Workshop Heating

[Hachi]

As I'm getting older, the family realising I'm all "tooled up" to make things and having spent a fair bit of time this winter in the garage workshop with no heating, my old bones are screaming at me. My "workshop" is a dbl garage and time has come for me to look at heating it.

Anyone recommend a method please? Sadly, I live on a housing estate that does not rule out a log burner but...... I need to consider this if the concensus of opinion is a log burner is the best way to go. My garage wall forms one side of the gitty leading to my neighbours back door.

So the Q is, what do you use & why and does it work and is it relatively economical? Piccy's would be awesome too

 

[Antipodes]

As I'm getting older, the family realising I'm all "tooled up" to make things and having spent a fair bit of time this winter in the garage workshop with no heating, my old bones are screaming at me. My "workshop" is a dbl garage and time has come for me to look at heating it.

Anyone recommend a method please? Sadly, I live on a housing estate that does not rule out a log burner but...... I need to consider this if the concensus of opinion is a log burner is the best way to go. My garage wall forms one side of the gitty leading to my neighbours back door.

So the Q is, what do you use & why and does it work and is it relatively economical? Piccy's would be awesome too

We use things called "heat pumps" here. They take "heat" from the air outside and bring it inside. They work like a refrigerator in reverse. Also called a reverse cycle air conditioner. They have a cooling function too, which here gets used a couple of times a year
From memory, they are around 300 percent efficient (no heating element), and as we use hydro electricity here, seem a good option. Very convenient and you don't stink your neighbours out. Make sure noise for them won't be an issue however.....

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Decent thermals, and an old trick shown me by my grandfather, if you have concrete floors, make a wooden 'mat' out of a few old planks for you to stand on at your work station, it's amazing how much cold gets 'absorbed' through your feet

 

[Erichalfbee]

Beware naked flames with all that oil and wood dust?

 

[Apple]

Have cheap to run oil heaters in vairious sheds..... prevents air reaching dew point and rusting of machinery
High level of insulation.
Portakabin woodworking workshop has a flat living roof of sedums and 25mm of recycled Kingspan under sheeted floor and walls.... never cold in there!

Garage has boiler in it and is carpeted for the motorcycle collection... although partitioned off for frame and boxes awaiting assembly storage!

Money well spent on insulation..... if you get cold when working you just aint working hard enough!!

 

[Hachi]

Decent thermals, and an old trick shown me by my grandfather, if you have concrete floors, make a wooden 'mat' out of a few old planks for you to stand on at your work station, it's amazing how much cold gets 'absorbed' through your feet

I'll make a wooden matt for a start

 

[Hachi]

We use things called "heat pumps" here. They take "heat" from the air outside and bring it inside. They work like a refrigerator in reverse. Also called a reverse cycle air conditioner. They have a cooling function too, which here gets used a couple of times a year
From memory, they are around 300 percent efficient (no heating element), and as we use hydro electricity here, seem a good option. Very convenient and you don't stink your neighbours out. Make sure noise for them won't be an issue however.....

Just done a quick google and they are cost prohibitive. Noise wont be an issue for any solution as I dont work past about 9pm

 

[Arfermo]

As I'm getting older, the family realising I'm all "tooled up" to make things and having spent a fair bit of time this winter in the garage workshop with no heating, my old bones are screaming at me. My "workshop" is a dbl garage and time has come for me to look at heating it.

Anyone recommend a method please? Sadly, I live on a housing estate that does not rule out a log burner but...... I need to consider this if the concensus of opinion is a log burner is the best way to go. My garage wall forms one side of the gitty leading to my neighbours back door.

So the Q is, what do you use & why and does it work and is it relatively economical? Piccy's would be awesome too

I'm 86 so have same prob in my double garage workshop. May I suggest long-johns and a fleece would help though cold hands is another issue until the work gets warmed blood circulating. Log burner doesn't fit with the environment and climate warming these days anyway, so our is now merely a £2k+ draught excluder and the logs store is for solitary bees, woodworm and winter quarters for hedgehogs.

 

[pargyle]

I'll make a wooden matt for a start

These work well .. non slip as well ... bigger sizes are avialable

https://www.amazon.co.uk/meters-Gar...887004&sprefix=workshop+matrs,aps,209&sr=8-27

 

[pargyle]

Here's my workshop heating ... not that it's my workshop anymore ... it heats a 20 x 20 workshop with heat to spare - it burns all my scraps of timber and will burn coal as well (coal lasts a bit longer than timber).

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/top-5-tools-power-manual.38674/page-3
#post 52.

I've added insulation to the walls since then and there is a heat reflecting shield behind it .. stainless steel repurposed from a dishwasher door. I don't have any photos but I'll take some today and post later.

https://picclick.co.uk/Miniature-Mini-Woodburner-Micro-Wood-Burner-Stove-Coal-223771297699.html

 

[Newbeeneil]

As I'm getting older, the family realising I'm all "tooled up" to make things and having spent a fair bit of time this winter in the garage workshop with no heating, my old bones are screaming at me. My "workshop" is a dbl garage and time has come for me to look at heating it.

Anyone recommend a method please? Sadly, I live on a housing estate that does not rule out a log burner but...... I need to consider this if the concensus of opinion is a log burner is the best way to go. My garage wall forms one side of the gitty leading to my neighbours back door.

