Best temperature for workshop

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Halo Jones

Established Member
Joined
2 Aug 2010
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Location
Fife, Scotland
Hi All,

Given the bloomin' cold weather we have been getting at the minute I was wondering if there is an optimal lowest temperature that workshops should be set at to avoid damage to tools, glues, stock etc (or is it relative humidity we should be worried about?). I see that B&Q are selling an oil filled heater with a thermostat for £50 so I would ideally set a low temperature, ie between 4 and 10oC when not in the 'shop, and then crank it up whilst in there. Any thoughts?

Cheers,

Halo
 
Many glues, particularly those that contain water such as PVA, should not be stored below about 5 degrees or the contents will separate and you will have to throw them away. The exact temperature is usually printed on the container. Best to keep them indoors.

Cheers :ho2

Paul
 
Halo,

My boiler just went and stopped working so I bought 5 oil filled radiators from Screwfix.

1500 watts, thermostat,selection of 700 watts or 1500 price was £23.90 inc VAT.

regards
Alan
 
Thanks for the heater bargain info Alan, it is even better than the B&Q offer. How good are the thermostats on them?

I am just starting to buy tools for my workshop and don't want things to be going rusty (like in my dad's unheated / uninsulated garage). It seems to me that to prevent rust you want to prevent water ingress into the workshop (which I think I have done!) and you then want to prevent large temperature fluctuations to prevent any moist air condensing on all your nice tools and machinery. I also assume that any wood in the workshop would be happier with less temperature fluctuations?

Cheers,

Iain
 
The only thing I would say is that if you are going to heat your workshop when you are not in it, then make sure you have it properly insulated first. Otherwise all you are going to do is heat the garden and rack up a huge electricity bill.
 
Wickes had a 4 for 1 offer for £30 so I have enough to give 100 mm insulation all round. It will probably cost me another £120 to board over the insulation and I reckon I will have to make some new doors as they are very draughty but I should be able to make the place toasty soon.

Also, I don't want to spend a lot of money on heating hence why I wanted to know a best minimal temp to keep the shop at which can then be boosted when I am in the place.

Halo.
 
Theres an obvious trade off between heating and less heating.

In deep winter trying to heat up ALL of the space in a hobby workshop seems counter productive and too costly.

Keep it dry but don't heat all of the space.

I have a hand tool cabinet about the size of Waka's and in the bottom section I have two filament lamps each of 60w. I have the same in the top section. All lamps can be switched on or off depending on temperature or my worry level about rust forming.

All my power tools are in a boxes and just left as they are. I give them a good clean and service prior to hibernation.

I did this 3 years ago and it has worked like magic. Only lesson learned was to put draught excluder around the external doors to contain the warmth and to add a thermometer to check the inside occasionally.

This year I have been searching for little heat pads which can be wired in series/parallel and stuck to the underside of the tables on my major machines eg Table saw. I cover all of the machines with old blankets which are mostly wool to keep any rust off the exposed parts.

Still searching for the heat pads...may have to look in the US.

regards
Alan
 
On a related topic, what humidity would people suggest as appropriate?

I have a fancy electronic thermometer in my shed and it tells me that lately it gets down to 0 to -1 degC, up to about 7 degC after an evening of heating and work, and the humidity is about 75%.
 
beech1948":2iggr2x3 said:
Still searching for the heat pads...may have to look in the US.

Have you considered heat mats as used when keeping reptiles, can be found cheaply on eBay, reliable and use 10W-20W.
 
I am sure there is some risk that a little bit of heat to a workshop that is not properly insulated could be more of a risk than none at all.

My workshop has no heating, and is left sometimes without being used for a little while. It is dry, fully tiled and with a single skin brick walls and double doors. It is open at the eaves so get's air in there and is not heated. I have zero rust on the planer, table saw, anything else that is left out, just coated with some wax.

That is still zero rust after 4 years maybe 5, having all my stuff, all screwdrivers, tools, etc in there EXCEPT the hand planes that stay with me inside. I havent put heating in there and don't intend to unless I gut it and inslulate the walls, roof, plastboard it and put in underfloor heating and stop all the drafts and ventilation to make it basically like a room in the main house.

The key is water condensing on metal that is colder than the air, so if the air and machine are the same temp there is little scope for this.
 
we had a 20 degree day on wednesday. had lunch outside. problem was, i also had 96% humidity in the shop. by 5pm it looked like it had been raining and everything was turning orange before my eyes.

