Heating the workshop

[Lard]

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?

The responses appears typical in that the majority of you ‘once again’ treat the questioner as a small child who must be scolded....for gods‘s sake either answer him or assume that if he’s bright enough to operate a computer and old enough to own a shed and operate machinery that he’s able to come up with his own decisions and plans instead of being made to face, what is simply, a barrage your own criticisms and opinions on stuff he didn’t ask for.

Boggy....I had a similar problem some years ago when I installed my own small log burner (with something like a 60mm diameter flue) through the side of my timber workshop. A mate of mine, who runs a transport company, suggested HGV flexible exhaust pipework (stainless too) that can withstand something like 500 degrees. I ended up leaving the stove with a local welder who fabricated the pipework, including 2 bends, from off cuts of pipe he had in his unit. Didn’t cost me that much at all. Worked for me although it wasn’t stainless I’m afraid but then again no one is ever likely to see it anyway.

I won’t go into detail about how I ensured safety, because you didn’t ask for that, apart from saying the obvious in that, apart from how it was installed, I monitor it.....just as I do with my large wood stove in the house.

 

[Jelly]

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.

I've been quite successful in draught proofing an uninsulated concrete garage to the extent that I can maintain it at a reasonable temperature and RH to prevent rust with an oil filled radiator.

It's costly, and I aim to insulate it to a standard equivalent to my house in the next month or so, but as an interim solution still much cheaper than replacement/reconditioning of thousands of pounds worth of tools due to rust damage.

 

[Yojevol]

The responses appears typical in that the majority of you ‘once again’ treat the questioner as a small child who must be scolded....for gods‘s sake either answer him or assume that if he’s bright enough to operate a computer and old enough to own a shed and operate machinery that he’s able to come up with his own decisions and plans instead of being made to face, what is simply, a barrage your own criticisms and opinions on stuff he didn’t ask for.

Boggy....I had a similar problem some years ago when I installed my own small log burner (with something like a 60mm diameter flue) through the side of my timber workshop. A mate of mine, who runs a transport company, suggested HGV flexible exhaust pipework (stainless too) that can withstand something like 500 degrees. I ended up leaving the stove with a local welder who fabricated the pipework, including 2 bends, from off cuts of pipe he had in his unit. Didn’t cost me that much at all. Worked for me although it wasn’t stainless I’m afraid but then again no one is ever likely to see it anyway.

I won’t go into detail about how I ensured safety, because you didn’t ask for that, apart from saying the obvious in that, apart from how it was installed, I monitor it.....just as I do with my large wood stove in the house.

Re 1st para, my sentiments entirely but I didn't have the guts to put it into words. Well said.
Brian

 

[Cabinetman]

Point taken and noted.

 

[RGIvy]

An engineer told me recently that in order to reduce rust to an acceptable level all you need to do is keep your workshop 1 degree above ambient. If it's well sealed even an on incandescent bulb helps to reduce rust due to the heat it generates. That's what he does anyway. I did that last year for a 3x3 plastic shed and it worked for me (only used the heat from the light bulb).

 

[minilathe22]

I have a small "industrial" fan heater I got on ebay for £30. This quickly heats up the air, and once you are working in the shed you do not normally need alot of heat. I think oil filled radiator in a very cold space would take a long time to raise the temperature.

I love the sight of a woodburning stove, and can see why you would want one in the shed, but it does seem that alot of effort is involved. You can get fan heaters shaped like a woodburner with a little animated fire type thing in the front. That would look nice and by a lot easier to use.

 

[Felix]

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.

Oops One day I'm going to master the English language...... I had 4 conversations going on at the same time.... you say flammable - I say inflammable - let's burn the whole place down....no offence taken

 

[timothyedoran]

I have a frontier stove that I use in my 4m bell tent and it heats that up brilliantly. However I think it is completely inappropriate for permanent installation and definitely not with any bends in the flue. The flue is really narrow and as such requires cleaning every day or two. Secondly the construction is not robust enough for daily use. Thirdly an electric oil rad is more sensible. I have one in my 3x4 shed/office/workshop and it's great.

Im being blunt here but at best you will achieve a temporary and expensive poor preforming solution. At worst you will kill yourself.

 

[Roland]

It’s traditional for woodworkers to burn scrap wood, but the fire risk always worries me. Any flame is also going to put water vapour into the air, so I’d rather use electricity.

