Garage reloading during winter

[AzShooter1]

Only gets into the high 30's and low 40's in the garage during the winter so it's not too bad but I do use a portable heater.

 

[scotty]

I remember those days reloading in the garage. In my neck of the woods, temps rarely get below freezing for very long but reach 100+ in the summer. One blustery day in the winter, even with my box heater going full blast, I was still freezing my butt. I found a that a garage vent was directly under my loading bench. I found a piece of plywood and covered the vent so the wind wasn't blowing directly onto my feet.

Now that the kids are grown and I'm no longer married, I now reload in a spare bedroom in the house. My father passed away a few years ago, and one of the things I inherited is my mother's bookkeeping desk which makes and excellent reloading bench. She worked at a furniture store and was not shy about spending money on furniture. This desk is very heavy duty. Both of my presses mount on it just fine. I put an outside door on the closet with a deadbolt lock and store my reloading components in it. No more freezing or roasting my butt.

 

[PWC]

My reloading room is a closet shared with the water heater in the garage. The bench is 27" deep by 36" wide and has a built in backsplash as it is a piece of countertop. The other side of the closet has the water heater. If I put my chair between the two and close the door it is quite comfortable when the water heater is on, and there are no spurious air currents or electrical interference.

 

[Saluki91]

As the title suggests I reload in the garage year round. Summer is easy, cold ...not so much...

I have a large pellet stove to supply heat, but it takes hours for the warmth to stabilize, my bench radiates cold, and drafts from circulating air never cease. This wreaks havoc on my scale and I had a particularly difficult time at it the other day. Reminded me of struggling last winter (which I conveniently forgot)

I finished this yesterday, had nearly everything for the project except for a candelabra bulb base and a piece of plexi, the dump supplied the bits of wood. Sanded, stained and 2 coats of lacquer base matt clear.

I'll likely get annoyed at the hinged opening taking up real estate in short order, and fashion slides instead, but still eager to try it.

With a 40w bulb I can easily maintain 75F near lowest setting, so when I go out to reload I can turn it on at a higher setting to quickly warm the entire scale in it's own little environment with no drafts and stable temp.
View attachment 1119921

I have to use my garage as well, but I have the opposite problem. New garage doors (heavily insulated) and a small Honeywell heater near the bench allow me to load in low 60*s on all but the most frigid of winter days. Summer is a different story. The garage faces due west, so it gets toasty. If I load with the doors open after sundown, bugs become a major issue. So any work I want to do during the summer months gets done between sun-up and about 11:00 am.

Temps (and humidity) aside, the biggest inconvenience with loading in my garage is the fact that I have to pull my truck out to get access to my shot shell components. I'd like more space, but who wouldn't? Hopefully the next house will have a dedicated reloading room.

 

[GHinNH]

I have to use my garage as well, but I have the opposite problem. New garage doors (heavily insulated) and a small Honeywell heater near the bench allow me to load in low 60*s on all but the most frigid of winter days. Summer is a different story. The garage faces due west, so it gets toasty. If I load with the doors open after sundown, bugs become a major issue. So any work I want to do during the summer months gets done between sun-up and about 11:00 am.

Temps (and humidity) aside, the biggest inconvenience with loading in my garage is the fact that I have to pull my truck out to get access to my shot shell components. I'd like more space, but who wouldn't? Hopefully the next house will have a dedicated reloading room.

Location does make a difference for sure. The garage doors here face north with the back of the garage tucked against tall oaks (bane of fall leaf cleanup) so it sees little sunlight during the summer heat, making for pleasant conditions.
Winter when I would love some help from Ol' Sol, the daylight is short and the sun is hidden low below the trees never reaching the garage.

Powder and primers I keep in the house, inside sealed water tight containers, so I'll pull out what I need when ready for use no matter the season.

 

[GHinNH]

My reloading room is a closet shared with the water heater. The bench is 27" deep by 36" wide and has a built on backsplash as it is a piece of countertop. The other side of the closet has the water heater. If I put my chair between the two and close the door it is quite comfortable when the water heater is on, and there are no spurious air currents or electrical interference.

NO WAY!! I am so stupid sometimes....

