I know it is a bad idea to have the furnace in the workshop, but how about a high efficiency furnace that brings in outside air; is that okay?
Out of the blue my wife noted that I don't have enough room, so she suggested swapping the workshop and the storage room; which would double my room. I want to accept before she realizes that half the stuff in the storage room will have no place to go. (I just put another circuit in the workshop last week, but it passes through the storage room, so shortening it will be no trouble.)
My oil burning boiler has always been in my shop, as it's also the basement. I blow out the air intakes when I remember and shut it off when I've got solvents and stains open. If I forget to clean the combustion intakes, my house smokes like a badly tuned locomotive.
I haven't exploded yet, but I figure the ungrounded PVC will set it off first.
If it is against the wall and you are worried about it, why not just build a little room around it. Then you have two more small walls to hang clamps or cabinets on.
I place the "furnace in the shop" up there with the "ungrounded PVC duct collection explosions"! I have a 80% furnace in my shop and I am still alive! One day I may really risk it all and put up some PVC dust collector duct! Greg
Nothing wrong with it all. I have an old low-effeciency unit in my shop and nary a problem. I don't open flammables unless the switch is off, and the shop is aired out well before turning it back on. Keep the filter clean and you'll be fine.
Likewise, I have one in my garage and I'll take it a step further. I spray paint cars in there. The open flame/explosion thing is not well understood in this group and a lot of extra precautions are taken that aren't really necessary. Comfortable for some, and that's good, but not essential. I put a lot more atomized material in the air than you will finishing woodworking projects on a regular basis, and from a lot more volatile products. I don't store my solvents on a shelf right next to the furnace, but the furnace is on while I paint in the colder months.
I do exhaust my garage while I'm painting though. Not with the type of fan I'd really like, but with a pretty good box fan stuck under the garage door and sealed around with plastic. It's a very effective exhaust but one day I'll put in something more effective and more permanent. I would suggest some sort of exhaust in a basement shop as well. Less for any explosion concerns as for health concerns. Some of this stuff can get to be pretty nasty. In my case I have to be able to see the car to paint it and it can get to be hard to see it in a short time. It would not take a lot of fan to exhaust a small basement workshop space and you'll be happy you did it.
For me the problem is that the furnace is in the way. It (and its oil tank) are by far the biggest obstacles in my workshop. I have a couple of small piles of wood stacked near it (only about a foot and a half high, folding sawhorses and leftovers), and I just leave a 6" gap. The furnace guy always complains when he comes to clean the furnace, but there's always lots of cool air to convect the heat away from the wood, and the furnace walls don't radiate enough to start a fire. The furnace is a space waster, especially in the summer.
If I were single I think I'd put the workshop in the dining room where the light's good, fireplace right there for the scraps. No more lugging long lumber down stairs, negotiating a 180 degree turn halfway. But I'm dreaming. It's still a lot of fun, even though I'm woodworking in the basement.
Be glad you have a basement! Stupid architects / home builders these days. Workshop's in the garage, car's in the driveway, ice scraper is seeing heavy usage these days.
My tank is about 8 feet from my bench, which is in a corner of the basement with no windows..
One afternoon, I was sitting at the bench dry fitting, totally in a zone. When the oil delivery guy opened the valve on the hose, I nearly castrated myself with a chisel. I thought something blew up when the oil started slamming into the tank!
Actually, Owen, you don't have to be single to put parts of the workshop in the dining room. Our table saw and miscellaneous other tools were in the dining room while I remodeled the kitchen. The basement does have its advantages, however.
One day, I was standing beside the saw while looking at the latest schedule from the community college. I commented, "At last, Clark has a home repair class, I'll think I'll take it." My middle son said, "Mom! Dad should take the class, and you should teach it." He was 11 or 12 at the time (the son) and didn't fully understand that I only knew some things, not nearly as many as one needs to know as basics. It would be impossible to count the number of times I wish my grandfather had lived another 20 years to show me stuff. (Of course, that's not the only reason!) I had no interest in much of this while he was living and could have done such things as show me simple tool care, how to sharpen tools, etc.; you know, the stuff that can't be taught by books but best by someone who learned the good ol' way. I'm so looking forward to reading this group often and learn so much that is lacking for things I've done in the past and for future projects. I need to re-learn what I've forgotten and learn lots of new stuff. My end goal is to make a cedar chest for my youngest granddaughter. It must be heirloom quality. I gave my oldest granddaughter my beautiful Lane cedar chest that was a high school graduation gift to me so one I make myself is the only thing that can come close to the personal aspect of that. When getting to that point, I'll need to decide whether to put a veneer on it as the Lane has or just leave the cedar natural. (The Lane is solid cedar with white veneer, so beautiful, don't make them like that anymore.)
We recently had to have some furnace work done in our new house. In chatting with the guy who came, I mentioned I wanted to set up a wood shop in the basement near the furnace. He said it is really important to have fresh air for the intakes and mentioned there are some models of burners that allow ducted intake air, which I guess is what you have. He said with using such intakes should be fine. He also gave a couple stories of woodworking customers who thought it didn't matter. His stock answer to them is "see you in 6 months" which is about how long he says an oil furnace burner will last in a sawdusty environment.
-Brett.
PS: btw, this is my first visit to r.w.. Hello to the group!
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