I've just kitted out my garage with a workbench and realised that it's
not the most comfortable place to stand for hours when it's chilly. So
I'm thinking about a heater - more specifically one of those 1kW Halogen
near-infra-red heaters which I understand might heat me (and my
otherwise frozen fingers) better than a fan heater trying to add heat to
limitless amounts of cold air. I've seen such heaters for around £20.
Drawbacks on this direct radiant heat approach?

--

Adrian C

On Wed, 10 Nov 2004 00:03:04 +0000, Adrian C wrote:

I've just kitted out my garage with a workbench and realised that it's
not the most comfortable place to stand for hours when it's chilly. So
I'm thinking about a heater - more specifically one of those 1kW Halogen
near-infra-red heaters which I understand might heat me (and my
otherwise frozen fingers) better than a fan heater trying to add heat to
limitless amounts of cold air. I've seen such heaters for around £20.
Drawbacks on this direct radiant heat approach?

A popular solution here is to use one of those 300/500 watt
floodlights. They put out a fierce radiant heat and decent working
light.

Kills two birds with one stone and reasonably cheap.

On Wed, 10 Nov 2004 00:03:04 +0000, Adrian C wrote:

I've just kitted out my garage with a workbench and realised that it's
not the most comfortable place to stand for hours when it's chilly. So
I'm thinking about a heater - more specifically one of those 1kW Halogen
near-infra-red heaters which I understand might heat me (and my
otherwise frozen fingers) better than a fan heater trying to add heat to
limitless amounts of cold air. I've seen such heaters for around £20.
Drawbacks on this direct radiant heat approach?


If you're going to spend a long time and use the garage seriously,
then it would be far better to insulate the garage. You could then
use a couple of kW of heat of any form and be comfortable.

A small directed heater will only provide very local warming and you
will feel cold as you move from place to place.



--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

On Wed, 10 Nov 2004 00:03:04 +0000, Adrian C wrote:

So I'm thinking about a heater - more specifically one of those 1kW Halogen
near-infra-red heaters

White plates, no red glow ? I've got 500W of that directly over the
workbench. It's enough, but I wish it was 1kW.

--
Smert' spamionam

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 10 Nov 2004 00:03:04 +0000, Adrian C wrote:

So I'm thinking about a heater - more specifically one of those 1kW
Halogen
near-infra-red heaters

White plates, no red glow ? I've got 500W of that directly over the
workbench. It's enough, but I wish it was 1kW.

--
Smert' spamionam




I also find it helps to have one's feet off the cold floor. Duckboards or
even pallets can help with this in the bench area.

Pete

In article ,
Peter Stockdale wrote:

I also find it helps to have one's feet off the cold floor.
Duckboards or even pallets can help with this in the bench area.

Yes, a pair of 'ski boots' also helps.

The real problem I have with working in the garage
is that everything that has to be touched or picked
up is icy cold, with the inevitable effect on the
fingertips. Gloves help of course, but can be too
clumsy for some jobs.

--
Tony Williams.

Tony Williams wrote:
In article ,
Peter Stockdale wrote:

I also find it helps to have one's feet off the cold floor.
Duckboards or even pallets can help with this in the bench area.

Yes, a pair of 'ski boots' also helps.

The real problem I have with working in the garage
is that everything that has to be touched or picked
up is icy cold, with the inevitable effect on the
fingertips. Gloves help of course, but can be too
clumsy for some jobs.

that's exactly what I was about to post.

there's no substitute for insulation and I've often wondered how
hard it would be to run some well insulated feed and return
hep20 type tube down to the garage and install a radiator.



RT

"Tony Williams" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Peter Stockdale wrote:

I also find it helps to have one's feet off the cold floor.
Duckboards or even pallets can help with this in the bench area.

Yes, a pair of 'ski boots' also helps.

The real problem I have with working in the garage
is that everything that has to be touched or picked
up is icy cold, with the inevitable effect on the
fingertips. Gloves help of course, but can be too
clumsy for some jobs.

