For people with garages

[Eyesa Horg]

Warmed up here! +6 this morning!

[Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life]

20 hours ago, Blackwater 53393 said:

Catalytic converters are highly effective at reducing CO emissions, but they don't eliminate it completely, and a failing system or leak can still make a car deadly in confined areas. They also don’t work well on startup when the engine/system is cold!

The catalytic converter does greatly reduce CO emissions when heated up and in good working order, but never completely eliminates CO.

This is what my mechanic friend told me as well. He said in new condition  catalytic converters are about 90% efficient at removing CO, and that efficiency gradually decreases as the platinum or palladium coating corrodes over time. Still pretty amazing that something works that well. 
Regards

    
Gateway Kid

[Rye Miles #13621]

30 here, Tomorrow is supposed to be 23 high! Next week Tuesday and 8 days ahead or more 40’s , 50 on Thursday here in NE Ohio ( Cleveland area)

[Eyesa Horg]

Now that it's cold here, I'd just as soon it stay that way for the snow season. Plowing really sucks when the surface of my driveway and backyard aren't. Amazing how a plow peels up the sod and gravel! I need to plow about 50+ feet across the back lawn to have enough room for all the door yard snow! Learned real fast the first year here when I only went about 10 feet beyond the gravel and ended up calling in a frontend loader to move it back so I could still get in the garage. It's always a nightmare in the spring for cleanup!

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

I also have never seen a residential garage with an exhaust removal system.  My current garage does have a removal system of sorts, you open the door!!  It works quite well.

 

Anyway, I press the door opener button as I go out my back door (detached garage).  When I return and park in the garage, I press  the door opener button to close the door.  And, because I am OCD, I wait to ensure the door closes fully and stays that way.

[Cypress Sun]

14 hours ago, Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L said:

I’ve never seen a residential garage with an exhaust removal system.

 

Being an electrician, I've been in hundreds of garages as that's where the electrical panel is usually located in Florida. Never once have I seen, or wired for, an residential exhaust removal system. Not even with car collectors and there's a bunch of them in my locale.

[Blackwater 53393]

1 hour ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

Being an electrician, I've been in hundreds of garages as that's where the electrical panel is usually located in Florida. Never once have I seen, or wired for, an residential exhaust removal system. Not even with car collectors and there's a bunch of them in my locale.

My garage will theoretically hold a dozen vehicles, (not counting motorcycles) and I use it for sheltering some of my cars/trucks and for my hobbies. My son works out of it now, taking in custom work.

 

It has a good ventilation system and two large fans suspended from the ceiling.

 

I have the pieces to install exhaust outlets in my wall and overhead doors, but I haven’t installed them yet. I have had them for over two years, but I haven’t been healthy enough to get them installed.

 

 

I’ll be the first to admit that mine is not your typical home garage, but I built it for me to keep my vehicles in AND to play in!

 

 

 

 

I take my recreation seriously…

 

 

 

I have a nostalgia streak too!😜

 

 

Edited December 13, 2025 by Blackwater 53393

[Trailrider #896]

IMHO there ought to be a penalty on the part of builders who sell houses with "3-car garages". Usually these are configured with one side with a double overhead door, and a single door on the other side.  In the first place, if you install 9-inch shelves you could only accommodate a sub-compact car between the shelves and the center columns and still open the door for the driver to get in and out. On the so-called two-car side, by the time you get two garbage cans, bikes, a snowblower, and other assorted stuff, you can just house a full-sized SUV. The small side gets full of 36 years of assorted stuff. So my wife's car stays outside and mine goes in the large side, so I don't have to clean the taller vehicle off in case of snow. Three-car garage? Hah! 

[Eyesa Horg]

Have the same issue with my attached 2 car garage. Unfortunately it's pretty much my fault as well as the architect's. I wanted 10' wide doors so I could park the plow in there if needed. Everything looked good when I reviewed the prints for our log home.

