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Hey guys , we all know to well we have to get ready for winter ( I hate the cold) I'm doing all the pre work on the coupe and my daily drivers, but I got to thinking it's time to drag out the long johns and thick socks, dusting off the propane heaters and stuff, switch from beer to rum:eek: or something. What's your plan?
Well I got the gas furnace I put in my garage last winter finished up. Last year I just pluged it in with an extension cord and it just blew air out the top, not even a thermostat. I put a couple large grills in the plenum on the top, actually wired up a thermostat. I washed my insulated coveralls, although my son borrowed them right affter that. So I guess I'm good to go.......................
dlotraf33 normaly I don't say much about others shops...but you said the hot air blows out the top....unless you have the duct work to get the coldair inlet off the floor you could get into trouble... gas fumes go to the floor ..I always put counter flow furnaces in shops for that reason.. I'd hate to see somthing happen when it could be prevented.. Stay warm and dry
It is an up flow furnace. Power vent motor, vented to the outside. It is on a platform approx 20" off the floor, (code requires 18"). Return (cold air inlet) in side bottom of furnace. Bottom of return is 24" from the floor. Carbon Monoxide detector in garage. Last year I just did bare minium to get heat (Safely) in the garage. Plenum on top of furnace with 2 vents. The only time my carbon monoxide detector went off, I stupidly forgot about it and fired up the 48 and left running, the garage door was open but detector went off. Damn those things are loud................. BTW I have held HVAC contractors license's in Texas and North Carolina. I may kill myself, but it won't be with a heater.................:D Oh and I never keep gas cans and such in the garage.Quote:
Originally Posted by cffisher
I thought a little more about what you said about gas fumes, I assume you mean gasoline fumes. You are very correct. If you store gas, or are working with gas, fuel system, where fumes may be present, thinners, or cleaning solvents that are flammable. The best policy (safety wise) is to turn off all heat sources. Now commercial shops where they have high ceilings, normally use hanging heaters, well above floor level and fumes. My advice where alot of us are working in small garages, with low ceilings is to be extremely careful with any type of heaters when working with anything that may produce combustible fumes. When I paint inside and it's cold I heat up garage and turn off all heat, even water heater, which has a closed combustion chamber. Electric heaters, (radiant type) are just as dangerous as gas or oil fired heat. In a small garage probably the safest heater is a sealed oil filled electric heater. But in the presence of fumes even a light switch can be dangerous. That is the main reason I keep gas cans, and most thinners out of the garage. Period............Quote:
Originally Posted by cffisher
Out here in California I always go with a thicker T shirt for winter.
210 BTU kerosene salamander in a tall ceiling 30'x50' shop.
I have heard of this winter thing :LOL:
Actually where I am we get a some morings where it will be 15 degrees or so. Basically when we get a cold spell I don't go out to the shop until noon or so.
And at my house, from Thanksgiving through the remainder of winter, we officially recognize Bailey's as "non-dairy coffee creamer". Puts a bit o' warm in the ol' belly!
I put my tennis shoes away and got my boots out of the closet, guess I'm ready! Planned on being all moved to Texas by now, but bringing our two most precious granddaughters home to live with us in July changed those plans!!! Funny how a guy's priorities can be changed!!!
One question is,how for a shop that isn't heated all the time, keep the water based parts cleaner fluid from freezing and ruining the pump??.I did give a thought about using a magnetic block heater on the tank,but not sure of the risks.
Adding some regular anti freeze might work. Try mixing a small ammount of parts cleaner with a little anti freeze and see if still cleans like it did before. And then I'd probably put some in a plastic bottle and put in freezer, to see if the cleaner stays liquid. It doesn't take very much to keep it from freezing. Of course I'm not in Rochester............ Or you might check with some mechanics in your local shops. The water based cleaners are becoming more popular, they might have an anti freeze additive designed to work with those cleaners.Quote:
Originally Posted by 1gary
Gary,
You might consider making a small enclosure, like an outhouse size around the parts cleaner and putting one of the small milkhouse heaters in it set to ~40F. I've got water piped into my barn for a small restroom walled off away from outside walls and that's what I use to keep it from freezing.