It's very cold today and Spouse keeps coming in to warm his hands. He says
tht the very thin ply he's working with seems to be sucking the heat from
his fingers. Gloves would be impossible for the job he's doing - or most of
them because he's usually making very small items.

He stands on boards and mats, is wearing thick shoes and socks and I've told
him to keep the door closed and put on the fan heater. He - anyone - needs
to be comfortable in such circumstances. If you're not you don't do a good
job.

We'd like to know if there's anything more efficient in fuel use and heating
than the fan heater though. He won't use a gas heater because of wood dust
and flammble materials. An electric convector heater takes a long time to
warm the space.

He's not a wuss (and it's silly and offensive to accuse anyone of that).

Mary

--
Tony Williams.

On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 11:19:12 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

We'd like to know if there's anything more efficient in fuel use and heating
than the fan heater though.

Long infra-red - the white ceramic heating elements without the glow.
This wavelength is absorbed by people, but not the air, so a
wall-mounted heater can keep _you_ warm over a large area of workshop,
even if the ambient isn't changing by much.

Machine Mart have 2kW heaters, and eBay has them cheaper
(tools/industrial - plenty of them). My own is a little 500W jobbie
made with surplus heater elements. I wish it were bigger - it's fine
for working at the bench, but not the whole shed.


Or take up smithing. That's a good winter occupation 8-)

--
Smert' spamionam

In article ,
says...

"Tony Williams" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Peter Stockdale wrote:

I also find it helps to have one's feet off the cold floor.
Duckboards or even pallets can help with this in the bench area.

Yes, a pair of 'ski boots' also helps.

The real problem I have with working in the garage
is that everything that has to be touched or picked
up is icy cold, with the inevitable effect on the
fingertips. Gloves help of course, but can be too
clumsy for some jobs.

It's very cold today and Spouse keeps coming in to warm his hands. He says
tht the very thin ply he's working with seems to be sucking the heat from
his fingers. Gloves would be impossible for the job he's doing - or most of
them because he's usually making very small items.

He stands on boards and mats, is wearing thick shoes and socks and I've told
him to keep the door closed and put on the fan heater. He - anyone - needs
to be comfortable in such circumstances. If you're not you don't do a good
job.

We'd like to know if there's anything more efficient in fuel use and heating
than the fan heater though. He won't use a gas heater because of wood dust
and flammble materials. An electric convector heater takes a long time to
warm the space.

He's not a wuss (and it's silly and offensive to accuse anyone of that).

Mary

--
Tony Williams.




I use a diesel fuelled blow heater. Very slightly smelly but ir warms up
the place very quickly and then only needs to be used in bursts to
maintain a comfortable level of warmth.


--
Paul Mc Cann

On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 11:19:12 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"Tony Williams" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Peter Stockdale wrote:

I also find it helps to have one's feet off the cold floor.
Duckboards or even pallets can help with this in the bench area.

Yes, a pair of 'ski boots' also helps.

The real problem I have with working in the garage
is that everything that has to be touched or picked
up is icy cold, with the inevitable effect on the
fingertips. Gloves help of course, but can be too
clumsy for some jobs.

It's very cold today and Spouse keeps coming in to warm his hands. He says
tht the very thin ply he's working with seems to be sucking the heat from
his fingers. Gloves would be impossible for the job he's doing - or most of
them because he's usually making very small items.

He stands on boards and mats, is wearing thick shoes and socks and I've told
him to keep the door closed and put on the fan heater. He - anyone - needs
to be comfortable in such circumstances. If you're not you don't do a good
job.

We'd like to know if there's anything more efficient in fuel use and heating
than the fan heater though. He won't use a gas heater because of wood dust
and flammble materials. An electric convector heater takes a long time to
warm the space.

He's not a wuss (and it's silly and offensive to accuse anyone of that).


The best investment that you could make, Mary, would be to insulate
and draughtproof the place.

Before doing that, to reach a reasonable temperature of say 18 degrees
to do work comfortably would need 3 x 3kW fan heaters and at this time
of year wouldn't make that temperature. Pretty expensive too.

