Heating the workshop

[boggy]

My workshop consists of a wooden shed 4mX4m. I want to instal a small woodburner stove - a Frontier stove sold by anevaystoves.com.
The flue is to pass through the wall rather than the felt roof. The stove has a 60mm O/D outlet and I am having problems finding a supplier of obtuse bends of this diameter, preferably in stainless steel.
Any ideas?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

It's a portable stove - it's not designed to "plumbed" in, that's why you're unlikely to find anything to fit it. be aware that if you fit a stove in a 'shop you will get condensation problems and rust on your tools. Damhikt. I would consider infra red heaters (assuming you've power) that heat you rather than all the surroundings.

 

[Cabinetman]

And of course if you do use it without a chimney to the outside you’ll wake up dead! Or not.
If lt was me, insulate and plug in an oil filled radiator that has a thermostat, in that space it would hardly be on for very long. Ian

 

[Rorschach]

And of course if you do use it without a chimney to the outside you’ll wake up dead! Or not.
If lt was me, insulate and plug in an oil filled radiator that has a thermostat, in that space it would hardly be on for very long. Ian

You would have to do an amazing job of insulation and draught proofing before an oil filled rad would even remotely make any kind of sense.

 

[artie]

In a 4m by 4m shed you'll be opening the door to cool down if you apply that much heat and you're doing any work at all.
Be ok if you're reading or something.
Only time I've had heat in "the shap" was a few years ago when it got down to -18 for a few days.

 

[Cabinetman]

Rorschach, No sorry you’re wrong, my reasonably insulated workshop is twice the size and is heated by one, it clicks on every now and again. It’s not sit and be comfy, but you wouldn’t want that temperature to work in anyway. Ian

 

[Rorschach]

Rorschach, No sorry you’re wrong, my reasonably insulated workshop is twice the size and is heated by one, it clicks on every now and again. It’s not sit and be comfy, but you wouldn’t want that temperature to work in anyway. Ian

What is the temperature difference between outside and inside? How much is the rad costing to run?

 

[Sandyn]

Is this the kind of thing you are looking for? Angled & Straight 60mm Stove Flue Pipe Connections

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I have an oil filler rad in my bedroom for when it gets really cold overnight (that's 0c here ) and it makes a difference ............ of about 2c.

 

[Cabinetman]

It’s warmer inside, perfect working temperature never any condensation, never any rust, it costs what it costs which as it’s very low powered and not on very often is fine by me. End of.

 

[Rorschach]

It’s warmer inside, perfect working temperature never any condensation, never any rust, it costs what it costs which as it’s very low powered and not on very often is fine by me. End of.

If it suits you and you are happy, that's fine, but with nothing more than your own anecdotal evidence it is probably not wise to recommend it as a solution for the OP

 

[Phil Pascoe]

The same logic of course applies to all our recommendations.

 

[Cabinetman]

Absolutely right, I suppose Phil it’s bound to be cold where you are in Lapland anyway. Ha

 

[Felix]

If you do decide to use a woodburner in your workshop you need to make yourself aware of the requirements regarding routing flues through flammable structures. If you use a single skin flue you should leave a minimum of 100mm clearance around the flue (it may be 125mm). You now have a 260mm hole in the side of your workshop that you need to cover with some non-flammable material! Added to that, single skin exterior flues build up creosote much quicker than double skinned flues. A double skinned flue only requires 50mm clearance when passing through flammable structures.

On the condensation issue I have found that keeping your workshop warm on a regular basis helps to reduce condensation. Before I put in a woodburner, during the winters I used to get a lot of it - particularly after a cold spell where all your metal got very cold and then the temperature rose in a mild spell. Subsequently all the metal surfaces were covered in condensation - which was a real pain if I was away for a few days as it meant a few hours of rust removal. In short - a warm shop is a rust free shop and much nicer.... It takes a lot of motivation to stand in your workshop when it's -1 on the inside - believe me..food for thought anyway

Cheers

Dean

 

[Sandyn]

Has anyone used a diesel heater to heat their workshop? The type you get in large trucks and some camper vans? do any regulations cover that type of heater in domestic premises? I'm not trying to get round regulations, the very opposite, I will only fit a heating system which is included in regulations, so it can be fitted 'legally'

 

[Rorschach]

Diesel heaters seem to be getting more common with the prevalence of cheap Chinese models. From a cost perspective they only really make sense if you have access to red diesel.

 

[R1chard]

If you use a fuel to generate heat you require incoming air to ensure a proper combustion. Aside from any CO and CO2 issues outside air is required to sustain a good burn, possibly compromising your room temp unless you can deliver this directly to your combustion chamber. This is often made difficult by the design of traditional pot stoves.
These type of stoves measure their output in kW, designed to heat a large mass and will probably overwhelm the space you propose heating until the fuel is spent and then leave you cold once more.
However if you could design and build a suitable slow burn floor height external fire box, well insulated and flue’d around your workshop at low level in a heavy-er walled tube you could collect the heat internally and slow burn by limiting the air flow into your shed to maintain a cozy temperature....
Maybe?

 

[Rorschach]

However if you could design and build a suitable slow burn floor height external fire box, well insulated and flue’d around your workshop at low level in a heavy-er walled tube you could collect the heat internally and slow burn by limiting the air flow into your shed to maintain a cozy temperature....
Maybe?

In principle that sounds good, but in practical terms it doesn't work, maintaining a slow burn s very difficult and very inefficient. You also get a build up of various combustion by products.
The solution to the problem is found in thermal mass. You surround the fire box with as much thermal mass as space allows and you burn a really hot fire for a short amount of time and then let the thermal mass radiate the stored heat over a long period.
Is this practical in a small workshop though? Unlikely.

 

[Felix]

I have an oil filler rad in my bedroom for when it gets really cold overnight (that's 0c here ) and it makes a difference ............ of about 2c.

0c - that's totally Mediterranean...

 

[Bob Chapman]

I agree with the advice given by Bowmaster and hope he will not be offended by one small, but potentially vital, correction. In his post he mentions flammable and inflammable materials in contexts which make it clear that he thinks these two words are opposites - flammable = burns, inflammable = won't burn.

Unfortunately this is not correct. Strangely enough they both mean exactly the same thing - it burns! The dangers of thinking that a can marked 'inflammable liquid' means it won't burn are obvious and don't need me to spell them out.