Ellie & I built the house ourselves. We are telephone folks, not professional builders!! We built the garage first so as to have some storage room and a place to put tools. When the house finally got attached to the garage, it turns out the floor is almost two feet above the garage floor which is code design, so they say! Well that takes three decent stairs or two high ones to get in from the garage. Therefore the bay next to the house is only good for junk or maybe motorcycle or ATV. . Should have made it a couple feet wider at least!! Good thing is my outbuilding garage is 45x60 three bay with one heated as we lived in there while building. So that's where the plow and toys now reside! But real glad I went with the ten foot doors!!

[Matthew Duncan]

On 12/12/2025 at 12:20 PM, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

Cars with working catalytic converters do not emit CO.  But I would not trust it and would open the door first.

Well that’s disappointing.  One of the wife’s adopted cats got into the garage.  Muddy cat prints across the hood of Mo.  Up the windshield, did a slide with its claws extend down the windshield.  Left half a dozen fine scratches in the glass.  Next time I saw the cat sneak in I was tempted to leave the door shut, start the engine and go back in to house for ten minutes or so.  Now you tell me I’d have to take the catalytic converter off first. Now I got to do a rethink….

[watab kid]

On 12/13/2025 at 9:44 AM, Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L said:

No thank you, believe I will stay down here where it is currently 48 and will warm up to 60 this afternoon.

i envy you that my friend , i think we might edge above zero today but way below over night , funny thing is they are saying we will hiut a high in low 40s on tuesday , ive been called in to work as the range will open for that weather , 

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

50 minutes ago, watab kid said:

i envy you that my friend , i think we might edge above zero today but way below over night , funny thing is they are saying we will hiut a high in low 40s on tuesday , ive been called in to work as the range will open for that weather , 

Well 40 now but will get below freezing tonight but by 9 am will be back above freezing again. 60s by Tuesday and 70s by Saturday 

[Blackwater 53393]

16f now and expecting 9f by daylight tomorrow.

 

I broke out a couple of small electric space heaters for the evening in case the heat pump can’t keep up.

 

The garage has its own heat system.

 

[Stump Water]

23 minutes ago, Blackwater 53393 said:

16f now and expecting 9f by daylight tomorrow.

 

I broke out a couple of small electric space heaters for the evening in case the heat pump can’t keep up.

 

24° now.  13° by daylight.

 

No way the heat pump can keep up, so gas (LP) backup will kick in.  That's too expensive, so... fire in the hole!

 

 

[watab kid]

2 hours ago, Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L said:

Well 40 now but will get below freezing tonight but by 9 am will be back above freezing again. 60s by Tuesday and 70s by Saturday 

now your rubbing it in , enjoy it , it sounds really great to me 

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

3 hours ago, watab kid said:

i envy you that my friend , i think we might edge above zero today but way below over night , funny thing is they are saying we will hiut a high in low 40s on tuesday , ive been called in to work as the range will open for that weather , 

 

10 minutes ago, watab kid said:

now your rubbing it in , enjoy it , it sounds really great to me 

Okay, you asked for it: 80 degrees today, mid 50s tonight. Had the doors and windows open and the fan going.

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

On 12/12/2025 at 10:55 PM, sassnetguy50 said:

Come up north this weekend,  the weatherman says subzero the next three days.  Some modern vehicles can have problems starting when ambient temperature is as warm as -15°F, others are reliable past -40°.

You should consider a trickle charger for your car battery. Where I lived in Alberta, it went as low as -40 F for days at a time.

We had no garage and parked outside with the trickle charge and a block heater plugged in.

Cars started every morning

[watab kid]

congrats - you win , we made +5 , but tomorrow starts a warming trend , supposed to be mid 20s , which is good as we have to be outside at fort snelling for the internment , hope the wind is little to nothing , 

[sassnetguy50]

30 minutes ago, Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 said:

You should consider a trickle charger for your car battery. Where I lived in Alberta, it went as low as -40 F for days at a time.

We had no garage and parked outside with the trickle charge and a block heater plugged in.

Cars started every morning

Had both wired into the grille on my truck.  Haven't installed either on the current car but it does have dual batteries.  The advantage of retirement is not having to go anywhere if it is that cold now. 

 

Did you put your block heater on a timer or run it all night?