Afterwards it takes 3kW at the most. This would be OK with one fan
heater, although I have done it using a separate circuit from the
central heating boiler. Very comfortable and very cheap to run.



--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

"Mary Fisher" wrote
| We'd like to know if there's anything more efficient in fuel use and
| heating than the fan heater though. He won't use a gas heater because
| of wood dust and flammble materials. An electric convector heater
| takes a long time to warm the space.

You can get industrial electric fan heaters for wiring in, that have more
oomph than the 3kW max from a 13A socket. No more/less efficient/expensive
than any other electric heater.

Any electric fan heater except those designed for dusty environment would be
susceptible to dust build up inside. Better would probably be a fan-assisted
radiator (unit heater) eg "Myson" off a wet central heating system.

If the workshop is some way from the house and only has electricity then
what about a small microwave and some of those microwaveable bean-bag
handwarmers. At least he could then have a constant supply of warm
handwarmers in his pockets.

Owain

I've been to my ex's brother's woodwork workshop out in the country in
France. It's a moderate size for a small business - maybe 40ft sq, and
house height. He has a small (and I mean small) wood-burning stove
which keeps the place comfortably warm. It might not be a practical
proposition for occasional use, but anyway........

MJ

"Tony Williams" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Peter Stockdale wrote:

I also find it helps to have one's feet off the cold floor.
Duckboards or even pallets can help with this in the bench area.

Yes, a pair of 'ski boots' also helps.

The real problem I have with working in the garage
is that everything that has to be touched or picked
up is icy cold, with the inevitable effect on the
fingertips. Gloves help of course, but can be too
clumsy for some jobs.

It's very cold today and Spouse keeps coming in to warm his hands. He says
tht the very thin ply he's working with seems to be sucking the heat from
his fingers. Gloves would be impossible for the job he's doing - or most of
them because he's usually making very small items.

He stands on boards and mats, is wearing thick shoes and socks and I've told
him to keep the door closed and put on the fan heater. He - anyone - needs
to be comfortable in such circumstances. If you're not you don't do a good
job.

We'd like to know if there's anything more efficient in fuel use and heating
than the fan heater though. He won't use a gas heater because of wood dust
and flammble materials. An electric convector heater takes a long time to
warm the space.

He's not a wuss (and it's silly and offensive to accuse anyone of that).

Mary

--

It was a joke Mary (the clue was in the exclamation mark)

On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 11:19:12 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

It's very cold today and Spouse keeps coming in to warm his hands. He says
tht the very thin ply he's working with seems to be sucking the heat from
his fingers. Gloves would be impossible for the job he's doing - or most of
them because he's usually making very small items.

What about fingerless gloves? Or take some cheap motorcyle gloves and
chop the fingers off (hint - take hand out first)

He stands on boards and mats, is wearing thick shoes and socks and I've told

Isn't he allowed to have a seat? Poor spouse! Also two pairs of summer
socks are probably better than one pair of winter ones. Winter socks -
who needs 'em!?!

him to keep the door closed and put on the fan heater.

Yes, putting a heater on and leaving the door open is a common
mistake!

He - anyone - needs
to be comfortable in such circumstances. If you're not you don't do a good
job.

Indeede!

We'd like to know if there's anything more efficient in fuel use and heating
than the fan heater though. He won't use a gas heater because of wood dust
and flammble materials. An electric convector heater takes a long time to
warm the space.

If he's working in one spot, buy him a nice chair or stool to sit on,
put one of those 700w mini oil filled radiators under the bench, and
section it off underneath eg with boxes either side to trap the warm
air more. Let us know what he thinks of this anyway...

cheers,
Pete.


He's not a wuss (and it's silly and offensive to accuse anyone of that).

Mary

--
Tony Williams.

"Mary Fisher" wrote in news:4195eda8$0
:

It's very cold today and Spouse keeps coming in to warm his hands.

Isn't that what a wifey is for?

Andy Dingley wrote:
On Wed, 10 Nov 2004 00:03:04 +0000, Adrian C wrote:


So I'm thinking about a heater - more specifically one of those 1kW Halogen
near-infra-red heaters


White plates, no red glow ? I've got 500W of that directly over the
workbench. It's enough, but I wish it was 1kW.