That reminded me, why on earth did I mount that controller inside the box where the scale goes? I really do know better than that...

 

[JFrank]

Ii know the topic is in the garage but we have taken a right hand turn into portable systems an in light of that idea, which I very much like, the trusty arbor press is just about at portable and low weight as it gets. It can be used with a wide variety of dies from the Lee loader to the L E Wilson dies. I have considered building a range box like the short range benchrest guys for on the spot load development. Tail gate, kitchen counter or Pick-nick bench under a tree in the yard. The quality and accuracy of said setups is hardly questioned.

Yep, I have the barn when needed, but the portable stuff is super handy.

 

[Palladan44]

I do all my handloading october- April.
It's really strange once the weather changes (nice enough to be outside period) how my interests and hobbies change, like flipping a switch.

It's all performed in the basement. Dehumidifier running 24/365. Here in Wisconsin where temperatures and humidities can vary by 30 to 40 to 50 units of measure within 24 hours no matter the time of year, the basement is the only place where the Temps and humidities are the most constant enough to reload. My garage isn't insulated nor climate controlled.

 

[hdwhit]

I spent my career in the DFW area and now live in Northern Arkansas.

Here, Fall and Winter are the times we can be in the garage reloading without having to worry about sweat pouring off our faces contaminating the load.

 

[Riomouse911]

I’m pretty lucky that my attached garage has rooms overhead, 6” insulated walls and an insulated garage door so the temperature swings aren’t too severe.

I could add a heater when it gets chilly (40 deg outside right now) and I do have a fan mounted over my toolbench for when it heats up. (I just can’t load with the fan on .)

As Armored Farmer said, you gotta do what you gotta do to make your space comfy .

Stay safe.

 

[bluetopper]

I reload in a store room in the garage area. I use a propane heater with two elements mounted on the propane tank, it works well. I also cut a hole in the wall and installed a window unit AC.

 

[thump_rrr]

Garage reloaders have their own set of climate problems. I finally overcame mine with a self installed mini split HVAC and garage door weatherstripping.

Glad to see your solution!

This is the right solution.
HVAC mechanic with 35 years experience.
Almost anyone who can reload properly can install a mini-split.

 

[drband]

This is the right solution.
HVAC mechanic with 35 years experience.
Almost anyone who can reload properly can install a mini-split.

I agree— helps to have/purchase the right tools and a lot of research!

 

[FROGO207]

Just paid off my house. After suffering for years with tin sheads and drafty garages I finally purchased a house that had a spare bedroom that turned into a mancave. Heck I can even reload in my PJ's at midnight if I so want LOL.

 

[GHinNH]

Well heres the new and improved version all done.

Good news and ...BADDDD NEWS...

Good news first, I bought a WiFi temp control that works great. I already had the phone app installed for a security cam, so it was easy to add the temp controller.

Now I can open the app on my phone from anywhere and turn on the control in automatic mode and it will keep my scale warm and draft free. I set the ON at 74.5F and the OFF for 75F and once the box is stabilized, the light cycles on about every minute for a short time keeping it a nice constant temp.

I used some aluminum flashing around the light bulb to act like a diffuser so it won't warm things directly. Seems to work well.

The bad news, being the dummy I am and not paying attention, I knocked my scale to the concrete floor. The cover was broken off, the input buttons are loose, and the display is constantly hunting because the strain gauge is destroyed. I've already spoken to the company and the prognosis is that it is not reparable due to the extent of the damage. Ho ho ho....

In our email conversation I told him I understood (I do) but played the pity card ever so slightly hoping he might send me a goodwill discount for a new one, but have not heard back yet... lol
Well at least the box works better than expected right?

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Well heres the new and improved version all done.

Good news and ...BADDDD NEWS...

Good news first, I bought a WiFi temp control that works great. I already had the phone app installed for a security cam, so it was easy to add the temp controller.

Now I can open the app on my phone from anywhere and turn on the control in automatic mode and it will keep my scale warm and draft free. I set the ON at 74.5F and the OFF for 75F and once the box is stabilized, the light cycles on about every minute for a short time keeping it a nice constant temp.

