how much water vapour does a small propane heater generate ,i have a
small workshop and every yeat the metal ceiling suffers from
condensation and i have to cover everything with plastic to avoid
damage to my tools,would a propane heater make things worse?,thanks
for help

"bob" wrote in message
...
how much water vapour does a small propane heater generate ,i have a
small workshop and every yeat the metal ceiling suffers from
condensation and i have to cover everything with plastic to avoid
damage to my tools,would a propane heater make things worse?,thanks
for help

Propane would make it worse as it produces water vapour

I sometimes use a calor heater in my workshop but have a window open to keep
the moisture down

I would put up a false ceiling of insulated material as it would be the cold
roof causing the water vapour to condense and provide a bit of ventilation
let the damp air out

then maybe some heating like an electric tube heater

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember bob
saying something like:

how much water vapour does a small propane heater generate

About a litre of water per kg burned, iirc.
Iow, a lot, so ventilation is a good idea, which kind of defeats the
purpose.

"Grimly Curmudgeon" wrote in message
...
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember bob
saying something like:

how much water vapour does a small propane heater generate

About a litre of water per kg burned, iirc.
Iow, a lot, so ventilation is a good idea, which kind of defeats the
purpose.





Propane is C5H12 so the equation for its burning is



C5H12 + 8O2 = 6H2O + 5CO2



Since the atomic weights are near enough C = 12, H = 1 and O = 16, 72 g of
propane (5x12+12) gives 6 x18 = 108 g of water.



So 1kg of propane will make (1000/72)*108 = 1.5kg of water.

On Sun, 3 Oct 2010 06:14:18 -0700 (PDT), bob
wrote:

how much water vapour does a small propane heater generate ,i have a
small workshop and every yeat the metal ceiling suffers from
condensation and i have to cover everything with plastic to avoid
damage to my tools,would a propane heater make things worse?,thanks
for help

Yes considerably worse. It might actually rain inside, these things
produce so much water vapour.

bob wrote:
how much water vapour does a small propane heater generate ,i have a
small workshop and every yeat the metal ceiling suffers from
condensation and i have to cover everything with plastic to avoid
damage to my tools,would a propane heater make things worse?,thanks
for help

Immensely worse, yes.

Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember bob
saying something like:

how much water vapour does a small propane heater generate

About a litre of water per kg burned, iirc.
Iow, a lot, so ventilation is a good idea, which kind of defeats the
purpose.

Yes. without a flue, gas heating is almost a waste of time to control
condensation.

"Norman Billingham" norman.at.tumulus.org.uk wrote:

"Grimly Curmudgeon" wrote in message
...
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember bob
saying something like:

how much water vapour does a small propane heater generate

About a litre of water per kg burned, iirc.
Iow, a lot, so ventilation is a good idea, which kind of defeats the
purpose.

Propane is C5H12 so the equation for its burning is

No, that's pentane. Propane is C3H8.

C5H12 + 8O2 = 6H2O + 5CO2

Since the atomic weights are near enough C = 12, H = 1 and O = 16, 72 g of
propane (5x12+12) gives 6 x18 = 108 g of water.

So 1kg of propane will make (1000/72)*108 = 1.5kg of water.

In the right ballpark, but it's actually a little worse.

C3H3 + 5O2 - 3CO2 + 4H2O

36g C gives 72g H2O

So 1kg propane gives 2kg of water.

bob wrote:
how much water vapour does a small propane heater generate ,i have a
small workshop and every yeat the metal ceiling suffers from
condensation and i have to cover everything with plastic to avoid
damage to my tools,would a propane heater make things worse?,thanks
for help

the metal roof needs insulating somehow.
Is it corrugated metal? - obviously fibreglass is the cheapest option, but
you'd have to find a way of getting it to stay up there - if there's
internal rafters, you can cut the fibre to fit inbetween these, then staple
garden netting over the timbers to prevent it falling back down.
Doesn't look fantastic but does the job

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

On Sun, 03 Oct 2010 17:32:35 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

Yes. without a flue, gas heating is almost a waste of time to control
condensation.

Are these comments about gas heaters generally or only in the OP's
uninsulated workshop? I ask because I see B&Q stocked full of butane
heaters each winter. Why would anyone buy them if they are that bad?
Are they better inside an insulated house?

When our CH broke in the winter, I used fan heaters. I suppose fan
heaters can start fires but thought they were safer than these butane
heaters since there seems to be a story most years about someone being
poisoned by them.

On Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:29:35 +0100, Fred wrote:

Are these comments about gas heaters generally or only in the OP's
uninsulated workshop?

Unflued, like the portable gas fire type, produce around a litre of
water for every kg of gas burnt.

Why would anyone buy them if they are that bad?

When our CH broke in the winter, I used fan heaters.

Which is fine if you still have power... There were several stories
last winter that a failure in the gas supply and the giving out of
fan heaters to those affected soon lead to the failure of the local
electricity supply as well.

We have a portable butane heater for when the power goes. Just looked
at it's rating plate 4.2kW (knocks the spots of a fan heater...) and
burns 301g/hr flat out, so thats a mug full of water per hour. We
don't need to use it flat out, it normally runs on one or two (from
three) radiants. How much moisture does a human put out per hour?

--
Cheers
Dave.

Fred wrote:

On Sun, 03 Oct 2010 17:32:35 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

Yes. without a flue, gas heating is almost a waste of time to control
condensation.

Are these comments about gas heaters generally or only in the OP's
uninsulated workshop? I ask because I see B&Q stocked full of butane
heaters each winter. Why would anyone buy them if they are that bad?

At a guess, cost. I have no idea how actual running costs stack
up against electricity. This is left as an exercise for the
student.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

On Thu, 07 Oct 2010 07:00:30 +0100, Chris J Dixon wrote:

At a guess, cost. I have no idea how actual running costs stack
up against electricity. This is left as an exercise for the
student.

Maybe another factor. How much does 15kg Butane cylinder cost on the
return empty, take away full basis?

15kg butane (using the figures on my heaters rating plate ) provides
(15/0.3) * 4.2 = 210 kw (ish).

--
Cheers
Dave.

In article ,
Fred wrote:
Are these comments about gas heaters generally or only in
the OP's uninsulated workshop? I ask because I see B&Q
stocked full of butane heaters each winter. Why would
anyone buy them if they are that bad? Are they better
inside an insulated house?

Well as long as B&Q et al don't advertise the drawbacks,
then students, pensioners and those on a tight budget will
be tempted. After all, it's a gas heater i'nt it? and much
cheaper than those in the gas showrooms.

--
John Mulrooney
NOTE Email address IS correct but might not be checked for a while.

The school of experience has very few holidays.