Garage vs Car Cover

Put it in the garage but leave each end of the garage open so that air blows through and keeps any damp air moving. This works really well (from personal experience)

Mrcheerful

Hadn't thought of that. Would I still need the cover though?

Put some sort of cover over it, unless you like chipping off dried bird s*it and paint in the spring.

How much hassle would it be in this case to deleak and undamp the garage?

Ian

Or install one of those cheap panel heaters that cost 1p/hr to run,.

--=20 Conor

I'm really a nice guy. If I had friends, they would tell you.

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That amount of heat ain't going to make any difference to a damp leaky garage. A de-humidifier would use the energy more efficiently.

or even better get a "carcoon" and stick it in the garage.

Mrcheerful

The garage is a bolt together concrete monstrosity with an asbestos roof. My garden is on a slope and the previous occupants thought it wise to site the garage where the run off from the driveway flows straight into the garage. In the recent heavy rain there was two inches of water slopping about at the far end. Next year (subject to funds) the garage will be demolished to make way for an extension to the house which will include a

"georgina Smith" realised it was Thu, 05 Oct

My old garage was about 24'x13' and I found it an awkward size - only big enough for just one car and a lot of (but never enough) rubbish. Make it a few feet wider if you can, so you can put two cars in it and keep the old garage for storage of rubbish.

Yes, and build your pit with a sump in one end of it to put a pump in unless you want a small swimming pool.

Ron Robinson

"R.N. Robinson" wrote in message news:eg3sk1$hev$ snipped-for-privacy@emma.aioe.org...

build it higher and put a lift in, you won't regret it and it gives you an extra parking space

What clever bunnies. Thanks for all your advice. Will have to investigate both those readymade GRP pits and try to find the cost of a decent lift. Many many pennies I expect.......

investigate

Just had a look on Ebay. Decent second hand lifts available for about £500. New ones about £1500. Three phase seems to be cheaper than single phase so will probably wire up a converter and go for that. Most seem to be strong enough to lift my 2 tonne Minster high enough to get another car underneath without lifting off the garage roof. Can't wait to build the garage now....

Using a convertor for a three phase motor is more expensive and not so good as specifying a single phase type in the first place. It's only really useful where there is no three phase supply available and the machine is only available with a three phase motor.

But I'd investigate putting in a three phase supply if at all possible.

Things I wished I'd done while my drive was dug up...

But I didn't, so I went for a variable frequency drive to run my laycock four-post lift off a single phase supply, having first established that the motor could be configured to run in delta.

I considered fitting a single phase motor, but it does start under load (hydraulic pump) so decided against it. Next project is to convert a milling machine to run off the same converter (by swapping plugs, not at the same time)

The four post lift is one of the best tool investments I've ever made: apart from the obvious "under the middle of the car" jobs, like swapping the viscous drive on a Range Rover transfer box recently, it makes jobs like brakes and suspension so much easier. Even engine compartment jobs are so much easier with the car a foot off the ground (apart from the Mk VI, where it would be easier if it were a foot below ground...)

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "georgina Smith" saying something like:

If you keep an eye on machinery auctions in your local rag, you can pick up a four-poster for as little as 150pounds.

Converters are pricey, btw, so it might be a better option to simply replace with a single-phase motor (subject to size constraints, etc).

Grimly Curmudgeon ( snipped-for-privacy@REMOVEgmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

With or without fixing bolts...?

for all round use a two poster is the way to go

Coulddn't agree more. I have a 3200kg single-phase 2-poster, I can lift anything from a saxo to a landrover 110 with ease, leaving full access to the underside and suspension on any vehicle. Less floor space taken up than a 4-poster, but the 4-poster makes welding sills easier. Personal choice, at the end of the day I s'pose. Badger.

I have been told that the solution to a 3-phase motor run from a convertor that won't start under load is to connect another one running free into the circuit. I'll leave it those who know about these things to explain how and why - or say that it's a load of cobblers.

Ron Robinson