OT: still on heating for hog barn

[willymax4]

i insulated and sheetrocked my 24x24 garage. r13 in the walls and r25 in the ceiling, then hung a 75000 btu modine unit heater from the ceiling vented thru the roof.
i maintain 45 f when not using it and bump it to 70f which takes about 30 minutes at a -20 f outside temp.
no moisture problems any more and it costs about $10.00 a month to keep it heated. i guess i could shut it down all together and heat it when i'm in there but if the slab cools to outside temp, i'll never get it warm again till spring.
sure is nice to work in a warm environment.

[PoorUB]

I saw this post earlier today and thought alittle about it and thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.  I had the issues with condensation as well.  I added a room in the barn using R19 insulation in the ceiling, R13 in the walls, sealed the floor and added furring strips with dense foam covered with 3/4 inch tounge and groove plywood. One thing lead to another and it ended up being a finished room.  I heat this room 10 x 14 with a electric-oil space heater at about 55 degrees (lowest setting) for about $8 a month (less than $100 per year) here in Michigan. We found that we can get three baggers in this room and only heat the rest of the barn with the woodburner the days we get together.  No condensation, no dust, love it.

Happy New Year,  and the best of riding to all.  Glen

Good point! Most of us do not need to heat the whole garage, just a small room closed off would suffice for a heated work are. Properly insulated and finished it takes little power to keep the room warm. A small electric baseboard heater would be plenty for most.

I heat my 24x36 foot garage and it gets expensive here in North Dakota, but then the missus likes her warm car in the mornings! If I heat the garage to 65-70F it costs as much as my house. If I run it at 55F it probably heats for $1 a day on the average. Those January bills when I have been keeping the temps up to 65F or better can be killers! $3 a day is my guess when I look at my bill. May garage is not insulated as well as it could be, cheap overhead door, and only 8" batts in the ceiling as the attic has a floor over all of it. I did not build it, I bought the property with it, but i sure would do things differantly if I built it myself.

[Dakota]

i insulated and sheetrocked my 24x24 garage. r13 in the walls and r25 in the ceiling, then hung a 75000 btu modine unit heater from the ceiling vented thru the roof.
i maintain 45 f when not using it and bump it to 70f which takes about 30 minutes at a -20 f outside temp.
no moisture problems any more and it costs about $10.00 a month to keep it heated. i guess i could shut it down all together and heat it when i'm in there but if the slab cools to outside temp, i'll never get it warm again till spring.
sure is nice to work in a warm environment.

  I've got a similar setup to yours.  You're right, you need to keep it fairly warm or you'll never get it warmed up when you want to use it.  Plus it's nice to get in a warm vehicle when you want to go somewhere in the winter (or my wife to work)

[Phu Cat]

If you don't vent the heater to the outside the H2O produced is left inside the building. That's why you get moisture collecting on cold surfaces,   That doesn't explain the ice that formed in your freezer before they were self-defrosting.  The moisture on a cold surface mostly comes from the existing moisture in the air.  Only a small amount of moisture is produced by combustion.  How much moisture is created in your engine by combustion?

PC

[05RK1]

It's called dew point.  It does not matter what the heating or cooling mechanism is when you reach the dew point it will condensate.  I would be more concerned about venting the byproducts of your fuel

[PoorUB]

How much moisture is created in your engine by combustion?

PC

More than you may believe! We don't see it much because the water condenses in the exhaust, and lays in the muffler until you ride away. As the exhaust warms up, the moisture can not condense in the pipes as they are too hot, and is expelled as steam. Start your bike once, run it for just a few seconds, put you hand behind the muffler and rev the engine. Depending on what you have for exhaust your hand may come back wet, maybe dripping with moisture.

As for using a ventless infrared heater, sure the items right under the heater get warmed first, and avoid condensation, but what about other items in the shop, tools for instance. I have been in shops using portable heaters and seen condensation forming on vehicles, and tools not in line with the heat.

[northbrun]

regardless of what type of heat you decide on keep in mind 1 thing first. Massachusetts code (all i know) require any flame fired heat source be 48" above the floor. gas fumes being heaver than air will sink. as an example, I use a kero space heater which is up on a shelf i mounted on a wall. I placed a box type window fan up about 6" below the celing blowing down towards the floor about 18" in front of the hot end of the heater. This pushes the heat down to where i am working. 24x36' stone garage with a few "drafts" keeps it about 45 deg above outside temp ..0deg. outside.....55 inside takes about 15 to 20 min to warm up. uses about 3.5 gal of kero a day..

[texaskatfish]

Summer's comin BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[willymax4]

dang northbrun, you're spending about 400 clams a month for heat?
kero in your area is going for $3.85 gal. might make better since to run nat. gas and hang a unit heater thus satifying the building codes, saving fuel costs and be done with any fumes. an installation like this will pay for itself in about one heating season.
jussayin

[Mickster]

I have an insulated 12 by 12 building...
I cover the Ultra with cotton sheets and put an oil filled heater under the blankets on its lowest setting.
Keeps the small shed 35 degrees and a thermometer on the seat says it's 72 degrees.
Oil filled heaters have no fire potential as the element is submerged in oil.
It's been working great for the past ten winters...and NO condensation.
I heat the main garage, insulated with corn/wood pellets and push the Ultra in the garage when I want to do maintenance.
Stay warm boys, we're almost half way through winter...
Mickster

[Big Dan]

Poor,
There is no condensation anywhere in my garage; not even in the darkest, most remote corner. Radiant rays reflect, just like light. The area & items directly under/in-front-of the heater are indeed the warmest, but it's nice in the entire garage.

[northbrun]

dang northbrun, you're spending about 400 clams a month for heat?
kero in your area is going for $3.85 gal. might make better since to run nat. gas and hang a unit heater thus satifying the building codes, saving fuel costs and be done with any fumes. an installation like this will pay for itself in about one heating season.
jussayin

well maybe i missed something here... given that the question was about condensation on a cold bike, I assumed that the question was about heating the building intermittently.. i spend about $40 a month and spend a fair amount of time on my hobbies..