Build me a Garage (Gofundme plz)

[Muckin_Slusher]

I guess I should elaborate about the heater size question.

For a house, or anything that is constantly heated, the perfect size heater is the one that never shuts off on the coldest day (cheaper because you bought the smallest that would work...as long as it's big enough to keep up on the worst day (coldest and windiest)).

The benefits of a big bitch happen when you want to heat something up quick, like a frozen garage or a frozen truck you want to defrost. Obviously you have to consider how much electrical power you have available because the bigger heater is gonna cost more and need more expensive wiring. Also you want 240 volt heat because it needs smaller wire than 120 volt heat.

The bigger heater will cycle on and off more often also (if that matters).

 

[[memphis]]

The bigger heater will cycle on and off more often also (if that matters).

I guess I should have elaborated more on my question. I know an oversized AC unit is bad for a house as it will cool down quick and shut off and restart once the house warms back up. And to your point a proper sized system will run all day on the hottest of days.

I assumed the heater would constantly start stop if it’s too large and I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing and I have many factors working against me being non-insulated

I was planning on 240v as I only have 50 amps available to me. Something in the 18-20amp range would be sufficient and I can unplug it when I need the welder

 

[u2slow]

Old ugly baseboards are often free. They are also 100% efficient like new ones.

I don't mind the box heaters, but you're looking at a bigger circuit, and the fan does have a lifespan.

Edit: some of the digital thermostats use triac control, so once the space gets to temp, they're modulating the current draw instead of banging the whole works off and on.

 

[[memphis]]

Regarding baseboard heaters... if I decide to not go with a hanging shop heater... can they be mounted too high? I know it would look weird in a house mounted two feet off the ground. I understand heat rises... but if they are right on the floor I am losing some foot print and will most definitely smash into them

 

[Muckin_Slusher]

Regarding baseboard heaters... if I decide to not go with a hanging shop heater... can they be mounted too high? I know it would look weird in a house mounted two feet off the ground. I understand heat rises... but if they are right on the floor I am losing some foot print and will most definitely smash into them

They'll be fine mounted high.

 

[u2slow]

Sure, mount them off the floor some... but not at the ceiling.

It's a question of how shitty you want the convection-air loop, and where you place the thermostat.

 

[[memphis]]

Hey Gents, I am planning to buy some MC wire and get this container wired “properly”

I’d like to remain code compliant just in case something happens. I’d like to run power across the roof on the inside for overhead lighting plugs and a retractable power cord.

I’m not sure what is the best way to put a junction box/outlet on the ceiling and supporting it since I don’t want to drill into the roof.

There are welded loops along the top rail of the container that I could clamp wire cable to and cross the span but that still leaves the issue of supporting the box?

This is a google photo but the chains are hooked to the loops I am referring to.

 

[Muckin_Slusher]

Hey Gents, I am planning to buy some MC wire and get this container wired “properly”

I’d like to remain code compliant just in case something happens. I’d like to run power across the roof on the inside for overhead lighting plugs and a retractable power cord.

I’m not sure what is the best way to put a junction box/outlet on the ceiling and supporting it since I don’t want to drill into the roof.

There are welded loops along the top rail of the container that I could clamp wire cable to and cross the span but that still leaves the issue of supporting the box?

This is a google photo but the chains are hooked to the loops I am referring to.

I've ran messenger cable (wire rope or aircraft cable or clothesline) to span the roofs on those things to secure wire and lights to without drilling. You can go along the wall or straight across or spiderweb.

Your other options could be welding, or magnets.

 

[JohnnyJ]

I’d like to remain code compliant just in case something happens. I’d like to run power across the roof on the inside for overhead lighting plugs and a retractable power cord.

I’m not sure what is the best way to put a junction box/outlet on the ceiling and supporting it since I don’t want to drill into the roof.

For mounting an electrical box that you wanted to hang a fixture off of, I would think you could cut 20ga into oversized squares, punch a couple of holes and the corners and spot weld it to the container. Could put a couple nutserts that would go between the ribs for attaching the electrical box.

 

[Clb]

1/4-20 bolts welded to can primer the outside after

 

[PAToyota]

Colin Furze has a stud welder with threaded studs that he uses frequently on his projects:


That tool would be really useful for things like this, but I haven't been able to find a cost effective option. It looks like it's about $2K~$3K.

