Garage heaters

[lowdrag]

I opened the garage yesterday to see a film of moisture on one car, and think it is time to bite the bullet and finish off the insulation and put in a little heater. It is a 6x6 metre four door garage with two layers of aluminium sandwich insulation except for the doors which I'll fill with rockwool to finish off and add rubber strips on the bottom. I've had a look at heaters and my eyes have gone a bit square. I'll use a timer to take advantage of off-peak juice, but a recommendation or two would help please.

[Brum_Brum]

How well sealed is your garage?, instead of a heater I run a desiccant dehumidifier to keep the humidity down. Never have an issue with any moisture gathering no matter how cold it gets.

[aeropilot]

Brum_Brum said:

How well sealed is your garage?, instead of a heater I run a desiccant dehumidifier to keep the humidity down. Never have an issue with any moisture gathering no matter how cold it gets.

Agreed. De-humid is better than heat, if the garage has a decent enough seal to exterior.

If not maybe a carcoon would be better in terms of energy consumption...?

[alfaspecial]

I don't claim to be a expert......
Often problems of condensation in garages are to do with ventilation rather than temperature per se. If you drive a wet car into a warm garage then yes, a heater will dry the car's bodywork / wheel arches etc but the water (in the form of condensation) will have to 'go' somewhere. Brick built garages, especially if heated, provide ideal 'breeding grounds' for mould and rust

I believe the 'best' garages, from the point of view of condensation, are wooden ones- with plenty of natural air gaps, to allow cross ventilation.

So try a heater by all means but consider more ventilation, in the form of air bricks in wall and/or an air vents in the garage door. Ideally try & have a cross flow of ventilation ie vents arranged so that the prevailing wind can blow through the garage. If no joy then perhaps fit a small low powered electric fan - a bigger version of a computer fan, given the size of your garage. Have it on a timer so that it switches itself 'off' after a period of time. The lighting in communal area of flats is often controlled by something like this https://www.electricals247.co.uk/columbus-time-lag...

[del mar]

alfaspecial said:

I don't claim to be a expert......
Often problems of condensation in garages are to do with ventilation rather than temperature per se. If you drive a wet car into a warm garage then yes, a heater will dry the car's bodywork / wheel arches etc but the water (in the form of condensation) will have to 'go' somewhere. Brick built garages, especially if heated, provide ideal 'breeding grounds' for mould and rust

I believe the 'best' garages, from the point of view of condensation, are wooden ones- with plenty of natural air gaps, to allow cross ventilation.

So try a heater by all means but consider more ventilation, in the form of air bricks in wall and/or an air vents in the garage door. Ideally try & have a cross flow of ventilation ie vents arranged so that the prevailing wind can blow through the garage. If no joy then perhaps fit a small low powered electric fan - a bigger version of a computer fan, given the size of your garage. Have it on a timer so that it switches itself 'off' after a period of time. The lighting in communal area of flats is often controlled by something like this https://www.electricals247.co.uk/columbus-time-lag...

I would tend to agree, the wooden garage allows the air to move in and out, along with leaves and dust !

[aeropilot]

del mar said:

alfaspecial said:

I don't claim to be a expert......
Often problems of condensation in garages are to do with ventilation rather than temperature per se. If you drive a wet car into a warm garage then yes, a heater will dry the car's bodywork / wheel arches etc but the water (in the form of condensation) will have to 'go' somewhere. Brick built garages, especially if heated, provide ideal 'breeding grounds' for mould and rust

I believe the 'best' garages, from the point of view of condensation, are wooden ones- with plenty of natural air gaps, to allow cross ventilation.

So try a heater by all means but consider more ventilation, in the form of air bricks in wall and/or an air vents in the garage door. Ideally try & have a cross flow of ventilation ie vents arranged so that the prevailing wind can blow through the garage. If no joy then perhaps fit a small low powered electric fan - a bigger version of a computer fan, given the size of your garage. Have it on a timer so that it switches itself 'off' after a period of time. The lighting in communal area of flats is often controlled by something like this https://www.electricals247.co.uk/columbus-time-lag...

I would tend to agree, the wooden garage allows the air to move in and out, along with leaves and dust !

Which is why a Carcoon is a much better idea......even runs off a 12v supply, and at around the 600 quid or so mark, probably cheaper and more effective than a mains heater/de-humidifier etc., over time.

[tapkaJohnD]

No doubt of the CarCoon, but for the rest of us and those who want to use their car frequently, ventilation is the key, as said above.

I live in the wettest part of the UK, with an unheated, brick garage that has ill-fiting doors, I get no rust on my tools and little on the cars.
This, despite using a propane room hetaer in winter, whihc produces a lot of wtaer vapour.

JOhn

[mph]

tapkaJohnD said:

No doubt of the CarCoon, but for the rest of us and those who want to use their car frequently, ventilation is the key, as said above.

I live in the wettest part of the UK, with an unheated, brick garage that has ill-fiting doors, I get no rust on my tools and little on the cars.
This, despite using a propane room hetaer in winter, whihc produces a lot of wtaer vapour.

JOhn

You can still use your car regularly with a Carcoon. I do.

