Heater in the garage

[zymurgy]

Been freezing the last few day down here in Melbourne, making it difficult to work in the garage.

It begs the question: What do you use to supply a bit of heat in your garage?

Do they still make kerosene heaters? That's what my father used to use.

Gordon.

[journeyman Mick]

With the price of kerosene nowadays I don't think it's a financially viable option. Best bet is probably one of those outdoor gas heaters but I'd be a bit worried about fires. The most sensible option (besides moving further north:) ) would probably be a pot bellied stove so you could heat the place and get rid of your scraps at the same time. Again though I'd be worried about fire. One of those electric, oil filled column heaters would probably be the safest way to heat a workshop. How cold is it/does it get anyway? Maybe you need to work harder when it's too cold :D i.e. use no power tools and work up a bit of sweat:p .

Mick

[Neal]

Zymurgy would have to agree with Mick oil filled column heater would have to be the safest any flame or element heater in confined area + solvents, mower fuel & saw dust etc would have a good chance of ruining your next project. I know we dont usually have to worry about it up here just throw a flanno on , but nearly every winter someone loses home & even family thru some kind of heater left on.
On a lighter note like Mick says move north its a real bummer having to walk around in jeans & flanno oops suns up might put a t shirt on.:D

Neal

[zathras]

If you're lucky you can pick up kero heaters from trash treasure markets etc, that's where I got mine.

I even managed to get a new wick for mine from a hardware shop near Ballarat one day. Called in on the off chance they'd have one and bingo they did. Figured they would since Ballarat is neighbouring Antarctica most of winter :p

As for the cost of Kero, a servo near Craigieburn (VIC) has kero on tap, as it were, from a standard looking bowser. The price was similar to petrol.

Haven't bought any since Mr Bush has shifted the petrol price down though, still using the 20litres I bought last year.

I find it is good to stand near the kero heater for a bit of hand thawing, but it doesn't really make an impact on my 20 x 30 x 9 shed air temp, especially at Wallan where it gets a few degrees cooler than even Melbourne. Melbourne is sub-tropical (Brisbane?) in comparism some mornings :)

I'd love to build a pot belly using 2nd hand truck drum brakes, but the space required for this has diminished with the continual quest of more tools more tools, fridge, cyclone, bandsaw, triton, benches (and the crap they accumulate) cupboards etc....

Really need a portable pot belly unit that can take the place of the car during the day then wheeled out to extinguish / cool down. The flue being the only real tricky part of such an arrangement (damn hot to remove after a bit of intense session hiding previous mistakes made)....

Those outdoor LPG heaters certainly look the part, but I think the kero would have to be cheaper to run. The price of bottled LPG is outrageous. - Perhaps a flame thrower out the rear of a LPG fitted car is a more cost effective method :)

I don't know the weight of a litre of LPG (30-40c) vs a kilo ($2.50 - $3.00+), but I suspect there is a huge mark up on the bottled variety :(

[MICKYG]

Hi from Glen Innes,

Dont move this far north, minus 8.4 at 6.am and the brass monkeys have all left long ago. Garages are very cold places and can only use them when the weather is warm in this area Regards Mike

[Baz]

Hi Guys, when it gets a bit cool (below zero) I use an oil column heater, usually go out and turn it on about 1/2 an hour before I am ready to work. My shed is insulated and only 4x4.
Cheers
Barry

[zathras]

is the 4x4 feet or metres ?

4x4 feet would be smaller than the trusty old dunny me thinks, with little room to swing a 4x2 (inches) :p

Insulation sounds like a good idea - for two reasons, heat/cold and sound.

[Marc]

Pot belly or slow combustion any time, properly installed on comcrete or brick floor and proper shielding on the flue.

Oil burners and outdoor gas heaters a not safe unless yours is a blacksmithing workshop!

We use to burn sawdust in a 44 gallon drum cat in half.
We punched a few holes in the bottom, placed a post in the centre, filled the lot with sawdust, stomped on it nice and tight, then slowly took the post out. lit it in the centre and voila, cheap heating.

