New shop and winter

[Chris]

So I am moving soon and it cold where I am going. What tips can you guys give me about anything to worry about or things I should do with having my new shop and it being below freezing. Right now it is 10 degreed with a high of 26 for a couple days.

 

[oldognewtrick]

Plenty of firewood.

 

[beachguy005]

Remember to not store anything in there that will freeze such as glues or paint.

 

[oldognewtrick]

Or pressure washers,

 

[KULTULZ]

Are you planning on heating the shop?

You are tough if you don't... :hide:

 

[Chris]

Is there a way to efficiently heat a shop all winter? I have a diesel heater for when I am out there but nothing for the rest of the time.

 

[bud16415]

It will cost you a bundle to heat unless it is insulated like a home and then will cost a lot as garage doors don’t seal like you would want. First everything has to be winterized. If you have a pressure washer get an RV plumbing blow out adapter. Female hose fitting on one end and valve stem on the other. After each use hook the air up and blow out the water. Empty fuel tanks or leave them full with stabilizer in the gas.

My garage is old and drafty but I do use it that much in the winter and a torpedo heater will warm it up enough if you need to do a repair. What I did was leave the main shop cold and I have one small room 14 x 14 that I insulated and can keep warm if I want. All my good tools live in there. Couple work benches and just a place to go to warm up if I’m out in the main garage doing something. I heat the small shop with propane now so I don’t heat it all winter. If I need to be out there I light it up and in about 20 minutes it is nice and in an hour it is house nice. Forget wood as a heat source in a big garage even if the wood is free. I had a wood setup and I would fire it up on a Saturday morning and freeze all day working out there as it brought all the mass up to temp. about 8:00 at night the place would be warm and I would shut it down and go in the house.

The problem with heat and cold is your tools will want to rust. Keep stuff oiled up.

Old time light bulbs work best as they come right on. down around -30 those tube lights never light up for me. When you wind up your hoses make sure you lift them as you coil them to get any water out. cheap plastic hoses get as stiff as PVC pipe when it hits zero. All good rubber hoses up north. All my cars and trucks have two sets of rims and winter tires with studs. Even the 4WD truck isn’t good on ice without studs. Everything you put in the ground go down at least 4’.

The best part is when spring comes and everything looks greener than you can believe after a winter of white.

PS if you do make a winter shop put hot water heat in the floors.

 

[nealtw]

Overhead radient gas tube.
http://www.sunstarheaters.com/product/sir-series/

 

[slownsteady]

Diesels are hard to start in cold weather. You may need engine heaters. On really cold nights, some operators leave the engine running all night. I'm not a diesel guy, so someone else may correct me or fill in details.

 

[Chris]

I have two diesel trucks and I did grow up in the snow and cold so I am not a novice but haven't lived it it for 20 years. I just want ot be informed as possible on everything.

 

[nealtw]

Hope you looked after outside taps. Turned off inside or disconnected hoses.

 

[KULTULZ]

Diesels are hard to start in cold weather. You may need engine heaters. On really cold nights, some operators leave the engine running all night. I'm not a diesel guy, so someone else may correct me or fill in details.

Ah, the old days of compression releases and either injection... :down:

You want block (coolant) heaters and a warming blanket (plug in) under the battery pack. A fuel separator to remove water from the diesel fuel (heated versions available) and a fuel conditioner (to prevent waxing).

It's really hard on a diesel to allow to idle as the engine will load-up with fuel (even electronic controlled) and dilute the engine oil (not to mention the cost of fuel).

FORGOT!

Those damn glow plugs...

Winter Fronts...

 

[bud16415]

One thing I forgot to mention about long cold winters up north that is a must. (Antifreeze) not the kind you put in radiators but the kind intended for human consumption. My blend of choice is called the Long Island Ice Tea.

You are no longer in the land of go, go,go. It is a hard habit to break. Just like the bears hibernate winter is a good time to regroup and spend time with family staying warm in doors playing board games with the kids or venture outside and help them build a snow fort.

Your cost of living will adjust and you will find a couple months of a slower pace won’t be hard too take.

Last night I made dinner we had some wine and our two choices for the evening where do we go in the hot tub or do we go into the home theater and watch a movie. Seeing as how it was still nice out we went for the movie. Tonight, we are expected to get 1 to 2 feet of lake effect snow now that will be a great hot tubbing night.

 

[Chris]

That is what I am looking forward to. I am great at saving money so planning ahead for winters is not a big deal. I still haven't decided 100% what I will do for work when I get there. So far I am leaning towards flipping a few homes while also doing tractor work on the side. Or just buying a few rentals and not having bills.

