Heating my new shop to protect equipment

[Rogbo]

Hi all!

I've been getting my new shop together built in a bonus room attached to my new place. It's 12 x 20, with a sloping roof, 18 inches off of the ground on level with my double wide and an easy half dozen steps out of the back door. It has ample 110 outlets powered by two dedicated 20 amp circuits. I'm going to pull 50 amps of 220v for my lathe and mill that need it, and if I'm ambitious I'll add a couple of 110v plugs for my table saw and smaller mill.

I moved from California so this is new to me. The one thing the bonus room doesn't have is heat and It gets butt cold here in central Oregon (oh shush you guys from the upper Midwest). My machinery didn't fare well between buying it and getting it set up, but then I failed to factor that heart attack into my retirement plans. The point being I'd like to build metal protection into my shop.

My questions are, how do others with cold winters protect your equipment? Do I need to put in round the clock heat? Is there a temperature you find good for machined surfaces but doesn't contribute excessively to the CEO of my electric co-ops yachting habit? I guess what ever heat I put in for the equipment will be good enough for me to hang in the shop in the winters.

Are there things that help besides heat.

Here's my new retirement shop coming right along. The machines are all settled in. The wall to wall carpet was glued down so I'm covering it with a plywood underlayment for vinyl flooring.

 

[MyLilMule]

I have yet to put permanent heat in my shop, but plan to, as I do get a little flash rust on machines that haven't been coated with some kind of oil. WD40 is easy, but LPS1 is probably better.

In any case, I was always told you should keep the temperature above the dew point in the winter to keep water vapor in the air from condensing. Also, a friend of mine keeps his shop at 60 degrees all winter, FWIW. I plan to add A/C to the shop before summer. I plan to use a Mr. Cool heat pump. That may be enough to provide that 55-60 degree constant in the winter. If my electric bill cries too much, I'll put in some kind of natural gas heat.

 

[Aaron_W]

Stability of temperature is more important that what the temperature is. Cold metal will attract moisture from warm air, so the major formation of moisture is when things warm up, the air warms much faster than the metal.

As mentioned keeping things above the dew point is helpful, and that can be managed through heat, a dehumidifier or both.

 

[GeneT45]

I fought this battle for many years in Oregon and found a couple of things that work. First: get some oil-pan heaters. These are pads with adhesive backs, usually 60-100W that you can stick to your machines and plug in. I tried to put mine somewhere substantial on the casting, and close-ish to the bare metal surfaces. This will keep your machine a few degrees above ambient (even when you come in and turn on the heater) and prevent condensation and therefore rust. The pads are hot to the touch, so don't put them where you'll be bumping them with bare skin either.

Next, VCI (Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor) for all your toolboxes - I would get little yellow squares from Zer-Rust and they seem to work pretty well.

Finally, some CRC LPS-xx spray on any chucks, rotary tables, angle plates and what have you that won't get frequent use. The stuff is goopy and needs to be removed before use, so don't put it on something you're using once a week - just keep those things oiled.

Of course the best solution I've found was moving to AZ...

GsT

 

[Deleted member 69715]

I use a dehumidifier in my home garage with some heat from a (gasp!) torpedo heater. As I know moisture contributes to corrosion. WD-40 applied to bare metal surfaces on top of that.
Good luck with the new shop.

 

[tq60]

Oil spray.

Back many years ago we worked at an engine machine shop and we coated everything with this and it works fine and is cheap.

Get a spray bottle and fill about 10 % with whatever motor oil that is handy.

Fill rest of the way with solvent.

Shake well.

Spray this to coat the item, the solvent evaporates and leaves a very thin oil film.

The spray bottles sometimes do not last, but there are many types of metal pneumatic to used cleaner bottles.

Adjust oil content as needed.

Also works well as coolant, spray direct at cutter.

Works also as universal cleaner with short bristle brush.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

 

[rabler]

Condensation is what causes the worst problems. It occurs when the temperature of the metal drops down to or below the dew point of the room's air. Dew point is determined by the amount of moisture in the air, more moisture, the higher the dew point, and the more moisture available to condense. Often the mornings when air temperature is rising and the metal is cold is the time that is problematic. My part of the country that is actually more problematic in the rainy spring then in the colder part of the winter.

To combat condensation, you can increase the air temperature, decrease the humidity, increase the temperature of the machines, put a protective film on the bare metal, and/or try to keep the machines temperature consistent with the air temperature.

I use a dehumidifier set to about 50% humidity. It only runs on humid days. I've mounted mine up high on the wall with a drain hose through the wall so I don't need to dump it, and does not take up precious floor space. I find I don't need a large (high capacity) dehumidifier. As long as it keeps the humidity clearly below 100% (i.e., the dew point), it stops the rust issues. A little bit of oil or other film protection on the bare metal surfaces helps but I don't have to be vigilant about it.

Typical dehumidifiers don't work below some threshold air temperature, around 40-45 degrees F, as the coils tend to freeze up with ice. I keep my shop just above that temperature when I'm not in there, and heat more when I am in the winter. Works well for me.

 

[wayback machine]

If my electric bill cries too much, I'll put in some kind of natural gas heat.

If you wind up with a gas heater, make SURE to get a vented one.
An unvented gas heater, while it'll keep the place warm enough, will make the indoor moisture problem much worse.

 

[stupoty]

That looks fairly well walled and sealed up, the carpet is going to stop a lot of ground chill coming up , maybe just an anti frost type of auto heater (small tube things that go in green houses)?

Keep it oily , keep it used, best way to avoid rust.

Stu

 

[ChazzC]

I have a ceiling diffuser on the duct that used to feed the kitchen, so I can bleed a small amount of heat or A/C into the space year round:


OK, so now you've found the messy part of my shop!

Humidity isn't a problem in the Winter, but I run a dehumidifier in the Summer. When the current water heater dies I plan on replacing it with a heat pump water heater: lower cost to heat water plus the heat exchanger is supposed to act as a dehumidifier so zero cost for lower humidity.