Edited December 15, 2025 by sassnetguy50

[Dirty Dog Doug]

Open the Tesla app tell your car to open the garage door and park next to front door  { where ever you program  }

 as long as it not plugged in  

AC  or heated seats turn on tooo 

[Rip Snorter]

EV - possible bomb in the garage, even if not attached to the house?  Not in this life!  Had a guy come up here to hunt - EV plugged to in 120 for several days.  He rode entirely in the outfitters pickup - can't recall if it was gas or diesel.  He said he was going to have to stop at least one overnight to recharge, it may have been 2.  The rest of us could have refueled and driven straight through.  Never in my lifetime! 

[Blackwater 53393]

44 minutes ago, Dirty Dog Doug said:

Open the Tesla app tell your car to open the garage door and park next to front door  { where ever you program  }

 as long as it not plugged in  

AC  or heated seats turn on tooo 

Not likely in the foreseeable future! Until they figure how to quickly extinguish one of those batteries when they decide to immolate, I ain’t having one in my garage or in my driveway!!

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

55 minutes ago, Rip Snorter said:

EV - possible bomb in the garage, even if not attached to the house?  

 

21 minutes ago, Blackwater 53393 said:

Not likely in the foreseeable future! Until they figure how to quickly extinguish one of those batteries when they decide to immolate, I ain’t having one in my garage or in my driveway!!

You guys are going to get Subdeacon Joe going again!

Edited December 16, 2025 by Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770

[Rip Snorter]

EV-eryone has what they determine to be a viable risk / gain equation.  I've always been belt and suspenders in that respect.

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

On 12/14/2025 at 9:16 PM, sassnetguy50 said:

Had both wired into the grille on my truck.  Haven't installed either on the current car but it does have dual batteries.  The advantage of retirement is not having to go anywhere if it is that cold now. 

 

Did you put your block heater on a timer or run it all night?

Ran them all night, just in case there was a call out or an emergency.

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

1 hour ago, Rip Snorter said:

EV - possible bomb in the garage, even if not attached to the house?  Not in this life!  Had a guy come up here to hunt - EV plugged to in 120 for several days.  He rode entirely in the outfitters pickup - can't recall if it was gas or diesel.  He said he was going to have to stop at least one overnight to recharge, it may have been 2.  The rest of us could have refueled and driven straight through.  Never in my lifetime! 

Had one do a LOT of damage to a house on the other leg of the Crescent I'm on.

Fortunately, it was during the day and the lady of the house was home and heard it pop, then smelled something off.

Neighbour told us the woman was astute enough to feel the door knob on the door leading into the garage and called 911 immediately.

[watab kid]

On 12/13/2025 at 4:03 PM, Trailrider #896 said:

IMHO there ought to be a penalty on the part of builders who sell houses with "3-car garages". Usually these are configured with one side with a double overhead door, and a single door on the other side.  In the first place, if you install 9-inch shelves you could only accommodate a sub-compact car between the shelves and the center columns and still open the door for the driver to get in and out. On the so-called two-car side, by the time you get two garbage cans, bikes, a snowblower, and other assorted stuff, you can just house a full-sized SUV. The small side gets full of 36 years of assorted stuff. So my wife's car stays outside and mine goes in the large side, so I don't have to clean the taller vehicle off in case of snow. Three-car garage? Hah! 

OK , im not going to argue with you here but .........always a but right ? yup always 

 

my first house and garage was built in the 20s , i bougfht it in the 70s , the garage was built to accommodate a car of the 20s [i could store my motorcycle and keep my power tools in it - it was detached and unconditioned , my 60s oldsmobile would not fit in it , 

 

my second house had both a detached and an attached -these were built in the 70s i bought in the 80s ,  the attached was a pair of single openings that worked for the 80s cars we were driving at the time , the dethatched was built as a garage workshop etc , it was perfect for my boat and lawn equipment as well as my shop tools , lots of room , 

 

my current house has a large lot but a detached garage - the house is large too , but , not real great for the boat and RV , my wife can have her garage stall , my stall has my boat in it , my truck wont fit so its outside , 

