[britye]

Thought I'd get some opinions of how to park my CT in winter.I live in Manitoba which means the winters are brutal. Temperatures of -30 are not unusual, it snows often (we just got about 1 1/2 feet in the last few days) and the roads oftentimes have a sand/salt mixture on them.

This is short term /overnight parking that I am wondering about.
I have a couple options and wonder what the pros and cons of each are.

Firstly, having built a new well insulated garage which I am able to heat, and keep just above freezing (just to save a few $$ on Hydro).
The slush/snow buildup on the car melts(which makes a hell of a mess, but I can manage that), the car is nice to get into on those -30 mornings but I wonder if it will create rust damage by thawing out or some other issues by going from warm to cold every time I leave.

Secondly, I could leave the garage unheated, eliminating most of the melt but keeping the snow etc. needing to be brushed off every time I want to go somewhere(if it is snowing), eliminating the need to scrape the windows etc. I may need to plug in the blockheater depending on the inside temperature of the garage.This too creates a mess on the floor as the salty slush falls to the concrete, freezes and needs to be chipped off the garage floor.

Lastly, I could park outside in the drive, braving the elements, plugging in the block heater and brushing off/scraping the windows the car etc., thereby eliminating the use of the garage at all.

Any ideas, thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[CCT]

I hear you on the "hell of a mess".....been there, done that! didn't like it.

For me parking inside my unheated, attached, garage is best. That way anything that might drop off is easily scooped and dumped outside and the car is never as cold as outside temps therefore no need for the block heater.
The garage being unheated won't accumulate much mess and what is there can be easily dealt with.

With outside temps approaching -30 you may want to block-heat the engine for a couple hours only. I have a handy timer that I use for this purpose just to take the chill of her and give some heat a little quicker.


Sounds like you enjoy winter as much as I do. After Christmas, I count the days to spring and better weather. It can't come soon enough for me.

Good luck with your winter there; sounds like it's a little more severe than here in Southern Ontario.

C.

 

[r4wd]

Similar conditions here in Saskatchewan so my 02 on your post. I would choose 0 degrees C or slightly below a couple hours with the block heater on will give you a quicker warm up. The CT has an excellent heater so a couple minutes on idle start up time is long enough as it will warm up much quicker when driven.

I also have a new vehicle undercoated before it hits the road.http://www.ehow.com/list_5856429_types-vehicle-undercoating.html

A car wash that washes the under carriage. To protect your cement floor investment a concrete sealer http://www.all-things-concrete.com/concrete-sealer.html
Darn it spending your money at a fast pace, oh ya I have felt the wind on the corner of Portage & Main it's more than Brutal

 

[Limbery]

I've always parked my car in an insulated but un-heated garage (attached so 2 sides were against the heated house) It always was below zero in the garage but I never had to use my block heater (this was in Sask.)...you just have to shovel out the salt droppings every now and then.

 

[r4wd]

Yes I agree with you that parked inside unheated a unheated garage that you don't really need your block heater for starting. But like I stated in my post plugged in for a couple hours will give you a much quicker warm plus the fact you will have a much better oil flow to the cylinder walls in particular wiith sub zero temps.

 

[CC816]

Similar conditions here in Saskatchewan so my 02 on your post. I would choose 0 degrees C or slightly below a couple hours with the block heater on will give you a quicker warm up. The CT has an excellent heater so a couple minutes on idle start up time is long enough as it will warm up much quicker when driven.

I also have a new vehicle undercoated before it hits the road.http://www.ehow.com/list_5856429_types-vehicle-undercoating.html

A car wash that washes the under carriage. To protect your cement floor investment a concrete sealer http://www.all-things-concrete.com/concrete-sealer.html
Darn it spending your money at a fast pace, oh ya I have felt the wind on the corner of Portage & Main it's more than Brutal

Just a caution about undercoating, some udercoating application require that holes be drilled in certain areas so the the product can be sprayed in difficult to reach location (like the bottom of the doors). I was told my my car salesman that drilling holes in the car to spray undercoating will void the warranty (or at least relevant coverage). Something to look into before making a purchase.
My wife and I both use the electronic rust proofing with our Hondas.

 

[britye]

Thanks for the suggestions...I still like the warmth of the heated garage in the morning so I am investigating some type of waterproof floor mat with raised edges to catch the melt/runoff.
Anyone tried something like this?

 

[r4wd]

Could you not be dealing with very high humidity levels in the garage??? I tried heated storage on my A300 Bobcat and it didn't work out due to the big difference temperature swing between in and out, with in minutes all the windows would fog and freeze up. And had to leave the diesel engine run for countless minutes just to clear the windows. So I hope that your venture works out for you.

 

[britye]

Good point...never thought about that. Guess I'll find out in the near future.