Car care in the winter?

C

CharlesW

The Rainmaker
It almost seems like a lot of people just give up on taking care of their vehicle in winter.
Unless you have a garage or someplace to go that will be warmer than the outside temperature, that might have to happen. If that is your case, my sympathies.

My area of Iowa experiences an average winter temperature of 21.3 degrees with an average of 31.6 inches of snowfall.
Even under those conditions, I can usually find a day every 4 to 6 weeks that will allow me to add some heat to my garage and wax/seal to my hearts content.
The inside temperature needs to be in the 50's for me to be comfortable polishing or waxing. That's not hard to get to if the outside temperature reaches the 30's. I run the heater for 10 to 20 minutes while I get my products moved to the garage and the temperature is fine.
Washing is even easier although not truly easy. I only need to be in the high 30's and up to be able to clean the exterior of the vehicles. The garage is quite often that warm with no added heat. Not bucket washing, but Poorboy's S&W or DP 4 in 1 get it done for me.
I usually wear a flannel shirt and a sweatshirt with a Carrhart vest. I do wear rubber gloves and use warm/hot water.
At one time, I had an arrangement with a local business to use a heated area in their building, but the owner got concerned about liability. I really miss that.
The thing that bothers me the most is the simple fact that the road conditions only allow me a short time to enjoy that washed and waxed vehicle. Sometimes it is just a few days, sometimes it is just a few blocks.

Anyway, the point of the post is that if you have any weather protection, you can still take care of your vehicle in the winter. Not necessarily easy, but well worth the effort.

Charles
 
If it makes you feel good just for a few minutes it's worth the effort...otherwise Spring isn't that far away;)
 
I've spent a lot time to prepare my garage for winter detailing, bought a heater like the one CharlesW recommended (except it uses propane)and a couple of 1000W halogen lights,natural /sea sponge,basically copying Charles in everyway :bow.
I'm all set I think:passout:
I have not had time to actually wash/wax the cars yet but I can't wait for next Saturday.:bigups
 
I would love to detail my vehicle during the winter months, however at this time I am garage-less if I can put it that way. I am looking into investing in a small shop, 2 car garage, or and 2 car carport this coming spring. Which one do you guy think would work out better for me?
 
tmacsad said:
I would love to detail my vehicle during the winter months, however at this time I am garage-less if I can put it that way. I am looking into investing in a small shop, 2 car garage, or and 2 car carport this coming spring. Which one do you guy think would work out better for me?
Click to expand...
That's easy.
The small shop with the two car garage sounds ideal. :D

If you are actually talking about three different options, then your personal preferences would have a great deal of influence over the final choice.

Pros & Cons, for me, anyway.
The small shop.
Pros:
Probably could have both heat, water. and a floor drain.
Can be air conditioned.
Gives you a place to work on things other than the vehicles.
Cons:
Probably would be quite a bit more expensive to build than the other two options.
Would require heat to prevent the water freezing. I'm not too sure but what the floor drain might also be a concern in the cold weather.
More expensive to insure.
Might not fit in with the look of your home/neighborhood.
More likely to give thieves an idea that you might have something worth stealing in a shop.
Working in the shop could create more dust on your vehicles.

The garage.
Pros:
Great for having the cars protected during bad weather even when not heated.
Can be heated when needed. Permanent heat or portable heat.
Also can be air conditioned.
Not cheap, but affordable.
Can fit in with your house/neighborhood.
Reasonable insurance.
Cons:
A floor drain doesn't work great in freezing temperatures.
Having a water supply isn't real easy or practical in cold climates.

The car port.
Pros:
Keeps the rain/snow, tree sap, bird poop of the vehicles.
Gives you a place to work in the shade.
Most economical of the choices.
Lower insurance.
Cons:
Cold in the winter, hot in the summer.
More dust accumulation on the vehicle.
Rain can blow in causing water spots.
The vehicles are in view to anyone.
Tools and supplies will be fair game if left out. A large locking cabinet would keep most amateur thieves out.

If I were to build a car port, it would be because of financial restrictions. I would try to build it with the idea that it could be made into a closed garage at some time.

The garage or shop would be nice to have some type of permanent heat installed. My portable heater does the job, but just turning on the heat when you wanted it would be nice.

Whatever you do, give some thought to building it large enough. My garage is 25' X 32' and if I had been able to fit a larger one in the space available, I would have.

Charles
 
CharlesW said:
That's easy.
The small shop with the two car garage sounds ideal. :D

If you are actually talking about three different options, then your personal preferences would have a great deal of influence over the final choice.

Pros & Cons, for me, anyway.
The small shop.
Pros:
Probably could have both heat, water. and a floor drain.
Can be air conditioned.
Gives you a place to work on things other than the vehicles.
Cons:
Probably would be quite a bit more expensive to build than the other two options.
Would require heat to prevent the water freezing. I'm not too sure but what the floor drain might also be a concern in the cold weather.
More expensive to insure.
Might not fit in with the look of your home/neighborhood.
More likely to give thieves an idea that you might have something worth stealing in a shop.
Working in the shop could create more dust on your vehicles.

