Space Heater for Wood Shop

[George Bokros]

The temp in my basement shop is 64 degrees, it is comfortable for working since I am moving around. I am thinking that since I have to do my finishing in that same space and ideal drying temperature is mid 70's perhaps a space heater would be a good addition.

I am concerned about the combustibility of the saw dust that is generated. My thinking is that an oil filled or infrared may be a safe type of heater.

Thoughts?

Thanks

[John Schweikert]

I've been using a Lasko ceramic heater in my insulated bow roof shed/workshop for several years. Safe and no issues.

[Pat Barry]

I have been using a Holmes quartz tube infrared tube heater with a fan inside for several years in my shop. Its 110V, easy to put where i need it and it does a great job of taking the chill out of the air. It stopped working this year so I took it apart and it was full of sawdust. The saw dust, very fine like flour, was everywhere inside and it got into the internal temperature switch and caused it to not close and therefore not work. Anyway, message is, be sure to vacuum out the sawdust from these types of heaters because it can accumulate and who knows what can go wrong. I'm happy it failed the way it did and not by starting a fire.

[scott vroom]

I'd stay away from any heater that has a red hot filament...seems to be asking for trouble. On the coldest of days I've used an oil filled DeLonghi in my shop. Much safer in that environment IMO.

[Mark Bolton]

You wont have any combustibility issues with regards to sawdust if your talking in terms of an explosion. The concentration of sawdust in the air would be so high that you wouldnt be able to breathe or function in there without a respirator and goggles. But the open flame thing with finishes is a bit of an issue not for combustion but just because it seems the vapors from many finishes (even waterborne) seem to settle on heaters/elements and then when they kick on they can be a bit noxious for several hours or even days. Its common around here for people to have unvented wall heaters in their homes for heat or supplemental heat and it happens all the time that you go in and do some painting, or stain and finish some trim, and the instant that heater comes on there is the tell tale stink.

I burn a woodstove in my shop constantly. You can get much more open flame than that.

[Kevin Bourque]

IMO any heater with a blower on it is a plus.

[Henri Monnier]

I have a 400kbtu propane heater in my shop. It has a 12" (about) fan that comes on after it gets fired up. Does a great job in the shop. Every now and then I blow off the heat exchanger tubes. Have had no issues with fumes. I did put a thermostat on it, and when I'm in the shop I set it to 60, and it takes about 35-40 minutes (depending upon outside temp) to get the temp up. Could not be happier with the setup... Got it thru amazon.... I do have a good dust pickup system, so air-born sawdust is at a minimum.
Henri

[Lewis Justis]

I have an oil-filled radiator in my basement shop. The lowest setting will keep the shop at 66-67 and can warm it up to uncomfortably warm if I want. Safe, quiet, and economical for my 500 square foot space.

[Dennis Aspö]

I have a 5kw space heater, the elements glow red hot on full blast, it's a 3ph driven heater. I use it sparingly, a bit afraid of the fire risk but I don't run it red hot. As long as I am a few degrees above freezing temp I am comfortable.

[Jim Andrew]

I'd be more concerned with fumes from finishes more than sawdust. Especially if you should spray a oil based finish. When I worked in a cabinet shop, they had overhead gas heaters, and we would take an air hose, and blow an amazing amount of fine dust out of the heaters, and I was amazed that there was no problem with fire in those heaters. The directions on the old adhesive cans for laminate was to shut off the pilot lights on all heaters, water heaters etc., so that stuff CAN flash.

[scott vroom]

My concern would be mistakingly leaving the heater on all night and risking a fire from accumulated dust....particularly in colder climates where the heater could run on high over a long period o'nite.

[Mark Bolton]

Its not a blanket statement by any means and surely not one that would set an insurance agent/adjuster at ease, but sawdust, or in the case of this thread "dust", is not easily combustible. The combustion threshold is way beyond any point where a human could be obliviously working. You would be choking and struggling to catch a breath in an environment with enough airborne dust to cause a problem.

[Justin Ludwig]

Shop was 8F this morning. 40x80x16. 30 minutes with a 150k BTU propane and it was a toasty 35F (I use a box fan to circulate the air). We worked all day in it. My helper usually wears shorts, but actually had on pants today. Go figure.

To answer your question: unless you're letting saw dust build up around the heater/element, you shouldn't have a problem. Don't run a space heater if you're not in the shop.

