Certainly - but the best insulation in the world will only ensure an ice box stays an ice box.
SEnsible / safe heating for workshop (aka the garage)
- Thread starter HomeyJay
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user22161
Established Member
I find a 1kw fan heater for about half an hour every now and then brings my 14 x 17ft brick garage/workshop up to reasonable working temperature but I never leave it unattended for more than a few minutes. No condensation problems.
I use a lidle heated fan. I just use it to raise the temps to bearable. I work ourtdoors so its all a plus. If its cold out and i have left the fan on too long to warm the shed too much i leave the door open to equalise the temps of int/ ext a bit when I go in for the night.
That way I dont really get condenstaion issues on cast and steel tools. If im gluing summat up i bring it indoors when its cold overnight in the winter.
I have worked outside my entire life. If you are cold even in an unheated shed where you are out the wind and rain with no health problems you dont understand layering of clothes yet. Sorry if i sound rude. Get thermals. Wear them. Strip off outer layers till comfy for the level of exertion of energy.
No such thing as the wrong weather just the wrong clothes.
That way I dont really get condenstaion issues on cast and steel tools. If im gluing summat up i bring it indoors when its cold overnight in the winter.
I have worked outside my entire life. If you are cold even in an unheated shed where you are out the wind and rain with no health problems you dont understand layering of clothes yet. Sorry if i sound rude. Get thermals. Wear them. Strip off outer layers till comfy for the level of exertion of energy.
No such thing as the wrong weather just the wrong clothes.
Trevanion
Greatest Of All Time
Bm101":3cnev2fg said:
That's why I prefer wearing nothing, can't go wrong.
fezman
Established Member
Sometimes if it gets really cold (i.e. below freezing) i put a jumper on.
On a serious note ;-) , i use a 2kw fan heater for when i am in the garage (single skin brick, poxy steel door) - usually gets the temp up to 10-15 degrees which is warm enough for me. Only problem i have is with gluing up and finishes. Osmo takes quite a while when it drops cooler.
I'd love to insulate it, the walls won't be a problem, but the roof is open and it will be a ball ache to enclose it all - maybe one day.
On a serious note ;-) , i use a 2kw fan heater for when i am in the garage (single skin brick, poxy steel door) - usually gets the temp up to 10-15 degrees which is warm enough for me. Only problem i have is with gluing up and finishes. Osmo takes quite a while when it drops cooler.
I'd love to insulate it, the walls won't be a problem, but the roof is open and it will be a ball ache to enclose it all - maybe one day.
woodbloke66
Established Member
Absolutely. In a 'shop without insulation, the heat from an oil filled rad will make hardly any difference; it'll just leak away through the walls and roof space but if it's on all the time in via an electronic thermostat in a fully insulated 'shop, the inside temp will gradually increase.sunnybob":3n7ztipx said:
For my money, an oil filled rad is the safest way to heat a 'shop and they can also be placed adjacent to an outside wall so they take up next to no room - Rob
Steve_Scott
Established Member
I’m in the process of making my garage more habitable; just pulled in power and in the process of fitting a new door that isn’t rotting but already thinking I need to change the cement (probably asbestos) roof that seems to have a condensation problem so toying with a total reroof and insulate and line the walls. Anyway, I plan on using my portable ac unit in reverse to heat the place up a tad. 1kw is not always 1kw!
Mine is just a standard UK garage - breezeblock walls and FA insulation in the roof. What makes mine more exciting is that I have a manual roller shutter that sometimes doesn’t like opening from the inside. On those occasions, the stream of swear words coming from myself is usually enough to raise the temperature significantly..
Robbo3
Established Member
I have a wood burner in my concrete sectional garage which is used as a workshop, mainly for wood turning. The joints are unsealed & the wind whistles through them on occasion. Even so there are days when the door has to be left open to remove some heat.
The first burner was a modified gas cylinder with a temporary flue routed through a window. Replaced with a proper 5.5kw burner (cost about £120 IIRC), sized to fit a gap rather than the thermal output.
Roof is twinwall polycarbonate & the flue goes through via a commercial high temperature gasket.
I was worried about the fire risk so I tried to get dust & shavings to catch alight but never succeeded. They just turn to black sooty bits. I'm still wary & keep a careful watch on the stuff that lands on the fire & make sure they are cleaned off before leaving the workshop for any length of time.
To my mind the greater risk is accidentally sweeping hot embers into the dust pile under the lathe & not realising they are there.
Hardwood seasoned logs cost me £75 a cubic metre & in a bad winter, having a fire every day, I would use approximately 2 CM.
