Heaters and concensation

[l_bilyk]

So what happens when the hot, moisture saturated air gets cooled down? Do you get lots of condensation on your tools and hotrods?

Which heaters are best for limiting this?

[astroracer]

I don't believe the "type" of heater is the cause of condensation. The problem starts when you warm up the air. The air will warm quicker then the metal tools and, when the warm air hits the cold metal tools it condenses.
The only way to prevent condensation is to maintain a level of heat that keeps the metal tools warm enough that the air won't condense on them when you warm it up for working.
I keep my shop about 50* when I'm not out there and run it up to 60 when I'm working. I have no problems with condensation which was a real pain on the lathes and machine tools before I put in forced air.
Mark

[mleichtle]

Also ventless heaters produce moisture unless the exhaust is vented to outside.

I have no expierience with them, but a radiant tube heater that hangs from the ceiling is supposed to heat objects and then the objects heat the air. Thus your tools heat up first. If you don't plan to heat 24/7 this seems to be a better choice. But I'm still researching too.

[DaveL.]

I also keep a steady 50-55 and have no condensation problems. At the old house in which the garage temp was not maintained I had a bad problem with condensation every time I heated the garage. I use a vented Modine natural gas heater.

Dave

[l_bilyk]

Well I'm thinking since the products of combustion are water vapour and CO2, the propane heaters will generate the most moisture. Electric heaters, at least in theory, should warm up the dry winter air without saturating it.

However, this garage is used all winter, so snow and ice gets tracked in there. Once that melts, it will most likely saturate the warm air anyways.

So should i just go with propane because I can't win either way, or go with electricity?

[NHCharger]

I have a Modine Hot Dawg, FHA propane heater in my shop. I keep the heat set at 50º and turn it up to 58º when I'm working in there. I have never had any issue with condensation on anything since I've had heat in the garage. And many times I bring in a vehicle that has ice and snow on it that melts off while i'm working on it.
I did have condensation problems when working in an unheated garage and bringing a torpedo heater in to bring the temp up. Especially when the inside of the shop was below 32º.

[dboat]

I have an unvented 30k natural gas heater in mine that is mounted to the wall. I keep the garage at 50-55 degrees F. I run my dehumidifier in mine due to the amount of condensation the heater and other stuff generates.. before I did this, I would have water droplets all over the ceiling. Now I am ok..
Dana

[Blue]

I have a Modine Hot Dawg, FHA propane heater in my shop. I keep the heat set at 50º and turn it up to 58º when I'm working in there. I have never had any issue with condensation on anything since I've had heat in the garage. And many times I bring in a vehicle that has ice and snow on it that melts off while i'm working on it.
I did have condensation problems when working in an unheated garage and bringing a torpedo heater in to bring the temp up. Especially when the inside of the shop was below 32º.

How much propane do you go through that way? What kind of tank do you have?

[RonBou]

I keep mine at 55 and put it on 62 when I work (or hangout most weekends) in there. I live in CT and average 250 gallons a year over the past 3 years. Mine is a Modine Hot Dawg 60,000 in a 24 x 24 space.

[NHCharger]

I got the Modine heater installed on Dec. 30,2004. I used approximately 250 gallons from then until June 11, 2005.
My shop is 30x50 with 11' ceilings. I live on the north edge of a small pond and the wind blows across the pond all winter. I only installed one 12x8 garage door to try and minimize the heat loss.

[OldCarGuy]

So what happens when the hot, moisture saturated air gets cooled down? Do you get lots of condensation on your tools and hotrods?

Which heaters are best for limiting this?

Water is one of the byproducts of burning fuel that cannot be avoided, be it natural gas, propane, kerosene, or wood. Consequently it is best to exhaust the combustion fumes outdoors. It has been my preference to have both the supply and exhaust taken from outside air, therefor isolating the combustion chamber totally from the garage air.

Moisture in the air will condense on cold objects and start metallic objects to corrode. So it is best to keep the garage at a constant temperature and above the temperature that any moisture will condense on objects. I have a number of pristine show cars that I want to preserve. In addition to keeping my garages heated and air conditioned year round, I run a dehumidifier most of the year. Making sure that the relative humidity is well below 40%.