Swamp cooler & Humidity = NYET !
+1. The lacrossealerts sensor notified me right away when the AC went bad in my cabinet and saved my collection.
JF
The insulated garage door is good in the summer for hot climates and in the winter for cold ones. Is the garage insulated? This would help with keeping the bedroom cooler as well.
(a) yes
(b) yes
(c) yes and no, a unit without a working cooling system can easily achieve a temperature considerably higher than ambient due to mechanical heat mostly from the fan motors.
An active ventilation system would be beneficial, Typically these are done as 2 pipe systems (supply & return) with 4-6" inline fans. Thermostatically controlled, preferably with controls that lock it out when the outdoor temp is too high.
I’d second or third the idea of ventilating the garage. Of course, it will only “cool” it to the temp of the outside, which may be in the 90s anyhow. Plus you have a thermal load on the walls and unless they’re really insulated, they’ll be baking the inside.
But I keep my Vinoteque in the front room and during the summer the temps get really high, at least into the 80s. It’s been running about 15 years, never had a problem with the cooling system.
Chris, I had a cabinet in my garage for half a dozen years, and finally took it out. I just couldn’t accept the risk of failure at some point, not noticing it, or being away on business or vacation when it happened. Dealing with 80s inside the house is a lot different than 90s, or even 100+ on the hottest days where you live (my garage definitely gets well into the 90s regularly in the summer, probably over 100 once in a while). In the end, I decided the price of storing that wine in a locker was not that much more than the electricity cost of the cooler, and the psychic cost of worrying about the wine.
Thanks Chris, and everyone, for the helpful replies. Do you have any ballpark guess what that kind of ventilation system would cost? Or how well it works?
Merging threads
There are too many variable to give you an idea on cost, material alone could be $500-$1000. It can only work as well as the outdoor ambient conditions allow. I’d get some monitoring.