2hours of frantic wiping, wire wooling and spraying with protector and i think i got the worst of it. it was even attacking my planer block, not just the cast iron beds.

anyone got any ideas on more pleasant protector, as the felder bottle doesn't even list its ingredients. does parrafin work?
i have a feeling this will be a battle lasting all winter. unless it dries up a bit like last year.

no insulation, large gaps open to the elements and no heating in the shop. average temp since november is around 7 degrees daytime temp. so heating as is is not an option.

help!

jeff
 
jeffinfrance":2awk6lkv said:
we had a 20 degree day on wednesday. had lunch outside. problem was, i also had 96% humidity in the shop. by 5pm it looked like it had been raining and everything was turning orange before my eyes.

2hours of frantic wiping, wire wooling and spraying with protector and i think i got the worst of it. it was even attacking my planer block, not just the cast iron beds.
....
help!

jeff

This happens in my shop at least twice a year, usually during a January thaw or the first big warm front rolling through in March.

The best thing is to seal the shop, the second best is to heat it way up and get some fans going so your machines don't create "cold pools" allowing the moisture to condense on them. Since you can't do these, cover up the machines. Cloth covers are best--don't use plastic, since the water will condense on the inside of the plastic and drip onto your machines. You can even cover the tables with towels. Don't seal the machines in--once they warm up, you want the air to evaporate any condensation. If you can keep the condensation off the exposed metal, that's enough. Don't worry about the painted parts.

Kirk
 
cheers kirk,

lots of cotton dust sheets i think. it's got to be a temporary measure this winter. sealing up the shop is on the cards for next year.

how are you faring weather wise over there?

jeff
 
jeffinfrance":hmi58fpd said:
cheers kirk,

lots of cotton dust sheets i think. it's got to be a temporary measure this winter. sealing up the shop is on the cards for next year.

how are you faring weather wise over there?

jeff

Jeff, I think the sheets will work, but since they're pretty thin you might want to put a few wood scraps on the tables before throwing the sheets over the top. That will give you a little air pocket between the sheets and the cast iron, so any water won't tend to wick through.

We're just getting over an early cold spell (lows at 14F/-10C), but it's warming up again for a little while. Where I am (near St Louis), we don't get too much snow--maybe 2-3 ft per winter, total. We usually get several ice storms per winter, though, and these make travel much more exciting. So far we've dodged those, too, but our time is coming....

Kirk
 
Halo Jones":2qsj89ow said:
...and I reckon I will have to make some new doors as they are very draughty but I should be able to make the place toasty soon.

How bad are the doors you have now? If the gaps aren't too 'excessive', you could try fitting rubber self-adhesive strips of draught-proofing. It's very cheap to buy in 10m rolls and you can get it from most places (Screwfix, Toolstation, probably the DIY sheds, too).

I strongly agree with all the recommendations for insulation - it's almost pointless trying to heat any space before you've sealed off all the gaps and come up with some method of trying to contain the heat. You should also be able to contain more of the noise from your work, which is going to keep your neighbours happier. :wink:

If you're worried about condensation and moisture later on then, a simpler solution to covering everything with dust sheets would be to fit at least two vents in the workshop walls. The idea is that, with one placed high and one low-down, you'll have a constant circulation of fresh air. If you're worried about losing hear while working in the winter, you could always buy the type which can be opened and closed (...just don't forget to open them again before any prolonged periods away from the workshop! :wink:)
 
beech1948":1442rp9m said:
This year I have been searching for little heat pads which can be wired in series/parallel and stuck to the underside of the tables on my major machines eg Table saw.

Still searching for the heat pads...may have to look in the US.

regards
Alan
Bob9fingers uses this method very successfully...might be worth a swift PM? - Rob
 
monkeybiter":mj1bzuct said:
beech1948":mj1bzuct said:
Still searching for the heat pads...may have to look in the US.

Have you considered heat mats as used when keeping reptiles, can be found cheaply on eBay, reliable and use 10W-20W.

What about the pads used in wine making - would they be any use?

I use a de-humidifier that is kept on all the time, winter and summer. What do others think of this. I find that it collects more water on warm days than cold days.

regards

Brian
 
Reading this topic is an eye opener for a spoiled Canadian. I'm located in Edmonton, Alberta & we touch -30C + at least several times throughout the winter months so of course we have to heat our shops. My hobby shop shares space with my car in a double garage. The space is insulated to R20. The overhead door is metal & insulated. I used to have a forced air gas fired 25,000 btu garage heater. It lasted about 10 years & gradually
despite best efforts to maintain it....crapped out. I now have a gas fired 35,000 btu radiant tube heater. What a super way to heat a shop....no moving parts hence unaffected by airborn dust particles. Of course, when you heat cold air, humidity is extracted & the heater has a drain tube to the outside & over the course of winter a upside down icicle grows at the side of the garage/shop to a height of about 5 ft. & then instead of getting taller it gets fatter :lol: I set the thermostate at 10C when I'm not in the shop. When I'm in the shop it is set about 18C. As I said I'm a spoiled Canadian.

Lee
 
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