Heater In Tear For Winter

[Classic Finn]

I had to ask about this.. I cant get it off my mind otherwise...

Soooo here it is: Since our tear is outside basically ..Under a protected heavy duty Canvas type Porta Garage...for the winter.

Is there any sense in having a heater in it with a thermostat? Or am I wasting elctricity? And if I do will it cause trouble to the interior or exterior?

Classic Finn

[caseydog]

I don't think that cold alone will cause a problem. I think moisture is more of an issue.

Do you have any kind of desiccant or dehumidifier you can use to keep moisture under control inside the camper?

CD

[Juneaudave]

Heikki...boy oh boy...I think I would plan on keeping it warm (at least part time) and doing some Porta Garage camping this winter. Moisture is definately the issue, but I think keeping it warm intially would surely be a cool way to break up that long, dark winter...and give you an opportunity to see what works for storage...Juneaudave

[Classic Finn]

I don't think that cold alone will cause a problem. I think moisture is more of an issue.

Do you have any kind of desiccant or dehumidifier you can use to keep moisture under control inside the camper?

CD

I was told by the Caravan folks here that one of them moisture eaters will be used up in a very short time....

Oldtimers here say to use your read newspapers for the moisture collector but to remember to toss it quite often (yikes) not such a good idea..

I,ll have to search though CD..

Heikki

[Classic Finn]

Heikki...boy oh boy...I think I would plan on keeping it warm (at least part time) and doing some Porta Garage camping this winter. Moisture is definately the issue, but I think keeping it warm intially would surely be a cool way to break up that long, dark winter...and give you an opportunity to see what works for storage...Juneaudave

Dave I think your words are true.. I have a floor heater and if I get this ceramic heater it could do the trick...

One advantage is that I have ... is this. we have a car plug in outlet outside and it is not hooked up to our elctrical meter.. we pay a flat rate of 9 Euro per month to have our car there... nothing more... well I used the elctrical for building our tear and at night the lighting also from it..

And I could draw the electrical out from it to heat the tear... at the same rate.. so thats not a problem..

But if I get a small ceramic heater with a thermostat and its in the porta garage.. it will heat the tear up to 30 celcius in no time at all and then shut off... and then it will kick on againwhen it dips below a certain point..

Im just so nervous about the tear ending up in rough shape with the moisture and so on..

But at the same time I dont want a fire to start either and if that would happen it would go up in flames in seconds..

Ok maybe Im paranoid about it all ...for nothing.. Again its about not having had a tear before..

And I have no idea as to how our weather will deal with our tear.. one thng for certain is its insulated well (50mm) or 2" on the ceiling front to back and floor has it at about 1/4 inch.. and nothing basically on the side walls and thats where it will be cold for sure .. and the mahogany veneer isnt going to insulate it much if at all..

Maybe it is to open the windows a little on both sides and

Place a blanket or somthing over the sides???
The porta garage is strong and wind cant get in if I button it up tight and it does have air vents on it..that can be opened fron and back to circulate fresh air.. Also I forgot to mention there is space above the roof of the tear and ceiling of the garage about 1 foot or more and 2 feet on eith side of the walls of the tear and garage so nothing will be touching there..


Heikki

[Juneaudave]

Gee...with flat rate electricity for the car, and a covered portable garage...I'm not so sure that I would not only keep the Tear warm but also...put up spotlights on the Tear, have holiday music playing on a loudspeaker system after buying the most garish holiday decorations I could find, run an extension cord into the house through the window for additional heaters, convert the sauna to electric...


Seriously, given the marine climate here Juneau, I've kind of come to the conclusion that there is no substitute for a little bit of heat, not hot, but above freeezing. Just take out the bedding and use a good quality, thermostatically controlled, electric heater and you should have no problem. I can't imagine having a fire danger.

[48Rob]

Heikki,

As the others have stated, moisture is the enemy.

However, that said, moisture is with us every day of the year.
We don't worry about moisture in the Summer...so why should we worry in the winter?

We get this idea of danger from moisture issues we find (or cause) in our daily living space...because we live in them.

Airborne moisture that condensates on a cooler surface is the problem.

If you heat your trailer, and then have warm moist air contacting cooler surfaces and condensating, you will have a "moisture problem" in your trailer.
If the air is very dry, then heating the interior is a waste, as there is nothing to condensate anyway.

Most moisture/condensation issues in small enclosed spaces like trailers, come from breathing and cooking.
If the trailer is "vacant" all winter, then the only moisture will be that contained in the outside air.

