Heated Garage or not?

I just had the heater man out to fix my heat, and I talked to him about
adding a heat register for my garage. He said he could probably add it for
$200-$300 and it would just use hot water returning to the boiler from any
of the other zones, so it would essentially heat a bit anytime an of the
other zones got heated. My garage is drywalled and insulated. I have read
that people don't recommend heated garages in areas where you have high salt
use, because it will speed up rust. We don't use salt in my area and it
would sure be nice to have a heated garage to work in as I rebuild my CJ-7.
Once my CJ-7 is done it will be stored outdoors under a car cover during the
winter and my Cherokee and fiance's Camry will come back inside.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Maybe I am mistaken, but I don't see how a heated garage would speed up
rusting. Remember, a heated garage does not mean heated to 70 degrees when
it's cold outside. Just keep it heated to about 50 something for faster
vehicle warm-ups on those cold winter days. What difference would it make to
the vehicle's rust problem if the vehicle is in a 50 degree garage or a 25
degree garage?

I am in Cleveland, Ohio, and have an attached garage. We do get cold
winters. Even though the garage is not heated, just the heat escaping from
the walls of my house adjacent to the garage keeps the garage about 20
something degrees (I would guess) warmer than the outside temperature in the
winter.

Tom

"Kevin S" > wrote in message
...
> I just had the heater man out to fix my heat, and I talked to him about
> adding a heat register for my garage. He said he could probably add it
for
> $200-$300 and it would just use hot water returning to the boiler from any
> of the other zones, so it would essentially heat a bit anytime an of the
> other zones got heated. My garage is drywalled and insulated. I have
read
> that people don't recommend heated garages in areas where you have high
salt
> use, because it will speed up rust. We don't use salt in my area and it
> would sure be nice to have a heated garage to work in as I rebuild my
CJ-7.
> Once my CJ-7 is done it will be stored outdoors under a car cover during
the
> winter and my Cherokee and fiance's Camry will come back inside.
>
> Thoughts? Suggestions?
>
>

Maybe I am mistaken, but I don't see how a heated garage would speed up
rusting. Remember, a heated garage does not mean heated to 70 degrees when
it's cold outside. Just keep it heated to about 50 something for faster
vehicle warm-ups on those cold winter days. What difference would it make to
the vehicle's rust problem if the vehicle is in a 50 degree garage or a 25
degree garage?

I am in Cleveland, Ohio, and have an attached garage. We do get cold
winters. Even though the garage is not heated, just the heat escaping from
the walls of my house adjacent to the garage keeps the garage about 20
something degrees (I would guess) warmer than the outside temperature in the
winter.

Tom

"Kevin S" > wrote in message
...
> I just had the heater man out to fix my heat, and I talked to him about
> adding a heat register for my garage. He said he could probably add it
for
> $200-$300 and it would just use hot water returning to the boiler from any
> of the other zones, so it would essentially heat a bit anytime an of the
> other zones got heated. My garage is drywalled and insulated. I have
read
> that people don't recommend heated garages in areas where you have high
salt
> use, because it will speed up rust. We don't use salt in my area and it
> would sure be nice to have a heated garage to work in as I rebuild my
CJ-7.
> Once my CJ-7 is done it will be stored outdoors under a car cover during
the
> winter and my Cherokee and fiance's Camry will come back inside.
>
> Thoughts? Suggestions?
>
>

I have a kerosene heater that I really enjoy. You have to keep the door up
about an inch so air can get in or let the carbon monoxide out, whatever. In
any case, my heater is cold to the touch, except for the front grill, and it
can be refilled while it is running because the fuel tank comes out, and it
can keep my garage warm. The benefit is that the garage heater is
independent from the rest of the house. I suppose you could have a valve
installed in your garage to shut off the flow to the radiator, and acheive
the same result. Oh, one more thing, I think I paid about the same for my
kerosene heater as the guy is quoting you for a radiator.