My workshop heating is three fold. First there’s a chest freezer. The workshop is 4m x 3m. The freezer keeps the temperature just above ambient, preventing condensation and rust. Secondly the dust extractor vents into the room. Yes, there a micron particle risk if the filters fail, but otherwise it’s delivering slightly heated air rather than venting to atmosphere and sucking in cold. When it’s really cold I use an infra-red heater. It’s expensive, but doesn’t stir up the dust like a fan heater would.

 

[boggy]

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

Exactly what I want, thank you.

 

[Woodmouse]

+1 on the oil filled rad. Pop it on 20 mins before going to the shop and its warm and toasty and can be turned down so that it doesn't get overly hot.

Biggest upside is it substantially reduces the chance of anything catching fire.

 

[Rorschach]

+1 on the oil filled rad. Pop it on 20 mins before going to the shop and its warm and toasty and can be turned down so that it doesn't get overly hot.

Biggest upside is it substantially reduces the chance of anything catching fire.

What oil filled rad are you using? 20 minutes they barely get warm to the touch, let alone heat the room.

 

[space.dandy]

What oil filled rad are you using? 20 minutes they barely get warm to the touch, let alone heat the room.

One that works? I’ve been using a cheap £30 (at the time) B&Q one to heat mine for over ten years now and it’s brilliant. It heats up quickly and does a good job of heating the space. I also have it on a smart plug that keeps it above 10C when I’m not working.

 

[Sandyn]

Diesel heaters vent to the outside and could be installed external to the heated space. They are processor controlled with a micro diesel pump to control flow. They are in widespread use to as overnight heaters for trucks and camper vans and are perfectly safe as long as they are installed/maintained correctly. There is also a gas heater of a similar design. After doing more research, I have gone off the idea. they require maintenance annually and unless you buy a cheap Chinese clone, they are quite expensive to buy.

I would love to have a rocket mass stove in the workshop. They are very efficient if designed properly, there is complete combustion, so no smoke. some of the designs with a huge thermal mass are amazing. They are very popular in the US. I did build a prototype a few years ago and it worked very well.

 

[RichardG]

One that works? I’ve been using a cheap £30 (at the time) B&Q one to heat mine for over ten years now and it’s brilliant. It heats up quickly and does a good job of heating the space. I also have it on a smart plug that keeps it above 10C when I’m not working.

Either you’ve been lucky or I have been very unlucky. I have 2 oil radiators, both dimplex models though, and they take 30 minutes to even get luke warm.

I have now gone down the quartz wall heater route.

MH-10-1 Wall-Mounted Quartz Heater 600 / 1200W

I have placed these where I tend to stand and work and I think the work really well.

 

[Rorschach]

One that works? I’ve been using a cheap £30 (at the time) B&Q one to heat mine for over ten years now and it’s brilliant. It heats up quickly and does a good job of heating the space. I also have it on a smart plug that keeps it above 10C when I’m not working.

Are you sure it's oil filled and not just a standard electric radiator?

 

[Cabinetman]

My oil filled radiator has a thermostat as I think most do, I leave it on all year if it’s below about 12° c it clicks on.
As I see it, the reason I put all that money into good insulation was to save money over the years on heating. The radiator uses very little power, I keep an eye on it and it’s not on all that often at all. Ian

 

[space.dandy]

Are you sure it's oil filled and not just a standard electric radiator?

I’m positive, but not at home to check. Search for ‘oil filled radiators’ on Wickes, that’s what I have an older version of.

 

[space.dandy]

My oil filled radiator has a thermostat as I think most do, I leave it on all year if it’s below about 12° c it clicks on.
As I see it, the reason I put all that money into good insulation was to save money over the years on heating. The radiator uses very little power, I keep an eye on it and it’s not on all that often at all. Ian

Mine has a thermostat but it doesn’t work for my usage, which is why I use a smart plug so I can create a heating profile.

 

[Lons]

One that works? I’ve been using a cheap £30 (at the time) B&Q one to heat mine for over ten years now and it’s brilliant. It heats up quickly and does a good job of heating the space. I also have it on a smart plug that keeps it above 10C when I’m not working.

+1
I have 3 small oil filled heaters all cheapos one I bought and the others from MIL house clearance and all are pretty hot to the touch within 5 minutes, I just move them around close to where I'm working.

My experience of diesel heaters is limited though I have used one and found it very efficient at heating a large caravan but it was damned noisy even though installed in a sound deadening box. It was a decent brand and the reports of faults and overheating concerning very cheap Chiwanese copies would stop me buying one of those.