Recommend me a workshop heater

[davep10000]

20a psu,s are around £12 on ebay, and mine has been fine for over a year now.
I run mine flat out in winter, around 8 hrs a day - they seem to thrive on it.
Fuel consumption is around 1/2 litre an hour (on heating oil).
Will never get my workshop toasty (same size as OP), but if its 0C it will get it to 10C which is OK for me. I use a long flexi duct to point the heat to where I am working.

 

[JMS1972]

Yep, a small battery with a float charger should do the trick.

It seems like the pumps may need some lubrication so diesel is preferable to kerosene. Or kero with a small percentage of oil added?

I also see it is recommended to mount the pump at 45 degrees (not horizontal or they wear quickly), but is vertically, with the output upwards, not the ideal mounting - and if not, why not?

The pump mounting is just to allow air bubbles out of the pump or they can run dry.

I've messaged a bloke one of the forums who has run his on the UK kerosene (heating oil) with no lube problems.

You have to be a bit careful as the name Kerosene is used for different grades of fuel in different countries. Some of it is quite light (lamp oil) so not so good

 

[James1979]

I have been looking at these.
Same control box as an aga/rayburn.

Did not know that. They are french ex army. Totally mobile. The flue clips together in seconds. Really good bit of kit. Needs no power

 

[fizzy]

The pump mounting is just to allow air bubbles out of the pump or they can run dry.

I've messaged a bloke one of the forums who has run his on the UK kerosene (heating oil) with no lube problems.

You have to be a bit careful as the name Kerosene is used for different grades of fuel in different countries. Some of it is quite light (lamp oil) so not so good

Standard UK kerosene is fine - mine has run for 5000 hours or more.
DONT put oil in anything the heater will clog up in no time!

 

[GraemeVW]

The exhausts on these Chinese heaters, does it always have to run downhill? Or could it go up a couple of foot above the heater?

 

[JMS1972]

Standard UK kerosene is fine - mine has run for 5000 hours or more.
DONT put oil in anything the heater will clog up in no time!

Is that called C2 grade kerosene? I'm getting confused again!

 

[fizzy]

Is that called C2 grade kerosene? I'm getting confused again!

No idea. Just normal domestic central heating oil. That is what you get when you order.

 

[voipio]

The exhausts on these Chinese heaters, does it always have to run downhill? Or could it go up a couple of foot above the heater?

Condensation could cause problems with the burner if the exhaust went upwards. This would probably be most problematic during start up in cold weather. The exhaust gets hot enough to cause burns in normal operation.

 

[Knuckles2907]

It’s official, freezing my nads off weather has arrived. Even with 3 layers on it’s too cold to be out there. Frost on the cars tonight.

Looking at one of those diesel/paraffin rocket style heaters but sort of keen to avoid the cheap ones that can’t be fixed if they go wrong. That kind of rules out Machine Mart stuff as they don’t seem to stock parts for them.

No idea what output I need either but the workshop is 6m x 8m with the roof being 4m at the peak and 3m at the eaves. About 180 cubic metres of volume ish. Doesn’t need to be like the tropics but would be nice to have it above freezing.

Any ideas chaps?

As the first boss I worked for would say if your cold work harder.

 

[GraemeVW]

Condensation could cause problems with the burner if the exhaust went upwards. This would probably be most problematic during start up in cold weather. The exhaust gets hot enough to cause burns in normal operation.

Exactly what I suspected.
I wanted to put one low down, as heat rises, but my workshop is partly below outside ground level. Means it would have to live at bench height, or at the wrong end of the building.

 

[JMS1972]

Exactly what I suspected.
I wanted to put one low down, as heat rises, but my workshop is partly below outside ground level. Means it would have to live at bench height, or at the wrong end of the building.

The hear outlet end panels come in two type with either 1 big hole or 4 little ones.

They come with a bit of aluminium flexy pipe so you can direct the heat wherever you want.