The garage.
Pros:
Great for having the cars protected during bad weather even when not heated.
Can be heated when needed. Permanent heat or portable heat.
Also can be air conditioned.
Not cheap, but affordable.
Can fit in with your house/neighborhood.
Reasonable insurance.
Cons:
A floor drain doesn't work great in freezing temperatures.
Having a water supply isn't real easy or practical in cold climates.

The car port.
Pros:
Keeps the rain/snow, tree sap, bird poop of the vehicles.
Gives you a place to work in the shade.
Most economical of the choices.
Lower insurance.
Cons:
Cold in the winter, hot in the summer.
More dust accumulation on the vehicle.
Rain can blow in causing water spots.
The vehicles are in view to anyone.
Tools and supplies will be fair game if left out. A large locking cabinet would keep most amateur thieves out.

If I were to build a car port, it would be because of financial restrictions. I would try to build it with the idea that it could be made into a closed garage at some time.

The garage or shop would be nice to have some type of permanent heat installed. My portable heater does the job, but just turning on the heat when you wanted it would be nice.

Whatever you do, give some thought to building it large enough. My garage is 25' X 32' and if I had been able to fit a larger one in the space available, I would have.

Charles
Click to expand...

Very beneficial info Charles:thanks Do you have a water drain in your garage? If so what is the cost of having a drain installed?
 
tmacsad said:
Very beneficial info Charles:thanks Do you have a water drain in your garage? If so what is the cost of having a drain installed?
Click to expand...
No, I don't have a drain.
I considered it, but it since my garage is free standing, I would have had to run a separate line from the sewer system. I didn't price it, but I'm sure it would have been lots of money. I was also concerned about it freezing during the cold weather. I wasn't sure about having the floor slope towards the floor drain, either. It seemed like I would have quite a bit of water to get rid of after a regular bucket wash. With the advent of the improved waterless washes and the rinseless washes, I don't feel I really have a need for the floor drain.
I do have enough slope at the rear of my yard that I could have run a drain line out under the floor and let it run into the grass. Two things bothered me about that. Freezing and it didn't seem like waste water in my yard was environmentally correct. :)

Charles
 
CharlesW said:
No, I don't have a drain.
I considered it, but it since my garage is free standing, I would have had to run a separate line from the sewer system. I didn't price it, but I'm sure it would have been lots of money. I was also concerned about it freezing during the cold weather. I wasn't sure about having the floor slope towards the floor drain, either. It seemed like I would have quite a bit of water to get rid of after a regular bucket wash. With the advent of the improved waterless washes and the rinseless washes, I don't feel I really have a need for the floor drain.
I do have enough slope at the rear of my yard that I could have run a drain line out under the floor and let it run into the grass. Two things bothered me about that. Freezing and it didn't seem like waste water in my yard was environmentally correct. :)

Charles
Click to expand...

One last question: Is your garage insulated or do you just heat it with a space heater?
 
tmacsad said:
One last question: Is your garage insulated or do you just heat it with a space heater?
Click to expand...
The garage is not truly insulated. It has the black 1/2" somewhat insulating board that I believe was a brand called Celotex under the original Redwood siding. It had a low r factor. Only about 1.3.
I had steel siding applied a few years back and they installed another 1/2" of a foam insulation called Tyvek Housewrap which helps increase the insulation R value, but doesn't actually have a firm number.
If I were building a new garage to day, I think I would have it insulated.
I do heat it with a torpedo style kerosene "space heater" similar to this;
ReddyHeater2.jpg

and it isn't difficult to raise the temperature in the garage by 20 to 30 degrees in about 10 to 20 minutes. The garage is usually about 10 to 20 degrees warmer than the outside temperature during the winter so I don't have to gain a lot to be able to work.

Charles
 
I use to be lucky. At one tome I had a part time janitors job in a offine building that had a heated garage. I use to clean my car twice a week. The office building closed. I miss that part time job.
 
CharlesW said:
The garage is not truly insulated. It has the black 1/2" somewhat insulating board that I believe was a brand called Celotex under the original Redwood siding. It had a low r factor. Only about 1.3.
I had steel siding applied a few years back and they installed another 1/2" of a foam insulation called Tyvek Housewrap which helps increase the insulation R value, but doesn't actually have a firm number.
If I were building a new garage to day, I think I would have it insulated.
I do heat it with a torpedo style kerosene "space heater" similar to this;
ReddyHeater2.jpg

and it isn't difficult to raise the temperature in the garage by 20 to 30 degrees in about 10 to 20 minutes. The garage is usually about 10 to 20 degrees warmer than the outside temperature during the winter so I don't have to gain a lot to be able to work.

Charles
Click to expand...

What does the heater cost Charles??
 
tmacsad said:
What does the heater cost Charles??
Click to expand...
Mine is 90,000 BTU and is probably 25 years old. I think it was about $200 at the time I bought it.
The closest thing I found to that size was a 115,000 BTU unit for $289.
Amazon.com has quite a few shown on their web-site.
Amazon.com: Reddy Heater: Home Improvement

Keep in mind that these are basically construction heaters and aren't quiet like your home furnace.
They won't deafen you, but you won't forget it's running.
They also burn up a lot of oxygen and the area needs to have a source of fresh air.
I open my access door about 6" while I have it on and then close that door after I warm the area and no longer need to run the heater.

Charles
 
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