Winter Is Coming.

[tboyce]

Every time I call it my shop, my wife insists that it is a garage. I have to remind her that a garage is where you park a car and since she could easily be a finalist on 'Hoarders', we've never been able to put a car in any 'garage' we've owned. It is only through eternal vigilance that I am able to cordon off a space to ply my hobby. (Just put in a new 8 ft x 4' cutting table)

Anyway, shop or garage, the damned thing is unheated and I have been looking at options to cheaply be able to work through the winter. I'm investigating infrared lamps.

Has anyone tried these?

Give me the wisdom of your experiences!

[TomG]

Bwhahahahaa.. I actually moved my garage shop into our home office. It's where we spend most of our time anyway. this way, I can keep the heat low in the majority of the house unless we have company (seldom) and just heat/cool this room and the bedroom.

PLUS... trying to heat/cool a whole garage for one small corner is not efficient. By the time I fired up the heater(s) and got it comfortable, I could have had 4 or 5 tasks done upstairs. I DO try to do my dye work in the garage, though.

In addition, some of your dyes/finishes, etc don't do well if they freeze, do there's that. IN addition to heating up the garage, now, you have to go pull whatever fluids/pastes from wherever you've stored them to keep them warm, use them, put them back and so on.

I have used a variety of electric space heaters, kerosene heaters and propane torpedo heaters. All have pros and cons... electric is highly inefficient for large areas, kerosene and propane need ventilation in the work area, which negates some of the heat. You may have to ventilate some of the IR heaters as well, since it's a burning gas.. not sure though.

If I was going to be in the garage again, I would put up walls and a door, and use an electric heater.. Ideally, I would build the garage room with a window and use a combo window air conditioner/heater.

Good luck

[biglew]

really sucks but I use the living room.... commercial sewing machine.. steady workbench butted up to the fireplace with presses and small machines bolted to it....Ahuge table on wheels for cutting. Then the dinning room tabs I use for assembly. Oh yeah a small couch and a tv... now where I store my supplies is another matter. I guess there will never be a spare room for friends to stay over... oh well

then the 3 1/2 and 5 ton press in the garage plus a few other machines

good luck

Lew

[Wild Bill46]

Boyce -----------------------------------------------------------------

I'm afraid, I'll be short on advise for you.

You see, I'm like some of the others with quit a small work station.

I have plans to move into the spare bedroom for my work area, but, I'm still waiting to find time to build a custom bench

to fit that small spare bedroom, and for my lil lady to clear ahm or /sort her clutter there.

These accomplished , although still small, its bigger than the tiny desk I'm now using in the computer area. ---- Wild Bill46.

[biglew]

look at the harbor freight woodworking bench... when on sale it makes a good bench

[midwestislander]

When I was working in a cold basement, I hung clear plastic dropcloths ( the heavier disposable painting kind from home depot) and stapled them from the rafter/ceiling to separate them from the rest of the area. For the door, I had 3 foot overlap that I could leave lapped or drawn back for ventilation. Then I used an electric heater. Between the heater and my lights/lamps, it was comfortably warm.

Edited October 23, 2014 by midwestislander

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

For years now my basement has been my shop. Basically since I started doing leather, however; when I was building cars I used my barn, 30 X 52. Obviously heating the whole thing in Michigan winters was out of the question even though there is 4" foam insulation in the walls, and 15" blown in above. What I did was make three movable walls out of studs covered with visquene on both sides and with feet so they would stand up by themselves. Then I got a fuel oil heater out of an old house trailer (you can find them in scrap yards or on craigs list very cheap. They are usually about 65,000 BTU or so and will stand up against a wall which makes your vent for exhaust right where you need it. Hook it up, and you can work all winter in shirt sleeves, cheaper than with electricity, and you can turn it down to about 45 deg when not in there to keep your stuff from freezing. Just saying that's what I did when building cars and engines. I have always thought that I would make a permanent 30X 20 shop inside the barn and set it up with heat / air, it already has water, and 220V, but; the older I get , just going downstairs to "work" has shown to be a more pleasing way to spend the winter months, especially since I don't have to do anything , but; turn on the lights and the music.

Bob

[Wild Bill46]

Yeah Bob; ____________________________

Know exactly what you mean in saying hard to maneuver as you age, and the music, lights, the coffee, heat just a few steps away.

Added to that you could even do these things without dressing if you so desired !

Sorry for the intrusion on your thread, TBoyce . ---------------------------- Wild Bill46

[JerseyFirefighter]

Id been looking at an http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-MH18B-Portable-Propane/dp/B0002WRHE8 The cheapest I found was 110. A propane heater able to heat 420 sq ft. I have about 6 propane tanks so I know this would work. I would use this heater then once the area is warm, utilize a celing mounted infrared heater to maintain the warm atmosphere. Your mileage may vary.