Cold Weather

[pbibby]

Alright guys. It's that time of year again. Winter is coming and in Wisconsin it is brutal. As such, I'm thinking of taking up smoking in the garage. I need to somehow balance air flow (as to not stink up the place) but without freezing my ass off.

For those brothers that use the garage, what do you do? Again, I don't want to freeze, so I know some sort of space heater is a must. But does anyone use an ozone creator or any air purifier? Again, I don't want to keep the door up as that will defeat the purpose.

Thoughts?

Thanks guys,
Paul

 

[mwlabel]

Lake Country Cigars

I found that cracking the door a foot or so, and going with a heater and blanket works pretty well. Just open the door all the way when you're done to air it out.

 

[ZippoGeek]

@8ball and I are in Buffalo, brother, so we feel your pain!

Unfortunately, garage smoking without getting the place completely funked-up is a tall order without an overhead exhaust. I have a Rinnai gas heater in my three-car area (and I strongly recommend gas; it was the cheapest option for me). Unfortunately, there's no ventilation other than opening the overhead door for a couple of minutes every half-hour or so. Ka-ching!! My 2014 ga$ bill averaged $75-100 / month more than 2013! . So this summer, I started looking at fancy smoke-eater systems and exhaust fans (which require ductwork and a vent to the outside -- and I'm no handyman ). In the end..I decided to join the local Montecristo lounge for $200/year. Helluva lot cheaper, and I get to socialize with like-minded people. If that's not an option for you, try a gas heater and one of these standalone units: http://www.smokeeters.com/residential.php

My $.02 -- YMMV!

Good luck, brother!

 

[pbibby]

Unfortunately lounge time at this point in my life is probably a no go. Which is totally fine. I'm looking at maybe a small space heater. I could run it for just a bit and still wear a big jacket and a hat and such. I only would smoke maybe once a week, so it shouldn't cost too much. Also, looking at those smoke eaters, this has me intrigued. How well do they work? Any experience?

 

[Mickeymorris626]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004S35X02?vs=1

I bought one of these for this winters battle with the cold. It pumps out a decent amount of heat, but it's directed completely at you; so it's much warmer than my salamander that kicks out 30k more BTU. Plus it's quiet as a mouse.
Target had then on sale for $88 a few weeks back, they could go back on sale soon

As far as the smell goes, you can buy an ozone machine that will eat most smells. It's designed to deodorize a room at a time. Might be an option to stink the place up, then run that once a quarter or so. I won't be much help in the experience department since I haven't gotten around to using it yet. But I could bring it to the Milwaukee HERF if you'd like to give it a test run.

 

[ZippoGeek]

looking at those smoke eaters, this has me intrigued. How well do they work? Any experience?

The ceiling-mounted system at my club is phenomenal. In 7 minutes flat, it scrubs all the air in the lounge, which obviously has a very heavy smoker load (up to 25 at a time). When they had the Tatuaje Whore release party, the place was packed and air quality never suffered. If I go to the lounge some mornings and I'm the first person to open the door, there's just a barely discernible smoke odor. A system like the one I showed you, with a lot of activated charcoal, goes a long way to help keep the funk under control...

 

[pbibby]

Thanks guys. Hmm. Got a lot of thinking to do. It seems if I bought one of the Austin Smoke eaters it would be more cost up front and almost "too much" smoke eaters for my space. Which would be an option to then not hardly open the door and then run that thing.

Mickeymorris, I'll look into this ozone thing too. No worries on bringing it, but can you give me the brand name? Thanks!

 

[ZippoGeek]

Austin Smoke eaters it would be more cost up front and almost "too much" smoke eaters for my space.

I researched the heck out of this...overkill isn't a bad idea with smoke eaters. The bigger the unit for your given area, the less often you'll have to replace filter$ and charcoal. Also, the smoke will be processed appreciably faster with a larger-than-necessary system; that means it has less time to stink things up. Just food for thought...good luck

 

[pbibby]

I researched the heck out of this...overkill isn't a bad idea with smoke eaters. The bigger the unit for your given area, the less often you'll have to replace filter$ and charcoal. Also, the smoke will be processed appreciably faster with a larger-than-necessary system; that means it has less time to stink things up. Just food for thought...good luck

Agreed. That's what I'm thinking as of now. I may even be able to ask for something like this as a Christmas gift! Haha.