 

one of the neighbors three stalls as described above would not solve my problem , i need afour stall and one stall needs a 14-16 foot tall door for the motorhome - ill never have that , ill never leave this place as much as ive wanted to and we have discussed it , we have too much stuff to move or rid ourselves of at this point , when we moved here 35 years ago we had next to nothing the house was all but empty , today it full to overflowing , and there is still more coming in ...we have aged to the stage of inheritance , what do you kep - what do you sell/part with ? i had thought grandkids were the anchors , now i see that the titanic was full of stuff 

[Rip Snorter]

7 hours ago, watab kid said:

OK , im not going to argue with you here but .........always a but right ? yup always 

 

my first house and garage was built in the 20s , i bougfht it in the 70s , the garage was built to accommodate a car of the 20s [i could store my motorcycle and keep my power tools in it - it was detached and unconditioned , my 60s oldsmobile would not fit in it , 

 

my second house had both a detached and an attached -these were built in the 70s i bought in the 80s ,  the attached was a pair of single openings that worked for the 80s cars we were driving at the time , the dethatched was built as a garage workshop etc , it was perfect for my boat and lawn equipment as well as my shop tools , lots of room , 

 

my current house has a large lot but a detached garage - the house is large too , but , not real great for the boat and RV , my wife can have her garage stall , my stall has my boat in it , my truck wont fit so its outside , 

 

one of the neighbors three stalls as described above would not solve my problem , i need afour stall and one stall needs a 14-16 foot tall door for the motorhome - ill never have that , ill never leave this place as much as ive wanted to and we have discussed it , we have too much stuff to move or rid ourselves of at this point , when we moved here 35 years ago we had next to nothing the house was all but empty , today it full to overflowing , and there is still more coming in ...we have aged to the stage of inheritance , what do you kep - what do you sell/part with ? i had thought grandkids were the anchors , now i see that the titanic was full of stuff 

When my folks downsized, and Dad was in the early days of his illness, we got a full sized container, filled it, then part of another.  The treasures remained and moved, again after he passed.  When we relocated we had a huge garage sale run for us by an expert friend.  Got rid of a lot, still moved too much.  I'm thinking of 2 cartons a week to the dump, and an occasional batch to the charity shops.  There are plenty of things I took up or down stairs that I wouldn't care to try 16 years on!

[Dirty Dog Doug]

13 hours ago, Dirty Dog Doug said:

Open the Tesla app tell your car to open the garage door and park next to front door  { where ever you program  }

 as long as it not plugged in  

AC  or heated seats turn on tooo 

get a Plaid and home super charger  full charge in 2 hour ..range 400 miles at 80 mph

drag strip does kill the battery faster  each    NINE Second run take 5% with " street tire"

best thing is tell libs  well" all the smog goes to the ghetto  not in my neighborhood "

or "My car runs in COAL "

saver than fuel air bombs on wheels 

[Stump Water]

On 12/13/2025 at 5:03 PM, Trailrider #896 said:

IMHO there ought to be a penalty on the part of builders who sell houses with "3-car garages". Usually these are configured with one side with a double overhead door, and a single door on the other side. 

 

When we built the 3-car garage the builder said, "You want 3 single doors.  Code requires 3' between garage doors and 3' from a garage door to a wall.  If you have 3 single doors, then cars side-by-side can both open a door at the same time [one driver side and one passenger side, of course].  Can't do that with two cars parked in a double-door stall."  

 

Besides, one double door and one single door just looks wired, but that's the way 99% are.

.

Edited December 16, 2025 by Stump Water

[Eyesa Horg]

Wishing now that I did the 3' thing! I've only got about 2' between and a foot at the walls due to the wider doors I spose.

[watab kid]

13 hours ago, Rip Snorter said:

When my folks downsized, and Dad was in the early days of his illness, we got a full sized container, filled it, then part of another.  The treasures remained and moved, again after he passed.  When we relocated we had a huge garage sale run for us by an expert friend.  Got rid of a lot, still moved too much.  I'm thinking of 2 cartons a week to the dump, and an occasional batch to the charity shops.  There are plenty of things I took up or down stairs that I wouldn't care to try 16 years on!

i hear ya on the steps , been doing a lot of that this past month , my back is killing me and im finding its hard to carry stuff and hold the handrail ,