Workshop Heater - Request for information.

[The Sheriff]

Greeting,

This is my first post since joining 2 days ago; hope you can help.

I have tried gas space heaters put found them very noisy, they heat up the workshop really quickly but keep have to switch it off and on again or I melt.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a gas infrared heater, noise issue gone and fairly good at raising the temperature but again keep having to switch on and off.

I have now found this unit which is thermostatically controlled.

"SIP Fireball 74XRDT Infrared Diesel/Paraffin Heater" https://www.sipuk.co.uk/sip-fireball-74xrdt-infrared-diesel-paraffin-heater.html
Has anyone got any experience with this heater ?

What do people think of SIP equipment ?

Note ; Sealey do a similar unit but does not have the thermostat.

Any comments would be appreciated.


Cheers Dave.

 

[Mark Hancock]

I can't comment on the sip heater but use a similar heater Inverter Heater which I can program to come on before I get to the workshop so it's warm when I arrive. It's obviously not as powerful as the SIP.

 

[RichardG]

My experience of paraffin heaters is that they generate a fair bit of moisture when run so only work in a very well ventilated space.

 

[artie]

Any comments would be appreciated.


Cheers Dave.

How big is your workshop?

 

[The Sheriff]

Evening

workshop approximately 10m x 10m with pitched roof

Cheers Dave

 

[The Sheriff]

My experience of paraffin heaters is that they generate a fair bit of moisture when run so only work in a very well ventilated space.

Thanks was going to use Red Diesel is that the same ?

 

[paulrbarnard]

Why not just get a thermostat for the infra red heater? I use one of these in our greenhouse. There are many similar on Amazon.

 

[The Sheriff]

Why not just get a thermostat for the infra red heater? I use one of these in our greenhouse. There are many similar on Amazon.

The IR heater I have gas so not able to fit thermostat

 

[paulrbarnard]

The IR heater I have gas so not able to fit thermostat

Ah, that won't work then I wrongly assumed infra red would be electric.

 

[EddyCurrent]

I use of of these; Wood burning workshop stoves specialist in Herefordshire | Tecnik Stoves
Absolutely marvelous.

 

[D_W]

mini split heater. There are extremely inexpensive versions now on ebay that have a core made by a higher priced dealer, but the rest of the unit is some unrecognizable name. They are as little as $600 or $700 for both parts of the split system for about 15k btu. They're fantastically stingy on electricity until or unless it gets really cold outside (colder than it's likely to get in the UK).

 

[D_W]

(the thing about splits, too, is that a 15k btu split heater will make more than that when temperatures aren't extreme. I have an 18k btu mitsu heater on an extension on the house. if the temp is something mild, like 6-8C, it'll make closer to 22-25k btu on a kilowatt draw.

 

[RichardG]

My experience of paraffin heaters is that they generate a fair bit of moisture when run so only work in a very well ventilated space.

Thanks was going to use Red Diesel is that the same ?

I can’t comment but I’m quite amazed you can burn 12 litres of diesel and not be concerned about exhaust fumes in a closed space.

 

[undergroundhunter]

We had one of those diesel heaters in a workshop I worked in a few years ago, in short it stank, there was a stickley diesel smell all the time. That and they do make a lot of moisture.

 

[BruceK]

Currently investigating heaters for my workshop too. Been quoted £950 for a 4.5 kilowatt heat pump (fitted and 5 year guarantee) and £1620 for a 7.5 kw (by a different supplier). My workshop is 14m x 7m and is insulated. The advantage of these heaters is that they use 1/4 to 1/3 the electricity for an equivalent output and also that they cool in the warmer months if required. They are available second hand but some of the older ones have refrigerants that are now illegal in the UK because of global warming. I'm still deliberating....

 

[HamsterJam]

I use an electric fan heater to warm up my garage then switch over to an oil filled radiator. Admit that won’t be enough in a big workshop but it works in a smaller space and has the benefit of no fumes or moisture added to the air.
Also we use splits at work to maintain the environment for technical kit and aware they have filters that need cleaning or replacing regularly. Don’t these filters clog with wood dust? Does anyone use a split to in in a dusty environment and is this an issue?

 

[Sandyn]

when I was looking at workshop heating, I found this useful ball park calculator. from the Machine Mart site.



"""HOW TO CALCULATE WHICH HEATER YOU NEED
The output of a heater is measured in Watts (W) and kiloWatts (kW) for electric heaters and British Thermal Units (Btu) for all the others. 1 Watt is approximately 3.4 Btu. There are 3 steps to calculate the power of heater you need, you should consider:

1. The volume of the space to be heated,
2. The rise in temperature required.
3. How well insulated the space is.

The volume of the space is calculated by the following formula - width x length x height. So, for example a single garage 3m wide x 5m long x 2.5m high will have a volume of 37.5 cubic meters.

This figure should be multiplied by the required rise in temperature, in °Celsius.

And then multiplied again by the figure below, depending on the level of insulation in the building. This figure is as follows-
No Insulation x 3.5, Light Insulation x 2.5, Medium Insulation x 1.5, Heavy Insulation x 0.5

Then to return a result in Btu, multiply this by 4

Therefore, in the case the single garage mentioned above, with a temperature rise of 10°C and it has no insulation, the calculation would be:
37.5 x 10 x 3.5 x 4 = 5250 this gives an answer in Btu.
(To convert this to kW divide 5250Btu by 3412 = 1.5kW)

So now you know how much heating power is required, you should turn your attention to the available power source. """

 

[furnace]

I've just installed a diesel fuelled heater in my workshop and it's absolutely marvellous. The combustion is totally sealed from the working space so there's no smell, no fumes and no moisture.
It's a variable output between about 1.5kW to 5kW has a thermostat and manual controls. They were originally designed for caravans, boats, lorry cabs and have decades of development behind them.

It costs about 9p/kWh to run on red diesel, burns really clean and can get my workshop up to temp within 20mins. I then typically turn it off as it keeps warm with activity, the lights, sun and insulation.

The whole kit was £90 plus about £15 for the 12V power supply and £10 for the ducting vent.

There is a lively community of owners and brilliant set of Youtube videos by https://www.youtube.com/user/johnmck1147 explaining how they work and things to look out for.

 

[Woodmatt]

I have just ordered one of the cheap Chinese diesel heaters after watching many Youtube videos and from what I have learned so far they are the way to go as Furnace above has confirmed.Looking forward to getting it fitted and it becoming a pleasure to go out to the workshop again through the winter months

 

[Jacob]

I use of of these; Wood burning workshop stoves specialist in Herefordshire | Tecnik Stoves
Absolutely marvelous.

They look good
I've got two Dowling stoves which also steel fabricated, not cast iron, and they seem to last forever with zero maintenance. Dowling are more domestic than industrial.
One is the Dowling Sumo which is brilliant for wood, mdf, sawdust, cardboard etc.
Bigger the better - a small hot fire in a big stove is more efficient than the opposite.