 

[Muckin_Slusher]

Colin Furze has a stud welder with threaded studs that he uses frequently on his projects:


That tool would be really useful for things like this, but I haven't been able to find a cost effective option. It looks like it's about $2K~$3K.

Build one using a microwave transformer. Probably don't need all those moving parts that make it fancy, actually I don't see why you'd need any moving parts at all.

Snap a vise-grips onto the nut of your choice, weld both sides of the nut to the jaws then bandsaw the nut in half so you have a nice stud holder. Magnetic ground from mag-switch if you'd like, or just braid a length of stripped welding cable and hold it against the steel. Momentary foot switch to send power to the transformer.

Hardest part would be keeping the stud exactly square, but you could make something to help with that too.

 

[PAToyota]

Oh, you could definitely rig something up. Just a matter of finding the time to do that - along with all the other projects in life... So it is a question of spending the money or spending the time.

If one were available for a couple hundred bucks I'd probably end up with one.

 

[[memphis]]

The 20 gauge and 1/4-20 are good ideas. We don’t have snow yet but painting will have to wait I guess.

A stud welder would be tits!
The pic I posted did give me some inspiration for the lower electrical runs. I have the idea of having screws poking outside of the container. If I mounted wood on the inside I can use lag screws with a rubber washer from the outside to secure the wood and screw into stuff on the inside as required

 

[Clb]

clean it up, torch it hot, spray down with warm (from house) rattlecan

 

[JohnnyJ]

also these for weld studs

Steel Right-Angle Weld Studs​

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

 

[Muckin_Slusher]

You can also wedge wooden studs (or better yet, Unistrut) inside the container without screws through the steel.

If you stand one up on either side and wedge it tight to the ceiling you can then wedge one across the ceiling between them. This would guarantee the wall studs couldn't fall in.

 

[aczlan]

3 ways to go about this without welding (as long as you aren't going to hang anything from the boxes):

1. Adhesive Backed Surface Mount Raceway -
Something like this (with their boxes): https://www.lowes.com/pd/MonoSystems-CableHider1-6-Piece-120-in-L-White-Raceway/1000394521

2. Conduit (EMT) with adhesive brackets and adhesive to mount the boxes, then adhesive backed zip tie mounts to hold MC cable.
Conduit brackets:

Self Adhesive Cable Clip Mounts Wire Conduit Tubing Nylon Sticky Pad White/Black | eBay

There is a double-sided adhesive tape on the back, which has a good sticky thickness and can be fixed in a stable position. Product application: first confirm that the part where the suction cup is to be attached is flat, smooth, clean and dry, tear off the protective paper on the double-sided...

www.ebay.com

Adhesive to hold boxes on:

https://www.amazon.com/Mounting-Waterproof-Automotive-Decorations-3M492950/dp/B08NFXTXYX

Zip tie mounts to hold the MC cable to the wall (or use the conduit brackets above):

https://www.amazon.com/Adhesive-Backed-Mounts-holder-Anchor-Holders/dp/B07Z79LHJC/

3. ClickBond Fasteners to mount the boxes and brackets:

Standard Base Stud| Click Bond

Stud permits clamped attachment of systems to structure or securing of enclosures or other modular equipment. Supplied with disposable installation fixture.

www.clickbond.com

Aaron Z

 

[Pook]

I probably would use some of the sheet metal roofing screws with gaskets from the outside to mount some wood runs the length of the inside of the container on the walls, then use that as a base to make something to hold the boxes on the ceiling.

In the past we just welded steel electrical boxes to the inside of the can.

 

[[memphis]]

I probably would use some of the sheet metal roofing screws with gaskets from the outside to mount some wood runs the length of the inside of the container on the walls, then use that as a base to make something to hold the boxes on the ceiling.

In the past we just welded steel electrical boxes to the inside of the can.

I’ve already thought about using gasket style lag screws for this reason. I’ll mount wood to secure the panel exactly where I want it on the verticals and can probably figure something out with conduit. It’s just over 7’ so it should sag too much? A few tack welds is a simple solution as well

 

[[memphis]]

Just a small update. I ended up selling the bandsaw yesterday evening. I don’t feel bad about letting it go even though it was a kick ass saw. It just didn’t work well for my current “long term” shop configuration.