I used some aluminum flashing around the light bulb to act like a diffuser so it won't warm things directly. Seems to work well.

The bad news, being the dummy I am and not paying attention, I knocked my scale to the concrete floor. The cover was broken off, the input buttons are loose, and the display is constantly hunting because the strain gauge is destroyed. I've already spoken to the company and the prognosis is that it is not reparable due to the extent of the damage. Ho ho ho....

In our email conversation I told him I understood (I do) but played the pity card ever so slightly hoping he might send me a goodwill discount for a new one, but have not heard back yet... lol
Well at least the box works better than expected right? View attachment 1121357 View attachment 1121358

Sorry I just can’t Like that post. Does remind of the punchline of an old joke: The operation was a great success! Too bad the patient died.

 

[GHinNH]

Sorry I just can’t Like that post. Does remind of the punchline of an old joke: The operation was a great success! Too bad the patient died.

Andddd.... here's the new one, fresh of the FedEx truck minutes ago. Leveled it and turned on the temp control, getting cozy in it's warm home (where it will stay!) Same make same model, I looked around too long for something better, but if there is a 50 gram scale that reads to 0.02grain out there, I couldn't find it for $200.

There were a couple close but they were 10"x12" and the specs wern't as good. This has +/- 0.02g repeatability and error range, plus under two seconds stabilization time. So if I do my part, the most I can be off for charge weight is 0.04gr from one to the next.

Not sure how many actually read the fine print, but those scales that read to 0.1gr act like they work, but the error range is usually 0.15gr so that means you could have a 0.3gr difference and not even know it.

Despite the money I didn't need to spend replacing the other one, I found many ..."different"... places selling it, but that jungle website had it cheapest and I somehow got a discount which dropped it to just under $150. Funny thing is when I got it, it had come directly from from LW Measurements who is the importer...

 

[wcwhitey]

I reload in my garage also. My home is brick and most interior walls are insulated. The garage door is an insulated one but you’re just not going to avoid air gaps in a rolling garage door try as you may. What I did figure out prior to building my newest bench was that if I installed it near a side window which is facing SW I get a good bit of solar heat on the surfaces on the coldest days with sun. My rear garage door has a glass window in it facing South. The glass is old single pane but I installed storms in both the window and the door. I get a good amount of heat increase with the blinds open on sunny days to both air temp and the surface of the bench. It’s also nice to load with all that light. Add a small $50 Electric Fireplace heater running for 20 minutes or so it heats up nicely and is comfortable in most days. By itself it runs 15-20 degrees warmer or cooler than the outside temp. Being in the NE it still needs extra heat. The problem that I did find was that components stored out of sight or under the bench would be very cold at times. Cold dissimilar metals have caused problems from time to time. So what I try to do is plan ahead and pull out the dies, bullets and brass a few days ahead and let them sit in the center of the bench and let the sun warm them up gradually. I would love to have a dedicated loading room but my garage is the catch all shop that does everything.

 

[GHinNH]

Well... refinements.

It finally occurred to my thick brain that I have an unused output on the temperature controller. Yesterday I stopped in the hardware store and they actually had a round single receptacle, go figure! I had a small plastic project box that just cleared it, and Voila'

Now I have only one wire plugged into the wall outlet (that are in short supply in the garage) and set it so the scale will not power on until it is at least 60F inside the box.

Now that all the dust has finally settled, quite pleased with the project as a whole. Since the scale is a brand new one to replace my other perfectly good one I dumped onto the concrete floor, I let it and the box run for hours yesterday as a test and to look for glitches in the Matrix. Everything worked great, and after reaching operating temp, the scale didn't budge even 0.02gr from zero all day.

That is a HUGE victory and improvement over the difficulties I've had that sparked the whole idea to begin with.

 

[jmorris]

I bought one of these last month and am shaking it down to see how long the Chineseum holds up but so far I am impressed.

View attachment 1125760

The two ports on the bottom (can be rotated to side) are combustion air intake and exhaust, the black box part would be inside the area you want heated on the inside of the floor or wall.



Makes ~27,000 btu on high and will run 28 hours at that output on 2.5 gallons.

Main benefit is products of combustion are outside in the cold vs in the room with you.