Man Space / Bike Shed Layout

stirk

Burner
Shit yeah. That's awesome. Great choice on the roll cab mate.
That man cave is looking sick!
(I know I would literally be in an institution if I didn't have my cave. People don't realise how important sheds & caves are for blokes)

What's the retro moto? '70's CB? '80's Z? GSX ?
Again thanks for the tip, the maxim stuff is the biz. The service cart is nice too but sadly I don't have the space.

I'll be getting power into the shed soon and then I'm home, the missus will know where to find me!

The bike is a 1980 kawasaki z650 slowly getting rebuilt, it's been parked in a shed for years so lots of work to restore. Mountain biking and kids means it'll take a while to get back on the road.
 

Mr Crudley

Glock in your sock
The shed gets very toasty in summer. Getting an idea for a DIY shed cooler, shopping at Ebay and Jaycar and having some time on a Sunday afternoon to kludge things together while being stubborn not to let this get too spendy can be entertaining.

Behold the ghetto Solar Powered shed fan v0.1. Seems to be making a difference so far, as more sun comes out of the clouds, the fan rpm also goes up a notch. Will try to pretty it up later when I'm sold it works well enough.

Solar-Fan-FanUnit-v1.jpg
Solar-Fan-Panel-v1.jpg
 

teK--

Eats Squid
The shed gets very toasty in summer. Getting an idea for a DIY shed cooler, shopping at Ebay and Jaycar and having some time on a Sunday afternoon to kludge things together while being stubborn not to let this get too spendy can be entertaining.

Behold the ghetto Solar Powered shed fan v0.1. Seems to be making a difference so far, as more sun comes out of the clouds, the fan rpm also goes up a notch. Will try to pretty it up later when I'm sold it works well enough.

View attachment 343090 View attachment 343091
Looks interesting where is it blowing air from/to?
 

Mr Crudley

Glock in your sock
Well, firstly, let's call it a ghetto Proof Of Concept :)

Now that's out of the way,....... It just uses a 90mm computer power supply fan to suck in the hot air that pools at the top of the shed and blow it out through the hose (which handily got a hole in it last week so was a ripe candidate for this little project). I tried to use use flexible electrical conduit firstly but sometimes got a whistling sounds as the air went through it.

Kept it all simple, no regulators/voltage or current massaging aside from what is already in the solar panel. just a 12V DC @ 500mA panel connected to a lamp switch and then a computer fan. A little bit of solder and turn it on and see how it goes. I ran the electrical cable through the conduit for nicer aesthetics firstly but it uses up too much real estate inside the exhaust hose. Liquid Nailed the solar panel to the roof.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-5-2-5-5-6-12-18V-Mini-DIY-Solar-Panel-Power-Module-Battery-Charger-Clip-Kit/302597235630?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&var=601436487320&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

https://www.jaycar.com.au/90mm-12v-dc-2-wire-fan/p/YX2521

The fan will only take what it needs so shouldn't go past its rated 320mA. Magic smoke shouldn't escape and if it does then roll on the 500mA fan.

Tried to use a 2L coke bottle first but it is too flexible to hold the fan. Fabric softener or an old Nulon Radiator fluid container seemed to fit best and rigid enough to hold it.

I can feel the air out of the hose but need to spend a bit more time to avoid any kinks or choke points around the frame of the shed which I think might restrict airflow. It is going like the clappers now.
 
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stirk

Burner
It feels better but today is cooler. Really need a thermometer before and after test to stop wishful thinking :)
Nice invention but won't the container just heat up being so close to the roof and blow its own hot air?

When you invent a solar powered whirly bird let me know, I'll buy one!

You could solar power a little motor to run a belt driven pulley to spin the whirly, not sure a shed would develop the convection to spin it on its own.
 

Mr Crudley

Glock in your sock
Nice invention but won't the container just heat up being so close to the roof and blow its own hot air?

When you invent a solar powered whirly bird let me know, I'll buy one!