Instead of jumping right back into something I’m going to take time to reconfigure the workspace first. Get this wiring project out of the way.

The Fein cold cut as discussed in another thread in here has my attention but I’m going to wait it out as I don’t really have anything to cut at the moment.

 

[[memphis]]

Another small update, pictures later… mounted a diesel heater to the wall of the container.

I know I asked about electrical heat recommendations but it came down to available amperage and I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t spring for the 8kW unit from Vevor.

I ended up purchasing the 5kW heater based on square footage of the container and this was an incorrect choice due to the metal acting as a heat sink.

I have roughly 7-8 hours burn time on the unit and I’m not even 1/3 of the way through the fuel tank so the cost of diesel is not a huge factor.

This frees up I assume 17-18 amps of power I would be consuming otherwise. Sure I could unplug the heater, plug in the welder… and when I’m done plug the heater back in but that sounds cold.

Napa sells the 1” flex exhaust in a 25ft spool so I am thinking about scavenging it and running the loop through out the one wall of the container and back out the hole I drilled today

 

[[memphis]]

It’s 2C here today so….33-35F?
Ran a one hour burn today with the door latched shut on 5.5kW power. Can’t latch it shut from the inside as a few of you with containers know.

The air doesn’t circulate as well as I had hoped. 62F ambient was the furthest reachable point from the heater within 5ft of the heater the air was around 72F.

I dialled the heater down to 1.9kW for ten minutes after the one hour full blast burn and the heater is actually quite quiet for what it is. Maybe once there is some snow on the roof it will provide me some half ass insulation.

With the exhaust reaching 500F there is definitely an opportunity to reclaim some of the combustion heat

 

[[memphis]]

Great success! I finally won a Pullzall at auction for $130 CAD! Slight discolouration… it’s definitely been used but it powers in and out just fine? I wasn’t ever planning to spend +$400 CAD on something like this… but I needed something to move heavy stuff around solo. I plan to step up my rigging game inside the container!

The cherry picker is no good inside the container but if I run a chain across or diagonally, I will have lots of opportunities to pick items up.

 

[arse_sidewards]

You don't need to spend $400 to pull shit.

 

[[memphis]]

You don't need to spend $400 to pull shit.

I was referring to the cost of the Pullzall when new

 

[arse_sidewards]

I was referring to the cost of the Pullzall when new

I know. I'm saying there's other tools that do the same jobs just slower. For occasional personal use you don't necessarily need the high $$ labor saving cordless tool.

 

[[memphis]]

Been working on improving my workspace these last two weeks. It was getting hard to move around inside and I wasn’t committing to drilling holes.

Installed the air reel after tripping on it for four months and utilized some existing vent holes for the regulator and dryer. I still have two air compressors. Rivnuts are awesome for self installs!

Bought a work bench from Princess Auto for $250 72” on sale this week. Tossed one of the compressors under it until I get the other repaired/swapped and then one of them has to go. I need to cut up the old steel drill press stand I won at auction, it’s .25 plate and angle so I can use some of those pieces during my build (fish plates)

Getting stuff off the floor has helped a bunch! I know it looks jammed but I couldn’t even walk in here previously.

I need to score a small tool box or something to stick beside the compressor, then I can put away my hand tools etc and not spread them out across the bench.

Option 2 is metal pegboard… not sure if that would be better for me but keeping stuff off the floor is what it’s going to take to keep this space organized

 

[[memphis]]

Managed to sell the blue 20 Gallon compressor I converted from a fire suppression unit. This gray unit is the same idea.

This new tank is smaller at 13 gallons but it’s a 3 cylinder compressor head and double the horsepower. The tank is also rated higher at 200psi versus the prior at 165psi

I swapped in a new safety valve at 200psi as Milton doesn’t make one between 150-200 it seems?

The new pressure switch is a Lefoo unit, seems much more robust than the Square D I was trying to make work and it saves me from buying a magnetic starter for now. I will buy one if I swap to a 5hp motor (this current one may not last)

Waiting on a 30 amp switch from Amazon. Motor pulls 14 amps on 240v

 

[[memphis]]

Got the compressor wired up!
No magnetic starter (yet)
Hand calculated 13 CFM at 90psi
Probably 20-25% more quiet than the previous unit

Smaller tank at 14 gallons vs 20 gallons so we will see how that goes. The compressor pumps more than the die grinder consumes!