What did you do to / in your garage / shop today?

[freedom_in_4low]

Not for me. Why? It's a two-hour round trip to the nearest hardware or home improvement store for me! Over the years, we've learned to plan things out, and I have a very well-equipped shop with an inventory of common items, so a second trip is rare (but it does happen). One of the few drawbacks for rural living is that you have to learn to be more self-sufficient (is that really a drawback, though?) Heck, this isn't even the most rural I've lived. I lived for a few years where we wrote down items needed on a dry erase board on the fridge because we made a once-per-month Saturday trip to the nearest town, which was over two hours away in another state! We still do that today...

we're not that remote, but the most remote we've lived before. A trip to the hardware store is about 25 minutes each way. I usually don't have to plan too much because I pass it on the way to my kids school but they're on Christmas break so I've been going days, up to a week between trips.

I'm pretty well prepared for anything automotive, but I don't have much in the way of construction type materials. Generally good on tools, some scrap lumber, plenty of fasteners, basic wiring stuff; but this 8 gauge wire and needing a conduit strain relief caught me unprepared.

 

[sab]

Which is another reason I'm glad I'm no longer living in the sticks. A gallon of milk was a half hour round trip, it gets tiresome after awhile.

Back when COVID hit, my coworkers were panicking because they quickly ran out of common things, and the grocery stores were empty for weeks (remember the baby formula and toilet paper shortages?) I pointed out that their laughing at my prepper mentality was now reversed. We didn't run out of anything in the sab household...

 

[freedom_in_4low]

I actually prefer putting in the 14-50R receptacles specifically for the 120VAC capability if needed (you need the neutral for that). I just use short 6-50R to 14-50P adapters for my welders.

It's a valid point. I did consider it...I went with the least expensive option, which was a 8/3 6-50P cord and receptacle, vs a 8/4 14-50P cord or the 8/3 cord plus an adapter. I kept the receptacle and the neutral conductor is in the box (and secured/insulated) if I ever need to go back. There's a 120V outlet 2 studs to the left.

 

[John Middleton]

Got a professional organizer (Wife) to help me move into the "new" Snap-On chest and re-arrange all my tools:

View attachment 397757

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Maybe the damn thing will more-or-less stay organized. I'd been using the same dis-organization scheme for 6 years!

They will be lost for years!

 

[freedom_in_4low]

Let us know what you think. Been wanting to add one myself

Finally got it wired up and turned on. The air coming out wasn't hair dryer hot but it's a lot of air. I've got it on right now and gonna let it go for 30-60 minutes to see what it does for the garage.

Did the math and the sucker is not cheap to run....about 60 cents an hour at a fairly common 10c/kWh rate. A winter project would definitely be noticeable on my electric bill. My kid asked how much it would cost to stay on for a solid year....$5,256!!!

 

[freedom_in_4low]

Finally got it wired up and turned on. The air coming out wasn't hair dryer hot but it's a lot of air. I've got it on right now and gonna let it go for 30-60 minutes to see what it does for the garage.

Did the math and the sucker is not cheap to run....about 60 cents an hour at a fairly common 10c/kWh rate. A winter project would definitely be noticeable on my electric bill. My kid asked how much it would cost to stay on for a solid year....$5,256!!!

For context, a similar sized propane heater in my area would cost about 90c an hour exchanging 20lb grill cylinders, or 42c an hour if I hooked it directly into my house propane tank which I last had filled at 1.99/gal. I'd rather not do that though because my tank is fairly small being that it's only used for water heating and cooking.

A natural gas heater would probably be close to 20c/hr.

 

[LukesfirstJeep]

For context, a similar sized propane heater in my area would cost about 90c an hour exchanging 20lb grill cylinders, or 42c an hour if I hooked it directly into my house propane tank which I last had filled at 1.99/gal. I'd rather not do that though because my tank is fairly small being that it's only used for water heating and cooking.

I have one of these Hot Dawg propane heaters in my garage, IIRC it's 40,000 BTU. I can heat my garage for the Winter for ~ $400. My thermostat is set between ~ 55 deg F, and my garage is insulated.

https://www.modinehvac.com/products...ial-hot-dawg-series/hot-dawg-power-vented-hd/

 

[tworley]

Finally got it wired up and turned on. The air coming out wasn't hair dryer hot but it's a lot of air. I've got it on right now and gonna let it go for 30-60 minutes to see what it does for the garage.

Did the math and the sucker is not cheap to run....about 60 cents an hour at a fairly common 10c/kWh rate. A winter project would definitely be noticeable on my electric bill. My kid asked how much it would cost to stay on for a solid year....$5,256!!!

Thanks for the update--keep us posted.

Our electricity varies based on on/off peak hours. Our last bill was about $0.11/kWh for on peak and $0.06/kWh for off peak. Cheaper than the surrounding area, but agree with you, it would definitely be a meaningful increase on the electric bill if ran continuously.

 

[Apparition]

Finally got it wired up and turned on. The air coming out wasn't hair dryer hot but it's a lot of air. I've got it on right now and gonna let it go for 30-60 minutes to see what it does for the garage.

Did the math and the sucker is not cheap to run....about 60 cents an hour at a fairly common 10c/kWh rate. A winter project would definitely be noticeable on my electric bill. My kid asked how much it would cost to stay on for a solid year....$5,256!!!