Nope, I was thinking of the ones that glow.
http://www.robertdyas.co.uk
- put "GMIHAL" in the search box

(Is this a repackaged sun lamp? Will I end up looking like Kat Slater?)

Thanks for other comments. I'm eventually going to be putting in a room
divider, some insulation and carpet when funds/time permits. It would
enable me to put a server out there without the condensation problems -
and *that* would probably double up a fan heater! The divider will
hopefully cut down on the dust drawn in from the drive-in (a rubble
track) by the car.

At the moment, though, I'm drawn to the direct heat approach.

--

Adrian C

I've just kitted out my garage with a workbench and realised that it's
not the most comfortable place to stand for hours when it's chilly. So
I'm thinking about a heater - more specifically one of those 1kW Halogen
near-infra-red heaters which I understand might heat me (and my
otherwise frozen fingers) better than a fan heater trying to add heat to
limitless amounts of cold air. I've seen such heaters for around £20.
Drawbacks on this direct radiant heat approach?



Wuss!

"Adrian C" wrote in message
...
I've just kitted out my garage with a workbench and realised that it's not
the most comfortable place to stand for hours when it's chilly. So I'm
thinking about a heater - more specifically one of those 1kW Halogen
near-infra-red heaters which I understand might heat me (and my otherwise
frozen fingers) better than a fan heater trying to add heat to limitless
amounts of cold air. I've seen such heaters for around £20. Drawbacks on
this direct radiant heat approach?

none really. cheap and effective. obviously everybody would prefer a
nicely insulated and heat garage though.

Steve

"r.p.mcmurphy" wrote in message ...
"Adrian C" wrote in message
...
I've just kitted out my garage with a workbench and realised that it's not
the most comfortable place to stand for hours when it's chilly. So I'm
thinking about a heater - more specifically one of those 1kW Halogen
near-infra-red heaters which I understand might heat me (and my otherwise
frozen fingers) better than a fan heater trying to add heat to limitless
amounts of cold air. I've seen such heaters for around £20. Drawbacks on
this direct radiant heat approach?

none really. cheap and effective. obviously everybody would prefer a
nicely insulated and heat garage though.

Steve

Oh come on guys, insulation is cheap and is the key to any situation
like this. Ok it takes a little time to install it but the advantage
is huge. I really don't have any of the problems of cold feet, cold
hands, cold this an that and none of my tools suffer from
condensation.

I've used 2 inch expanded polystyrene sheets which are cut to shape
and have the added advantage of changing a dark surface into white
one. I have a small convector heater and the workshop heats up
quickly, controllably and inexpensively. You read any posting on
heating now and every time insulation is stated as the first way
forward.

Rob

"Rob Graham" wrote in message
om...
"r.p.mcmurphy" wrote in message
...
"Adrian C" wrote in message
...
I've just kitted out my garage with a workbench and realised that it's
not
the most comfortable place to stand for hours when it's chilly. So I'm
thinking about a heater - more specifically one of those 1kW Halogen
near-infra-red heaters which I understand might heat me (and my
otherwise
frozen fingers) better than a fan heater trying to add heat to
limitless
amounts of cold air. I've seen such heaters for around £20. Drawbacks
on
this direct radiant heat approach?

none really. cheap and effective. obviously everybody would prefer a
nicely insulated and heat garage though.

Steve

Oh come on guys, insulation is cheap and is the key to any situation
like this. Ok it takes a little time to install it but the advantage
is huge. I really don't have any of the problems of cold feet, cold
hands, cold this an that and none of my tools suffer from
condensation.

Ours doesn't either. Our garage/workshop isn't damp.

I've used 2 inch expanded polystyrene sheets which are cut to shape
and have the added advantage of changing a dark surface into white
one. I have a small convector heater and the workshop heats up
quickly, controllably and inexpensively. You read any posting on
heating now and every time insulation is stated as the first way
forward.

Indeed - but only when there's room to install it.

Mary

Rob