Garage heating options

**damo605** · 08-11-2012, 08:34 PM

Hi Everyone,

Am in the final stages (insulating, wiring, etc) of building the garage to home my recently acquired 68 LeSabre... It's a timbre frame and will be heavily insulated and also dehumidified. I am wondering about the heating options for the winter - reading online infrared heating looks like a good option but I'm wondering will infrared heat actually heat a car? I know it will heat a person but what about a Buick ;-)
Also, what should be the minimum temperature to store a classic car, I'm thinking 5 deg C (about 40 deg F) should be okay?
Thanks for any advice...

Damo

**bob k. mando** · 08-11-2012, 10:20 PM

the biggest reason to keep the car heated is to prevent condensation on the car. the dehumidification is good for this though 40° F may be a bit low for ambient. if you open your garage door and dump a bunch of warmer external air into the garage or take the car out for a spring/fall drive in the morning after the sun has started to warm up temps the metal of the car is still going to draw moisture.

also, it sounds like you're leaving yourself dependent on the electrical grid. a bad ice storm and you might not have power for a week or more.

you might want to consider hot water radiators run off of an external wood or waste oil fired stove. no soot or "smoke" smell for the upolstery and it won't draw 'new' ( moist ) air into the building like an interior fireplace would.

reading online infrared heating looks like a good option but I'm wondering will infrared heat actually heat a car?

certainly it will.

though i'm not sure how MUCH you really want to heat the car directly. you could run the risk of blistering the paint if you apply too much radiant energy too it.

you probably know this already, but you also want to stay at least 5 miles away from the coast. sea air is full of salt and can rot a car just as effectively as driving regularly on snow / salted roads. beach cars from Florida are notorious for this.

**Riviera KY** · 08-12-2012, 07:54 AM

All I do and it works, is run a big fan. Condensation is bad here in KY. But I have found that moving the air ( hot or cold ) Works great. No sweat, no condensation, on nothing. You don't have to run the fan fast either. All you need is a big enought fan to move all the air in the garage. Roll the windows down and let the air move in the car too. It works. Done this for 30 years.

**suntreemcanic** · 08-13-2012, 06:10 PM

I live at about 3300 ft elevation. It is hot in the summer (low humidity) and very cold in the winter, often 15 degrees in the shop in the winter. A large propane fired ceiling furnace works real well in the winter. I turn on the furnace when I want to work out there. We have no moisture problems ever.

**Dr. Frankenbuick** · 08-14-2012, 05:24 PM

Originally Posted by suntreemcanic

I live at about 3300 ft elevation. It is hot in the summer (low humidity) and very cold in the winter, often 15 degrees in the shop in the winter. A large propane fired ceiling furnace works real well in the winter. I turn on the furnace when I want to work out there. We have no moisture problems ever.

I have a Mr Heater Big Max in one ovesized bay in my insulated garage. It is on a thermostat that keeps it at whatever temperature you like. I keep it around 60* when working inside there in the winter. You could keep it much lower for your application. Here is a link to the one I have: http://www.mrheater.com/product.aspx?catid=50&id=117. I think I got it through Northern Tool on sale.

**damo605** · 08-17-2012, 09:00 PM

Thanks Everyone for your replies, esp. Bob...
In Ireland the main pain is rain :-/
Relying on the electric grid is not a problem as power outages longer than an hour or two are more or less unheard of - Most heating systems here actually depend on them, even if they are ooil based, to drive the water pumps, etc.
The garage will always be warmer than the outside air so I'm not worried about condensation - Still though I'm thinking now about 7 deg C (45 F) as a minimum...
The damn garage is far from finished and has already cost me more than the car :-/

**m/w** · 08-17-2012, 09:38 PM

Hello from the great white north(canada) . Would it be possible to use a small air tight stove as backup avery little wood lasts a long time just a thought . later bake

**damo605** · 08-17-2012, 10:14 PM

Originally Posted by m/w

Hello from the great white north(canada) . Would it be possible to use a small air tight stove as backup avery little wood lasts a long time just a thought . later bake

That sounds great but when we have to start thinking about back up then I guess the house will be first ;-)
Thank you though, appreciate the thought!

**norwegian66riv** · 08-19-2012, 06:19 PM

Use one of these: http://www.airconditionershome.com/a...eral_asha12lec

It work in Norway down to -15 to -20˚C (5 to -4˚F), maybe down to -25˚C (-13˚F) to. So Irland is no problem.

And you can use it to cool down the garage in the summer.

**Robert Hare** · 08-21-2012, 07:49 AM

I installed radiant heat in my floor and maintain 55deg f as a minimum temperature. As there is 22 yards of concrete in my floor it takes days to raise or lower the temp, I use a mr heater kero heater to bring up the temp when Iam working in the winter. the garage is 1200 sq ft and I burn about 100 gal of fuel oil each year.

Bob