Average heating expenses? Car winterizing? (Milwaukee, Dakota: apartment, renter, condominium)

[packerchick12]

So I am lookign at places to rent, and am wondering what the average bill is during the winter, and if there is a big difference between gas heat and electric heat?

I have seen some places that have heat included, but weren't exactly what I'm looking for. Should that be a priority?

Oh and this may sound silly but do garages have heat in them? If not, what measures do you need to take to care for your car in the winter?

Thanks a lot in advance!

[Milwaukee City]

My last building had heat included and I like to keep it hot in my apt. So we moved and I saw 500/mo in Walker's Point and had to jump on it, well heat is not included. Who cares I said, I checked rentals in Walker's Point and the range was 800-1800. So this first time renter said " well heat can't be 300/month" WRONG!!! I live in a 126yr old row house with near floor to ceiling windows and two floors brick building. Keep these following things in mind when making your decision:

1. How hot do you like to keep your place?
2. Do you live in an old building or new?
3. What's the size/condition of your windows/molding?
4. Sq.ft/height of ceiling(I have 12ft ceilings) how much space are you heating?
5. Are you living with anyone and how hot do they like to keep the heat to?
6. Heat can be as much as 400/mo but keep in mind this is extreme even for an old building(I like to keep my heat at 75 around the clock)(average is 100-200).
7. Do you plastic the outside or just insides of your windows? If you really want to see how much cold air comes in, put plastic on and watch the plastic push way out.

_Bottom line heat included to me is a must unless your getting deal like me(my neighbor's pay 800!) or absolutely love the place after true winter months are DEC-Feb. Heated garages are a huge plus but even in Milwaukee not a necessity but if I wasn't Milwaukee Cheap I would pay the extra 30-100/mo for garage rent.

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by packerchick12

So I am lookign at places to rent, and am wondering what the average bill is during the winter, and if there is a big difference between gas heat and electric heat?

I have seen some places that have heat included, but weren't exactly what I'm looking for. Should that be a priority?

Oh and this may sound silly but do garages have heat in them? If not, what measures do you need to take to care for your car in the winter?

Thanks a lot in advance!

The larger apartment and condominium complexes often have heated underground parking; single family homes usually don't have garage heat (although there are exceptions).

IMO, heat should be something of a priority because you can blow $700/month on natural gas heat during peak months. Not for a palace, either. A 3000 sq. ft. house can easily run up that kind of gas bill. That can cut into your standard of living, even if you have a very high paying job.

Finally, in terms of winterizing vehicles, THE most important thing to make sure of, is to stick with the factory maintenance schedule. That's it--cars are made to tolerate cold and hot. Maintain properly and you do not need to worry about "winterization". There is no such thing; your car is already winterized and heat-o-rized from the factory. If your car is old, poorly maintained, and has a lot of problems, all bets are off. If you have maintained it well, changed fluids on schedule, etc., you shouldn't be caught off guard. Keep in mind batteries can die in very cold or very hot weather. If your battery is old, it may not cut it in the really cold weather.

[Milwaukee City]

Another good idea coming from a recovering car salesman is when you turn your car on wait til all your lights and gauges come on and wait 5 seconds till the beeping usually stops or so for all components to get ready before you completely turn your car over then let it warm up 3-5mins. When you get home from driving and your done with your car for the night let the car idle for a couple of mins this will help spread global warming faster so maybe we won't have to warm-up our cars anymore and deal with winter and we can move all the polar bears into zoos....JUST KIDDING!!!

But you should let all your fluids "come to" before you turn off your car, it doesn't even have to be 5mins just a min or so will do, especially with turbo-charged cars IE; all saabs.

[karfar]

Originally Posted by packerchick12

So I am lookign at places to rent, and am wondering what the average bill is during the winter, and if there is a big difference between gas heat and electric heat?

I have seen some places that have heat included, but weren't exactly what I'm looking for. Should that be a priority?

Oh and this may sound silly but do garages have heat in them? If not, what measures do you need to take to care for your car in the winter?

Thanks a lot in advance!

Keep looking around because you will DEFINITELY want a place w/heat included. If you don't, I guarantee you, you will regret it. I did & I know plenty of people who did, we all ended up moving to places that had heat included. As for garages, you won't find heated garages unless you're looking at new condos & new apt. bldgs. You'll pay extra. I'd rather go for the heat included rather than a garage, your car will be fine w/out the heat.

[vemureaux]

Along the lines of winterizing vehicles....

Do you have to worry about the car engine freezing in Milwaukee winters? I've heard in some colder climates (e.g. Minnesota) they get something installed in their cars that is plugged in (apparently parking spaces have outlets) and it keeps the engine & oil from freezing. Is this also done in Milwaukee?

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by vemureaux

Do you have to worry about the car engine freezing in Milwaukee winters? I've heard in some colder climates (e.g. Minnesota) they get something installed in their cars that is plugged in (apparently parking spaces have outlets) and it keeps the engine & oil from freezing. Is this also done in Milwaukee?

No.

At least not that I am aware of (and I have lived here much of my life, had many a car here [many of which have been parked overnight outdoors for years]) and the bulk of my family lives in the metro area.

Milwaukee is a COLD winter climate - don't get me wrong. It can get miserably and brutally cold for stretches, and the winters are long. That said...

This isn't Duluth, MN (or similarly almost anywhere in Minnesota) or the Dakotas or the Upper Peninsula or Alaska. There are rarely - if ever - days when your car battery would die completely due to the cold.

I am not going to absolutely say or guarantee that on some particular brutal odd cold stretch that it couldn't happen, but the chances to where you'd actually install a car battery heater / warmer are so nil that you likely wouldn't ever do this I wouldn't think.

[Iburytheliving]

Originally Posted by packerchick12

So I am lookign at places to rent, and am wondering what the average bill is during the winter, and if there is a big difference between gas heat and electric heat?

I have seen some places that have heat included, but weren't exactly what I'm looking for. Should that be a priority?

Oh and this may sound silly but do garages have heat in them? If not, what measures do you need to take to care for your car in the winter?

Thanks a lot in advance!

The only thing you really need to do is to make sure your engine coolant is mixed properly to handle really cold temps (We've already had a few days where the temp was almost -10*, so I'd make your coolant good to -20* to play it safe).

There are little things I do such as wipe down the door seals with a rag & oil so the door is less likely to freeze up when when snow melts and then freezes in your door.

A little shot of wd-40 in your door lock and door lock mechanism is a good idea for the same reason.

Also, carry some cat litter, a little shovel and extra warm clothes/blanket in your car in case you get stranded or stuck.

[karfar]

Originally Posted by vemureaux

Along the lines of winterizing vehicles....

Do you have to worry about the car engine freezing in Milwaukee winters? I've heard in some colder climates (e.g. Minnesota) they get something installed in their cars that is plugged in (apparently parking spaces have outlets) and it keeps the engine & oil from freezing. Is this also done in Milwaukee?

Nope, we don't do that here, although it's a must up in Alaska. As long as you've got a good battery in your car, it'll start. As far as "winterizing", I guess you could go to the mechanic & have them "winterize" it for you....I'm not sure what they all do, but I believe it's along the lines of checking tire threads, tire pressure, oil change, fluid levels, probably tire rotation, that kind of thing. My parents keep telling me to do it but I haven't done it to my car yet.

[Iburytheliving]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

But you should let all your fluids "come to" before you turn off your car, it doesn't even have to be 5mins just a min or so will do, especially with turbo-charged cars IE; all saabs.

You should let any turbo car sit for at least 15-30 secs after you park it regardless of the climate...especially if you've been beatin on it