I am retired and decided to take up woodworking for a hobby. I plan to use an oversized 2 car garage, insulated for my shop. Since I live in Maine I need to heat the shop. What's the best way to safely heat a small workshop? I am concerned about both fire and ventilation.
TIA
George in Maine snipped-for-privacy@ctel.net
Direct vent gas wall mounted heater.
George J. Dekelbaum wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
I just put in a 50,000 BTU Modine natural gas unit that hangs from the ceiling. Currently, my detached 2.5 car garage is uninsulated. I don't get to spend much time out there, so I suspect that insulating it would cost more than the increased gas bill (not to mention the trouble to do it now). The only thing I would be concerned about with this unit would be if I was spraying finish (which I don't plan to do).
todd
Talk to your local Propane dealer, a direct vent, wall mount propane heater is "cheap" to install and is safe for the woodshop.
George:
This season I decided to get rid of my two kerosene heaters and air circulation fans and replaced them with a propane fired Modine 45K BTU Hot Dawg.overhead heater. I installed it myself and am using a thermostat with it. I am very happy with the installation. Total costs was approximately $500 plus a new 120 gal propane tank which I rent for $10/yr. If you can afford it, go this route. The propane people did a complete system check before we turned it on and they confirmed that my installation was per code.
I think it is hog wash about the overly cautious sometimes anal remarks about fumes, explosions, etc. You would have to have an extremely heavy concentration of fumes probably to the point where you overcame your self before you would blow anything up. In this heater, the external fan comes on first, then the pre-ignition fan comes on and finally the unit ignites. By that time, a lot of air has been circulated. The heating element is completely contained also. I have done a lot of finishing with my kerosene heaters running and the door slightly ajar for fresh air before and those had direct flames which were quite significant and I am still here to talk about it. I also run an overhead Jet air cleaner most of the time when generating dust along with a Penn State dust collector attached to my power tools. I am cautious but not paranoid about this subject.
I live in Northern Indiana and have a 2 1/2 car insulated garage for my work shop. I go out and turn the thermostat on and come back in 10-15 minutes and my shop is very comfortable by then. I think the key to keeping my shop warm this winter is to not allow the concrete slab floor to get too cool down to far, so when it gets real cold, I may leave the system on and set the thermostat to the minimum.
Mike
I just asked the same question about three weeks ago. I decided on a propane heater. I purchased it from The Heater Shop.
I got an adjustable 30K-80K convection heater. Model 80-VCA. It uses a standard 20# propane tank. It obviously can be used with a larger one too. I have used a few times thus far, and it works perfectly. It heated my small shop (12x14) from 41 F to 71 F in 12 minutes. Granted, I had it wide open. Then I reduced the heat to keep the air at a constant temp. The propane fumes are not bad at all. I crack a window to get fresh air. It burns very clean. Some people talk about moisture problems with propane heaters but the relative humidity in my shop during the summer is much worse than any heater could produce. So I wasn't too concerned.
The link to the heater is :
So L> I am retired and decided to take up woodworking for a hobby. I plan to
That looks good. I have a 30k Btu Reddy Heater. It does the job, but it also has a fan. Advantage: It directs the heat right to me Disadvantage: It makes noise
If I'd has seen this first, I'd have bought it. Price about the same. Ed
we have a similar one in our greenhouse (small) but with a thermostat, no electric needed and it keeps the greenhouse perfect all winter.
BRuce
Brad Heid> I just asked the same question about three weeks ago. I decided on a
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