Maybe this is a stupid thought here, but smoke rises right? So do I need to place one of these things above where I'll smoke?

 

[ZippoGeek]

do I need to place one of these things above where I'll smoke?

Not necessary; those floor models are designed for simple placement and operation. Since air is just one connected compound, it'll all flow through there in no time flat... If you do end up getting one, let me know how it works. Christmas is coming for me too!

 

[pbibby]

Not necessary; those floor models are designed for simple placement and operation. Since air is just one connected compound, it'll all flow through there in no time flat... If you do end up getting one, let me know how it works. Christmas is coming for me too!

Cool. Thanks for the info. Here's another question. I'm thinking of getting the 1500 sf model. That's obviously WAY bigger than I need for my garage (overestimated at 400 sf). Will that be too much of a draft?

 

[ZippoGeek]

Cool. Thanks for the info. Here's another question. I'm thinking of getting the 1500 sf model. That's obviously WAY bigger than I need for my garage (overestimated at 400 sf). Will that be too much of a draft?

That's a good consideration. I imagine it would circulate the air pretty vigorously; 400 cubic feet/min is quite a bit for a small area like that. You may want to call Austin to ask them about this. I would also ask them how much more noise the larger unit produces. Can you have a conversation comfortably? Watch a movie? The thing that would steer me towards the big model would be the number of smokers it can handle (I sometimes herf with 2 or 3 friends). But I wouldnt want my smoking area to be like a wind-tunnel...

 

[pbibby]

That's a good consideration. I imagine it would circulate the air pretty vigorously; 400 cubic feet/min is quite a bit for a small area like that. You may want to call Austin to ask them about this. I would also ask them how much more noise the larger unit produces. Can you have a conversation comfortably? Watch a movie? The thing that would steer me towards the big model would be the number of smokers it can handle (I sometimes herf with 2 or 3 friends). But I wouldnt want my smoking area to be like a wind-tunnel...

Yep agreed completely. Bigger model means less stink to worry about (which means the wife is happy). But good call. I'll see how much noise it would make. I could still go down a size and in the smaller space it would probably work for me an a buddy or two.

 

[Barefootpiper]

What about the window fans that you can run in reverse? Blow all the smoke outside. Are these effective ?

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[ZippoGeek]

What about the window fans that you can run in reverse? Blow all the smoke outside. Are these effective ?

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Not a bad idea! You do have to crack a window to create positive airflow...

 

[Barefootpiper]

Not a bad idea! You do have to crack a window to create positive airflow...

Right but if have a heater by you you shouldn't get to cold. Those window fans are real cheap also

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[nayslayer]

what about propane heater? Like this http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-F242655-MH30TS-Outdoor/dp/B008PAYU76/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&qid=1447096297&sr=8-21&keywords=propane heater

Window fan doable, at least prop it up under door

 

[webmost]

Have you given some thought to using the hearth?

I get good acquiescence from The One Who Must Be Obeyed simply by sitting right next to the hearth with a stick which is not too stinky. A crackling fire draws the smoke right up the chimney flue. Not a bad deal, football on the toob, snug as a bug, in a leather chair, dog beside me...

I've tried the garage; but fireside rocks.

 

[pbibby]

Well the wife would not be okay with that. Ha. She' fine with cigars, and even thinks me converting this weird lofty type thing in our garage into a smoking area, but she can't stand the smell. And with a one year old in the house, I agree.

 

[ChipS]

For a few years while I was in CO I ran a ghetto setup in the garage - would open the garage door about a foot, set some boards up to block off all but one section where I used a fan to vent air out and setup a propane heater like this one http://www.homedepot.com/p/ProCom-15-000-BTU-Portable-Single-Tank-Top-Heater-PCTT15/204583512. It wasn't great but did the job. Then one day my wife said "Hey lets move to Texas" and now we live in Fort Worth. I won't lie...being able to smoke cigars outdoors for more of the year was definitely a factor in moving for me.