do you folks do that live in such climates to keep from melting?
I have gotten a few estimates for insulating the shop, but the cost is astronomical with inflation the way it is; and in the summer, it will still be hot in there, even with insulation.
I suppose I could put an air conditioner in there, but the electric rates here are 3 times the national average.

-M E L T I N G AWAY
Click to expand...
As far as the humidity goes, have you consider a room humidify One drawback is you would have to refill every day or two
 
I put a small room air conditioner in my former shop. It was a 2 car garage with no insulation and obviously the air conditioner was way too small. However it did take out a lot of humidity. That and a couple of fans and I survived Tennessee summers.
 
The portable swamp cooler I have holds 10 gallons and with it running on high, lasts about an hour and a half, plus makes it very humid in the shop (24x26). I think the answer is selling a kidney and having it insulated, then putting in a through the wall ac unit......I'll miss that kidney!
 
Living in a state with lower costs helps a lot - CA about as $$$ as it gets.

I put heat and ac in my attached 2 bay garage shop ~10 years ago and what a difference. Makes shop time so much more enjoyable year round. Much lower utility rates makes it much more manageable.
 
In my area of California, my average electric bill in the summer for a 1700 square foot house, in 100+ degree tempratures with ac running pretty much 24/7; is just under 250 a month. No complaints about that. When we only used the swamp cooler (which doesn't work well over a hundred degrees), it was less than 125.
Adding a ac to the shop AFTER it gets insulated and a attic exhaust fan added; shouldn't run much more. For some reason; folks that live in a city, pay more.
 
robo hippy said:
Before you insulate the shop yourself, get an estimate from some installers. My 24 by 36 shop was insulated for $50 more than the materials would have costed me. And they added a white vynal cover.

robo hippy
Click to expand...
Ditto what Reed said. I got former shop insulated for less than it would have cost me to buy the insulation.
 
My shop is in the third (separate) stall of our garage. It is heated (gas forced air) and cooled (mini-split). I maintain a constant 65 degrees in winter months and 72 degrees the rest of the year. Our gas & electric utility bill averages about $165 a month.
 
I happen to like wildfires,smoke, heat, and best of all, high cost of living!
Back to the East coast in a couple years if the housing market doesn't crash. We have our radar on Abingdon Va
 
John Hicks said:
I happen to like wildfires,smoke, heat, and best of all, high cost of living!
Back to the East coast in a couple years if the housing market doesn't crash. We have our radar on Abingdon Va
Click to expand...
Abingdon is beautiful...but I think VA is expensive, as compared to upstate ( Northern Greenville Co. ) SC - or East TN - around Johnson City. TN has many cost of living and tax advantages for retirees. Both the areas I mentioned have low costs of construction as well - and are in or very near the mountains, with the E. TN location being at a higher altitude, and cooler - with decent amount of winter, and about an hour from Asheville NC
 
The space I'm building my shop in has standard hot-water baseboard heat. If I've got dust collection, do I still need to worry about sawdust accumulating on the fins of the basboard and reducing the efficiency of the baseboard heat? Or will dust collection be enough to keep the basebard clear and functioning well?
 
You’ll still have dust accumulation even if running a dust collector AND overhead air cleaner (AMHIK ). Blowing the fins off, carefully, every once in a while should take care of it.
 
Sarah S Elkind said:
The space I'm building my shop in has standard hot-water baseboard heat. If I've got dust collection, do I still need to worry about sawdust accumulating on the fins of the basboard and reducing the efficiency of the baseboard heat? Or will dust collection be enough to keep the basebard clear and functioning well?
Click to expand...
wood Chips may be a bigger issue.

my dust collection is used for sanding.
the piles of shavings need to be considered

easy to bury a baseboard unit under a couple feet of shavings by rough turning 2-3 bowls in a half day.

curtains and other devices can discourage the chips from collecting around the wall.
 
Chips get into the fins on the hot water baseboard I use in my shop and in the crease between heater and wall. They don't blow off very well with the air compressor, but it's not enough of a problem to be troublesome, and the heater sits right at the headstock end of the lathe and next to me.
 
Sarah S Elkind said:
The space I'm building my shop in has standard hot-water baseboard heat. If I've got dust collection, do I still need to worry about sawdust accumulating on the fins of the basboard and reducing the efficiency of the baseboard heat? Or will dust collection be enough to keep the basebard clear and functioning well?
Click to expand...
My last shop had hot water baseboard heat, along the wall right behind me as I stood at the lathe. Never noticed the chips being a problem, but they would collect in and under the baseboard unit. I just occasionally used the shop vac with a narrow-end attachment to suck the chips out.
The baseboards away from the lathe (no chips) would get dusty just like everything else in the shop - I rarely did much about that.
 
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