Workshop heaters

[Digit]

I rely on lots of insulation. Woolen socks, thick trousers and a padded coat! :lol:

Roy.

 

[Dibs-h]

I rely on lots of insulation. Woolen socks, thick trousers and a padded coat! :lol:

Roy.

Not standing still for too long and moving about also helps.

 

[Digit]

And coffee! At least you can wrap your hands around the kettle! :lol:

Roy.

 

[PeterBassett]

I wonder how many people who worry about parafin/gas heaters have a kettle in the workshop? :lol:

I'm seriously going to have to sort out insulating my garage/workshop. It's a concrete slab type contruction with a corrugated "asbestos" roof. With the snow on the ground it's unbearable after 10 minutes!

Pete

 

[big soft moose]

I have a tumble drier ( I know I know but it wasnt my idea and its a condensing one so it doesnt out put much moisture) and a 0.5kw oil filled radiator

plus a collie dog who sits on my feet or leans on me when i'm doing static work ( she doesnt like the noise the bandsaw, router, or lathe makes tho so that heat source is intermittent)

The garage is integeral so its reasonably warm anyway , but i must fit draft excluders and insulation to the inside of the doors (wooden swing opening ones - I cant seal them up because through the garage is the only way from front garden to back without going through the lounge)

 

[slemishwoodcrafts]

Hi,


Does anybody use woodburning stoves in their shop? I was thinking about installing one and wondered what people's viewpoints were on them?

Regards,

Michael

 

[Digit]

Unless your workshop is a lot cleaner than mine Michael I would suggest the naked flames are not good. Wood dust is explosive BTW.

Roy.

 

[PeterBassett]

My dad had a wood burning stove in his garage when I was young, but he was always a mechanic/welder so we didn't have any issue with wood getting burnt.

I wonder what the rules are these days concerning smokeless zones etc?

As Digit says, wood dust in suspension is explosive if at high enough concentration so a good extraction/air cleaning system would be a very good idea.

pete

 

[jimi43]

My neighbour is a cabinet maker and he has a VERY long Victorian greenhouse from which the glass has been removed and particleboard has been inserted. That is his workshop.

Smack bang in the middle is a really old pot bellied wood burning stove which leads up to the "roof" via a stanless steel chimney. The key is a metal plate to take it outside which dissipates the heat too.

He uses pallets and wooden scrap to heat it and I tell you now...that guy makes some dust! Never exploded yet. It is really warm in there even though the place is huge and uninsulated.

A by-product is he keeps his glue pot on the top and keeps his glue molten all the time....!



Jim

 

[Dibs-h]

Hi,


Does anybody use woodburning stoves in their shop? I was thinking about installing one and wondered what people's viewpoints were on them?

Regards,

Michael

I quite fancy one when the shop is done! But won't really be needing it till this time next year.

 

[studders]

I'm really tempted to buy a small wood burning stove but, accident being one of my many middle names, it might be wise not to. Shame really as most of my projects necessitate one.

 

[srp]

The recommended exposure limit (from a health point of view) for wood dust is around 1 - 20 mg/m^3 (depends on whose figures you use and what type of wood dust). The lower explosion limit is about 40,000 mg/m^3 - in other words you'd have vacated the workshop long before there is a chance of it going bang.
You could possibly get a bit of a blow back if you tipped a load of sawdust into the stove while it was roaring away, but that's where common sense comes into play.
I'd be more concerned about the ill-effects of a portable gas or paraffin heater - it chucks out water (about a kg for every kg of fuel burnt I think) and CO2, which needs venting to the outside unless you're wearing scuba gear.

 

[big soft moose]

The recommended exposure limit (from a health point of view) for wood dust is around 1 - 20 mg/m^3 (depends on whose figures you use and what type of wood dust). The lower explosion limit is about 40,000 mg/m^3 - in other words you'd have vacated the workshop long before there is a chance of it going bang.

yeah - the main explosion risk is for turners who are sanding with a power drill - you can get localised 40,000mg/m^3 in a cloud of dust just off the arbour and if you then have a spark from say the brush motor on the drill it goes boom - and you get a feedback effect as the first explosion throws more acumulated dust off walls and floor into the air setting off a much bigger bang

this happened to a freind of mine, but fortunately the first boom knocked him off his feet and the force of the second one largely went upwards through the shed roof - he was only lightly injured by bits of roof falling on him - it could have been a lot worse

 

[Kev]

Thanks all really helpful.

Think will go for a combination of oil filled radiators to keep the ambient temperature up (although have a power shut off switch for workshop when not in use so will have to think about circumventing that) and a fan heater for a quick blast of heat. Have seen a Honeywell 3KW workshop heater for about £70 which should do nicely I think.

Mind you all a little late given its been freezing for a while now and found out to my cost last week, making a door only to find the glue did not set in any shape or form! Thats whats they mean by working temperature - when will we learn!! :lol:

 

[les chicken]

I have had a hotspot stove in my workshop for quite a few years, it is on it's second flue. It takes about twenty minutes to warm the shop up and is a nice dry heat. It burns sawdust but you must be careful if topping up, better to start up with sawdust and then add logs or offcuts. Most of the time the workshop is more cosier than the house.

When I bought it I calculated the cost approx £200 that the pay back against a 3kw fan heater was about 10 winter months and that was about five years ago. There is still plenty of life left in it.

Les

 

[Davon]

I use one of these when I'm working in the 16' x 9' garage/workshop

£10 from b& m bargains...energy efficient...also sold on ebay

Davon

 

[jimi43]

I think halogens are fine in close proximity but they don't heat a workshop at all on their own. Do you find you have to sit in front of it to work. At that wattage I prefer to heat the room.

I think the outlay on a woodburning stove is something I might consider. I have the stove which sits on the deck attached to the workshop. We used to use it for parties in early spring and autumn where the chill in the air sets in after a nice day.

I think I will bring it in an bite the bullet with some stainless flue. The only thing stopping me is the start-up time and the fact that you then have to be there to watch it. Has anyone had these problems?

Jim

 

[Davon]

I think halogens are fine in close proximity but they don't heat a workshop at all on their own. Do you find you have to sit in front of it to work. At that wattage I prefer to heat the room.

When your working in a 16' x 9' area you don't need too much heat, I find the halogen heater very good for instant warmth, it has 3 settings
400w/800w/1200w

Davon

 

[jimi43]

I think halogens are fine in close proximity but they don't heat a workshop at all on their own. Do you find you have to sit in front of it to work. At that wattage I prefer to heat the room.

When your working in a 16' x 9' area you don't need too much heat, I find the halogen heater very good for instant warmth, it has 3 settings
400w/800w/1200w

Davon

That is the only way it works well I think. I wanted to make sure people didn't make the same mistake I did and waste money thinking it would be a space heater.

I should have realised really...silly me....those are the type of elements used in "cold" cooker rings.

Jim

 

[BradNaylor]

I can heartily recommend a woodburning workshop stove.

We installed a Hotspot R4 stove in our 40' x 20' workshop a few months ago.

It takes about ten minutes to heat up the place in the morning simply by filling the stove with shavings from the P/T and sticking a lighted newspaper on top. Then a handful of timber or MDF offcuts every half an hour or so keeps us toasty all day - even in this weather.

Total cost was around £500 including a secondhand stove, all the flue bits, and some fireboard to make an enclosed area for the stove away from anything flammable. I reckon it's saved us that much in electricity already!

The workshop's a lot tidier, too. Not an offcut to be seen anywhere!

Cheers
Brad