So the Q is, what do you use & why and does it work and is it relatively economical? Piccy's would be awesome too

As antipodes says you could always go for a heat pump which will boost your green credentials and have the advantage of air conditioning in the summer. What ever you do, getting rid of drafts and insulating everywhere is first on the list. A heat pump also has the advantage of having no elements or naked flames so safe in dusty atmospheres as well.
https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/...kvTseJ-uWfgtcerVSg4mlITEIUjYxQgEaAu-aEALw_wcB

 

[Ian123]

Is your garage attached to house? Just add another radiator most systems can deal with 1 additional. If your lucky you’ll have 1 on the dividing wall in the house already

 

[madasafish]

I use a butane gas heater.
Not a radiant one - which can burn you if you get too close but a catalytic Gas heater which 1> is more economical than a radiant one and 2> gives a more even spread of heat.
And it is mounted on wheels so can be easily moved to where needed.
Campingaz Cr5000 Catalytic Gas Heater -used but nearly new - £40 from ebay. (bought in summer when there is no demand).

No visible flame apart from pilot light so safer.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Just done a quick google and they are cost prohibitive. Noise wont be an issue for any solution as I dont work past about 9pm

I've got two split aircon units in the house. One mitsubishi and one fujitsu. Both are barely audible both inside and out. The motivation was sleepless hot summer nights but they are extremely useful at keeping warm in winter too. The latest one cost 800 pounds supplied and professionally installed by an fgas engineer. 800 watts electricity input yields 2500 watts of heating or cooling.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The motivation was sleepless hot summer nights

In Hull!!!, you forget I've spent quite a bit of time there

 

[deemann1]

Here's my workshop heating ... not that it's my workshop anymore ... it heats a 20 x 20 workshop with heat to spare - it burns all my scraps of timber and will burn coal as well (coal lasts a bit longer than timber).

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/top-5-tools-power-manual.38674/page-3
#post 52.

I've added insulation to the walls since then and there is a heat reflecting shield behind it .. stainless steel repurposed from a dishwasher door. I don't have any photos but I'll take some today and post later.

https://picclick.co.uk/Miniature-Mini-Woodburner-Micro-Wood-Burner-Stove-Coal-223771297699.htmlView attachment 23987

Does that little thing really work its tiny but cool

 

[user 819]

Duck boards for cold floors, firstly though before heating think about insulating walls and roof with PIR and draught proof any doors.

 

[pargyle]

Does that little thing really work its tiny but cool

Yes .. it chucks out a huge amount of heat for it's size .. the only downside is that it does need feeding regularly if you are burning wood. I find that once the place has warmed up the temperature stays quite warm as the stove and chimney retain heat and the whole workshop is well insulated. With coal in it I have had it up to 400 degrees C on the outside. I have a fan in the apex roof which helps keep the warm air down and I have a Peltier fan that sits on the top of the stove which also helps spread the heat.

If I could modify it I would make it about twice the size so you didn't have to fill it so regularly - but it's made from box section steel so I suspect that's about the largest box section available.

 

[Buzz Off]

As I'm getting older, the family realising I'm all "tooled up" to make things and having spent a fair bit of time this winter in the garage workshop with no heating, my old bones are screaming at me. My "workshop" is a dbl garage and time has come for me to look at heating it.

Anyone recommend a method please? Sadly, I live on a housing estate that does not rule out a log burner but...... I need to consider this if the concensus of opinion is a log burner is the best way to go. My garage wall forms one side of the gitty leading to my neighbours back door.

So the Q is, what do you use & why and does it work and is it relatively economical? Piccy's would be awesome too

What about a plug in space heater? They look like long tubular bulbs.and come with brackets so can hang on wall or ceiling. You will need to keep the door closed. Put it on a timer so your shed is warm when you want to work there.

 

[oliver90owner]

Insulation, insulation, insulation!

My (metalwork) workshop is inside a sectional concrete garage. I originally constructed it with old garage doors with plenty of insulation between the garage walls and the doors. I have since (twice) enlarged it with 100mm recticel sheets as extra walls and polyurethane cladding (mostly 1200mm square) for the ceiling.

Further insulation has been added above, and at about 30 cubic metres it is maintaining around 5 Celsius minimum at all times, using a desiccant dehumidifier running two hours each night. Sometimes 375W and sometimes 750W - depending on the weather. A fan heater soon raises the temperature, if required, for working comfort.

It is a little cold on my fingers, at times, at the moment (no gloves when working with lathe and mill) but otherwise quite adequate. Humidity is kept low, so no condensation/corrosion issues. I’m currently adding more insulation and sealing any remaining heat loss paths, so heat loss will be reduced further. I am expecting I will increase the volume by another ~6 1/2 cubic metres this coming year - if I can find another cheap 100mm insulation sheet and clear out a bit more space in my garage.

Insulation materials used have been glass fibre and rockwool rolls, rock wool cavity wall slabs, 100mm sheets of polyurethane foam ( ex-building cladding?) and recticel, along with some aluminium backed bubble insulation sheet. Nearly all purchased at sales, so fairly minimal cost, compared to new.

It is not only cosy in winter but also cool in the summer (as long as I don’t leave the door open on hot days!).