Ahhh, winter in central Florida is real tough. For those couple of weeks I can't work in the garage in shorts and t-shirt, have to put on the Levis and a sweatshirt. If it gets really cold, I have to close the garage door. :D
Mike
Attachment 52293
Stirrer...:LOL::LOL:Its supposed to be summer down here,,but we only had a few days so far,and now its raining again..Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike52
Mike,at least your humidity would drop to around 60% wouldnt it??:D
"Stirrer" - that's the perfect term!! I had the same thought when I looked at Mike's picture, but then I thought about how that picture would look in mid-August - no shirt, fans to move the heavy air, sweat dripping.;) Oh wait, I just described the August weather in Kansas, too!!:LOL:**)Quote:
Originally Posted by lamin8r
I spent the first 32 years of my life in Indiana where Summer is about 8 weeks long and the rest of the year is unpredictable and mostly crappy:mad:. I used to put my hotrod and motorcycle away in early October and they didn't see daylight again until mid-May:(. There were many Winter days when it was so cold that I couldn't work in the garage because the heaters just couldn't keep up. After my last two winters there (one with record snowfall and the next with record cold) I had had enough. I moved south 31 years ago and have never been sorry. Now I ride my Harley and drive my coupe year-round. On those few days when the temp doesn't break 60, I just don't work in the garage...:3dSMILE::3dSMILE:
Gets quite hot in Kansas,does it??what about the humidity? When I had my little holiday in America,in 1991,(October-early Nov,from memory) I drove up to Las Vegas from Anaheim,and the temps were quite nice,,but a nice dry heat,that I wasnt totally used to,being from Auckland..in fact,even though it was obviously cooling down because of winter approaching,I enjoyed the warmth..Now,I am acclimatised to a cooler part of the country,,it would be a challenge..:DQuote:
Originally Posted by rspears
I guess I'm nuts I enjoy all 4 seasons. When I lived in Chicago I road my bike in the winter if the roads weren't all ice...Got caught at work with it one time first it didn't want to start then I wasn't sure I wanted to ride but it was just wet snow. I have driven my 38 to McCormick place down the Dan Ryan for a world of wheels show one year in a snow storm. The next morning I was there early cleaning it up. I just beleave if it runs drive it why trailer a good runing car, but that another story.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lamin8r
Lamin8r, we get the extremes in Kansas. We get the heat of summer, up above 110F occasionally (like this past August!!), and the humidity generally will vary from 75-85% mornings before burning off to mid-60's in the heat of the afternoon; but we also get some cold blasts from Canada in the winter, especially January & February record lows -20F with relative humidity mid-60's. Even with the extremes our three to four month transitions in spring and fall are some of the best around.Quote:
Originally Posted by cffisher
Charlie,
I agree 100% on four seasons. I lived in Corpus Christi, Texas for a few years while in the Navy and it really messed up my biological clock!! I would be in a funk much of the time, and I finally pinned it on the fact that I missed the seasonal changes that make up a normal year in the mid-west! I'll admit that the extremes are harder on the body as we age, but the kids & grandkids are here, so we're stuck!**)
Nah! You guys aren't crazy, just different personality.:HMMM: People have asked me if I miss the change of seasons. NO! When I lived up north I was exuberantly happy in the summertime. Then, after the first cold snap (usually in late September), my mood would change. I was easily irritated and often sullen. As winter got closer, the dead brown grass, leafless trees, and constantly gray skies would drive me into a state of depression that lasted until late May.:( I missed Summer! I hate to be cold; if I have to wear long sleeves to go outdoors in the daytime, it's too friggin' cold!
Hey, it's a good thing we don't all like the same climate - it would get awfully crowded somewhere.;):3dSMILE:
SAD "seasonal attitude disorder" affects a lot of people. It has to do with the daily light. You can take vitamin D and change your light bulbs to "full spectrum" and it helps.
I tried that in the '60s, it wasn't all that 'groovy' then. :cool: :eek: :LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by sfort
Mike
Rub it in!Quote:
Originally Posted by lamin8r
Hows it on your side of the country,Steve??You guys dont get humidity,do ya??:eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by stovens
I would be more worried about Don and the boys drowning in the humidity in Florida..:eek:
Robin it's in the 30's most mornings, heating up to 50 by the time I roll out to work. Our humidity varies, with dry as the norm, until winter rains start up again. I had to actually water the potted plants this week because it's a dry cold spell here now.
unheated garage
i wear longjohns+flannel lined jeans+ heavy winter boots+heavy carhart jacket+wool hat
gloves
and i have a portable electric oil filled space heater that i made a tool tray that i put on top.
warm tools and feet make things much nicer.