I have a large wooden garage with good ventilation, it's impractical to heat or dehumidify. Before I got the carcoon the alloy bits would deteriorate rapidly over the winter, particualrly the rocker covers.

Now the car comes out of the carcoon looking exactly the same as when it was put away.

[v8250]

Tony, I run one of these, it works superbly keeping everything, including tools and car upholstery, super dry throughout the winter months

https://www.screwfix.com/p/ebac-powerdri-18ltr-deh...

[The Dangerous Elk]

How does the CarCoon work with a damp garage? I am assuming damp air gets blown in?

[anonymous-user]

The Dangerous Elk said:

How does the CarCoon work with a damp garage? I am assuming damp air gets blown in?

Two fans sealed from the outside atmosphere I think.

[The Dangerous Elk]

Raygun said:

Two fans sealed from the outside atmosphere I think.

How can they be sealed, it needs air ???....I am missing the plan here I think

[renmure]

v8250 said:

Tony, I run one of these, it works superbly keeping everything, including tools and car upholstery, super dry throughout the winter months

https://www.screwfix.com/p/ebac-powerdri-18ltr-deh...

I use the same and have done for a few years.
Another benefit is that the air coming out of it is certainly warmer than the air going in, so certainly not a heater but definitely helping.

[200Plus Club]

My experiences:
Carcoon- ok- average humidity inside is lower than the garage it's placed in. They work by blowing air across the car and slowing fast temperature changes up, thus avoiding condensation. I did see my brake discs rust slightly inside one over winter, must have been damp as I put it away. Following year I left some dessicant sacks inside the chamber which helped. Downside is more hassle zipping in and out if used regularly.

Refrigeration type dehumidifier- work well in a sealed garage until the winter temps drop then they lose efficiency. (dewpoint related)

Rotary dessicant dehumidifier- work best overall even in low temps. Make sure garage sealed and allow a few weeks for the actual walls and structure to give up any damp and you'll soon see the humidity settle out and the unit will switch on and off as needed.
I leave a cheap desk fan running continually to aid airflow, it consumes 40w or so max, and the dehumidifier is often switched off on it's cut out and the garage sits at 45-60% rh generally at all times now.
Obvious advantage is drive in drive out of the garage.

Above scenarios in my brick/ flat roof garages as opposed to well ventilated / airy type structures.

[iDrive]

For £1 trial to Which? their guide is good and could save you buying a dud...

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/dehumidifiers/arti...

[smokin gun]

My friend has a collection of old cars in a shed with straw everywhere (he has horses also)and they are 100% dry apparently straw is the cheap alternative to a dehumidifier it works and there is no electricity involved.

[DonkeyApple]

I recently weighed up the carcoon v airchamber. They are the same price and do the same job but with a couple of small differences that probably favour different users. I bought the airchamber because I think it looks a bit better in an open garage, you're not driving over the zip and rear section to get the car in and out and it has a little air zip at the rear which allows condensation out.

We've just had a couple of days of wind and rain and in this morning's sunshine I noticed condensation had formed on the back panel. I have opened the little zip to see if that helps but I was planning to buy a couple of the 500g silica bags to leave one inside the car and the other outside.

i wouldn't run a heater or a dehumidifier. If the garage that you're fiting the chamber in is really damp then I'd prefer to open up some proper ventilation to get air flowing through.

[jsf55]

v8250 said:

Tony, I run one of these, it works superbly keeping everything, including tools and car upholstery, super dry throughout the winter months

https://www.screwfix.com/p/ebac-powerdri-18ltr-deh...

Same here, brilliant bit of kit, plumbed to automatically drain to outside, fit and forget

[mph]

The Dangerous Elk said:

How does the CarCoon work with a damp garage? I am assuming damp air gets blown in?

I've read every opinion under the sun on this.

All I can say is that it works very effectively. My car comes out at the end of the winter exactly the same as it went in i.e. the alloy and chrome is still bright and shiny. Previously it was a very different story.

My friend has an airchamber which has proved equally effective although his garage is much drier than mine. We both agree that the Carcoon is a better quality product than the airchamber.

One thing may be worth checking - my friends airchamber was delivered with the fans incorrectly connected. One was sucking instead of blowing.

[steely dan]

DonkeyApple said:

I recently weighed up the carcoon v airchamber. They are the same price and do the same job but with a couple of small differences that probably favour different users. I bought the airchamber because I think it looks a bit better in an open garage, you're not driving over the zip and rear section to get the car in and out and it has a little air zip at the rear which allows condensation out.

We've just had a couple of days of wind and rain and in this morning's sunshine I noticed condensation had formed on the back panel. I have opened the little zip to see if that helps but I was planning to buy a couple of the 500g silica bags to leave one inside the car and the other outside.

i wouldn't run a heater or a dehumidifier. If the garage that you're fiting the chamber in is really damp then I'd prefer to open up some proper ventilation to get air flowing through.

/\ /\ /\
That's your answer . I've had mine for nearly 20 years now and it's been the best money I've ever spent on cars . I have a well insulated garage now but it's been in some less than perfect ones over the years and the cars inside never deteriorated. You'd have to spend considerable money bringing your garage up to the conditions that prevail inside an Airchamber and as soon as you open the garage door(s) it's lost again.