Heating for workshop

[RichD1]

Having now virtually completed my timber framed 5M x 3M workshop I'm now thinking about suitable heating. The floors and walls has 70mm and the roof 100mm celotex insulation and the doors and windows are uPVC double glazed.

I'm hoping with the amount of insulation it will be a matter of some fast form of heat and then some form of background lower level heat to keep it ticking over whilst working.

Have looked at LPG turbo heaters, but how long will a 11kg propane bottle last? Also does gas produce too much moisture and potential condensation?

What other options are there for reasonably economical heating solutions?

Richard

 

[scbk]

Unless you have mains gas I think electric heating would be the cheapest option.
Will you be in the workshop all day every day or just an hour or two every now and again?

 

[big-all]

lpg = large amounts off moisture
if you have much steel or iron it could be detrimental
a 2-3kw electric heater will be fairly good
a wood burner will be great from the satisfaction point off veiw but is an expensive time consuming life style choice but i love mines
it takes about an hour every other day when it below freezing on average over the day to bring the shed up to around 25 degrees on the wood burner
the same result can be acheived by a 2-3kw fan heater for around 40 mins at a cost off 30-40p
all you have to decide is are you that bothered and is an hour off your life worth 40p

in general i wont light my stove to work in my workshop as it takes about an hour to get up to a good heat plus constant tending where as an electric fire will take about 40p initially 20p an hour so better value but off course less satisfying

 

[pinenot]

Tube heaters would suit your purpose...pinenot

 

[RichD1]

How it will be used is not clear at the moment but certainly not every day and all day. I think it's likely to be projected based which will be a few days to a weeks intense activity and then a break for a few days or weeks even.

Electricity does seem the best way forward. Screwfix do a well recommended 3kW turbo fan heater. Any other recommendations?

You've mentioned tube heaters. How many and what wattage do you think I would need to maintain a reasonable temperature?

Richard

 

[big-all]

3kw fan is great for bringing up to temperature quick and aiming the heat where needed

i have a fan heater from argos its 2.7kw years old with a 3degree frost setting
you need to work out your power requirement at the shed and work out the volt loss along the run

i run my workshop exactly the way you do as and when

it is now insulated

http://s21.photobucket.com/user/bigall2005/media/e1e47346.pbw.html

 

[pinenot]

Tube heaters are for back ground heat only but assuming you have good air tightness and insulation two 8' 320W should be about right....pinenot

 

[big-all]

Tube heaters are for back ground heat only but assuming you have good air tightness and insulation two 8' 320W should be about right....pinenot

never used one but the thing i like about them is compared to a fan heater that has the ability to easily catch fire if they fail un attended
a tube heater tend to be more robust and better protected with the normal heat signature probably 10-20% off the element on a fan heater

but off course a say 700w heater would do little more than say raise the temperature to say +5 degrees on a -10 degree day
the actual results off course depends the heat loss off the building

i am thinking off going for a tube heater with a thermostat and aiming for around 5 degrees overnight and turning it on on days where the average will be around freezing night and day

 

[WabbitPoo]

I have a small oil-filled rad which I leave on low all winter - keeps it pretty comfortable and stops the tools getting rusty. Never worked out what it costs to run but probably not a lot as it has a thermostat on it and the shop is well insulated like yours.

 

[RichD1]

I had thought about oil-filled radiators. What size unit do you have and how big is your workshop?

Richard

 

[WabbitPoo]

The shop is only about 8' x 8'. The heater is tiny - only 18" high. Sorry to be vague but its packed as we are moving soon (gonna be getting a much bigger workshop! hurrah)

 

[CaptainCaveman289]

I plan to use oil filled rads for my workshop when it's done.
I have 2 2kw units, so thats what, 48p per hour? They are thermistatically controlled so arn't even on constantly like cheapy convection heaters.

I also plan to use a timer plug to keep a basic backgound temperature.

 

[RichD1]

Thought I'd experiment with a 800W halogen heater that we had at the back of the garage.

It has been fairly cold overnight with a ground frost here in Weymouth so the temperature must have got down to 2 or 3C. The workshop has not had any heat in it before and the temperature when I went in first thing this morning was just under 7C. Put on the 800W heater and within an hour was up to 11C and I turned it off when it reached 12C. This remained fairly constant throughout the day with only about 30 minutes further heating just after lunchtime.

By the way this was with being in and out of the workshop most of the day, at one stage both set of doors to the back and front were open.

Have now closed up (17.50hrs) and the temperature is still at just a tad over 10C. So I think the insulation has worked and even when it is much colder a 2kW fan heater for an initial blast plus some low level background heating such as an oil-filled radiator should be adequate.

Some pics of my build.

View media item 69266View media item 69240View media item 69255View media item 69256View media item 69241View media item 69242
Richard

 

[big-all]

dont forget on a sunny day you will get a lot off heat gain through d/g doors and windows

 

[chappers]

I would just get a 2kW fan and turn it on and off as necessary for a workshop of that size