"Kevin S" > wrote in message
...
> I just had the heater man out to fix my heat, and I talked to him about
> adding a heat register for my garage. He said he could probably add it
for
> $200-$300 and it would just use hot water returning to the boiler from any
> of the other zones, so it would essentially heat a bit anytime an of the
> other zones got heated. My garage is drywalled and insulated. I have
read
> that people don't recommend heated garages in areas where you have high
salt
> use, because it will speed up rust. We don't use salt in my area and it
> would sure be nice to have a heated garage to work in as I rebuild my
CJ-7.
> Once my CJ-7 is done it will be stored outdoors under a car cover during
the
> winter and my Cherokee and fiance's Camry will come back inside.
>
> Thoughts? Suggestions?
>
>

I have a kerosene heater that I really enjoy. You have to keep the door up
about an inch so air can get in or let the carbon monoxide out, whatever. In
any case, my heater is cold to the touch, except for the front grill, and it
can be refilled while it is running because the fuel tank comes out, and it
can keep my garage warm. The benefit is that the garage heater is
independent from the rest of the house. I suppose you could have a valve
installed in your garage to shut off the flow to the radiator, and acheive
the same result. Oh, one more thing, I think I paid about the same for my
kerosene heater as the guy is quoting you for a radiator.




"Kevin S" > wrote in message
...
> I just had the heater man out to fix my heat, and I talked to him about
> adding a heat register for my garage. He said he could probably add it
for
> $200-$300 and it would just use hot water returning to the boiler from any
> of the other zones, so it would essentially heat a bit anytime an of the
> other zones got heated. My garage is drywalled and insulated. I have
read
> that people don't recommend heated garages in areas where you have high
salt
> use, because it will speed up rust. We don't use salt in my area and it
> would sure be nice to have a heated garage to work in as I rebuild my
CJ-7.
> Once my CJ-7 is done it will be stored outdoors under a car cover during
the
> winter and my Cherokee and fiance's Camry will come back inside.
>
> Thoughts? Suggestions?
>
>

In spite of what some other posters have said:

1) heating the garage speeds up the rusting. It's a chemical reaction
that goes faster as a function of the temp. Not only that, if the crud
stays frozen in the garage, you are not bathing the metal in the salt
water. Best thing here is to power wash the underside on a regular basis.

2) The kerosene bullet heaters are decent to make it warm enough to work
on the vehicle. ( I have 2 of them a 40k btu and a 115k btu) Downsides
are the stink from the kerosene, the issue of carbon monoxide (only have
to to do that once to not do it agian, assuming you live through it),
and the amount of water it dumps into the garage. Keep in mind that for
every gallon of kerosene you burn, you dump a gallon of water into the
garage air. Creates lots of rust potential on your tools. Propane
heaters are slightly better on the CO, stink, and water problems but
still are only a temporary fix.

Best bet is a hanging (unit) heater. We see them advertised for around
$500 for a 45kbtu unit, a bit more for the 75kbtu version. Add in the
gas piping and vert stack so they are not cheap.



Kevin S wrote:

> I just had the heater man out to fix my heat, and I talked to him about
> adding a heat register for my garage. He said he could probably add it for
> $200-$300 and it would just use hot water returning to the boiler from any
> of the other zones, so it would essentially heat a bit anytime an of the
> other zones got heated. My garage is drywalled and insulated. I have read
> that people don't recommend heated garages in areas where you have high salt
> use, because it will speed up rust. We don't use salt in my area and it
> would sure be nice to have a heated garage to work in as I rebuild my CJ-7.
> Once my CJ-7 is done it will be stored outdoors under a car cover during the
> winter and my Cherokee and fiance's Camry will come back inside.
>
> Thoughts? Suggestions?
>
>

In spite of what some other posters have said:

1) heating the garage speeds up the rusting. It's a chemical reaction
that goes faster as a function of the temp. Not only that, if the crud
stays frozen in the garage, you are not bathing the metal in the salt
water. Best thing here is to power wash the underside on a regular basis.

2) The kerosene bullet heaters are decent to make it warm enough to work
on the vehicle. ( I have 2 of them a 40k btu and a 115k btu) Downsides
are the stink from the kerosene, the issue of carbon monoxide (only have
to to do that once to not do it agian, assuming you live through it),
and the amount of water it dumps into the garage. Keep in mind that for
every gallon of kerosene you burn, you dump a gallon of water into the
garage air. Creates lots of rust potential on your tools. Propane
heaters are slightly better on the CO, stink, and water problems but
still are only a temporary fix.

Best bet is a hanging (unit) heater. We see them advertised for around
$500 for a 45kbtu unit, a bit more for the 75kbtu version. Add in the
gas piping and vert stack so they are not cheap.



