heated garage questions (Hope: real estate, countertops, appliances)
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Where are you planning on moving? Do you plan on heating the garage all the time? Or just the times you may be working there? If you plan to just heat the space while you are working, you could go for a small wood stove, a small salamander (reddyheater) or possibly electric space heaters. Keep in mind that for vehicle longevity up here in road salt country, it is best to have an unheated space, as the slush/salt mixture will stay frozen and less active, so as to slow the spread of the dreaded car cancer.
oh i heard that you want a heated garage so that the clumps of salted snow and ice fall off your car! most likely, i will only use the garage for storing the car and i had heard that a heated garage is a plus. i grew up in wisconsin and we never had a heated garage. i'll be moving to upstate ny but i'm not sure where yet, probably wny or the southern tier.
Location: North of the Cow Pasture and South of the Wind Turbines
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I agree with boomvang (must be a sailor) Wood is great but the heat up time is 2-3 hours minimum. I heat my house with wood primarily. I would say if you have propane go with a propane heater for the garage, also with oil, electric will kill you cost wise. It would be the easiest setup expense wise and the heat up time would be 15 minutes or so depending on how large the garage.
I also agree with boom about keeping the crap frozen on the vehicle, it can be quite a mess in the space. I can get 20 pound chucks of mud/ice caked up under my truck and I keep it in the barn but it can be a mess come spring.
If you want to work for 8 or more hours plus in the space, then wood/pellet is the way to go. Pellet is good because you can load the hopper and you are good for quite a while, but the cost varies because it is depending on fuel costs for production, delivery etc.
If you just want the car warm go with a remote starter for your vehicle, AND a garage door opener to vent the deadly carbon monoxide, prior to starting.
Good luck! Congrats on moving to the best state especially the Southern Tier.
I think the heated garage being a 'plus' is something real estate agents came up with, like granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. As others have said, unless you are using the garage as a workspace it is better for the car if it is unheated. As far as heating, wood is the most sensible heating option in most of upstate NY- its local, it is considered 'carbon neutral' and if responsibly harvested it is sustainable. There is a cheap thing called (I think) a 'mister heater' that clamps to the top of a propane tank of the sort used for gas grills- you could use that to get immediate heat while you wait for the woodstove to get going
thank you guys, much appreciated! can't wait to be in upstate
Hope you like it here!
A heated garage is worth the effort only if you have a workshop in it and don't have a car there!! Many people have pole barns for that and heat them where I live.
We never wash the salt off; if it rains, so be it -- the car gets clean. If not, the warm days will melt off slush and snow. You will always find slush in the garage; shovel it out or it will pit the floor. It is the curse of the salt.[Really cold? Nudge the slush and slop with your booted foot!] We have very little rust ever on the cars.
Be prepared to put a shovel and some scrapers in the car and also a bag with an extra hat, gloves, scarf, etc. We also have those silver "space blankets". With the car outside, we turn it on and then go and clean it off. By the time we get in, it is warm. No remote starter.
i've lived in phoenix for 20 years so i hope the transition back to winter won't be too difficult. i don't think it will be. i'll definitely look into the space blanket! i hope my beetle will go through the snow ok. when i lived in wis. i drove a honda cvcc and that little thing just climbed over the snow! has anyone had any experience with driving a vw bug in the snow??
Old Bug or new? My first car was a '66 Karman Ghia, air cooled, rear engine based on the original Beetle. With good snows it was unstoppable, as long as you did not overcook it going into turns. A New Beetle is front wheel drive, and will drive much as your Civic did. Just remember, you want to put the best snows on all four corners of the thing. You can't go wrong with a set of Bridgestone Blizzaks.
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) Wood is great but the heat up time is 2-3 hours minimum. I heat my house with wood primarily. I would say if you have propane go with a propane heater for the garage, also with oil, electric will kill you cost wise. It would be the easiest setup expense wise and the heat up time would be 15 minutes or so depending on how large the garage.
