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Shop Heat

Posted by Outhouse Instruments on December 29, 2010 at 6:05am in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

Ok guys, it's time for me to get back into the shop. But it's cold out there!

What are you guys doing for heat? I need safe, dependable, cost-wise with the emphasis on SAFE !

I had considered:

Propane tank top heater - but I have concerns about dust and open flame. I don't think that even under the worst sanding conditions there is enough dust in the air to be a problem. This is my most likely choice. Can be located where I need it.

Electric - cheap and easy, until you turn it on. Then the meter spins like a cd player. Can be loacted where needed

Woodstove - I want to expend energy on working on guitars, not chopping, toting, stoking wood. Not movable ... would have to move to it or keep it roaring.

 

I can get the propane tank top easy and cheap .... I have access to a barrel to build a barrel wood stove .... IMHO electric really isn't an option.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

AFKAM

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Replies

  • Glaze January 11, 2011 at 2:55pm


    Artist Formerly Known as Matt said:

    I agree that this can happen, but EVERYTHING I have seen indicates that having enough dust in the air to do this would make it impossible to breathe. Basically, It would be like throwing a bucket of dust in the flame.

    BUT, that could be wrong.

    The gas/garage story doesn't apply to here. This is in workshop, not a garage. But then again, his problem was OTHER circumstances ... leaking gas is bad anywhere.

     

     

    Matt

     

    I have a power sander that I use on my drill press and this kicks up a thick heavy cloud of fine dust that would ignite if any open flame were in my garage when I'm sanding.  When I sand using this equipment I'm usually sanding many wood parts and going through all of the different grits.  I wear a respirator which is mandatory using this equipment.  

     

    I do all of my wood working in my garage and I do park my cars in my garage also.  I'm sure many people on this forum use their garage the same way I do, so my buddies car leaking gas story is just good information to keep in mind for those people that use their garage as much as I do.  I'm just extremely big on safety 

     

  • Outhouse Instruments January 11, 2011 at 2:31pm

    I agree that this can happen, but EVERYTHING I have seen indicates that having enough dust in the air to do this would make it impossible to breathe. Basically, It would be like throwing a bucket of dust in the flame.

    BUT, that could be wrong.

    The gas/garage story doesn't apply to here. This is in workshop, not a garage. But then again, his problem was OTHER circumstances ... leaking gas is bad anywhere.

     

    Glaze said:

    Fine wood sawdust or sanding dust floating in the air can be extremely explosive!!!  My buddy who is a heat and air conditioning installation pro asked if I wanted my old furnace from the house installed in the garage to heat it and I said no.  He asked me why due to he knows I do quite a bit of woodworking in my garage in the winter.  I told him that the sanding dust I create sometimes would explode due to the pilot light in the furnace.

     

    I have a friend who had a car that had a gas tank leak which dripped on the concrete in the garage.  This created gas fumes in the garage.  His water heater and furnace was located behind the door entering the garage and one day he opened the door to get into his car and the garage exploded.  He was lucky that he lived through that one...

     

    Be extremely careful with any type of open flame in a garage or by the garage door...  

     

     

  • Glaze January 11, 2011 at 1:32pm

    Fine wood sawdust or sanding dust floating in the air can be extremely explosive!!!  My buddy who is a heat and air conditioning installation pro asked if I wanted my old furnace from the house installed in the garage to heat it and I said no.  He asked me why due to he knows I do quite a bit of woodworking in my garage in the winter.  I told him that the sanding dust I create sometimes would explode due to the pilot light in the furnace.

     

    I have a friend who had a car that had a gas tank leak which dripped on the concrete in the garage.  This created gas fumes in the garage.  His water heater and furnace was located behind the door entering the garage and one day he opened the door to get into his car and the garage exploded.  He was lucky that he lived through that one...

     

    Be extremely careful with any type of open flame in a garage or by the garage door...  

     

     

  • Chris Tinker January 5, 2011 at 7:52am

    Propane - "taste the meat - not the heat" - Hank Hill purveyor of Propane and propane accessories....

    Sorry, not much help - I jut felt Hank had to have a voice.

     

    Personally I'd go for the stove and use any offcuts of wood/chippings from my work  - also the bonus of having to chop wood is it actually warms you up doing it.

  • Mungo Park January 4, 2011 at 6:57pm

    Check this out, cheap easy, what could be better.

    you just need enough windows, maybe a search will show how to put it on your roof:

    http://www.squidoo.com/beercansolarheater

     

     

    Chees Ron

  • John Zant January 4, 2011 at 8:20am
    Insulating your concrete floor is a good thing also. Use 2x4's and fill the space between with that pink or blue foam. The best is the foam with the foil backing. Put a layer of plastic down first, nail the 2x4's, fill the space, then top with plywood. This goes a LONG way in keeping your shop warm, due to the removal of the radiant cold from the concrete.
  • Bad Finger (Eric) January 3, 2011 at 2:35pm
    Great, thanks.  Another "homebuilt" obsession to start up.  :)

    mike anderson said:
    look up rocket stoves, very efficient, very warm, very safe. not the tin can type, though
  • Uncle John January 2, 2011 at 9:06am

    I got my 3 burner propane heater out yesterday.  It took my well insulated 12 x 17 foot shop from 34 degres F to 60 in an hour.  Maintained after that with a small electical heater.  Mild head ache, but warm.  Plan to do it again today.  Maybe with some bourbon as a head ache preventer. 

  • Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw January 1, 2011 at 7:34pm
    If you go with the propane you could be helping to save the environment too. Sounds strange but propane, butane and methane are all much worse greenhouse gases than CO2, so you almost have a moral obligation to burn the stuff.
  • ProfWaldo January 1, 2011 at 10:19am

    One word; Livestock.

    Now it may not be practical where you live and they do produce a bit o' moisture when they breath.

    But in a smaller shop one Holstein could take the edge off not to mention they're good company.

    I've also found that Holsteins really enjoy acoustic CBG music. I played for a group of them in a barnyard and not a single one mooed me and they seemed to enjoy my jokes between sets. They especially liked my song "No Fly Zone" although I don't think they realized it was an anti-war protest song. Another option if you have a lot of family members is to send them out to the shop a couple of hours ahead of you to warm things up.

    Hey... I'm just sayin'. ;-)

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