Pros and Cons of a small wood burner in the workshop

[Bammer]

I want a better way of heating the workshop and am thinking about a wood burner

Bit hesitant for obvious reasons ie .. FIRE !

Does anyone have any experience with one

Concrete floor
Brick walls
Insulated ply and felt roof

I'm also hesitant because like most of us the space is limited and this will not be able to be moved

Cheers

Brad

 

[Phil Dart]

I do electric Brad. I've considered a wood burner but decided against it. Consequently I have no direct experience of them, but the two aspects that put me off were firstly the need to keep it constantly supplied with fuel (I have an open fire in the house which is hungry enough as it is) and secondly, the need to keep the fire in 24/7. I don't want to go to my workshop in the morning to have to light the bloody thing first job, then wait around freezing my knackers off whilst it gets hot. Electric with frost guard was my solution.

 

[21William]

Much depends on the size of your workshop. Mines only 5m x 3m and heats up quite quickly with a fan heater.

 

[Bammer]

I do electric Brad. I've considered a wood burner but decided against it. Consequently I have no direct experience of them, but the two aspects that put me off were firstly the need to keep it constantly supplied with fuel (I have an open fire in the house which is hungry enough as it is) and secondly, the need to keep the fire in 24/7. I don't want to go to my workshop in the morning to have to light the bloody thing first job, then wait around freezing my knackers off whilst it gets hot. Electric with frost guard was my solution.

What sort of heater Phil ?

 

[Woody]

I did consider one when I got this work shop but the naked flames with all the saw dust didn't appeal to me so I got another oil rad in a 12 x 18 shed put it on for an hour or so and it gets as warm as toast then I turn it of and it stays warm for the rest of the time I'm out there

 

[woodhacker]

As Woody oil filled leccy rad, 8x10 shed. Overnight I have one of those small toilet cylinder heaters to keep the place from freezing up. Anyway I use a vac to suck away dust etc and that kicks out some heat.

 

[rayf6604]

When I first went for turning lessons with a professional turner, he was using a wood burner but it was a workshop type, totally enclosed with an iron plate on the top which you removed to add wood. His workshop was big, granted. As for sawdust, I've been using a workshop gas heater last winter in my garage and dust was floating all over the place. If it got into the flame it just made the flame go red briefly but sawdust isn't like a vapour that's going to explode. If your wood burner is enclosed and installed correctly so there's no chance of CO gases escaping into your workshop then it's going to be fine.

 

[Dalboy]

I run a oil filled electric heater which has the advantage that I can set an upper temperature and also timer so it can be set. An wood burner as already stated need to be fed to keep it going can't just turn it off if it get too hot and as Woody said not good with all the dust even if you have extractors.

 

[Penpal]

I use a fan heater with totally enclosed elements directed on me when I turn.(electric).

Peter.

 

[Phil Dart]

What sort of heater Phil ?

I have tube heaters via a room thermostat, which is my main heat and my frost guard. I also have 2 fan heaters which I use first thing if I need a boost whilst the tubes are hotting up. They are also useful for the opposite purpose if the weather is hot. For two thirds of the year though, my Camvac is more than sufficient and the tubes don't often need to cut in, except for at night.

 

[edlea]

Fan heater does it for me.

 

[Pierre]

I used a wood burner for about 5 years in my 8 metre by 5 meter workshop and it worked well but as mentioned above I always had the worry of wood dust flashing over much like flour dust in a mill. The other problem is that if you have a humid atmosphere (ie its raining out side) and the wood that you burn is not completely dry then, if you use a steel flue, you get a lot of condensation which drips down and creates a smelly sooty sludge in the bottom catch cap, then there is the cleaning of the flue which if it burns too 'cool' accumulates a lot of soot.

Overall I decided that enough was enough, the wood burner was too much work and worry and I bought one of those nice electronically controlled paraffin heaters with dust sensors. These work fine and the flame protection system works much like on a Davy lamp preventing the flame from flashing over, equally it automatically turns the heater on in the morning and when I get in there it keeps the workshop at a nice 14 degrees. Once the ceiling mounted dust filter starts it circulates any high level warm air and the paraffin heater goes into temperature maintenance mode. It uses about 20 litres of paraffin per month on a 6 day week. This is the sort of thing that I am talking about Corona Inverter Portable Heater 3kW: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home but I didn't pay nearly that much for it they are obviously much cheaper in France mine was 170 euros!!

PG

 

[fortress]

I haven't got a home workshop to heat Brad, but if I did I would not have a wood burner for all the reasons mentioned.
Too much of a liability.
Pierre, what I wouldn't give for a 8X5 metre workshop...bliss.

 

[wm460]

I just open the doors and let the sun shine in.

 

[Dalboy]

I just open the doors and let the sun shine in.

Don't you mean you open the door and let the heat out

 

[Penpal]

My workshop is larger so I heat where I am at in it. Looking forward now to warmer right now frosts but 20 degrees C later on.

Peter.

 

[wm460]

Don't you mean you open the door and let the heat out

That is right for Eleven months of the year, but once it get near freezing point about 20°C I need the warmth.

 

[Skil Phil]

I have a 'rocket stove' in the corner and vented out the roof.
Made from a gas cylinder. Lots of links on how to make on the web.
Uses all my bits of scrap and heats up the shop.
Electricity and gas are ridiculous prices so I use what is only going to be thrown away.
Phil

 

[bigbob]

You are better insulating the shed first it makes a lot of a difference I used this stuff below its foil with bubble wrap on each side which makes the airgap. It comes in rolls and I have it on the walls and the ceiling keeps you cool in the winter and warm in the summer.


This is half way through the installation and I only have a small fan heater to warm up the shed and I am not paying for heating half the glen as I was before. The other bonus is its not damp as it used to be no surface rust on tools etc

 

[Vic Perrin]

I use a oil filled electric rad. Only need it on for 30 mins to warm the place up.