smcharg

My Feedback: (1)

Hello all,
I'm fixing to move and the only place that I have available (at least for a little while) to have my "workshop" is the garage to the house. I've received permission to make this into a workshop with a TV and carpeting and the works. I have several pattern planes from old school LA-1 era to the 2M pattern ships and foam F-16's and built up Edge 540 and the likes. Ilive in Texas and the summer temps are usually in the high 90's but the humidity is also around 90%. I have the garage door insulated with foam which will help but the garage is not air conditioned and a swamp cooler isn't going to work here. Is this too hot?

I've always stored and worked on my planes in a temperature controlled environment and, although I have several friends that keep their planes in non-A/C workshops, I always worry about the foam core wings warping and the fuselages twisting and the sort. Do y'all see any problems with doing this? Once the garage is transformed, the garage door will not be opened unless it's just a crazy nice day. Will my lipo's be OK also?

Just trying to get some opinions.

Thanks,
Scott

Gulliver

If you can stand it so can everything elses. Just my opinion.

Jeff-RCU

My Feedback: (4)

I did have a fiberglass fuse take a set while laying on it's side in a car.

TedMo

I live in Florida so have similar conditions without any problems. However do have an air conditioner in use when I'm working in there. Really miss having a basement.

smcharg

My Feedback: (1)

Ted,
What kind of unit do you use?  Did you make a hole in the side of the garage for a window unit or is it a "portable" one that can work in there without the worry of water run-off due to condensation?  That is what I'd love to find if it's out there.

Scott

mike31

My Feedback: (67)

You would need something with a grain in order to warp. Just for kicks keep everything flat as possible when storing. Ad some leg weights if you need to. Funny, when you take the plane out to fly into the summer heat do you get any warping?

smcharg

My Feedback: (1)

No sir but the planes aren't baking all day and night long at the field, and I would think that the garage would actually be hotter in an enclosed environment than outside under the awning at the field.  Maybe I'm overly concerned but I thought I'd ask.

Scott

kingaltair

My Feedback: (4)

This is just a "gut" feeling, but for BOTH your sakes, I'd seriously think about a wall A/C unit. The temperature inside an enclosed garage is much hotter. If any planes are made of balsa, the heat can't be good for it. I think the airframe would "age" and become more brittle quicker. I'm not sure about radios and engines, but I wouldn't feel good about it. Besides, would want to be comfortable working in there don't you?

Duane

nonstoprc

My Feedback: (90)

I use a wall mounted shelves to store light weight planes and wings inside the room. The hang tracks can be placed close to each others to accommodate a couple of planes.

I only store the fuse of heavy IMAC planes in garbage. they have wood structures.

VerneK

I've had a 10,000 btu a/c in my garage for 25 years and it works great. I just bought a wall unit from Sears. It's been a long time, but I seem to recall buying an optional hanger from Sears to use when wall-mounting versus window mounting. I just followed the instructions, cut the hole to size, and mounted it. I put a good bead of silicone caulk around the outside where it protrudes through vinyl siding and never had to touch it since. I have a very well insulated (by me) 2-1/2 care garage with a drywall ceiling and paneled walls. The 10,000 btu is just big enough. I wouldn't go any smaller and a little bigger would be okay. I mounted it high up on the wall to discourage thiefs from knocking it out as an entry point and also to distribute the cool air which is naturally dropping as soon as it comes in. I only run the a/c when I'm doing something out there in the summertime. The garage will always be a little cooler than the outside temp if you keep the door closed. I live in Michigan and we get our fair share of 90 degree days here too with brutal humidity. I'm sure we're a little cooler than Texas on average, but I don't think you'll have any problems.

Verne

mjfrederick

Scott,

If you plan to make this a "man cave" rather than a garage, complete with carpet and TV, what I would do is run an extra A/C duct from the central unit to the garage. You said yourself you won't have the garage door open much (except maybe those 5 days of spring we get in the south before summer kicks in). You can even install a one-way air flow gate into the duct to keep garage air from creeping it's way back to the rest of the house while the system isn't running. It would probably be cheaper than buying a window unit, and if your garage is like mine without windows, you wouldn't have to cut a hole in the wall to install it. Due to restictions on window units in my subdivision this is the route I plan to go.

Matt

flywilly

My Feedback: (121)

Scott,
When I lived in Wilmington, NC. my workshop was located over our garage. I 'over' insulated the room and with a 10,000 BTU air conditioner kept the room quite tolerable during even the worst heat. I really agree that exposing our models and modeling supplies to prolonged high heat is not beneficial to their longevity and you'll enjoy spending time in your shop a LOT more in comfortable temperatures (and humidity - another benefit of A/C). I don't mind sweating at the flying field, but I hate dripping on plans and fresh balsa .
-Will B.

bubba153

I've been storing planes in an unheated/uncooled garage for over 20 years with no noticeable problems with the airframes.  The Texas heat here is often over 100F during the summers.  I've not seen any warping of wood frames, but it may be due to the extreme aridity of our area.  I can't tell that the balsa is any drier or more brittle than that on any other plane of comparable age.  No covering problems, and still have a couple of 18-20 year-old planes with their original covering that are still flying.  Over the last couple of years, I've had to re-hinge a few pinned hinges that were put in with epoxy on the older birds (12+ years) due to the epoxy releasing from the hinge material.  Don't know if that's heat/cold cycling or just age.  The shop is heated and cooled, but just not enough space for all the toys!

Bob

smcharg

My Feedback: (1)

You guys rule! Thank you all for your input. I have found a unit at Lowes and at Home Depot that is a portable A/C unit. It's 14000 BTU which is supposedly enough to cool 800 sq. ft. The garage is only 424 sq. ft. so this should be good. The unit is cool (pun not intended) because it reclaims it's own condensation so you don't have to have a hose or drain running to the outside and it doesn't need to vent to the outside. It's only $380ish so this is certainly doable. I am planning on making this more of a man-cave with the carpet and TV on the wall and refrigerator and stuff. I even plan on having a lazy boy in there (the best "dog house" you can imagine!!). It'll be several months before it's done but I'll try to put some pics here and refresh this post.

I really appreciate y'alls input. Storing the wings and planes and such and learning the proper way to do this is important. My main concern is my 2 meter ships because they are fiberglass but also balsa lined to increase rigidity. One set of wings is built up with the others being foam/balsa. I just don't want anything happening to my retirement....errrrr....planes. Thanks again to each of you.

Scott