Air Conditioning Solutions

[Jessy_1]

I could be wrong, however, the way you keep stating things, it sounds like the boss really doesn't care about the business or the employees and equipment. Is this the only part of the business (the print shop just being an added business to it)?

I don't think he doesn't care. He just doesn't seem to understand why it's important.

The bay is the main sign shop where all the vehicles are wrapped and signs are made. Then we have an office building that holds all the office staff and small format production. Only 2 people work out of the bay. As of right now the people working out of the bay are the only 2 in the company that understand the importance of temperature control. I've shown him data sheets with the recommended storing temperature. We've talked to our supplier and they all say the same thing but he just doesn't want to listen.

I also feel like it's a money thing. He doesn't want to put a lot of money into something like ac because to him there is ways around it even if it's not working. Maybe he doesn't have the money for the whole bay, so that's why I'm looking at other options to at least help us get through the summer.

 

[Gino]

I believe tis roughly 60' x 30' x 16'. We have no windows. Just 1 man door and 1 14' bay door.

I suggested the room when we first got the building but got turned down.

Your boss is a fool. That's only 1,800 sq ft with high ceilings. Put 2 exhaust fans on roof and that'll take are of quite a lot. How hot can it possibly get up there ?? Our shop is about 10,000 sq ft. Where the printers and computers are is a section 30' × 40' sq ft which has 2 windows units and it actually can get chilly in there. The rest of the shop has 9 ceiling fans, 2 huge exhaust fans, 3 rather large floor fans on wheels and we have several garage doors and windows. Not more than a few days a year does it ever get too hot out there to work. We have 15' ceilings.

 

[Jessy_1]

Your boss is a fool. That's only 1,800 sq ft with high ceilings. Put 2 exhaust fans on roof and that'll take are of quite a lot. How hot can it possibly get up there ?? Our shop is about 10,000 sq ft. Where the printers and computers are is a section 30' × 40' sq ft which has 2 windows units and it actually can get chilly in there. The rest of the shop has 9 ceiling fans, 2 huge exhaust fans, 3 rather large floor fans on wheels and we have several garage doors and windows. Not more than a few days a year does it ever get too hot out there to work. We have 15' ceilings.

Right now its 28 degrees with humidity sitting at 56%. All we have are 2 dh and 4 fans on the ceiling that just push the hot air around. It doesn't help that the printer and both dh's produce which raise the temperature.

I'll look into the exhaust fans and maybe some portable ac units.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Niagara Falls? Says your average high in July is 80. Anything below 80 and I put a sweatshirt on.

 

[White Haus]

Right now its 28 degrees with humidity sitting at 56%. All we have are 2 dh and 4 fans on the ceiling that just push the hot air around. It doesn't help that the printer and both dh's produce which raise the temperature.

I'll look into the exhaust fans and maybe some portable ac units.

Yikes. Your vinyl must be nice and gooey in that swamp.

We added A/C in our 2,500 sqft shop after a year of trying to find creative solutions like you're doing, and never looked back.

Expect to pay $15,000-$20,000 to have it done professionally (put units on the roof ideally so meth heads can't steal the copper) and enjoy the benefits for years.

I take it your boss' office is air conditioned tho, eh?

 

[JBurton]

Niagara Falls? Says your average high in July is 80. Anything below 80 and I put a sweatshirt on.

While I agree, trying to execute a wrap in those conditions is awful. It's like the adhesive becomes a magnet to the vehicle, and any pulling causes tons of stretch due to the material being 'preheated' already, and then you're waving a heat gun in vain trying to get the vinyl to shrink back 1/2" while it's either getting whipped by the fan that you need for comfort, or its getting bathed in sweat as you beg for the sweet release of death. As much as I hate leaning over a toolbox to letter a rear window in an uncovered parking lot, I'd rather do 100 of those vs 1 wrap in a shop that is over 75F.

 

[teampix]

I got fed up with our 2 mini splits constantly failing in our 40'x60'x12' building. We mounted a large 28k BTU window unit through the wall to help. While rated to cool up to 2k ft², it keeps the whole building cool and dry on it's own. We're in South Cakalaky so high 90's and 100% humidity are the regular summer conditions. About $800 from Home Depot.

 

[mitchell.washington]

Been in a similar situation and honestly, there are some solid options before going the full commercial hvac solutions route that'll make your boss choke on his coffee. Evaporative/Swamp Coolers are your best bang for buck. A commercial-grade unit can drop temps by 15–25°F and costs a fraction of AC to run. They work best in drier climates, but even with your dehumidifiers running, a well-placed unit near an intake door can make a massive difference. Look at portable units in the 3,000–5,000 CFM range for a large bay.

 

[ProSignTN]

It's gettin hot in here

 

[netsol]

It's gettin hot in here

when we moved into the 6000 sq ft warehouse it was awful hot
we put one decent sized exhaust fan in the ceiling (cut a hole from the roof, added an ebay defumidifier and put a hose through the wall to drain outside.
put in a decent sized 24,000 btu window unit in the other section of the warehouse & we were fine for 6 years

the exhaust fan took the temp down at least 10-12 degrees
the dehumidifier made that fairly comfortable

 

[JBurton]

Glad this got revived, I just walked into an 80F office. Evidently the unit took a dump this weekend...

 

[White Haus]

Glad this got revived, I just walked into an 80F office. Evidently the unit took a dump this weekend...

Damn, sorry to hear. If it makes you feel better, I had ours set to 75 for the weekend so it's a little toasty in here this morning too.

Spent the weekend at the lake w/ no AC so still getting used to ice cold air blasting on me. Necessary evil during heatwaves I guess.

 

[Stacey K]

When I had my shop, it did not have an inside bay so in winter or rain I would rent a spot down the road. Other days I did everything outside at my shop on the blacktop in the heat. Some days I thought I was going to die.

I feel for you...can you partition an area with plastic and use a small unit at least for the sign area?

 

[JBurton]

Damn, sorry to hear. If it makes you feel better, I had ours set to 75 for the weekend so it's a little toasty in here this morning too.

Spent the weekend at the lake w/ no AC so still getting used to ice cold air blasting on me. Necessary evil during heatwaves I guess.

I'll be, they've already come by and replaced the capacitor! Headed back down to 72. At least my print room has it's own unit, so I could have sought shelter there if nothing else.
Nothing beats that super human power you get from a couple of days without AC though, until you're forced into an icebox with the warmblooded folk!

I feel for you...can you partition an area with plastic and use a small unit at least for the sign area?

We have 3 AC's in different areas, a residential 2 ton for the offices, a stupid big commercial one for the break room, and a commercial 4 ton for the print room in a separate building. Luckily it was the small office unit, so opening the door between the break room and offices had some relief. The real problem was the big fan sounding like the the prop plane from the opening of Raiders sitting next to the receptionist desk!

 

[Humble PM]

For 12 of the 20 years I've been printing and mounting, I've had print/production rooms with majority south west facing windows. One had minisplit aircon unit on the opposite wall (face and chest at 17ºC, back at 35), the second (only five years) I had a portable office unit venting to the building corridor/core, and a photography studio wind machine providing circulation (my office was in a corner, one wall was 60% windows, blocked out with insulation boards), where it could hit 40º. Bought a second office unit, and a longer exit hose to join the print room one.
Now in year two of a basement space, industrial air handling (darkrooms and film processing also present, so major fume extraction, and every room, even the corridor, has it's own aircon. Looking at the monitors, I've fluctuated between 18 and 23º this year, while outside, we were 36º a couple of weeks ago.

Ceiling is mostly air handling.