Hot Attics

Bud_14

We're getting into the peak A/C season, which includes air handlers and Unico Systems in the attic. What temperature in the attic does it have to reach before you call it quits for the day? What do you do to try to keep it cooler up in the attic?

Bud
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Bud_14

We're getting into the peak A/C season, which includes air handlers and Unico Systems in the attic. What temperature in the attic does it have to reach before you call it quits for the day? What do you do to try to keep it cooler up in the attic?

Bud


www.TheSheetMetalShop.Com

Robert O'Connor_7

Hot attics?

Bud, it's a little hot eh? Why not take an old fan motor off a unit, mount it to a board, install a plug and walha! Instant air. I know it doesn't help to much with the extreme heat but, working up there will get alot more bareable when the sweat isn't pouring off you. I canabulized a fan off one years ago and won't leave home with out it (especially when I know I'm going in the attic)..Robert O'Connor/NJ

DaveC

Don't have a good solution to that, but...

you guys who do that have my complete sympathy. I had a few jobs, mostly during the summer, as an a/c installer helper. I don't recall any breaks from being kept up in attics, other than lunch or going to the truck for something. I tried drinking as much water as I could - but even with all the sweating, I found it necessary to use a bathroom alot, and neither my boss or the homeowners seemed to appreciate that need. I see some portable room a/c's available now, that duct out a window (9000 BTUH) - could one or two be placed up there and run the duct out a roof vent?

Matt_21

Once it gets too hot, we call it quits for the summer. On occasion, we will install the air handler, piping, wiring and use it for cooling the attic while we install the ductwork. This usually happens on a larger commerical job where you have a week or so of attic ductwork.

Ranger

I'm with matt...

..used to have a 5 Ton blower assembly from an old extracted furnace w/a blank off plate on one side to keep the motor from overloadin'.Two guys would get the a/h and the outdoor unit hooked up and running while the other two were cutting in ceiling boxes and flexin'out.Trunkwork last.
New construction get the attic fan(s) fired up off an extra extension cord if posible.And above all else get in there as e-a-r-l-y as posible.Tight attic's and knee-wall installs
are the worst.Definitely a young man's job.I absoluely love the Refletix bubblewrap duct insulation over the fiberglass scrimm.Believe it or not Boiler rooms on ships or buildings
that use indirect steam fired absorbers are actually h-o-t-t-e-r.imagine that.I've been stuck in both...
Ranger

lchmb

early or late

I have on a number of occassion's started at 5 a.m and worked till about 12. When it get's toasty I take the afternoon and go fishing..:)

Steamhead

Keeping the Attic Cool

We don't do a/c, but a good, inexpensive way to cool an attic is to install screened louvers (4X16, 8X16, round- whatever suits the job best) in the soffits, in conjunction with gable or ridge vents. This allows gravity circulation thru the attic. I have this setup in my house, and it worked so well I did my parents' and sister's houses too. Think of it- no fan, no power consumption- nothing to maintain. Mother Nature does all the work.

This would be a good thing to sell as part of an a/c job, it would reduce the cooling load, allow the use of a smaller unit and save a ton (pun intended) of energy. Plus, you could create a more hospitable working environment in the attic by installing the vents first.

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JB_2

Hot attics

ditto on the hook up in the attic. set the air handler, and outdoor unit,get it wired,and let it run.{ does blow around some of the dust & insulation but better than nothing} JB

Mike Kraft_2

Early up

and in the crawl for the afternoon:)

cheese

hr

I bought one of these

to take around and demo at some of my commercial radiant shop jobs. Pretty much a portable swamp cooler, with a water tank and pump in the bottom.

I suppose a flex duct or two could be adapted on to feed up to the attic space.

I let a small weld shop demo it late last fall. They loved it! can't get too close to the TIG or MIG welders, however, tends to mess with the shield gas flow

hot rod

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GaryDidier

hot attics

Bud, If you must work in hot attics this time of year this can help alot. Get yourself about 100 feet of the mist type soaker hose. Lay it on or near the roof ridge and turn the water on. The evaporative cooling will reduce internal temps by 20 -30 degrees. A contractor I worked for back in the day used to do this and it was a cheap solution that worked well. Good luck.

Gary from Granville

Wayco Wayne_2

Great stuff!

We spent a lot of the last week in the attic. The job was made worse by the racket made from the 17 year cicadas. I was hooking up the outdoor unit and couldn't hear the lawnmower next door from the noise they were making. Any other area have them?? I tend to finish the a/c first and run the a/c while we assemble the duct work. The local supply houses are now selling vests that can be refrigerated before you go up. Head bands too. I love the soaker hose idea and the swamp cooler. Where do you get the swamp cooler?? WW

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Tony_8

check out

Texas Cool Vests. Supposed to give 4 hours of service on a "charge".