Is it not hot enough there to shut the heater off in the summer?

 

[freedom_in_4low]

Thanks for the update--keep us posted.

Our electricity varies based on on/off peak hours. Our last bill was about $0.11/kWh for on peak and $0.06/kWh for off peak. Cheaper than the surrounding area, but agree with you, it would definitely be a meaningful increase on the electric bill if ran continuously.

It had easily taken the edge off within 45 minutes; after a couple hours it was warmer than in the house. I'd call that a success.

Ours is about $0.088 right now, going up to $0.094 in April. It's a rural electric coop, so it's not fancy enough for the peak/off peak, it's just a flat rate.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

Is it not hot enough there to shut the heater off in the summer?

Well, he's 8 so not all of his questions are based in reality.

There's probably no more than 45 days in a typical year that would call for using this thing, and I won't work in the garage for all of them. It's about 37 outside today and is probably about as warm of a day as I would ever use it. Replacing it with something more efficient would never pay itself back.

Even on those 45 days it wouldn't run continuously ...I had the temp dial turned to about 8/10 and it turned itself off in less than an hour. I had to crank it to the max to get it to stay on as long as it did.

For reference it's a 24x39 garage with R13 walls, 10' ceilings with R30, and 8x18 and 8x9 doors, and (2) 36x72 windows which face north so there's zero solar gain. The doors are probably about R7 but they don't have seals at the top or sides so there's some infiltration there. I'm happy with the performance especially considering the size of the space.

 

[Apparition]

Well, he's 8 so not all of his questions are based in reality.

There's probably no more than 45 days in a typical year that would call for using this thing, and I won't work in the garage for all of them. It's about 37 outside today and is probably about as warm of a day as I would ever use it. Replacing it with something more efficient would never pay itself back.

Even on those 45 days it wouldn't run continuously ...I had the temp dial turned to about 8/10 and it turned itself off in less than an hour. I had to crank it to the max to get it to stay on as long as it did.

For reference it's a 24x39 garage with R13 walls, 10' ceilings with R30, and 8x18 and 8x9 doors, and (2) 36x72 windows which face north so there's zero solar gain. The doors are probably about R7 but they don't have seals at the top or sides so there's some infiltration there. I'm happy with the performance especially considering the size of the space.

Now you made me wonder. Would it last a year if you turned it on high and ran it continuously? Test it out and let us know for science.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

Now you made me wonder. Would it last a year if you turned it on high and ran it continuously? Test it out and let us know for science.

Add to that, leaving it on continously and keeping the temperature constant is much better for your tools and machinery. Changing temp usually results in condensation - a least around here.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

Now you made me wonder. Would it last a year if you turned it on high and ran it continuously? Test it out and let us know for science.

How about you guys put together a GoFundMe and I'll keep it on as long as it's paid for.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

Add to that, leaving it on continously and keeping the temperature constant is much better for your tools and machinery. Changing temp usually results in condensation - a least around here.

True.

A gas heater that doesn't exhaust to the outside through a flue pipe will dump humidity into the space which will condense on tools which don't warm as fast as the air. It's not *as* bad with an electric heater, but it can definitely still happen in humid environments.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

How about you guys put together a GoFundMe and I'll keep it on as long as it's paid for.

Have you thought about Onlyfans?

 

[WVJeep304]

Got my new Silhouette Cameo 4 yesterday, so I spent yesterday and today practicing and learning its functions.

Definitely a bit of a learning curve for me trying to figure out the software.... I never mess with stuff like this. But I'm getting it figured out. So far, I've made some Jeep decals, Sig Sauer decals, Cub Cadet decal, and a few other random things. Pretty soon, everything in my shop may appear to be branded with Jeep or Sig if I don't start doing some useful projects

 

[sab]

For context, a similar sized propane heater in my area would cost about 90c an hour exchanging 20lb grill cylinders, or 42c an hour if I hooked it directly into my house propane tank which I last had filled at 1.99/gal.

A natural gas heater would probably be close to 20c/hr.

Do your cost calculations account for the much lower specific energy of natural gas, compared to propane (less than half, if I remember correctly)? If so, that's astounding to me that the cost per unit of natural gas is that much cheaper than that of propane. I had no idea!

 

[freedom_in_4low]

Do your cost calculations account for the much lower specific energy of natural gas, compared to propane (less than half, if I remember correctly)? If so, that's astounding to me that the cost per unit of natural gas is that much cheaper than that of propane. I had no idea!

It should approximate for it but I didn't do it directly, I took a big shortcut.

Traditionally my summer bills (no heat, only cooking and hot water) over the last several NG houses have been about half of what my average usage works out to here.

As I type this however, it occurs to me that I neglected to account for the fact that my NG service always had a flat monthly service charge before the usage gets added in, while my propane service is just a flat rate per gallon. I should probably take a second run at that calculation, but if anything the difference should grow.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

Do your cost calculations account for the much lower specific energy of natural gas, compared to propane (less than half, if I remember correctly)? If so, that's astounding to me that the cost per unit of natural gas is that much cheaper than that of propane. I had no idea!

I should also note that I live in an area where electric rates are somewhat average, while gas is cheeeeap. I'm not sure I'd expect the relationship to hold in areas where gas isn't as readily available or where the political climate favors electrification.