For tractors I have paid off and will be taking with me these

2011 enclosed cab John deere 310j backhoe 4x4

2008 open cab John deere 210le skip loader

2007 open cab bobcat 331 excavator

2004 enclosed cab CAT 246 skid steer. I have most attachments they make for the skid steer.

Both the backhoe and skid steer can be used for snow removal as well.

I really can't wait for the slow down, it has been a few years since I have been able to focus on any of my hobbies.

 

[bud16415]

You won’t have a problem finding work for you and your machines. As I mentioned before make the necessary adjustments coming from the land of good and plenty. Housing costs will be lower but so will rents. Things will be much freer and easy with the excavation work and maybe a lot more old school than what you are used to. Find the stuff no one is doing or not doing a good job at and jump in.

Also plan on competition from fly by night companies that wouldn’t last in the land of rules and regulations. It is the down side of living where everything isn’t regulated.

 

[buffalo]

I've owned diesels all my life . My cummins starts right up at 0F , although two years ago it was real cold , and not much you can do when the fuel gels , additives and all . I wouldn't heat a shop unless your gonna work In it all day , it will get expensive . Natural gas is probably the cheapest route here , 2 of my friends have geothermal which is really efficient , but a major upfront cost .

I love my area , but I hate the cold ! Our first snow is happening as I type . Lake effect coming in , there saying ski country 2-3 feet . I say just hide inside for 2-3 months lol. Hence I'm working in the basement .....

 

[bud16415]

Our first snow is happening as I type . Lake effect coming in , there saying ski country 2-3 feet . ..

It’s coming right thru here on the way to you. I will make sure we leave some of the white stuff for you.

 

[buffalo]

It’s coming right thru here on the way to you. I will make sure we leave some of the white stuff for you.

That's kind of you , but I insist , you take it! Lol

My lot truck , 03 f250 , has a nice power steering leak , I think it's on a high pressure line . No way I'm trying to fix it now in the cold , and Im a month out of surgery on a tendon in my arm so I'm kinda handicap . The sad thing is , plowing my driveway is the most fun I have during winter !! She pumps heat in the cab lol.

I think we should get under a foot in my neighborhood, how much you getting ?

 

[bud16415]

That's kind of you , but I insist , you take it! Lol

My lot truck , 03 f250 , has a nice power steering leak , I think it's on a high pressure line . No way I'm trying to fix it now in the cold , and Im a month out of surgery on a tendon in my arm so I'm kinda handicap . The sad thing is , plowing my driveway is the most fun I have during winter !! She pumps heat in the cab lol.

I think we should get under a foot in my neighborhood, how much you getting ?

I agree my 00 GMC 2500 warms right up plowing. There is a reason the plow guy has his window down. Nothing is more fun (well almost nothing) than going across a parking lot windrowing at 3:00 am and the snow is about 6” deep and cold frozen crystals that go off the end of the plow like a wave of water spilling 20 or more feet from the blade. Once the windrow is about 30” high and the rubber flap on the plow is up and that old 4WD low range is really digging in. Dang that’s some good fun.

They say 1 to 2 feet in the snow belt south of I90 around rt 6. That’s right in my back yard.

Don’t take a chance with the tendon. Have someone else fix it if you need to.

 

[Chris]

You won’t have a problem finding work for you and your machines. As I mentioned before make the necessary adjustments coming from the land of good and plenty. Housing costs will be lower but so will rents. Things will be much freer and easy with the excavation work and maybe a lot more old school than what you are used to. Find the stuff no one is doing or not doing a good job at and jump in.

Also plan on competition from fly by night companies that wouldn’t last in the land of rules and regulations. It is the down side of living where everything isn’t regulated.

Good thing I do a good job at whatever work I am doing, usually go above and beyond. Hoping I can find something I can jump into. I also own a dump truck so even with that I can find work.

I've owned diesels all my life . My cummins starts right up at 0F , although two years ago it was real cold , and not much you can do when the fuel gels , additives and all . I wouldn't heat a shop unless your gonna work In it all day , it will get expensive . Natural gas is probably the cheapest route here , 2 of my friends have geothermal which is really efficient , but a major upfront cost .

I love my area , but I hate the cold ! Our first snow is happening as I type . Lake effect coming in , there saying ski country 2-3 feet . I say just hide inside for 2-3 months lol. Hence I'm working in the basement .....

I have two Cummins now and have had many Ford diesels. My Cummins have never given me a cold start issue. I used to have to plug my ford in when it was below freezing.

The cold is why I bought the house I bought, It has a large Finished basement and a couple extra hobby rooms. I can probably keep busy down their most of the winter.