Actual usage is less because of all the offcuts are saved & burnt as well as the odd pallet. Sawdust & shavings are rammed into empty cardboard boxes & used as well (thanks Phil for the tip).
The first burner was a modified gas cylinder with a temporary flue routed through a window. Replaced with a proper 5.5kw burner (cost about £120 IIRC), sized to fit a gap rather than the thermal output.
Roof is twinwall polycarbonate & the flue goes through via a commercial high temperature gasket.
I was worried about the fire risk so I tried to get dust & shavings to catch alight but never succeeded. They just turn to black sooty bits. I'm still wary & keep a careful watch on the stuff that lands on the fire & make sure they are cleaned off before leaving the workshop for any length of time.
To my mind the greater risk is accidentally sweeping hot embers into the dust pile under the lathe & not realising they are there.
Hardwood seasoned logs cost me £75 a cubic metre & in a bad winter, having a fire every day, I would use approximately 2 CM.
Actual usage is less because of all the offcuts are saved & burnt as well as the odd pallet. Sawdust & shavings are rammed into empty cardboard boxes & used as well (thanks Phil for the tip).
Ttrees
Iroko loco!
Here's my 2cents from a tenants perspective, who would be worried about hiking the rent up by doing even more work on the place.
I would be very interested if anyone here has any advice about a solution for a tenant.
Something that might work halfright, like some sort of truck tarp or similar, bungee corded a foot or whatever distance down from the rafters of a tiled garage roof.
A load of rockwool wouldn't be very practical to transport for instance.
Guessing this is a pointless endeavor
Just asking
I have all the long heavy timbers laminated for my bench literally just in time.
I have to process and laminate smaller/shorter timbers for the rest of it which takes ages with reclaimed stuff,
and will probably have to store bits in the house for a day or two first before laminating again,
The system will be a wee bit more involved than what I was doing beforehand.
I was getting readings on the Lidl infrared thermometer up to about 18 degrees under a blanket about a fortnight ago.
The temperature was averaging just under 9 or 10 degrees in the workshop at the time.
I suspect (to be on the safe side) that the laser thermometer gun is reading about 3 degrees higher than it should be (no calibration on the one I have)
I think I'll do the same again, but next time I will box in any areas with ply sides and stick it on a pallet.
I will try and find some plastic to cover over any gaps in the blanket also, some old jackets might help aswell.
One oil heater seems fine, I was going to bring out a second from the house and alternate, It might work better in the tent,
When turned off I found it lost its thermal mass quickly when exposed to cold air, so would be no good using in an alternating fashion so far.
I also bought one of those seemingly dangerous turning halogen heaters for a song, rated 1200w
and tried it in the house first.
It was only about a third as good as the 2000W oil radiator, it didn't seem to direct heat into the walls/couches and the room was noticeably colder after you turned it off a half hour previously.
Long clamps are handy for the job
I hope this system will work by the time I have more glue ups to do,
I will be trying to get the temperature up to a similar heat before I dare try to laminate again.
Interested if anyone has any input on a temporary insulation system
Thanks folks
I would be very interested if anyone here has any advice about a solution for a tenant.
Something that might work halfright, like some sort of truck tarp or similar, bungee corded a foot or whatever distance down from the rafters of a tiled garage roof.
A load of rockwool wouldn't be very practical to transport for instance.
Guessing this is a pointless endeavor
Just asking
I have all the long heavy timbers laminated for my bench literally just in time.
I have to process and laminate smaller/shorter timbers for the rest of it which takes ages with reclaimed stuff,
and will probably have to store bits in the house for a day or two first before laminating again,
The system will be a wee bit more involved than what I was doing beforehand.
I was getting readings on the Lidl infrared thermometer up to about 18 degrees under a blanket about a fortnight ago.
The temperature was averaging just under 9 or 10 degrees in the workshop at the time.
I suspect (to be on the safe side) that the laser thermometer gun is reading about 3 degrees higher than it should be (no calibration on the one I have)
I think I'll do the same again, but next time I will box in any areas with ply sides and stick it on a pallet.
I will try and find some plastic to cover over any gaps in the blanket also, some old jackets might help aswell.
One oil heater seems fine, I was going to bring out a second from the house and alternate, It might work better in the tent,
When turned off I found it lost its thermal mass quickly when exposed to cold air, so would be no good using in an alternating fashion so far.
I also bought one of those seemingly dangerous turning halogen heaters for a song, rated 1200w
and tried it in the house first.
