keeping my 65 engine warm this winter

[Joe C.]

Re: keeping my 65 engine warm this winter

OR, make sure that the last time you drive your car, you get the oil nice and hot and that will cook off all that nasty H2SO4 and it will be a moot point.

Moyght ya be foonin' now, lad!
Well....actually..........no.
As you probably know, the heat will boil off the water content, and actually increase the molarity of the sulfuric acid. Then the engine will cool, condensate will form again, and the SO3 molecules will recombine with the fresh condensate.

[Joe C.]

Re: keeping my 65 engine warm this winter

Pretty schmart for a guy that stays in a Holiday Inn every night. I won't speculate whether you git your smartz from your father Mike or your other father Matt. It appears that we agree yet once again.

This is why I always recommend that a car be kept undisturbed in a low humidity, stable environment.

Ya know,
you've been hanging around with those screwballs over on VH for too long.

And,
no........don't keep yer car in a stable, either.

[Jim D.]

Re: keeping my 65 engine warm this winter

Well....actually..........no.
The heat will boil off the water content, and actually increase the molarity of the sulfuric acid.

True, but to such a miniscule level that it basically has no effect anyway.

[Valeria H.]

Re: keeping my 65 engine warm this winter

So would placing a dehumidifier in the garage help?? It was rather expensive to have those chrome bumpers rechromed and I am starting to notice some pitting between the teeth in the front grill.
Valeria

[Patrick H.]

Re: keeping my 65 engine warm this winter

The drawback to using a "bag with desiccant", is that if there is a small, undetected breach in the seal, the desiccant will quickly become saturated. At this point the bag becomes a seal which traps moisture and prevents air circulation. Not a good combination.

Joe,

The company that sells the Car Jacket (Pine Ridge Enterprises) also sells huge canisters of desiccant. http://www.carbag.com/buy/omnidry_desiccant.html
Based at the rate my much smaller canisters adsorb moisture (they live in my gun cabinets and change color based on humidity) I think that the large ones will not "fil up" during the winter in our enclosed 45 degree barn (i.e. man cave). We have 1 in each Car Jacket with each car. Based on how pristine the brake discs still look on Dad's 2002 I would suggest that there hasn't been any condensation inside the bag, ever.

As a benefit, they keep the car separated from the cooler garage floor (I have seen condensation there on occasion) and keep spiders out.

Patrick

[Patrick H.]

Re: keeping my 65 engine warm this winter

So would placing a dehumidifier in the garage help?? It was rather expensive to have those chrome bumpers rechromed and I am starting to notice some pitting between the teeth in the front grill.
Valeria

Valeria,

Most dehumidifiers don't work below a certain humidity and/or temperature. I've tried it in the garage in the winter when a warm, humid day happens to arrive and it just doesn't work well. The best idea is to not open the garage until spring. If you see my post above, my particular mode of indoor "winter protection" is the Car Jacket. I could not see the benefit of the extra large size of the Car Capsule or of the fan, though I understand the idea behind the fan and am not as skeptical as Mike. I've used the Car jacket over 10 years and have been extremely pleased.

Patrick

[Joe C.]

Re: keeping my 65 engine warm this winter

Patrick,

IIRC, the Car Jacket has instructions explaining how to regenerate (dry out) the dessicant once it becomes saturated. Putting it into the oven on very low heat, say 200 degrees for awhile will make it just like new.

Good advice: keeping air infiltration to a minimum goes a long way in protecting your car during the winter months! Using fans to keep air circulating in the garage is also important. Finally, covering the car is asking for trouble since it prevents air movement around the surfaces of the car. The air movement is the mechanism which helps prevent condensation from forming.

[Art A.]

Re: keeping my 65 engine warm this winter

So would placing a dehumidifier in the garage help?? It was rather expensive to have those chrome bumpers rechromed and I am starting to notice some pitting between the teeth in the front grill.
Valeria

[Mike M.]

Re: keeping my 65 engine warm this winter

I have the car jacket also like Patrick. When I open it up in the spring the one thing I noticed was the brake rotors have no rust on them. So the canister of desiccant does its job. I also put some inside and leave the windows open a few inches. I don't worry about the chrome because its dry in the bag no moisture. My garage is not heated and the other side has a car going in and out daily. As far as changing the oil in the spring its just a habit. I would feel comfortable driving it without changing it, but 1 oil change a year is cheap. I've been doing the bag for 8 years now. I just checked my odometer and I put 1500 miles on it this year.

[Michael W.]

Re: keeping my 65 engine warm this winter

My garage is not heated and the other side has a car going in and out daily.

And that's the key- very little temperature fluctuation above/below the dew point to cause condensation. If your garage was heated, the Corvette would be fine, but your daily driver would suffer. Cold car+ warm garage = condensation.

This is another reason that cars in storage should not be dragged out into the cold 'just to run the engine'.