Anyone have any issues with brewing in the garage with the door open without any sort of air circulation techniques (e.g. exhaust fans)? I have a 1 car garage and im thinking of uping my game and getting a propane burner and brewing in the garage but have concerns about carbon monoxide. Plus all the horror stories I hear about people burning their houses down while cooking turkeys has me worried.
I have a 3 tier brewsculpture and have brewed in my garage for years without problems. As long as you keep the garage door open you should be fine.
As far as the turkey fires go, the problem is people try deep frying FROZEN turkeys which cause the oil to overflow.
Yep, I picked up a propane burner about 8 years ago and never looked back. Remember that the idiots you see on CNN burning their deck down is (as Loopie mentioned) because they tried to deep fry a frozen turkey but also because there is flammable liquid around… frying oil. You don’t have that when you boil wort so it’s good. I leave the overhead door open about 12" and I place the burner right in the middle of my 2-car garage. A 1-car garage is fine just keep it vented and make sure there is nothing too close to the burner. Also, when I first got mine, I was nervous. I was watching it and everything seemed okay and then I went back inside for a couple minutes and then went back out to the garage… there was smoke and a distinct burning smell. WTF! I’m going to be one of those idiots on CNN!. No. The new burners will have the paint burned off on the maiden voyage and that’s all it was. It lasted a few minutes and then it was all good. You can get the wort up to a boil quicker and not stink up the house. Win-win. Cheers.
Yep. Garage is fine with propane. I usually keep the door open at least a foot or 2. Plus I have a back window and door that can be left open. The whole thing is not finished either so I have a very open ceiling leading to a vent.
Even with half of those options I would not be too worried. But if the window is there, I might as well crack it to be on the safe side.
I leave my door open a foot and seem fine.
Last year I was brewing with 2 propane burners in a 8x10 shed, and it was fine. The door was open, and I did feel kind of weird once and had to step out for some fresh air, but it worked well. The garage is the place to be. Nothing like getting your brew on at 6 am in the dark of a Minnesota winter…
[quote=“Loopie Beer”]I have a 3 tier brewsculpture and have brewed in my garage for years without problems. As long as you keep the garage door open you should be fine.
As far as the turkey fires go, the problem is people try deep frying FROZEN turkeys which cause the oil to overflow.[/quote]
Same here. I do shut the doors when it’s cold. I have a detached, uninsulated, drafty, cold garage.
I also brew in the garage, but I would never fry a turkey in or under any structure. For turkey and frying you need an open space.
Brewing is much safer due to no flamable oil. When brewing in the garage the roll up door should be cracked by 12 inches or more. That will give you good airflow and ventilation, no buildup of poisonous gasses.
No worries, brew on.
I brew in my garage all the time…I close the door to on windy days…never had any issues. My garage is unfinished with a high loft for an attic, so there’s plenty of space for gasses to dissipate.
Remember when we brewed at my place in January when it was like -20F outside! The garage looked more like a steam room with all three burners going!
[quote=“mrv”][quote=“Loopie Beer”]I have a 3 tier brewsculpture and have brewed in my garage for years without problems. As long as you keep the garage door open you should be fine.
As far as the turkey fires go, the problem is people try deep frying FROZEN turkeys which cause the oil to overflow.[/quote]
Same here. I do shut the doors when it’s cold. I have a detached, uninsulated, drafty, cold garage.[/quote]
I too have the same thing. One thing I did was to also buy a heater to blow on me… and to spend as much time indoors during the mash/sparge/boil. 
I’ve been brewing in my attached 2 car garage since early spring & love it. I leave door open or partially shut if windy also-no problems. I’m looking forward to winter brewing out there, but not sure how to chill a 10 gal. kettle with about 7 gal. of wort without my IC. Maybe a big ice bath? :?
I got punted to the garage after my first batch in 1996 and have been there ever since. It’s my favorite room in the house anyway…
What I have done is to make a bunch of ice blocks. Using 2 gallon bucket I get for free from a gas station that make donuts.
Then put the blocks in a 5 gallon pail with a little water and a sump pump to circulate the water through the IC. When the buck gets full, drain some of the water into a new 5 gallon pail. Adding more ice to the sump pump pail.
I brew, ferment, store all my stuff, and serve from the garage. I don’t have any room to park in there, but my car does not seem to mind sitting outside.
I typically brew with the door up; but if it is really cold, I run it up about a foot or so and open a window for some cross ventilation and have never had any issues.
[quote=“stompwampa”]
Remember when we brewed at my place in January when it was like -20F outside! The garage looked more like a steam room with all three burners going![/quote]
I was thinking of that too! :cheers:
If you are brewing in the garage, get a CO detector to do it safely.
What I have done is to make a bunch of ice blocks. Using 2 gallon bucket I get for free from a gas station that make donuts.
Then put the blocks in a 5 gallon pail with a little water and a sump pump to circulate the water through the IC. When the buck gets full, drain some of the water into a new 5 gallon pail. Adding more ice to the sump pump pail.[/quote]
Thanks once again man! I’m all over that! Forgot about the pump sitting in the basement that only gets used once or twice a year in my pool. I’ll put it to work all winter long. Sweet! 8)
It’s not REAL cold yet…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/ElGuitana/BlkWidPrtr101713_zps4bd1b6c3.mp4
I got an old propane burner from my uncle who fried a turkey one year and decided they liked the oven better. I was doing partial boils on my stove and experienced a boilover (thankfully the wife was napping and I was able to get it cleaned up before she came back downstairs 
I’ve also managed a find a new use for my Little Giant Ladder. 8)
:cheers:
Rad
I brew in the heated garage with a 3-tier 25 gallon rig hooked up to natural gas. No issues; I think NG is safer than propane.