Mine has the 4 small outlets

 

[voipio]

Exactly what I suspected.
I wanted to put one low down, as heat rises, but my workshop is partly below outside ground level. Means it would have to live at bench height, or at the wrong end of the building.

The heater output is fan driven, so the unit could be put at bench height and the hose outlet placed at ground level. The hot air flow rate would be lower than having the heater at floor level, but not by much.

 

[skotl]

Welp.... ordered one last night, along with a 30A power supply. Will report back!

 

[GraemeVW]

Yes, the heat can be ducted, I have the perfect floor space for it though but it's not going to work.
I'd have to find somewhere to have it on a shelf. No big deal I guess.

 

[JMS1972]

Yes, the heat can be ducted, I have the perfect floor space for it though but it's not going to work.
I'd have to find somewhere to have it on a shelf. No big deal I guess.

TBH you'll probably need to service it from time to time so accessible is better anyway.

 

[not done it yet]

As long as condensation cannot run back to the unit (exhaust goes downwards initially), I don’t see a real problem. Any condensation would be in the stainless pipe, so chemical reaction is not a problem.

If the unit is run for long enough, for any condensation to be cleared from the exhaust, it would be OK but extensions (if permitted) to the exhaust should run downwards as temperatures could be below optimal.

Very intermittent operation, with condensation within the exhaust, could corrode the heat exchanger if the end-of-run purge is not fully effective.

As I see it, the unit needs to be installed as high as possible with the exhaust heat being used, for maximum heat per inputted energy. I expect the exhaust is sized for cheapness, primarily, but also to be hot all the way along it.

Now that leccy has increased vastly, in cost, for day-time use, I am considering one of the more ‘reliable’ units ( most certainly not from bag good) for my workshop. My desiccant dehumidifier takes care of atmospheric moisture and provides adequate heat to avoid condensation - but insufficient for comfortable working in winter. I need to look at efficiency and fuel costs….

 

[James1979]

The exhausts on these Chinese heaters, does it always have to run downhill? Or could it go up a couple of foot above the heater?

They can go up. We do it on boats through a skin fitting as they’re usually in the engine room below water level.

Look on the eberspacher site to see how it’s done. Also check out lekontinois (sp?) varnish site. It’s the biggest non eber resource of ebers out there. Most of the info is transferable.

edit: here https://www.letonkinoisvarnish.co.uk/

 

[Onoff]

Now that leccy has increased vastly

Weird that isn't it, just as the Government are pushing heat pump technology?

Chap I know hasn't needed to heat his place for 10 months now, just direct hot water.

The solar gain he gets and super high insulation levels means it gets a bit hot in the Summer so they have to open windows. Big deal, I'd live with that.

All this heat pump and EV stuff imo is a big con. Make it cheap for early adopters then hike the prices when it becomes widespread to maintain their pre-green revenues. You've only to look at what happened to the FiT rate on PV.

Leccy for cars will be charged at a different, higher rate.

Rant over, I'd have a Tesla tomorrow!

 

[fizzy]

Weird that isn't it, just as the Government are pushing heat pump technology?

Chap I know hasn't needed to heat his place for 10 months now, just direct hot water.

The solar gain he gets and super high insulation levels means it gets a bit hot in the Summer so they have to open windows. Big deal, I'd live with that.

All this heat pump and EV stuff imo is a big con. Make it cheap for early adopters then hike the prices when it becomes widespread to maintain their pre-green revenues. You've only to look at what happened to the FiT rate on PV.

Leccy for cars will be charged at a different, higher rate.

Rant over, I'd have a Tesla tomorrow!

They can't charge electric at a different rate for cars - you can't exactly dye it red
It will mean pay per mile for all road users - God help those in rural areas!

 

[Onoff]

They can't charge electric at a different rate for cars - you can't exactly dye it red
It will mean pay per mile for all road users - God help those in rural areas!

I believe the idea is that (future?) smart meters can tell what type of appliance you're using (magic algorithms or some such).