Garage ventilation
 

I've got a 1 car attached garage and right now there's no ventilation in it so exhaust hangs arounds and with the heat right now the garage gets quite hot so I want to put in an in-wall exhaust fan. I figure I'll get my contractor who's doing work on my house to add this to the tab but wondering if folks have suggestions on what kind of fan I should be putting in. Do I also need an intake? Anyone using a wifi friendly or temperature based timer? Thanks

Something like this would work:

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/bro...ft-/1001551230

You'll probably have enough air leakage that a dedicated fresh intake wouldn't be required, but would definitely improve ventilation even more.

400cfm, Jesus

If I'm not mistaken, a normal car at idle, has like 50cfm exhaust, if it was on a dyno at 7000rpm, then maybe 500cfm
Also, the fan only needs to operate for a fraction of time while you drive in / out

If your garage is old, and "leaky" you don't need fresh air like great68 said

If it's newer, or properly sealed, and you put in that 400cfm fan, you are going to turn the garage into a vacuum without a fresh air intake

If you really want to go extreme, install a co sensor, as soon as it picks up your exhaust, it closes the 120v to the fan, and will auto operate. (Same as condos)

If the garage is heated, this is also a consideration, your heating bill will be much higher, with a larger fan operating longer times

Then again, if your hiring a guy to do this, he will have all your answers

Are you for hire? :hotbaby:

I'm on the "work 7-3" and have 0 responsibilities afterward bandwagon
Also our company does not let us use the work trucks for side jobs :pokerface:

I'm just on here to stir the pot and provide questionable advice

I'm going to bounce off of supafamous' thread (sorry sir!) and ask the question similar to his.

My fiancée has a Toyota Yaris that sat at her parents garage for 6 years. Her dad would occasionally fire up the car, maybe drive it around the block, but that was it.

We charged up the battery two weeks ago when we came back to visit after 2 years due to COVID and man, the car smelled like the garage. Had a drywall'ish musky smell in the HVAC system and interior. Any how, we got that sorted out, professionally cleaned and detailed etc. I don't believe there's any proper ventilation in the garage so I'm thinking whether or not we need some kind of vent/fan and circulation system going. It gets pretty damn hot in there in the summer so I suspect there's no air flow in there.

My soon-to-be-father in law will be dumping his old van soon an offered up the space to me for a hobby/collector car and it's something I'd like to consider. If so, I'd want the car to be in good shape and not smell like a damn garage for when I come back to visit. Any suggestions on this?

Thanks all, sounds like something along the lines of a Broan-Nutone fan like one of these would work:

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/bro...ft-/1001559203
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/bro...ft-/1000108278

The first one on a timer probably does the trick - come home, run it for an hour and it should be good to go.

I love a timer-based fan. Installed one on the main bathroom. Best thing ever.

what's your exterior cladding? need to make sure you install and seal the through wall portion properly

Hardiplank. Looks like they'd do a pretty simple install - contractors have already put in the dryer and hood vent exhausts so I'd expect the same thing for the garage fan. Haven't had a chance to get them to give me some options on the fan though - seems like the in ceiling ones are generally way higher quality as they're really just bathroom exhaust fans while the in wall ones are noisy and flimsy since they are usually installed in attics and garages.

What about a solar vent fan?

https://www.amazon.ca/4-Seasons-Sola.../dp/B01DMSCPJA

Interesting, that would work if I had a roof over my garage (I have the 2nd floor of the house). This would have to be installed vertically at the side of the house so it won't get enough sun. A smaller version would probably work though. I'll take a look at their other products though.

supafamous - Any possibility you can share pictures of you setup before and after?

Here's the inside and outside:

https://i.imgur.com/uGqIIxM.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/7OTJ3F9.jpg

I figure the fan will go near the door above the light switch - so it's easy to pull power for it and I can turn it on when I get out of the car. I think an in-wall fan is the simplest solution but most of them are shitty fans (loud) designed for out of the way attics.

It's not the right kind of fan but I think Panasonic offers residential quiet fans that could draw air out of the size of your garage. I have the Panasonic quiet fan for my bathrooms and they do a really good job but I'm not sure if there is one that will be powerful enough to draw enough exhaust fumes out of the garage from a safety perspective.

Many months later update - the Panasonic fans allow sideways install and they have a thin one that fits in the wall so our electrician was able to make it work

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/pan...fan/1001385613

Hooked it up with a "pick your duration" timer switch that I walk by when I get in/out of the car.

The garage is definitely colder in the winter now with the hole but the heat of the car tends to keep it around 8-12 degrees most of the time (I've turned off the heat in there). Hopefully during the summer it keeps it from baking too much.

Glad it worked out and thanks for the update!

Thanks for your tip on the Panasonics! I was at a dead end up until that - couldn't find anything that would fit sideways and was flat enough to go into the wall. I shortly after realized that all my bathroom fans were also Panasonics when I was cleaning my fans and they're really good fans.

+1 for panasonic, they're actually whisper quiet

Broan Nutone are garbage and their ratings are inaccurate re: sone level