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Shop heat

Susquatch said:
Prolly not a good time for anyone to brag about their heated shop eh......
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My shop is -43 "inside" right now so ya, not a good subject right now. I tried to use my mill-drill last week when it was only -18 and the belts were so stiff it stopped turning soon as the drill bit hit the steel.
" Im gonna be in the basement gun/ammo factory room loading shotshells for the next week if anybody wants me"
 
JustaDB said:
We're talking heaters, right? ;) And, yes.

It's the whole municipal bylaw thing: permits, licensed plumbers & associated costs. Vent kit, too. Then, late last year some dirtbag forced me to buy his mill at gunpoint, throwing finances into complete disarray...
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Oh ya I understand well. The horizontal vent kits are crazy expensive for unit heaters. Does your municipality allow a homeowner to do any of their own work? Don't ask the HVAC or plumber guy that question but maybe the natural gas supplier or municipality administration instead.
 
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At minus 40 the Imperialists & the Metricalies can lay down their weapons & finally agree on the same number. And also that minus 40 is f8cking cold. My app said -48C windchill yesterday in Calgary. Not surprisingly, glue yourself to the road protesters did not have this day marked on the agenda, but I digress...
 
DPittman said:
Does your municipality allow a homeowner to do any of there own work?
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What they don't know won't hurt 'em. I have spoken to a licensed plumber who is willing to take out the permit & legitimately inspect the work done, as well as complete anything I'm unable to do. Fortunately, when our gas meter was replaced around 18 months ago, I was able to get a tee & shutoff valve installed so all I need to do on that end is plumb in the pipe.
 
JustaDB said:
What they don't know won't hurt 'em. I have spoken to a licensed plumber who is willing to take out the permit & legitimately inspect the work done, as well as complete anything I'm unable to do. Fortunately, when our gas meter was replaced around 18 months ago, I was able to get a tee & shutoff valve installed so all I need to do on that end is plumb in the pipe.
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Awesome then your set to go!
 
My shop is also heated, otherwise the cows wouldn't get fed. The block heater the german engineers put in the tractor is pathetic. I also love the new electric door i had installed this summer.
Go on say it.....YOU SUCK. I don't care. :)
 
6.5 Fan said:
My shop is also heated, otherwise the cows wouldn't get fed. The block heater the german engineers put in the tractor is pathetic. I also love the new electric door i had installed this summer.
Go on say it.....YOU SUCK. I don't care. :)
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I ain't saying nuthin. My shop is heated with electric doors too.

Wtf is with those useless tractor block heaters anyway? Mine are all POS too. I have to keep the tractors inside to have any hope of getting them going. Even worse, they freeze up an hour into using them outside. And that isn't anywhere near the -40 temps like you have! Downright depressing.
 
Yes, the story's I could tell from when I worked at the farm equipment dealer. Frozen tractors, always good ones. Got a call, come get my tractor running, where is it? Out in the field! When did it last run? This morning, feeding cows, it stopped. Will not start.
Get some tools, a can of diesel, jumpers, ether, etc. Get the flat deck fired up, put cardboard in front of the rad. Make sure the chain are on the truck. Wander down the trail, nearly an hour out, not pushing hard, too dam cold. Get there, there's the tractor out in the field about 1/2 mile away. Walk out to tractor, look in fuel tank, nearly full, dip the tank with my handy stick for such, fuel just about doesn't drip off stick. What the?!
Put the chains on the truck, out to the tractor, drop the deck, wench the tractor on, ease out of the field, get tractor to farmers shop/shed. It's not going in there, door to small. Well, what do you want to do? You need the tractor for feeding, it will not go in your "shop". I can take it to town, put it our shop, get it warmed up and running if it's not broke, change out that "fuel" and the filters, etc. etc. O.K. do that, I need it to feed! You may not have it back till later tomorrow if its not broke.
Off I go, haul it to town, luckily room in the shop for tractor but not the loader frame too. Remove loader frame with fork lift, thank gods for quick attaches on hoses and loader frame. Push tractor in the shop, put battery charger on it, plug in block heater. Parts guy been helping along with boss, hour past home time.
Next day, drain fuel, change fuel filters, put winter fuel in and fuel antifreeze, get her running, nothing else wrong. Put loader back on, haul it out to farmer, mid afternoon, mutters about getting late. Well it's running, your going to need some winter fuel, we filled the tank and put fuel antifreeze in it, etc.
Farmer had a rant when got the bill, we did what he O.K.ed, and cows got fed, hell probably would have gave him a tractor to use if been needed as had been a good customer till then. He didn't come back.
 
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historicalarms said:
Every diesel engine in Canada should have a Webasto or similar engine heater right from the factory as standard equipment. Every engine start up will be at operating temp & cold weather bearing turns just will not happen.
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Even those are having difficulty in the severe cold, at least the ones on my brothers tractors are troublesome in the extreme cold.:(
 
For the 3rd time I’ve boosted the truck because of the weather, mind you it 11 years old so I can’t really complain. It’s retired life where you go for coffee at Timmie’s not giving it a chance for a good charge fortunately I have a charger with 10, 30, and 200 Amp boost.
 
Tom O said:
For the 3rd time I’ve boosted the truck because of the weather, mind you it 11 years old so I can’t really complain. It’s retired life where you go for coffee at Timmie’s not giving it a chance for a good charge fortunately I have a charger with 10, 30, and 200 Amp boost.
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11 years out of a battery is excellent life. I've had them last that long also but when they get 10 years old I start expecting them to die.
 
Tom O said:
I agree 10 years is a good run for a battery I’m thinking that when the heatwave comes I’ll clean the battery posts just to make sure sometimes it’s the oxide that acts like a resistor.
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10 years is a great life. I've had the odd one live for 15 years, but normally I figure I got my money worth out of it if it lasts for 6 years.

Cleaning the posts and cable sockets is always a good idea. Also check the ground end of the negative cable and if possible check the level of the electrolyte.
 
DPittman said:
Even those are having difficulty in the severe cold, at least the ones on my brothers tractors are troublesome in the extreme cold.:(
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Man I never had a bit of trouble with the ones on my trucks. If he's haveing troubles with them I would sujjest that he maybe still has some fuel that isnt "full winter" status. Refineries start the winter fuel changeover on a gradual basis so some fuel bought in the fall can still congeal in extreme cold. Fuel that is scrubbed for mid-winter shouldnt require fuel conditioner at all'
I fought with batteries , series parrallel switches and 24 volt starters for years...mechanics sometimes even didnt know how to hook 2 or 4 batteries up in a series or parallels configuration for 12 or 24 V usage it was a nightmare when it got cold back in those days....no everything is pretty well standardized to heavy 12's BUT when those diesel engine heaters were perfected, they made coping with winter a breeze....now if they could only make those air brakes completely dry all the time !!!!
 
historicalarms said:
I would sujjest that he maybe still has some fuel that isnt "full winter" status.
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Well I don't know the details myself actually but I'd bet my last dollar that it is not that they don't have the right seasonal fuel in their tractors. I believe it has to do with the heaters not starting up on their own properly when it's really cold. We've had -49 windchill here and all sorts of things that normally work in winter start to fail and break at those temps. :eek:
 
I have a pellet stove in my shop. Its overkill for 625 sq ft. I keep the thermostat set to
5 degrees when I'm not out there, it takes about 20 minutes to get up to a comfortable
temperature. It was -19 here last week and high humidity.
heat.jpg
 
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