So I installed a 30k btu NG ventless garage heater this winter in my 3 stall, partially for the dog, partially for me

The question I have is that after sitting for a while (5 days) my CTS-V seems to have stuck rotors (rusted) I have to give it gas to pop them free and get it rolling back out of the garage.

During the summer it doesn't sit this long, as its my wifes daily driver, do you think the heater is producing enough moisture to rust up the rotors, and thus rust up the rest of the bare metal in my garage?

I was thinking having a nice warm garage (55-60 degrees) all the time would be nice, but if I need to do something to keep my cars healthy I will.

Thanks,
Jay

 

Dog should have free run of house, master bedroom, kitchen, den, etc. Wife can always clean up.

 

Ha!

If we could trust him in the house alone during the day we would...

In the old house he had a doggy door in the door that went from the kitchen out to the back yard, and we could block off the kitchen with baby gates.

The new house doesn't afford us the same option, as its an open floor plan.

 

Try a dehumidifier, i have one for my basement it's a small unit, mobile with little casters to roll around you would be surprised the water in that thing, it shuts off automatically when full.

 

All of our cars (other than the Vette with the zinc rotors) will do what you're describing. I'll get a brake squeal on the first stop as well because of the surface rust from being parked over night. I would guess that even in these winter temps brake rotors are quite warm after use when the car is parked, and the cooler air creates condensate=corrosion. I've had my zinc washed rotors on the Vette for a year now and would do it again on our other cars if the opportunity presents itself. I don't know how deep the zinc wash goes into the rotor but even the fire path on the Vette's rotors don't rust.

 

I have one like you describe in my garage using propane..I love it. Do you have a thermometer in your garage to see how cold it gets in there? Maybe you can run it less? Set the thermo lower?

We have two dogs with a doggie door so they can go out and do their business. Since our childrens grew up they are our kids and get the run of the house.

 

 

I'd try running a box fan to circulate the moist air...........

 

I too run a vent free heater in my garage, I found that temp out side verses inside will affect the humidity. So I used to have to crank up the heat inside to get the humidity down. Then I picked up a dehumidifier and all is well. I keep the garage at 50 and no more problems.

Edit: Oh I also put in a ceiling fan to circulate the air makes the heater run more efficient.

 

Running at the medium setting (no thermometer on the unit) keeps the garage right around 55-60 even when its 0 outside.

Sounds like I may want to invest in a dehumidifier, or maybe even a ceiling fan, that was a great idea

 

You will usually find that any ventless heater will pump alot of H2O into the air vs a vented unit. Fan and dehumidifier should help. Mark

 

I agree on the de-humidifier and ceiling fan. I bought a ventless a couple of years ago and my harley buddies told me not to install it because of the humidity issue. Put a vented Modine in garage and everything is nice and dry.

 

I have a 45,000 BTU ceiling mounted forced air natural gas and I keep the garage at 60 degrees with no mositure issues. A fan to circulate the air might help along with the other suggestions of a de-humidifier.

 

I have a 125,000 btu MODINE gas fired (vented) furnace in my shop. It is vented to the roof and it never occurred to me about moisture.
I keep it at 50 degrees and turn it up at the thermostat to 65 degrees when I'm working...it'll warm up 1,815sf to toasty warm in 10-15 minutes.
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n...p110307001.jpg

 

I've got a 75,000 BTU ceiling unit in my 3 stall, keep it at about 50 with a ceiling fan running, no problems, knock on wood.

 

I have a 30k propane wall mounted ventless heater in my garage. Initially when I installed it I would get a lot of moisture in the garage. A friend of mine owns a HVAC business so I queried him thinking he would say I needed a forced air system. He surprised me when he said to open one of my windows an inch and that would take care of the problem. It worked and I've been doing that since 1993 with no moisture problems since.

 

Forced air oil furnace in one corner with a ceiling fan. When I'm going to use the shop, I turn the furnace on to about 60'F, otherwise it's off.

RonJ ...

 

The act of pulling a cold car into a warm garage is probably causing some condensation. Drying out the garage may help. I vote for a dehumidifier and/or moving the air around with a fan.

 

It seems there are a few things going on in your garage that will cause this condition. 1st, are the walls, ceiling and doors in the garage insulated? If not, your are wasting your money on the heat. 2nd, Do you keep the thermostat set at a constant temperature. 3rd, all fuel burning heaters require combustion air. Keeping in mind that warm air will hold more moisture (water grains) than cold air, a heater WILL NOT produce moisture. If you do not have any make-up air at the heater, the heater will use the air in the garage for combustion. As the air from the garage is being depleated for combustion, the garage pressurization will become slightly negative. During this condition, outside air will be drawn in through doors, windows, cracks etc. This heavier cold air will settle near the floor (stratification) as the warmer air rises to the ceiling. The cold air contacts the warmer vehicle rotors and will condense causing surface rust.

There are a couple of quick fix's for the problem. Add a 4" - 6" round piece of duct from the outside into the garage close the the heater. When the heater operates, this duct will provide a path for the combustion air. You should also add a motorized damper on to the duct that will only open when the heater is operating. This damper is similar to the one on a boiler flue. Additionally, air circulation is important, a ceiling fan or a floor fan will move the air sufficiently to reduce stratification. I hope this helps some.