It was only about a third as good as the 2000W oil radiator, it didn't seem to direct heat into the walls/couches and the room was noticeably colder after you turned it off a half hour previously.
Long clamps are handy for the job
I hope this system will work by the time I have more glue ups to do,
I will be trying to get the temperature up to a similar heat before I dare try to laminate again.
Interested if anyone has any input on a temporary insulation system
Thanks folks
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Look at the Trotec TDS 20 fan heater if you decide on that route.
They have a very open design with a heating element that I think will tolerate a bit of dust in the atmosphere.
I've just jumped that way ready for winter after seeing how well a 3phase 15kW version of the same thing works.
Shop around - it was a lot cheaper to get this model sent direct from Trotec in Germany than to buy through any of the UK resellers.
They have a very open design with a heating element that I think will tolerate a bit of dust in the atmosphere.
I've just jumped that way ready for winter after seeing how well a 3phase 15kW version of the same thing works.
Shop around - it was a lot cheaper to get this model sent direct from Trotec in Germany than to buy through any of the UK resellers.
Attachments
I have a 16 x 8 shed workshop, 25 mm thick wood walls, not otherwise insulated. I use a 2 kW oil-filled radiator and find this fine, especially if I put it on half an hour or so before I go out there.
I also regard any type of fan heater or radiant electric heater as dangerous in the presence of sawdust.
I also regard any type of fan heater or radiant electric heater as dangerous in the presence of sawdust.
Mrs C
Established Member
HomeyJay":3a691mb5 said:
This is what I use after the recommendation from a similar thread a couple of years ago. I tend too only use it for the first 5 or 10 minutes as my tiny space heats up quickly, but also it gives me a headache if I have it on for too long. It is quite high up, so no issues with Saw dust.
Interesting thread as I’m looking at this at the moment too.
I’m considering adding some of these panels to mine. They work by heating things rather than air, don’t have any glowing elements, and seem to use little electricity. Mounting them overhead where I’ll be working keeps them out of the way too.
https://www.infraredcompany.com/collect ... 2695753817
If anyone has tried them I’d be interested to hear any feedback
I’m considering adding some of these panels to mine. They work by heating things rather than air, don’t have any glowing elements, and seem to use little electricity. Mounting them overhead where I’ll be working keeps them out of the way too.
https://www.infraredcompany.com/collect ... 2695753817
If anyone has tried them I’d be interested to hear any feedback
user22161
Established Member
Unless you have a high ceiling, I don't think you will want to be standing under one for very long. In my case, it would be 2'5" above my head.
What about the idea of using a wood burning stove? We have one in the house that has a sealed glass door and a chimney and surely that would be ok as it’s not an open file and the gases are vented outside. We could add a vent / chimney quite easily. I have to leave the roller shutter garage door partly open anyway so would this be a viable solution?
I had one in a 20' square workshop. It was great when it was really cold, and all the shavings, dust and rubbish went in it. It did however cause condensation that didn't exist when the place wasn't heated.
One thing to realise if you go down that route is that the practicallity is that much depends on how long you're there for - there is nothing immediate about them. At least you can put electric heaters on a timer. I rarely spent more than an hour there, and the temperature was invariably perfect just as I locked up. My little heater now stops me getting too cold rather than attempting to heat the whole place, but needs to be on for a lot longer if I'm gluing up or polishing.
One thing to realise if you go down that route is that the practicallity is that much depends on how long you're there for - there is nothing immediate about them. At least you can put electric heaters on a timer. I rarely spent more than an hour there, and the temperature was invariably perfect just as I locked up. My little heater now stops me getting too cold rather than attempting to heat the whole place, but needs to be on for a lot longer if I'm gluing up or polishing.
Deadeye
Established Member
One of my first posts on here, about a year ago, was his to make my garage less Baltic.
I ended up putting only on the ceiling and celotex between the rafters. I got those brush strips to reduce draughts round the door (top as well). And I put a 1u filter on the dust extractor/cyclone setup so it didn't vent outside any more (and pull all the air out).
It's made a big difference. I haven't noticed any condensation problems but that might be because it's still somewhat draughty.
I wear plenty of clothes. My hands are the only issue and I use a fan heater occasionally while I'm in there.
I ended up putting only on the ceiling and celotex between the rafters. I got those brush strips to reduce draughts round the door (top as well). And I put a 1u filter on the dust extractor/cyclone setup so it didn't vent outside any more (and pull all the air out).
It's made a big difference. I haven't noticed any condensation problems but that might be because it's still somewhat draughty.
I wear plenty of clothes. My hands are the only issue and I use a fan heater occasionally while I'm in there.
