My dad lives in Upstate NY and will be needing to work on his Skidsteer loader (Bobcat) in the three car sized garage. This space has no heater and I thought maybe instead of going out and buying an LP gas Salamander, He could just park his chevy van in the garage. Use a 2.5" hose from the exhaust under the door and idle the van. How much heat do you think would come from the radiator and exhaust system? Enough to warm up the garage?
The LP heater don't cost that much these days and maybe safer too, but I was just wondering. He like using his van for things it wasn't designed to do. The best thing is he would run a milking machine off the power brake booster vacuum line years ago.

I can see the hate mail coming already.

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67Cuda,FAST EZEFI,340cu,CR=10.25,RollerCam&Rocker (XR268HR,#20-810-9)(#1622-16)(EddyRPM#60779,#7576), (MSD6AL,#6425) A904, GearVendorsOD, 8 1/4,3.55:1, ClassicAir

I think the risk vs. the benefit is pretty lopsided on this one.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

Mechanics shops in Alaska have a setup where there is a port on the garage door with a hose that connects to the car's exhaust precisely to keep the door closed with the engine running. Now, most of those garages have electric or gas heaters and don't rely on keeping the engine running to stay warm.

Now, if you coul get some extra long radiator hoses you could rig up an auxilliary radiator in the garagre and let the van idle outside. Or get a bunch of heater cores and daisy chain them together with heater hose....

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

If you do run a vehicle inside a closed shop you should have a good exhaust hose, good ventilation and a CO detector.

It's probably cheaper to buy a propane heater than a good exhaust hose and CO detector.

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Joshua

I think the propane heater would pay for itself the second you turn it on.

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I like Reed's idea of the extra long heater hoses. Keep the van outside.

My first question is about the building. How big is it, and is it well insulated?

Oops...three-car garage sized, so about 24x36 feet. That leaves whether it's insulated or not.

If it's not insulated, heated air rises, and that's what your doing.....heating the air. If you don't have a well insulated ceiling, it'll go right out through the roof as fast as you heat it, if not faster.You first need to insulate the ceiling or roof, at your discretion, in order to heat the building successfully. The walls could come as you get time/money.

I suspect it would be judged a failure without certain other conditions being met. As was already said, venting the exhaust, and doing it very well, to the outside of the building. If the safety factor isn't met, the odds of your father becoming a bad news piece in the local paper are rather high.

Roger

Propane heater.... AND a CO2 detector.

Propane heater.... AND a CO2 detector.

Yeah CO2 from a propane will kill you just as dead as CO2 from car exhaust

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63 Dart Convert. 39 Plymouth Hotrod Hemi, Cushman scooters,

GTS225:
Ditto.

I have the same deal, unheated three car garage, and zero degrees out side. A complete waist of time & gas to run the adjacent car. It will make no difference.

Long johns, hat, heavy coat, gloves, and a gut load of carbohydrates will work.

Don't worry, us old guys can take it...

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

why not just rent a salamander from battlefield until the job is done? cheapest and safest option.

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.