...best instant heater for garage/workshop.

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lastminute

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Cold weather is here again!!!...no heating in at all...just use a cheap blower which heats my ankles...
..wouldn't mind a decent unit...any ideas?

Gerry
 
it isnt instant heat as such, but I use an oil filled radiator. It doesnt take long to heat the area around me at a single machine or two to being reasonable for what I am wearing- usually jeans and a rugby shirt. It would take a while to heat the full garage.

give yourself a fighting chance of staying warm by wearing decent insulating boots. in my experience it does make a huge difference to comfort.
 
I have a small wood burner in the corner of my workshop which is great and a good way of getting rid of waste wood. But not an option for most workshops.
 
I use one of the powerfix heaters from lidl, it has 2kw and 1kw settings, I find that it will warm the air in my flat roof 3x6m 1970's garage in maybe 30minutes after which I switch it to the 1kw setting. The fan doesn't blow so much that it'll blow dust about, I have mine mounted up about head height in the middle of the garage and turn it to point to the area am working in.
 

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I agree decent socks and boots, thermals. I have a small fan that I put on the workbench for warming my hands if my white finger kicks in.
 
Steve Maskery":lwrj5r8f said:
In a word...


Long Johns

:)
That works very well unless you're trying to glue up or get an oiled finish to cure for example.
I use oil filled rads to keep the temperature reasonable but if its really cold then a little fan heater is great for upping the temperature quickly.
Its worth noting that unless your workshop is well insulated then heating is fighting a losing battle. You could use radiant heaters which only heat what they are aimed at (rather than the air) but i'm not overly keen on them
 
It's amazing how much of a difference good boots make. On occasion I go to the shed in a pair of old trainers, spend longer in there than I intended and suddenly my feet are freezing and the cold is spreading. No such misery in some sturdy Red Wings. They're my baseline for staying warm.
 
Yes, as Adam says - fans are better for space, radiant heaters for people and things, so it much depends on your priority. I have to say I was surprised though at the performance of mine. Even left on one bar (600w) for a few hours the difference walking in to the garage is noticeable, though it was bought primarily to heat me as I am diabetic and my hands (and my four toes, soon to be three :D ) get cold quickly.
 
I used to run a propane space heater, sure it heated the double garage but it got smelly & the walls ran with condensation, All my machines & tools went rusty. I insulated the roof & walls & lined it out with ply. Up & over doors had the foil covered bubble wrap insulation glued to them.
Now its toasty warm with one oil filled rad, if its cold i leave it on low all the time & it keeps the place dry as a bone.
 
I believe you will get a degree of condensation with any intermittent heating system, although gas is obviously the worst as the burning produces moisture. I had no problems at all until I installed a pot belly.
 
phil.p":3oxn4rzu said:
I believe you will get a degree of condensation with any intermittent heating system, although gas is obviously the worst as the burning produces moisture. I had no problems at all until I installed a pot belly.

What problems have you had with the pot belly? I was thinking of getting one to heat my workshop next winter.
 
Superstrat":349oak58 said:
phil.p":349oak58 said:
I believe you will get a degree of condensation with any intermittent heating system, although gas is obviously the worst as the burning produces moisture. I had no problems at all until I installed a pot belly.

What problems have you had with the pot belly? I was thinking of getting one to heat my workshop next winter.

I have a wood burner in my workshop and it's great. No issues at all with condensation. My workshop is about 8mts X 4mts, concrete block with slate roof.

The one I have is a square 8kw with the opening in the top, it burns wood chippings, saw dust and wood.

Here's the link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/sawdust-w...ve-/221030450680?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275
 
garethharvey":1qcbbi0m said:
Superstrat":1qcbbi0m said:
phil.p":1qcbbi0m said:
I believe you will get a degree of condensation with any intermittent heating system, although gas is obviously the worst as the burning produces moisture. I had no problems at all until I installed a pot belly.

What problems have you had with the pot belly? I was thinking of getting one to heat my workshop next winter.

I have a wood burner in my workshop and it's great. No issues at all with condensation. My workshop is about 8mts X 4mts, concrete block with slate roof.

The one I have is a square 8kw with the opening in the top, it burns wood chippings, saw dust and wood.

Here's the link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/sawdust-w...ve-/221030450680?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275

Looks ideal, thanks. I'll investigate how to install the flue.
 
I had a little trouble with the flue, the opening on the top of the fire was about 3 1/2", I couldn't find anything small enough to fit. I ended up buying a 5" flue and fitting it over the outside. Not ideal but as it's such a small run of flue it works OK

I then switched to an insulated flue to go through the roof.
 

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