[Jim Matthews]

http://www.infraredinfo.com/Article_1.html

I would consider 64 degrees adequate for applying
most finishes but don't recommend doing it indoors.

Some of today's finishes really stink as they cure,
and that smell can linger for months.

[George Bokros]

[QUOTE=Jim Matthews;Some of today's finishes really stink as they cure,
and that smell can linger for months.[/QUOTE]

I have been applying solvent based poly, brush on and wipe on in my basement shop, with no smell issues at all.

[Butch Spears]

Not to Hi Jack the thread. But to the concerns of heat and finishes. Sawdust is no concern I have a 3 burner propane heater that mounts to the top of a 5 gal tank. 1 or 2 burners keep my 3 car garage/shop toasty. I never use finishes when the heat is on. Still have concerns about leakage of finishes vapor or leakage of propane from tank or burner. I usually raise GD a few inches and never leave heat on when I am not in shop. any thoughts ? Great question OP

[Timothy Shouldice]

I use a 240V, 30 amp electric heater I bought from Lowes to heat up my attached, insulated garage. It has a nice red glowing coil and a fan that blows. I have zero concern that dust presents any fire hazard at all. I grew up with electric heaters in cottages and ski chalets that didn't get used for 9 months and when we first turned them on you could always smell the dust burning off. However there was never any threat of a fire. In my shop the heater is used every couple of days so any dust settling on the unit is too minimal to consider. In terms of an explosion due to airborne dust, well I read a lot of dust explosions in dust collectors and read multiple conclusions that a spark in a flow of a plastic pipe simply couldn't produce an explosion that I have zero concern about this happening in the open in my shop. I have quite decent dust collection and my shop is never a haze of dust.

In terms of solvent finishes, that would be different. I keep my finishing simple, mostly Arm-r-seal and I do it in the basement of the house instead of the garage. I don't find any issue with fumes and it allows me to finish a project inside while still being able to use the shop.

[Mike Wilkins]

I would not trust an open flame-type heater for a woodworking shop, due to the possibility of dust or finish fumes igniting. There are sealed-unit gas heaters on the market, similar to the direct-vent heaters used in many homes. If you want to go all electric, here is what I have been doing for several years; I keep an oil-filled radiator looking unit plugged in all the time, and when I go into the shop to work, I turn on a ceiling-mounted electric heater which is thermostat controlled. The small space heater keeps the edge off the interior, and the ceiling-mounted 240 volt heater does not have to work as hard.
This summer I plan to close in the ceiling/attic, adding insulation, which should make for a cozy interior next winter.

[Bill White]

Oil filled radiator here too. No fuss, no flame, no blower. Inexpensive to buy. I have two. Mostly use just one, but they've been on the job now for about 5 years.
Bill

[David Ragan]

I had propane/LP gas heater forever. Even "quiet type" Too loud, and a hassle
now, i got a 220v heater from Northern Tool and love it. Supposed to be mounted to ceiling, i have it on floor-cabinet stays cool, cycles by itself, is totally quiet, has internal fan that circulates air really well.
Have had combo A/C heater also. This is best for me

[Todd Hyman]

I use an oil-filled heater where you can adjust the heat from 600w, 900w and 1500w and it has a thermostat on it as well.

[Wayne Jolly]

My shop is my 3-car garage. I don't have heat in it, but I would like to have a little for winter. I am in northern California east bay, so temps rarely get below freezing. In the attached garage the temp doesn't get much below about 45 or so. But since I hands get too cold at that, I too am looking into heat for the winter. Due to building codes, I cannot put anything that burns a fuel in there, and that includes propane heaters and wood stoves too, because I have no place to put an exhaust vent. I can't even put in a tankless water heater due to venting problems but that is another story. That just about leaves electric so I am looking around for a 220V model. But after all that, If I could put in a wood stove I would. I am thinking that if the water heater or house furnace haven't blown the place up by now I should be good. :-)

Wayne

P.S. And due to codes, I cannot piggyback anything onto the water heater/furnace exhaust either. They use a single galvanized 3" pipe that goes up through one of the bedroom walls. Commie Pinko sunsa . . . uh . . . guns.

[Jim Becker]

I use infrared/radiant currently...it does the job, but you have to remember that it warms "things", not the air directly.

[Myk Rian]

I use one of these, rated at 17,500btu. There are smaller ones.

