I think it’s possible… see #4 below.

1. If you go to Sams… an industrial floor fan. In our area they run $100-200.
2. Maybe several smaller turbo floor fans.
3. If you have a window in the garage, a used window AC unit.
(you can combine the window unit with fans, too.)

4. A swamp cooler… new or used. I did a search online and they seem to run between $100-$200. Just search swamp cooler. My brother is an auto mechanic and he uses one outside in the TX sun w/humidity. I was shocked at how well it cooled the area. It is all my grandparents had for their house way back when. Folks use to just sit in the room with the swamp cooler during the summer eating ice cream.

Here’s a pic of one. My brother picked his up used. When it’s 100 degrees here & he has to work outside, he just keeps the hose nearby and keeps refilling it. The one shown was listed for $119. Check your local ads, craigslist, etc. If you don’t see a used one, you can always run a “who has it” ad. “Who has it” ads are extremely popular here.
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Good luck!
The Critter Gang

I agree the evaporative/swamp cooler is you best bet. You need an open window to draw the air.

Thank you everyone. I have considered the evaporitive cooler but was not sure how well it would work when we are in our monsoon season as we are now. Our humidity is now 50% or more so did not think an evaporative cooler could do the job. I may be thinking this wrong. Appreciate all the advice and suggestions.

great tips to read here â–º thanks

Using a fan to cool a room can be unreliable. All you are really doing is just blowing the humid air in the garage without actually “cooling” the garage. Maybe you can try something to remove the heat from the garage and place it outside the garage. But if a fan works, then it works.

Wow Brad, I don’t know if that’s possible…worked in a dry cleaners over 125 degree heat pressing clothes and we couldn’t use the AC because it did no good.

You may want to consider a big window fan or roof exhaust fan, they do a good job pulling a breeze through, but if that kiln gets as hot as the cleaners did…I just don’t know if AC would only cost you more money with no benefit.

We put 4 ceiling fans in, 1 in each bay.

If you can knock together a tin hood and fan directly above the oven and suck some of the heat out thru the roof before it has a chance to billow out into the shop, you might get rid of 10 degrees right there. I’d use the belt-driven blower motor from a dead oil furnace to do the sucking. You’ll need to move a lotta CFM’s.

First thing to consider id the source of the problem.
The insulation on any kiln can be improved , simultaneously reducing the power consumption. I’ve bought 4" thick non combustible blanket material in the past , if I remember correctly , from McMaster Carr .
Secondly you can use the heat from your kiln to create a venturi effect in a double tube chimney to extract surrounding heat from the work place – (no power use) . Look at an old steam engine where steam was used to create a firebox draft .
Look also at minaret ventilation shafts .
Then consider fans .
William.

my ‘office’ is in our garage. Husband and friend insulated with high grade insulation. We have a portable air conditioning unit that only requires a vent thru the wall. An easy job. Insulate your area well with a good insulation material and install a portable a/c unit. Our garage floor is concrete, heat travels up it during the day,but I do have an area rug that helps and a small fan, and light fixture is a ceiling fan. I stay quite comfortable. I would imagine you need to do a vent of some sort to get the heat from your kiln ouside, tho.

Ever thought of an evaporative cooler? They are basically a big wheel that circulate through water and blow out cooled, moist air, which may help you reduce some of the energy flowing around in the garage air. The heat present would cause any extra mosture to burn up. There are large standing evaporative coolers now that are stand alone units, they take up the room of a small table sq. ft. speaking, and they stand about 3 feet high. You just have to keep water in them, in a really warm room they might go through a bit of water. They use a lot less electricity than air conditioners, and they are fairly reasonable. Portable, movable, so you can focus on areas where you have the most need. They don’t require venting.

Brad
Being in AZ, the evaporative cooler, (aka swamp cooler), may be a good alternative, they work pretty good in hot/dry environments.

I think exhaust fans, moving the heat out, will be your best bet.

I used to live in Arizona… Yuma to be exact, where it is very hot. All we had was a swamp cooler and when the monsoon season hits, it really doesn’t do much good except to blow swampy air, which is better than nothing, but we used to leave the house and go to the river or the wash because it was just too hot at home.

I think the suggestions about insulating the kiln, with the suggestions for exhaust fans AND adding an evaporative cooler AND ceiling fans is the best you can do. Do it all. Any one thing won’t make enough of a difference in your monsoon season.

We have found that a couple of good old fashion turban fans installed on the roof helps tremendously to remove the heat from the room. Won’t cool it but it will suck that hot air right out the top by the wind spinning it only. Wind is free!!

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Use box fans at night in the open windows to draw the cool air into the garage. And of course, the more air you can get moving around with fans during the day the better. Close the garage door enough to block out most of the sunlight but leave it open enough to still let some air circulate.

Lots of folks here use misters to cool their decks. You can get them at Wally World etc. But never hear of anyone using them in a garage. Still they are inexpensive and may work if you are not worried about moisture getting on anything in your garage, or if the ceilings are high enough and there’s no drywall maybe it won’t matter.

