Well, it's heating up in the south, and once again I'm looking for ways to keep the shop cool enough to work in. The shop is 20' x 28', has a 4 ft walk in door, a 12 ft roll up door, and small (14x24) windows on each side that open half way. I'm fairly well shaded in the mid to late afternoon, fairly well insulated walls and ceiling. An 8000 BTU window unit works well in the evenings, but beats itself to death in the hot afternoon. Anyway, I prefer to work with the 12 ft roll up door OPEN, gives fresh air, don't feel confined, can watch the Grandkids in the pool and yard, much better chance of being seen and heard with the shop open should I ever need emergency help, and the fresh air helps keep the dust down.
Been looking at a large drum fan. Locally I can get a 36", 4 blade, 2 speed belt driven, 1/2 HP drum fan that pushes 7300 cfm low speed and 10,300 cfm high speed for $199. Option two is a 42", 4 blade, 2 speed belt driven, 1/2 HP drum fan that pushes 9500 cfm low speed and 13,300 cfm high speed for $258.99. Both appear to have the identical motor, the 36" seems to run smoother, the 42" sounds like it works much harder, may be a little bogged down.
Anybody using fans to cool, does it do any good ?? Will simply pushing a high volume of (hot) air do me any good ?? Or am I wasting money ?? Is the drum fan worth the price over $35 borg fans (high velocity / low volume) ?? What’s your thoughts / experiences ??