303885

[Warren Wilson]

Mark:

In northern British Columbia in the last three years we have had two sawmills explode with loss of life due to airborn sawdust. They've been blaming it on the bug-killed pine and/or spruce producing a fine dry dust. I don't know the full details, but it appears sawdust can be a significant explosion hazard.

[Charles Lent]

Mark:

In northern British Columbia in the last three years we have had two sawmills explode with loss of life due to airborn sawdust. They've been blaming it on the bug-killed pine and/or spruce producing a fine dry dust. I don't know the full details, but it appears sawdust can be a significant explosion hazard.


But only when mixed with the air in the right proportions for the size of the wood dust. Then you need a spark or overheated something in this air to ignite it. The dust in your workshop air isn't of significant proportion to the air for it to be "explosive" or you would be having trouble breathing in it. The sawdust lying on surfaces of benches and machinery isn't explosive because there isn't enough air surrounding each particle for it to be explosive. It will burn if ignited by a flame, but it won't explode. Heaters that glow red can be a hazard if not kept clean of sawdust, especially the very fine sanding sawdust. I have a heat pump in my shop for both heating and cooling. It also doubles as an air filter and dehumidifier. But I'm in North Carolina, and many of you live North of me where heat pumps aren't efficient enough to be used for heating. My best suggestion is for you to choose an outside vented gas or petroleum heater that draws it's combustion air from the outside and keep it clean.

Charley

[Scott Vigder]

Since I am trudging along in my garage-annex at 42F....I am envious of your near tropical starting point. I use infrared, but as Jim has mentioned it just heats "things" and not the entire room. If I leave mine on for three hours it will boost room temp to about 49-50F, and that's fine for making sawdust. When applying finishes or gluing, I augment with a radiant-oil heater that looks like an old fashioned radiator. No possibility of igniting.

[George Bokros]

Scott,

Do you leave the oil-filled heater running after finishing and you are no longer in the shop?

Thanks

[Dennis Aspö]

I'm planning to build a simple solar catcher and mounting it on a south facing wall, even in finland such a device can help heat the shop, some people get so much use out of their they spend less than 20 dollars per winter in heating costs they say. A small computer fan or similar is used to circulate the air.

[Mark Blatter]

Three years ago I put one of these in my garage. I installed it in Feb and it worked fine for the rest of the winter. When it got cold the next winter, I kicked it on and nothing but blowing air. It was at the 10 month point so I called the company and they replaced it no issues at all. The new one ran about two weeks and stopped working, so they replaced it again. That one has been running with no issues for two more winters. It keeps my garage at about 55 degrees and costs about $20 per month. It runs on 220 and is actually pretty small. Just sits in an upper corner, so it is completely out of the way. Has a thermostat so is completely hands free.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91b3Xb50CQL._SL1500_.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/NewAir-G73-Electric-Garage-Heater/dp/B000TK2SWO/ref=sr_1_12?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1420956060&sr=1-12&keywords=electric+heater

[Lee Schierer]

I know that most finishes recommend a certain temperature to achieve the drying times written on the container. However, most finishes will cure at much lower temperatures just fine. I have personally used brushing lacquer in an unheated building in northwestern Pennsylvania when the temperature has be less than 10 degrees F. It does take 24 hours for it to dry at that temperature, but it did cure just fine. I even wrote to the manufacturer and they concurred that it was acceptable to apply the finish at lower temps as long as I could allow longer cure times.

I wouldn't try water based finish below maybe 50 but at the temperature you have in your shop it should work just fine without any heater.

When i doubt, try it on a piece of scrap and see how it turns out.

[Ron Kurzius]

There was a small time body shop down the street that had been open for 30 years using a small wood stove in the paint room. The insurance guy told me about it, stopped in trying to get some new business.

He walked out shaking his head but the place is still there.

[Erich Larson]

Last year I put a mini-split heat pump in my garage and did some insulating. A bit more spendy than just a radiative heater but it keeps the garage cool in the heat of summer too, and there is no worry about fire etc.

[Charles Lent]

I'm planning to build a simple solar catcher and mounting it on a south facing wall, even in finland such a device can help heat the shop, some people get so much use out of their they spend less than 20 dollars per winter in heating costs they say. A small computer fan or similar is used to circulate the air.

You might want to do a search on "Desoto Solar". Moris Dovey, the owner, has developed some solar heating panels that install in South facing walls, and they are fully passive. They do not require fans to circulate the air and they do not work in reverse at night like some of the other similar units do.

Charley