You could solar power a little motor to run a belt driven pulley to spin the whirly, not sure a shed would develop the convection to spin it on its own.
I've used a quality container here than isn't like a take away container box. It is stiffer than an 18 year olds first visit to a strip club.

Whirlybirds are out of scope for this little shed. I have two on the house and the house stays bearable until it hits mid 30's. The big tree and park across the road also helps.

Sent from my F5121 using Tapatalk
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
If you're bowing air out then you're also sucking air in from somewhere. And that relies on the premise that the air your sucking in from outside is cooler than the air inside. If that is the case I'd like to see an experiment where you reverse the situation and have a fan pulling air in rather than pushing air out. The follow on would be that you get a polystyrene box or esky, put a block of ice in it (an ice cream container of ice is good, so I hear) chuck holes in each end, put the fan on one end pulling the cooler air from outside so it blows over the ice and out the hole on the other side into your shed.

I've seen other versions of that ghetto aircon and apparently they work quite well, just not sure for how long.
 

binner

Hath shat hymself
If you're bowing air out then you're also sucking air in from somewhere. And that relies on the premise that the air your sucking in from outside is cooler than the air inside. If that is the case I'd like to see an experiment where you reverse the situation and have a fan pulling air in rather than pushing air out. The follow on would be that you get a polystyrene box or esky, put a block of ice in it (an ice cream container of ice is good, so I hear) chuck holes in each end, put the fan on one end pulling the cooler air from outside so it blows over the ice and out the hole on the other side into your shed.

I've seen other versions of that ghetto aircon and apparently they work quite well, just not sure for how long.
the esky works best, keeps it cooler for longer , i never got around to freezing a whole esky full of ice with lengths of conduct placed in strategically, then have a fan blowing from one end.........just went out and bought a conditioner ;););)
 

Mr Crudley

Glock in your sock
If you're bowing air out then you're also sucking air in from somewhere. And that relies on the premise that the air your sucking in from outside is cooler than the air inside. If that is the case I'd like to see an experiment where you reverse the situation and have a fan pulling air in rather than pushing air out. The follow on would be that you get a polystyrene box or esky, put a block of ice in it (an ice cream container of ice is good, so I hear) chuck holes in each end, put the fan on one end pulling the cooler air from outside so it blows over the ice and out the hole on the other side into your shed.

I've seen other versions of that ghetto aircon and apparently they work quite well, just not sure for how long.
I see what you mean, sure sounds like it involves a lot of effort and careful thought :)

The top of the shed is the hottest so hoping to get that outside. Assuming that hot air rises then the cooler air would be ingressing from the bottom of the shed convectioning its way up. Some warmish air might also be coming in from the eaves too.

I'm almost inspired to get out there with some dry ice and coloured smoke to see the flow mechanics of it all.

Geeez Johnny, we could easily make a day answering this question.

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Calvin27

Eats Squid
The top of the shed is the hottest so hoping to get that outside. Assuming that hot air rises then the cooler air would be ingressing from the bottom of the shed convectioning its way up. Some warmish air might also be coming in from the eaves too.
The air is a secondary effect compared to the radiant heat of the shed metal panels. What you need is to insulate the shed lol.
 

Mr Crudley

Glock in your sock
The air is a secondary effect compared to the radiant heat of the shed metal panels. What you need is to insulate the shed lol.
That would be better but shed it too small and not that critical to bother with that for a minimal gain at best.
All of the walls aren't insulated either. The bottom of the shed is cooler mostly due to the surrounding fences and partly from the concrete tiled floor.

Hot air rises and pools at the top, get hot air out is as far as I'll go here with my cheap backyard science experiment.
 

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
That’s similar to what I was thinking, insulate the outside of the roof with something lightweight or grow a fast moving vining plant over the top.

I have a high ceiling in my place and no cavity in two rooms, which gets fucking hot. I’m thinking of putting solar on top with a slight air gap to help insulat the space a bit.
 
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