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engine and gas tank 'sweating'?

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Dan76spit

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hi all,
been working on my spitfire the last couple weeks in my garage. i have a kerosene torpedo heater and a propane torpedo that i warm it up with and i noticed the last time when i was working out there that the engine was wet with condensation and as was the gas tank. i have never noticed this before and i've worked out there the last two winters.
i l keep the car covered and the bonnet down for the most part as i am redoing the rear suspension. I also decided to check under the covers of my two motorcycles and there was moisture under them as well. I don't make it real hot in the garage just to take some chill out of the air. Now its been like in the 20's here for the last few weeks... but like i said i've worked out there in past winters and never expereinced this before. The only difference from last winter to this is i have a new garage door-good ride of the old wood one and replaced with a new steel one.
Just not sure what i should do to stop it. should i leave the cover off? is it the type of heat i'm using? just wondering if anybody else has an issue and can help cause i don't think its good for this to happen... thanks
 
Hi Dan - you'll almost always get condensation if the room air is warm, but the engine (solid steel slow to warm) starts off cold. Same thing about the gas tank: if it's full of gasoline, it retains the temp longer, so it sweats on the outside. This will also happen if you have a thick concrete garage floor - you warm the garage air quickly, but the floor remains cold, then the humidity condenses on it.

Of course, lots depends on how much humidity is in the air inside the garage. Even just opening the garage door once allows the outdoors humidity to enter the garage. You live near Lake Erie; there's a *lotta* humidity in that lake!

Humidity in the air remains relatively steady in a given closed area. So when you warm only part of the air in the area, the condensation will happen on any hefty chunks of metal that aren't directly heated.

Hope this helps.
Tom in CT
 
Burning propane in a torpedo heater gives off a considerable amount of humidity and carbon monoxide. In the past a lot of it was probably escaping through your wood door. Now the humidity is condensing on cold metel parts as Tom said.
However you are sucking in the carbon monoxide most likely in larger then recommended amounts. At the very least open a window from the top to allow the heated air to escape and take some of it out. Also invest in a carbon monoxide detector. It may save your life.
 
not a bad suggestion on the detector thanks i will prob invest in one. never really gave that a thought before. usually only run the heaters for about an hour when i first go out there than i shut them off as its warm enough to work in. I may insulate the door too and see if that helps at all. I usually crack my small window open just a small amount for fresh air also but not all the time. do you think getting a dehumidifier to put out there may help? I can also stop using the propane as i also have a kerosene torpedo i usually use that but the propane is not as loud so recently i've been using it more. The walls are also not insulated so i'm thinking about that too. I'd like to insulate everything that get some kind of heater i can run all winter long and keep it heated at a constant temp... thanks guys
 
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