Garage heating?

[Kensboats7]

we have a couple of  oil filled radiators which we rarely use. I am wondering if it is worth using them in the garage, a double, on a timer just to keep the temperature as constant as possible. Any thoughts ?

[LesG]

*thumbup*Why not? The worst you can do is try it, and either they won't heat your garage enough, or they'll swine so much electricity you'll switch them off again 

[Nigel Fox]

If they are 1kW each and with electricity at 12p/kWhr, then every four hours of operation costs £1.

Assuming 8hrs a day operation it would add £180 to your quarterly bill.

i don't know what the construction of your garage is but I doubt it would make much difference to the average Winter temperature.

[Paul McKenzie]

I think this http://www.flogas.co.uk/superser-f250-winter-heater-package might be better, although not on all the time

[Jonathan Kay]

Are you looking for a more comfortable garage for you, or to protect the 7 in some way?

I was surprised to discover (from BC) that dehumidifiers actually work.

Jonathan

PS: Usual safety reminder about combustion heaters: think about carbon monoxide as well as fire.

[Alan Archer]

Can't you just plumb a rad from your heating system Ken, that is what I am doing.

Alan

[Kensboats7]

Not without a lot of heat loss - garage is sixteen metres from the house. However, I may look into an underfloor heating system just under the car. We have UFH in the house and it works really well, so just a small section might be good to keep the car nice and cosy, the oil thin and the battery warm. 

[Wrightpayne]

I'd look into insulation first - i sikaflexed some 1 inch kingspan onto the steel up and over doors and fibre glassed the roof of our garage which made a massive difference. Its an integral (to the house) garage which has its own radiator which actually makes the house warmer (rad next to internal door so heat bleed much less)

Ian

[Blue C7]

Have you thought about a dimplex thermostatically controlled tubular heater under the car and a car cover.

[solstice]

As Ian says, look at insulation and draught proof, otherwise it is like trying to keep the fridge cold with the door open!

once insulated I wouldn't have thought you need to maintain a temperature much above 5 deg c which shouldn't require much heat input, or dehum as suggested by Jonathon.

[Kensboats7]

The thought was just to keep the temprature well above freezing for the car and the boats, although the boats have already been there for a number of years without problems. The car is under a cover already and there is good air circulation. The idea of a tube heater under the car is good though as I understand that they only use around 120 watts, and should then heat the air locally under the sump and battery safely. Will try this later in the week. I recall that we used to keep a water tank from freezing in the old workshop with just a sixty watt bulb under it during the winter.

[Martin J]

Happy New Year Ken.

Last Winter when it was very cold I was working in a house in Sevenoaks. The chap had a Morgan in his double garage under it's special fitted cover. There were two large radiators connected to his heating system & the garage was warmer than my lounge! 

We had a discussion about his new boiler not being as energy  efficient as he was hoping. 

[Kensboats7]

Still thinking about this and cannot decide if it gives any real advantage apart from making the Seven available reliably at short notice, ie if the roads are dry and the sun shines during the winter months. A square metre of electric underfloor heating mat is about seventy quid complete with thermostat / timer and is cheap to run. I could cut it to fifty cms by two metres length to fit very nicely under the car, and just have it running for a few hours every morning on the timer "just in case".

[Jonathan Kay]

For getting the car warm and ready to drive, as opposed to preserving it or having a comfortable working space here's a blast from the past. We used to fit light bulb holders into the ends of these:

150 W worked nicely with the whole thing sitting on top of the engine. But your mat would obviate the fiddling with the bonnet.

Jonathan

PS: In the 1980s I had two years of early-morning commuting from Oxfordshire to central London in a clapped-out Spitfire that lived outside. In winter 15 min from a mains 3 kW fan heater in the footwell made a big difference.

PPS: Other beers were available.

 

[Wrightpayne]

We used to have waste bins made of party seven tins !

Ian