gas heater in shop, appropirate?

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  • footprintsinconc
    Veteran Member
    • Nov 2006
    • 1759
    • Roseville (Sacramento), CA
    • BT3100

    gas heater in shop, appropirate?

    i was looking at item 93164 at hf, and was wondering if it is advisable to be using this type of heater to heat up the shop in the winter? will the dust fines in the air combust? fire hazzard?
    _________________________
    omar
  • dbhost
    Slow and steady
    • Apr 2008
    • 9209
    • League City, Texas
    • Ryobi BT3100

    #2
    For outdoor use only. That would be a HUGE concern for me. As far as I know, Mr. Heater Buddy model heaters are the only ones that are indoor rated.

    I use the older, smaller size version of the Mr. Heater MH18B more and more when the oil filled radiator annoys me. The infrared heater almost instantly heats up the entire shop, where the radiator will take an hour or more, and shop time is fleeting at best...

    It was known as the Portable Buddy Heater.

    The newer models have some enhancements I wish mine had, like folding handles, larger safety screen (keeping combustibles away from the burner etc...).

    There ARE risks with any gas heater in a shop with sawdust and VOCs, but when you count up all the shops that use them, and wood stoves, and whatnot for heat during the winter, welll. I think it's like the plastic pipe in dust collection argument. An interesting academic exercise but you would REALLY have to work at making a problem environment enough to have a fire or explosion, and by then I would think the low oxygen cutoff sensor would have killed the heater long before then...

    The little one is enough to warm up my shop here in Texas, and even in winter our air is heavily laden with humidity, in Az. you shouldn't have any trouble keeping a 2 car garage sized shop warm with the smaller unit. The larger unit will put out about 2x the BTUs, and in theory heat twice the space...

    FWIW, last winter, working in the shop, with outside temps in the upper 20s, with 60% RH, I was able to get my shop warm enough to walk in with a T-shirt and start sweating within 5 minutes, with the heater on high...

    Definately get the hose, filter, and 20lb fuel cylinders for this...
    Last edited by dbhost; 10-11-2009, 02:21 PM.
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    • toolguy1000
      Veteran Member
      • Mar 2009
      • 1142
      • westchester cnty, ny

      #3
      dbhost...is your shop insulated?
      there's a solution to every problem.......you just have to be willing to find it.

      Comment

      • Tom Slick
        Veteran Member
        • May 2005
        • 2913
        • Paso Robles, Calif, USA.
        • sears BT3 clone

        #4
        Also keep in mind that type of heater burns up and exhausts its fumes into the same air you breath. Make sure you don't have the shop sealed up tight when using and of those.
        Last edited by Tom Slick; 10-11-2009, 10:25 PM.
        Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. - Thomas Edison

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        • Uncle Cracker
          The Full Monte
          • May 2007
          • 7091
          • Sunshine State
          • BT3000

          #5
          It's a good idea with any combustion-type heater that you install a CO monitor/alarm. Better safe than sorry.

          Comment

          • master53yoda
            Established Member
            • Oct 2008
            • 456
            • Spokane Washington
            • bt 3000 2 of them and a shopsmith ( but not for the tablesaw part)

            #6
            the heater states that it has an oxygen depletion sensor which will shut it down prior to taking the oxygen out of the air and causing you problems in breathing. I have used many of this type of heaters as well as using one in my shop over tha last few years. At present i'm installing a gas furnace in my shop and i will supply it a combustion air pipe form outside, in practicality if this is being used in a normal garage with a normal garage door that does not have side seals it would probably never be a problem. the danger is if you are using it in a small tightly constructed shop with weatherstripped doors and windows you need to provide a 6" pipe to the outside that terminates about 6 to 8" of the floor for combustion air or crack the window a 1/2"
            Art

            If you don't want to know, Don't ask

            If I could come back as anyone one in history, It would be the man I could have been and wasn't....

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            • dbhost
              Slow and steady
              • Apr 2008
              • 9209
              • League City, Texas
              • Ryobi BT3100

              #7
              Originally posted by toolguy1000
              dbhost...is your shop insulated?
              Presently, no. I only have Reflectix on one of the two garage doors, and a common wall that is insulated. However I am in the process of fully re-insulating and decking my attic, which includes over the garage, Once the ceiling is done, the walls will get blown full.

              The advice on providing combustion air is solid. My LEAKY garage doors provide more than enough fresh air...

              If I were well insulated, I am sure that I would not need the high setting on my heater.
              Last edited by dbhost; 10-11-2009, 09:54 PM.
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              • Photojosh
                Established Member
                • Aug 2009
                • 174
                • Washington (the state)

                #8
                Anyone find it strange that it says"

                Oxygen Depletion Sensor shuts the heater down if room oxygen ever reaches an unsafe level
                And also:

                For outdoor use only.
                So we're supposed to use it in "outdoor" rooms? Man I hate the silly legal foolishness that we are all subjected to.

                Comment

                • LCHIEN
                  Internet Fact Checker
                  • Dec 2002
                  • 20914
                  • Katy, TX, USA.
                  • BT3000 vintage 1999

                  #9
                  should not only monitor oxygen depletion but also levels of CO... carbon monoxide.
                  even in the presence of oxygen, CO will be picked up into the blood stream instead of oxygen and kill you. CO is a byproduct of imperfect combustion.
                  Loring in Katy, TX USA
                  If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                  BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

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