garage layout in cold climates...

[Anonymous]

I want to put my layout in my garage. Since I live in a condo I do not have a basement but I have a single car garage. Living in Michigan I get some very cold winters and wanted to get a space heater for the garage. Any recommendations on space heaters? What about leaving my locos in the garage when it is cold out and the heater is not running. Any concerns there?

[spankybird]

Hi Jim,

1. don’t run your engines when they are very cold. Let the room warm up some first.

2. Be careful of condensation. With the changing of temp you may get some in side your engines.

3. Ware a warm coat in January !!!

[Anonymous]

Hi Jim. I use the Oil filled electric radiator heater in my tack room and leave it on the lowest setting in winter. My cats love me for it. They are available at Wal Mart for 40-50$ and are pretty efficient.......Tim

[3railguy]

Spanky Bird is right on all three counts. Temperature changes somewhere between 32% below and above create a dew point (they taught us this and I can't remember the exact way of figuring dewpoint but I think I'm close). That would be my biggest concern where dew can get trapped inside engines and cars. The best enviroment would be a full time heated, insulated garage with a dehumidifier for the summer months. If well insulated, it shouldn't affect your heat bill much unless you open your garage door frequently. Another alternative is to keep your trains stored indoors when not running them if you let your garage get below freezing temps.

I live in northeast Wisconsin and we have our siberian winters along with humid summers too. I keep a small portable 027 show display layout stored in our unheated, uninsulated, well ventilated garage. The tinplate track has experienced only minor corrosion (I call it my weathering technique). Atlas or MTH nickle silver track would survive better I'm sure. Because the garage is well ventilated (the reason I don't heat it) it has not sufferd from humid summers. However, I would not want this corrosion on my trains so I store them inside. Whenever I set it up, it takes several minutes of coaxing and pushing for the trains burn to the corrosion off the track. But, the layout only gets used maybe four times a year. If you run your trains at least once a week, you should not have a problem. If your garage goes through temp changes above and below 32%, do not keep it covered with plastic. Dew will be trapped for sure and you will soon have a rust pile. Same goes for humid conditions.

[lionelsoni]

If you buy an electric heater or heaters, keep in mind that any heater with a 15-ampere 120-volt plug (the kind of plug with two parallel blades that you see on almost every lamp or appliance) will be rated at no more than 1500 watts. This number comes from multiplying 125 volts (the highest voltage that the plug is rated for) by 15 amperes (the greatest current that the plug is rated for) by 80 percent (a required derating factor). You will actually get closer to 1400 watts on a typical branch circuit.

But the important point is that all the 1500-watt heaters will put the same amount of heat into your garage, whether they have fancy radiators or fans or whatever. If you buy more than the cheapest heater, make sure you are paying for something useful, like effective safety features, not useless frills.

[eZAK]

jimdevleerjr,

How big is the garage you are going to heat?

I live in IL. just outside Chicago.
I've had my trains in my garage for 6 yrs. now and have had no problems.

It is 14' x 22' , insulated, dry walled, & a drop ceiling.
I have a gas, ventless, wall mounted heater, that is left with only the pilot on for most of the time. The only time I turn it up is when I in there for along period of time.
I also use a fan driven air cleaner and a ceiling fan to cirulate the air.

Air cirulation is the key.
Keep this in mind when shopping for an elec. heater.