Deep Freeze in TN after going out on my boat a few times....

[RTS]

The solution is right in your picture....just maybe not obvious.

Smear peanut butter on the underdside of your engine, and smear some on the heater coil.

Leave your dog in the garage overnight. As he spends the night licking all that peanut butter off the engine and coil, his body heat will be enough to keep everything from freezing.

But seriously, I know it can be nerve wracking, but the overnight temps shown above will likely not be low enough to get the inside of that garage down to freezing. Air is a good insuator, and you have plenty of it trapped in that barn, not to mention like was said above and you have air trapped in the engine compartment and under the cover....if you use the cover.

Edited April 15, 2014 by RTS

[RTS]

Also, if I were you, and that barn was going to be my long term storage solution, I would purchase a half dozen or so of those instant read stick thermometers with a high/low memory. They cost like $5 each. Then place them around...like one in the engine compartment, one in the garage, one near the coil, one outside, etc.

This way, you can start to get a feel for what outside temperatures actually mean for the temperature inside the garage, near the engine, etc. Might help alleviate some worry in the future. I think you will see that as long as the doors are not left open, you will have more of a delta between inside and outside than you think.

[shawndoggy]

that concrete pad is a big heat sink. No way no how that you drop below 32 at all. Go spend $20 on ebay and buy yourself a memory high low thermometer and put it in the building so you know next time what a 26 degree night looks like in the building. I'm betting high 30s at the lowest.

[BlastRlxi]

Before you spend a bunch of money on heaters, etc., remember that this is just a very rare one day spring cold snap. It costs nothing to drain the block, manifolds, heater, etc (assuming you're doing it yourself). I don't know of anyone that has heated boat storage in Tennessee.

[Afun]

I got a nice thermometer. 10 degree difference between outside and inside temps. Like you said Shawndoggy, draining the the boat is a two beer job and you get to know your boat a little.

[jb 156]

between work and kids sports I didn't have time to drain everything last night, I did run by this morning put the cover on the boat and put a space heater with thermostat in there set on 60 degrees. It felt 10 degrees warmer in the storage unit then it did outside.

[Michigan boarder]

i don't think Wind Chill freezes stuff

Well, wind does, hence wind chill. Wind passing over the surface removes more heat. So wind passing over the siding and roof will pull more heat out of the building. Or, wind passing over your skin will freeze it faster than no wind. It's not about cold management, it's about heat management, adding heat or removing heat.

And Shawn is right, it takes a lot of energy to pull BTU's out of concrete.

[vigwilson]

The solution is right in your picture....just maybe not obvious.

Smear peanut butter on the underdside of your engine, and smear some on the heater coil.

Leave your dog in the garage overnight. As he spends the night licking all that peanut butter off the engine and coil, his body heat will be enough to keep everything from freezing.

lol!

Not to worry, my boat has been stuck outside on 20 degree temp nights without issue. It's when the temps are down towards freezing during the day then dip to 20 at night that you need to worry. The heat of the day definitely keeps the inside of the boat warmer through the night. If I'm truly worried I've thrown the really small space heater over night, or even just wrapped the motor up in a moving pad. Never any issues thus far knock on fiberglass. This is info for just the block, Ive never had a heater/core.

[wakebrdr94]

Little by little big guy....this economy is not exactly conducive for splurging on everything you want. I hope you understand now.

I don't mean any disrespect. Adding as an afterthought, I get it, money is tight, but during building?? But like my example said, same with storm cellars. Those seem like needs at time of building. Kind of like building a bu, and getting the important stuff, then add ons are easy. could probably sell some of the ballast for a heater i kid, i kid

[Afun]

I don't mean any disrespect. Adding as an afterthought, I get it, money is tight, but during building?? But like my example said, same with storm cellars. Those seem like needs at time of building. Kind of like building a bu, and getting the important stuff, then add ons are easy. could probably sell some of the ballast for a heater i kid, i kid

It's a freakin big building...lots of money to heat that thing during winter.

[shicks6]

Too much residual heat for any worries with this brief cold snap. Lows might dip below 32 for a few hours at the most but the highs are way above freezing.