workshop heating options

[flanajb]

Now the winter has arrived I am finding working in my garage a little too nippy and was contemplating some form of heating. Originally I was thinking of putting a wood burner in, but before I do I just wonder what other forumites use and what are the pros / cons of each.

Thanks

 

[PeterSk]

I have a fan heater and have just bought another 3Kw unit from Argos as the original makes some odd noises at times. They are pretty good and very well suited to quickly heating a medium sized space such as a garage or smaller workshop. Plus they're very easily portable so you can position them according to where you are and what you're doing

 

[Bkn]

I'm looking to get some sort of heating for my single garage workshop. I'm fine in there at the moment but if it gets much colder it'll be uncomfortable.

Was thinking of just getting a £30 oil filled radiator jobby from Screwfix.

 

[Bkn]

I have a fan heater and have just bought another 3Kw unit from Argos as the original makes some odd noises at times. They are pretty good and very well suited to quickly heating a medium sized space such as a garage or smaller workshop. Plus they're very easily portable so you can position them according to where you are and what you're doing

I'd have thought anything with an exposed heating element wouldn't be a good idea in a dusty workshop?

 

[jeffinfrance]

at the moment, i'm heatless. bit nippy down here too in my north facing barn.

eventually i'll be going for a scrap burner, but untill i've filled in all the holes, when it gets really cold, i'll be dragging a convection heater around on wheels and a long lead. pointless to try to heat up anymore space than my immediate vicinity.

jeff

 

[flanajb]

Also concerned that a 3KW electric blower will be very expensive if left on all day ?

Just wondering which is the more economical out of gas / electric ?

 

[Gary]

I use one of these. Very good heats you and not the rest of the workshop.

 

[PeterSk]

I'd have thought anything with an exposed heating element wouldn't be a good idea in a dusty workshop?

I keep my shop pretty clean, plus you can always site it up on a shelf or something to keep it away from piles of debris on the floor if you're particularly concerned.

Also, the nature of the beast is such that if any fine dust is getting sucked in and hitting the element, the airflow is going to help it burn very fast, so you're not likely to actually have anything on fire actually getting expelled from the heater itself. Really though a little common sense would see it not being in a position to suck in any quantity of dust at all.

It may well be expensive to run it all day, however any method for heating my workshop is going to be expensive to run, as it's not exactly well insulated, and there's very little I can do about that. I use the full power mode for about the first 30 minutes that I'm working, then after that switch it down to half power

 

[danielddr]

I'm going to second the idea of an oil filled radiator.

I bought a real cheap one from Argos and connected it to one of those timer switches so that it comes on a few times during the day and night. So far it's on its lowest thermostat and power setting, but still seems to keep the shop (well it's more a shed!) from getting cold. I wouldn't call it 'toasty' when I go in there, but it's certainly not uncomfortable and I hope the warmth will protect my tools/glues/finishes etc from the worst of the cold and any possible dampness. Of course there is a (smallish) cost with heating a building that isn't being occupied, but then the tools and other bits that are in there weren't exactly cheap in the first place, so I reckon it makes sense to protect them.

Little fan heaters I think are fine if you're in the shop when they're on, but I don't think I'd leave one on unattended.

 

[Dodge]

IMHO alot of it depends upon the size of your workshop - Electric fan heaters are ok in small areas but for anything bigger than the size of a garage I would recommend a woodburner.

I used to have a sawdust burner but to be honest found that the low smouldering fire didnt give off enough heat to get my workshop (1500 square feet) up to a reasonable temperature quick enough.

After putting in a large woodburner from Machine Mart (About £300) and frommy workshop is up to t shirt standard in about an hour from a bucket of off cuts and just a few bit added now and then keep the workshop just right.

One thing you must not consider is any form of heating using bottled propane or butane - The amount of moisture put into the air burning the gas will cause havock with the humidity in your workshop and machines will start to rust let alone the problems you will get with timber movement.

Rog

 

[tisdai]

How about a couple of these, Hylite IP55 80W Tube Greenhouse Heater
http://www.greenhousepeople.co.uk/a...aters/hylite_ip55_80w_tube_greenhouse_heater/

Not that dear to run and no moisture from them. Might not get red hot in their but it will keep the chill off and prevent your tools from rusting.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Jonzjob]

When the temp really drops here I take my shorts off and put trousers on :roll: :roll:

Not really! It gets well below freezing, but for short periods only normally. When it does get cold I have a small fan heater and as has been said earlier as long as it's not in a silly place there isn't a problem.

 

[Shultzy]

Oil-filled heaters are the best bet for single garage size workshops. Mine has a frost setting at 5 deg and its never been on, just shows that good insulation is, well worth the investment. My workshop has never been lower than 9degs since I built it.

 

[PeterSk]

Certainly I wouldn't leave a fan heater on unattended, nor a convection heater come to that. I'll probably pick up an oil rad myself soon to keep the worst of January off the tools, but I've found that they don't heat a space very quickly which is where a fan heater or two really excels

 

[Ian]

I use this

Supplies some serious heat and I even cooked dinner in it

Ian

 

[Jonzjob]

OK, you cooked in it, BUT did you eat wot you cooked in it :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[Ian]

Oh yes, roast chicken with roasties

Yummy

:wink:

 

[eggflan]

I use this

It may not look pretty but it gets my workshop toasty warm , oh and it was free and is free to run 8)

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

I had a 1500w oil rad in mine recently. It did nothing in 3 days of being on. Space is 36x13' well insulated with only about 2 meters of one wall not having another room on the other side. In the office i had what Gary has 13x13'.

Now until i put in a scrap burner i have the same unit as Gary has in the workshop and the oil rad in the office. I keep the oil rad on its lowest setting with the stat turned pritty low and its warm in there all the time. Workshop heats up within about 2hours to where its T-Shirt fit with what Gary has.

I am quite worried about using this type in the workshop even more so as i can't leave it on when im not in there so until i get the scrap burner (late next year i reckon) i think ill get 2 bigger oil rads for the shop!

 

[Lons]

How about a couple of these, Hylite IP55 80W Tube Greenhouse Heater
http://www.greenhousepeople.co.uk/a...aters/hylite_ip55_80w_tube_greenhouse_heater/

Not that dear to run and no moisture from them. Might not get red hot in their but it will keep the chill off and prevent your tools from rusting.

Cheers

Dave

I had one of those in my last workshop, a long time ago, and it's surprising just how hot it got. Certainly too hot to touch.

BTW the the models available from Toolstation are more powerful and MUCH cheaper eg 600mm x 120wt = £16.65 / 915mm x 180wt = £20.46 and 1220 x 240wt = £25.31 and free del.

cheers

bob