Please don't do this at home or ever, it is very dangerous not to mention unhealthy !!!!!!!!

[kenmil]

Put on a sweater Gordon. After half an hour you will be peeling it off. It's not THAT cold.:D

[Baz]

Ray, sorry about that, yes it is 4x4 metres, insulation is good but in summer when it gets realy hot the heat builds up, I have a vent in the roof which I close off in winter.
Cheers
Barry

[journeyman Mick]

Ray, from memory lpg is roughly 2kg per litre - or so I was told by a mate who buys in bulk, and I decant out of his bulk tank. Win win situation, he gets a better volume discount as his mates fill their barbie gas bottles from his tank, and we get our gas cheap.
And talk about cold! it was 12 degrees this morning and only got up to 25 or so.

Mick

[zymurgy]

Put on a sweater Gordon. After half an hour you will be peeling it off. It's not THAT cold

Ken,

Today was warmer, but T-Shirt, flannel shirt and sweater helped. So did the extra socks, need more covering for the concrete floor!

Gordon.

[Dan]

One litre of LPG weighs just over 1/2kg, but you are still getting ripped off when buying BBQ gas at $3.00/ kg. My brother in law runs his BBQ from a big tank usually connected to houses and gets it filled from the mobile tanker, reckons it's heaps cheaper.

[journeyman Mick]

Okay, got it wrong, I knew one was roughly half the other but I got it round the wrong way.:o

Mick

[Dan]

There's a first time for everything Mick ;)

[zathras]

wow, 1/2kg per litre typically works out at around 80c / kg.

It is a sham(e) that the BBQ gas outlets operate using a peak hold function on their pricing, especially after Auto LPG hit 66+ c/l a year or so ago.

Last time I filled my 4kg BBQ bottle it cost me $12, ouch.

Whereas the normal retail pricing for automotive PROPANE (there's a place in Somerton Melbourne that sells Propane as well as Auto LPG from a bowser) would make this worth about $3.20

Better still we virtually give the stuff away to the Japs. Grumble grumble.

[Glen Bridger]

Hi Guys,

You could buy a ceramic workshop heater. I think that it made by Arlec.

Glen

[kenmil]

Originally posted by zymurgy
Ken,

Today was warmer, but T-Shirt, flannel shirt and sweater helped. So did the extra socks, need more covering for the concrete floor!

Gordon.

Gordon,

No doubt the concrete floor is a factor. A nice rubber mat helps, both from a softening point of view, and also as insulation.

[John Saxton]

Like Ken has said rubber mats or matting helps.I got a hold of some strong rubber conveyor belt which is great in increasing the comfort zone for legs when working at the bench for a long time.
If you Know of someone in the mining/power industry ...then often times they're chucking out the used stuff....and that's when you pounce of you can!

Cheers:)

[stevepay]

I would have thought a reverse cycle aircond would do the trick and do double duty in the summer, it would help pressureise the room/garage to help with dust systems.

just my 2 cents

steve;)

[Kevin2003]

I know what your going though Gordon,

In the workshop back in the old country, we used to have metal drum that contained an inner drum with a hole in the bottom. A shaft the size of the hole and height of the inner drum was placed in side allowing it to be filled with saw dust and small scraps. This was then compacted nice and tight and the shaft removed. With a lid to fit the outer drum and a flue and vent attached this made an excellent and safe way to heat the work shop. We even had a flat steel plate welded to the lid, great for cooking eggs and bacon!

If you know anyone who’s good with metal work let me know, as I would love to get one of these made for my self. I would be more than happy to supply the design. If anyone else is interested let me know also, maybe we could get a better deal if we had a job lot made.

Freezing cold in Melbourne,
Kevin

[zymurgy]

At least it's been a tad warmer!

Sanding is much easier when there is a chill in the air, put sandpaper on wood and shiver :)

Gordon.