Kevin S wrote:

> I just had the heater man out to fix my heat, and I talked to him about
> adding a heat register for my garage. He said he could probably add it for
> $200-$300 and it would just use hot water returning to the boiler from any
> of the other zones, so it would essentially heat a bit anytime an of the
> other zones got heated. My garage is drywalled and insulated. I have read
> that people don't recommend heated garages in areas where you have high salt
> use, because it will speed up rust. We don't use salt in my area and it
> would sure be nice to have a heated garage to work in as I rebuild my CJ-7.
> Once my CJ-7 is done it will be stored outdoors under a car cover during the
> winter and my Cherokee and fiance's Camry will come back inside.
>
> Thoughts? Suggestions?
>
>

Ever thought about adding in electric baseboard heaters?
You could go all the way like the garage at my buds house in northern
Ontario oil fired furnace with central air. The garage is about 1400 sq
feet. He keeps his two classic cars, his spare parts vehicle, in the winter
he also stores a boat for someone and in summer he has their sled. A second
"extra" car sits out in the drive, which can fit about 8 vehicles.

Snow...

"Kevin S" > wrote in message
...
> I just had the heater man out to fix my heat, and I talked to him about
> adding a heat register for my garage. He said he could probably add it
for
> $200-$300 and it would just use hot water returning to the boiler from any
> of the other zones, so it would essentially heat a bit anytime an of the
> other zones got heated. My garage is drywalled and insulated. I have
read
> that people don't recommend heated garages in areas where you have high
salt
> use, because it will speed up rust. We don't use salt in my area and it
> would sure be nice to have a heated garage to work in as I rebuild my
CJ-7.
> Once my CJ-7 is done it will be stored outdoors under a car cover during
the
> winter and my Cherokee and fiance's Camry will come back inside.
>
> Thoughts? Suggestions?
>
>

Ever thought about adding in electric baseboard heaters?
You could go all the way like the garage at my buds house in northern
Ontario oil fired furnace with central air. The garage is about 1400 sq
feet. He keeps his two classic cars, his spare parts vehicle, in the winter
he also stores a boat for someone and in summer he has their sled. A second
"extra" car sits out in the drive, which can fit about 8 vehicles.

Snow...

"Kevin S" > wrote in message
...
> I just had the heater man out to fix my heat, and I talked to him about
> adding a heat register for my garage. He said he could probably add it
for
> $200-$300 and it would just use hot water returning to the boiler from any
> of the other zones, so it would essentially heat a bit anytime an of the
> other zones got heated. My garage is drywalled and insulated. I have
read
> that people don't recommend heated garages in areas where you have high
salt
> use, because it will speed up rust. We don't use salt in my area and it
> would sure be nice to have a heated garage to work in as I rebuild my
CJ-7.
> Once my CJ-7 is done it will be stored outdoors under a car cover during
the
> winter and my Cherokee and fiance's Camry will come back inside.
>
> Thoughts? Suggestions?
>
>

We live where it is relatively cold in the winter. It was 18-degrees
F this morning. Our garage right now is 61.3 degrees F. Plenty warm
enough to work out there. The secret for us was to insulate the
garage door (2-car garage) and install good seals. The walls and
ceiling are insulated. The other part is to keep the door closed at
all times, except when entering or leaving. Before we insulated the
garage door, I used to freeze my patooty off out there. It was so
cold stuff in bottles would freeze. Now, the lowest we ever see is
about 55-dgrees F.

The only heat the garage gets is from the engine(s) when we get back
from somewhere.


On Wed, 1 Dec 2004 11:30:51 -0700, "Kevin S"
> wrote:

>I just had the heater man out to fix my heat, and I talked to him about
>adding a heat register for my garage. He said he could probably add it for
>$200-$300 and it would just use hot water returning to the boiler from any
>of the other zones, so it would essentially heat a bit anytime an of the
>other zones got heated. My garage is drywalled and insulated. I have read
>that people don't recommend heated garages in areas where you have high salt
>use, because it will speed up rust. We don't use salt in my area and it
>would sure be nice to have a heated garage to work in as I rebuild my CJ-7.
>Once my CJ-7 is done it will be stored outdoors under a car cover during the
>winter and my Cherokee and fiance's Camry will come back inside.
>
>Thoughts? Suggestions?
>