Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mark Bliss on December 29, 2010 at 7:52pm

Well, funny this came up.

I use a woodstove for supplimental heat in my home, have for years.

Problem #1 is that the labor to gather, process, stack, bring inside, clean up after, etc etc is wearing me down year in and year out, so I hear ya on the not wanting to get into that. On the positive side it has saved me many thousands of dollars in heating fuel over the years. I keep saying every season I might swap out for another source, but then I get an offer on a truck load of oak or something and pull out the chainsaw and splitter and get to work..... I am sitting on about 6 cords of seasoned red, white and hickory oak for the remainder of this heating season, then we will see!

Problem #2 is that it doesnt heat the extremities of the house well, especially the lower floors as heat has a funny way of wanting to travel up.......

So I have used some forms of occasional supplemental heat for the supplimental heater if you know what I mean. One option I have liked is those electric radiators that are oil filled. Set on low they will take the edge off a cold space, but they warm up slowly and as all electric heaters do, spin the meter pretty good, but less than the basic electric grid heater. Life is full of comprimises. I also installed combination vent fan/electric heaters in the bathrooms for a quick warm-up there.

Getting back to the shop heat ideas, I recently picked up one of those tower style electric heaters that oscillate, and its really nice for a quick warm up. It will raise the air temp to a comfortable level in a modest space in just a few minutes. But as pointed out, that doesnt help with the cold masses of various equipment and concrete floors, that takes time.

One thing not mentioned. If you work with fine woods, you want to maintain certain conditions of temp and humidity for both storage and working, and minimize sudden changes. One thing to consider, you dont want to create some detailed piece of art only to have it dry out, shrink and check/crack later when exposed to different environments. Most luthiers and precision cabinet makers or woodworkers keep their shop and storage relatively cool and humidity low for these reasons.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Peter Cline on December 31, 2010 at 9:54am

+1 for kerosene heater(s)

I had this same question about a month ago. I have a brewery in my basement and no heat. With three exposed walls it gets cold-- too cold to spend 5 hours at a time. I opted for two 11,000 BTU units so I could use one or both as needed. The other option is a 23,000 BTU unit but turning it on-and-off is more trouble than it's worth. They're 99% efficient but only when used at the highest setting.

Check out this web site for more information on the heaters. I put an add on craigslist for used heaters and had people emailing every day-- ended up paying $50 for two. They're built to last for years and are made to be taken apart for cleaning and wick replacment so no worries buying used. New wicks run ~$10. They'll run for 10-12 hours on 1 gallon of fuel ($3). I considered all of the options carefully and could not be happier with the Kerosene heaters.

 

11K BTU unit will heat ~500 square feet. 23K BTU will heat 900-1000...

 

Hope this helps!

PC

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ted Kaczynski on December 31, 2010 at 11:12am

big fat woman ck out them waste oil heaters

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by ProfWaldo on January 1, 2011 at 4:19am

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'. ;-)

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw on January 1, 2011 at 1:34pm

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.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Uncle John on January 2, 2011 at 3:06am

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. 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on January 3, 2011 at 8:35am

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

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by John Zant on January 4, 2011 at 2:20am

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.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mungo Park on January 4, 2011 at 12:57pm

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

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Chris Tinker on January 5, 2011 at 1:52am

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.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Glaze on January 11, 2011 at 7:32am

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...  

 

 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Outhouse Instruments on January 11, 2011 at 8:31am

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...  

 

 

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page