Insulate your garage door will usually lower the heat by about 10 degrees. I did this here in San Antonio and has made a big difference. 3 car garage cost about $80 – 100 in material from Lowes. Roger

we are converting our attached garage into a family room and have a window unit in there. not much good here in florida. hubby says if we get some insulation blown into the attic that will make a difference.

Home Depot has portable air conditioners that are heat pumps and work as a heater when not cooling.
You just need a place to put the vent when you use it as a air conditioner!
They run about $500.00 or so but the good thing is that they can heat in the winter too!

Brad
I picked up TWO 110 (Sears) window a/c units last winter in a storage sale for 35.00 (both), thought it was worth the gamble….and ONE of the units is cooling my semi-insulated (not the doors) garage right this second and it actually gets so cool in there after the sun goes down, that I have to turn it way down to the lowest setting or just put it on fan.
Not bad for $35.00 for the pair and the other one works perfect too and is standing by just in case…my garage has been 110 degrees and up since May..Good Luck, I know how it can get to you..have several sellers right here on my street and this is where they hang for sure!
Nick

I am local Scottsdale I work for an ac company. I will ask and see what might be a solution for you.

I’d go with one of those portable AC’s.

There are no breezes at 108……..Only super hot air!!!

Swap Cooler is the best idea I see for something economical.

Get a fan to blow the garage air OUT the garage window if you have one.
Install a cupola roof vent to allow hot air at top of garage to vent OUT.

I was going to suggest what we call a ‘desert cooler’. It’s a system where water drips down fins, and a fan blows through it, creating cooler air. Maybe the same thing as the ‘swamp cooler’?

Or set up a mister. Like a mist net for catching birds. I’ve seen them used at summertime outdoor concerts. You might need to set it up outside and periodically run out through it.

Another thing I didn’t see mentioned is one of those neck coolers for you. You buy them at sporting goods stores, or on Bonanzle! There is some kind of gel beads inside that absorb water. Soak it in water, then place it around your neck. It cools you off. I use one when playing tennis in the 90 degree heat!

I also would have to say that insulating the garage would be helpful in keeping the heat down. Hardware stores have good fairly inexpensive fan that could help you out without hurting your wallet too much. As you can, you can then upgrade by installing cooling/ventilating systems. Good luck :)

your best bet is to isolate the kiln somehow, insulate the garage, then install a couple of turbines on your roof to suck out the hot air, and if your still having heat issues, use a couple of fans.

Yes, head to Home Depot and buy yourself a garden mister ($8.95) (made for attracting hummingbirds, among other things.) It will cool an entire yard or deck, or garage with door open while you work by 20 degrees without getting anything wet. Makes a big difference.

There are basically 2 approaches to this problem. In one, you “battle” the heat by generating cool air (or generating evaporative mist). In the other, you isolate the heat and re-direct it. This is generally the least expensive and more “eco-friendly” approach.

If possible, isolate the kiln with partitions to contain the heat in the immediate area. A layers of fire-rated rock wall (sheet rock) on the kiln side, and a thick layer of insulation on the outside (covered, or not). This arrangement may be constructed to be dismantled or moved later on, by mounting the partitions on small trolleys, and letting them float an inch or so over the floor. Likewise, a gap of an inch or so at top.

Now you’ve trapped the heat – the next stage is to get rid of it. Here is where that turban fan, or just a simple 4" roof stack can help. Install it over the kiln; the hot air rises into the flue. The process may be assisted by anything that increase the air pressure in the area – even a small window type fan. As long as there is an inrush of outside air (perhaps from the rest of the garage), the air around the kiln will take the easy exit – the stack.

In cold weather, you simply reverse the process; plug or cap the stack (at the bottom), open the door to the firing room, and reverse or move fan flow to pull warm air into the garage.

There is one “gotcha” here you need to bear in [URL removed] FRESH air. Depending on the kiln’s heat source, you can rapidly deplete oxygen in the air in a closed environment. Therefore, air being exhausted must also be replaced. If your firing room walls are slightly raised, that will do the job; otherwise, the fan forced in-rush of supply air should work. Bit regardless of HOW, make sure you DO.

We have pull down steps in our garage. It gets very hot in there. My husband installed a fan in the attic area. He has it that when the garage hits a certain temp, the fan automatically goes on. Being in Fla., weather gets real hot. We recently noticed that when we have the garage door up about 6" or so,the electric bill is less and the house is a little cooler. good luck!

You can install AC. If you are in doubt about it then you may take advice from ac repair Dubai from [URL removed]

I think that electricity would be very expensive having the oven and the air conditioning. You have thought of better filling your roof with a good insulation so that you do not spend so much on electricity, you can check with those on the [URL removed] , they can make you a very good quote at a low price and if they can’t do your project they will guide you to complete it with what you have in hand.