That time of year: heat & condensation

[KYBOY]

We have a new shop..Metal 20 x 22..Worked in metal shops all my life and I know what happens. You heat a metal shop that's cold and condensation sets in and it rains if you have a bre metal roof..Around here anyway. We have giant,rediculous temp swings..People don't think of Ky as cold but last winter it was down to  -26° several times here in the mountians..Not the usual but it gets pretty dang cold in these deep hollers..So you have huge chucnks of metal in your shop, they get cold..then you warm them up and they sweat..We buy wd40 by the gallon..This shop is getting 2" of closed cell waterproof spray insulation on the ceiling  Not to mention if you burn propane your putting more water in the air so its also getting a couple of ceiling fans to circulate air/heat with...

 What do you do to combat the condensation problem?

[jumbojak]

At this point, I stay inside. ;}

I am working on a small metal shed though and was thinking about putting some foam on the ceiling do my heater doesn't make it rain. If nothing else I'll get a fee cans of Great Stuff and see how that works.

[ThomasPowers]

We get 40 deg F swings on a regular basis; but with single digit humidities on a regular basis  condensation is something you read about on the net...Back when I lived in OH waxing or using linseed oil on tools where it was appropriate was used.  Also a fan to keep the air moving helps deter condensation.

I have one anvil that spent 50 years in an unheated shack in a swampy area in OH that had face pitting from condensation, I'm treating it with hot steel and a hammer and have just about polished out the sweet spot.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Insulation and vapor barier deal with the condensation on the walls and celing (and help keep the shop form getting hoter than ambient in summer) the heavy tools inside are another matter. WD40 is good for displacing moister but isnt all that good for protection. The same floor wax you use to keep the rust off your tabble saw

[yesteryearforge]

I wipe my Anvils and other heavy metal items down with a terry cloth towel soaked in PEANUT OIL per Brian Brazeal and nothing affects them.

Before I had Brian here for 3 weeks I had tried everything under the sun and nothing seemed to work ( it would just rust underneath whatever I had applied ).

We just had a major temp. swing and it looked like everything in the shop had been hosed down with a water hose.

But I built a fire in the woodstove ( even though it was 70 degrees outside ) and turned a fan on low to circulate some air and everything was fine in short oeder

 

 

[jukejoint]

Yup fixing to make me a waste oil stove using the double barrel wood stove design 

[Glenn]

Normally aspirated oil burners were less than spectacular, even the double barrel wood stove design. Wood for fuel in a double drum is much better. YMMV 

Read up on this site on using waste motor oil as fuel before you get started building. It can be some nasty stuff.  Veggie oil is much better if you can find a large, constant source.

You will need to insulate the roof first and walls second to better heat your area. The metal roof and walls will transfer the heat to the outside quickly otherwise.

 

[wd&mlteach]

I coat my anvils with linseed oil when I see rust starting to breed on them. I put it on just the sides, under the heel, and under the horn. It does darken bright steel a bit. But the sides have a dark patina anyway, so I do not see a problem with it. On the top of each anvil I lay used strips of cotton towels. They are all dirty, greasy and grimy. Heck, one of the towels is what I wipe down my blower with at the end of the day. It soaks up all of the oil that weeps from my blower and collects all of the coal dust from a day of working. The other ones are just used old strips of a bath towels that have been used sometime in their life to clean dirty oily things -mostly oil spills from vehicle work. My shop is completely unheated and you can see through the walls in some spots so it is drafty! This method has kept the rust away for me. Occasionally, when the towels seem a bit dry I spray the towels down with PB Blaster or WD 40.

But I do not think tons of oil in the rags would be a necessity. I think it just takes a little oil to keep the rust gremlins away. I think it is more important to keep the temperature swings at bay. I also have my wood lathe in my shed and it does not get tucked in with pretty little blankets that have been soaked in dirty oil. I normally just put a coat of car wax on the bed and cover it with a piece of heavy canvas, or an old welding jacket. It seems that if I keep it under the canvas for storage it does not seem to sweat or rust. I am guessing it has to do with the gradual temperature changes due to the canvas blanket.

 

[gote]

I only have the problem with heavy pieces like the anvils and the lathe. The anvils have a coat of mixed lineseed oil and rust on the sides and I spray a thin coat of oil on the top when leaving. It does not stop condensation but it stops rust. The lathe is covered in an old blanket and has a small 200W thermostatically regulated heater underneath the bench. The blanket is needed anyway to stop dust from getting into the machinery. Today is -17C two days ago it was .22.

[KRS]

Beside the oil and everything, ventilate.

In a heated shop the air humidity will be higher inside than outside. Warm air holds more water than cold air, Water will set where its the coldest

Before leaving your shop in the evening ventilate it, let some dry cold air in and the warm damp air out.

If you don´t the moisture will condensate over night

 

[Judson Yaggy]

Wood stove and a small fan.