workshop heating

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MedWoodWorx

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Joined
Nov 23, 2021
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602
Location
Greece
Winter is coming and this year i want to be able to fully utilise my unheated shop. I started insulating the walls and stopping all the leaks during summer and i was also given a used wood stove that i could use. However i am a bit worried about using a wood burning device in the same room that i turn wood, have other flamable materials etc.
What do you guys think?Is anyone using a wood stove to heat his/her workshop? If so what is your setup (how far is the stove from the lathe etc)? Any photos are more than welcome, cheers
 
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BCnabe

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Joined
Apr 17, 2013
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103
Location
Hamilton, MI
You might want to check with your insurance company. Mine will not allow me to have a woodburning stove in my barn unless it is installed by a licensed HVAC company.
 

montmill

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Joined
Jan 26, 2008
Messages
645
Location
13528 Old Hwy. G Montfort, Wisconsin
I have an off peak electric unit. https://www.steffes.com/ets/ (bought used for $100) which has been in for over thirty years and works just fine for a base heat level so my tools don't freeze or develop condensation. If I need a blast of heat I have a https://www.homedepot.com/p/Modine-...ne-Gas-Garage-Ceiling-Heater-HD75LP/205964276 If I were to do it now I'd take a long look at a mini heat pump https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/ductless-mini-split-heat-pumps I did have a wood stove but was never comfortable with it for the reasons you mentioned.
 

MedWoodWorx

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Joined
Nov 23, 2021
Messages
602
Location
Greece
thank you for your responses, i forgot to mention that my workshop is solar powered so i don't have the luxury of high wattage appliances. One solution that looks promising is a diesel heater like the ones that are used in RVs and trucks. These small stoves are basically warm air blowers and are rated up to 5KW. Anyone using such a gizmo? any ideas?cheers

 

Gary Beasley

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Joined
Sep 18, 2009
Messages
1,326
Location
Marietta, Ga. USA
Ive seen a clever way to use the wood stove outside the shop. Using cinderblocks a box is built around the stove with the holes lined up so air can be circulated through them then blown back into the shop.The fire is kept isolated and the bricks will hold the heat for a while after the fire is damped.
 

jrista

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Joined
Aug 12, 2021
Messages
2,241
Location
Colorado
I went with a 250V 5KW electric heater for my workshop. I think it was a couple hundred bucks. My workshop is a third car slot in my garage, which I've kind of "walled" off with a very large tarp pulled taught to the the walls, and some insulating foam panels to block off the rafters, and some other gaps. It doesn't heat to a toasty 70 degrees during winter, but it does keep it in the high 50s, low 60s. It cycles on and off, so it doesn't run constantly, and keeps things warm enough to turn. (Unless it is exceptionally cold out...I haven't insulated all of the walls yet, it might work better once I do that.)
 
Joined
Sep 24, 2006
Messages
8,206
Location
Tellico Plains, Tennessee, USA.
I use one of those oil radiator type heaters... I can set it close behind me when on the lathe and works well to keep my reasonably comfortable.
My shop is one of those metal buildings with no insulation and lots of air holes around the roof line. Fortunately, it doesn't get terribly cold here in TN like it does in some of our northern neighbor states.... the heater never gets all that iron of the lathe warm on cold days.
 

SpiritRider

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Joined
Jan 19, 2020
Messages
128
Location
Illinois
I finally got the gas company to run a meter for my garage. It only took me 20 years. This year I am putting in 2 30000btu ventless heaters, 1 upstairs in my shop and 1 downstairs in the garage. I hope next year I can get a ceiling mounted 50000 upstairs
 
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