Unless your trailer is sitting in a thawed puddle on the perm-a-frost, with the sun heating the inside to a high temperature (causing condensation) simply allowing the trailer to breathe by leaving a window or vent cracked open so that the interior air has the same temperature and moisture content of the exterior air, you'll be fine leaving it "cold".

Ventilation as a means to equalize humidity is the key to the long life of your trailer...

If your climate is like England, or our Northwest, where humidity levels are extreme, and moisture just clings to everything, then a heat source may be warranted, or better yet, climate controlled storage space may be the answer, but for the majority, there is no need.

Rob

[Arne]

close it up tight and use something like this.. the only way it gets used up fast is if you let moisture get in it.. I close mine up tight as I can and it lasts all winter... I replace it and use it in the summer, too.. so I use 2 per year..

http://www.damprid.dsiwebbuilder.com/index.asp?cat=176180

[caseydog]

I don't think that cold alone will cause a problem. I think moisture is more of an issue.

Do you have any kind of desiccant or dehumidifier you can use to keep moisture under control inside the camper?

CD

I was told by the Caravan folks here that one of them moisture eaters will be used up in a very short time....

Oldtimers here say to use your read newspapers for the moisture collector but to remember to toss it quite often (yikes) not such a good idea..

I,ll have to search though CD..

Heikki

The thing about a good desiccant is that, when it gets saturated, you can heat up in an oven and dry it back out and reuse it. I would NOT suggest you try that with newspaper.

CD

[caseydog]

48Rob and Arne both make good points.

Condensation of humidity is a problem if you have fluctuating temperatures where you TD surfaces will be cool while the air in and around is warm and moist. Heating the air could make things better, or worse.

If you are really going to lose sleep, then one of those "car bubbles" would be the best thing you can do. High-dollar car collectors use them to protect their valuable cars.

http://www.autosportcatalog.com/index.c ... 2/sc/15049

But, I think that's a bit extreme.

Like Arne says, if you keep the thing closed with a desiccant inside, and you keep the desiccant fresh, you'll be fine.

The main thing is to check on your TD on a regular basis, so if you see a problem developing, you can deal with it quickly, before it becomes a big problem.

And, most of all, keep the TD clean. That makes a huge difference.

I have owned four boats, and they were all too big for my garages. They all survived the winter because I kept them clean and aired them out when the weather allowed. It took some effort, but my spring cleanup was easy, compared to what my friends with boats went through after neglecting their boats all winter.

My theory is that you can either do a few minutes of work every few weeks, or you can wait six months and spend a whole weekend working to fix what got neglected. I chose the few minutes of work every few weeks.

CD

[Classic Finn]

Ok we ordered a ceramic heater to assist..





Electric Kermik Heizer Plus, 230 V 200 - 1500 W, n. 16x13x21 cm
Adjustable from 200 to 1500 W From Germany.

Also cool and warm blower..

I,ll have it tomorrow so I can test it out...

I also have some moisture eater coming that is enough for 3 months at a time.

Classic Finn

PS Thank You Everyone for the advice.. I feel better at ease about it..
and I,ll check it every few days if necessary even though I,ll be working in it everyday now ...

I,ll hookup our Travel TV..to it while Im doing things...

[Arne]

boy, sometimes you give great advice, but they just won't listen to you.... sigh.... I guess it is just the way the world operates... if it doesn't cost a lot of money, it can't be any good..../g/

give me my 10 dollar bucket of damp-rid any day...

[Classic Finn]

boy, sometimes you give great advice, but they just won't listen to you.... sigh.... I guess it is just the way the world operates... if it doesn't cost a lot of money, it can't be any good..../g/

give me my 10 dollar bucket of damp-rid any day...

Dear Friend Arne

The heater is somthing the Mrs wants for our winter camping ...
She didnt say but ... it could be just in case I cant keep her warm enough..

And believe you me... I took in all the advice you folks gave out..
I dont take nothing for granted... and I listened to every word spoken or written...Yes Sir ... I take my teardrop very seriously too..
since its been a lot of work and all else to go with it..

Here we have 10 Euro bucket of damp rid... I ordered the equivalent to that product today our time..

My apologies Arne if I gave the impression I didnt listen to the advice given but rest assured I did..

Regards
Heikki

[Arne]

Heikki, I am much relieved.. thank you. I mistakenly thought you were going to run the heater during storage periods...

I, too, have a little heater I use for cold camping.