O/T no west coast replies...garage heat question...need help

[delaware george]

sorry about the off topic post,but it's starting to get cold here...in my garage i have a kerosene heater...it seems to heat the place pretty nice and stays warm once it's up to temp.....someone told me that i have to get something a couple feet tall to sit it on or i'll blow up my garage...i never seen one in a house on anything and don't want to knock it over,but don't want to blow up either...is it because of the car gas tanks? wanted a heater like this because we only have electric and if the power ever went out,i wanted something that i could use in the house if i had to....anyone ever hear of this?should i get a different heater?i don't have gas lines or a ton of money to sink on this....thanks alot..george http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[Unkl Ian]

Paint fumes are heavier than air,so they would collect near the floor.As long as your not spraying paint,or dumping gas on the floor,I doubt it's a problem.

[McGrath]

I wouldn't worry about it too much, people around here use everything from waste oil heaters, to Woodstoves and Kerosene "Salamanders".

If you have a leak in your Fuel tank, you may have a problem, but other than that I wouldn't worry about it.

[delaware george]

cool...i don't paint in my garage...a little striping,but no spraying...but that was kind of scary to hear

[36-3window]

if you accidentlly spilled some gas,or had the fuel tank in you car overflow,it could run right over to the kerosene heater and start a fire. i believe this is the same reason that houses on the west coast that have the hot water heaters in the garage are raised up from the floor

[FEDER]

BEWARE!!!!! The LEL (lower explosive levels) of kerosene is oh Fuck It Im from the west coast---FEDER

[Rooster]

Sure ya already know that paint stripper vapor is heavier than air and would give the same explosive results, right? I bought one of those kerosene heaters in case the electric went out, last year. It's still in the box awaiting an emergency... FWIW, I like my propane 50K BTU salamander the best! (long as there's lectric!) cuz it let's me direct the heat in any direction, horizontal or vertical, that I might need it.

[delaware george]

i didn't mean any ill towards the west coast...just figured i'd get a bunch of how nice the weather is here posts http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[delaware george]

wouldn't a kerosene salamander or propane explode the fumes as well?

[DrJ]

After being dry as a bone in Mojave, and having a week long fire that burned a forest the size of Rhode Island, it's been raining like Noah forgot to build the Ark and now there's probably mud slides coming down where the trees aren't holding the earth in one place.
Yep, It's just like Paradise in So, Cal right now.
I even turned on a heater because it got below 70ºf and the Flu is holding my body hostage....

Wouldn't it be safer to run some kind of heat exchanger/radiator type heater with the flamed source somewhere safer?

You're probably right.. West coast people don't know what (long term) cold is.

[McGrath]

My first real Job was for an outfit that built Bucket Elevators, and Conveyors. They had a Devilbiss HVLP system in a specially built building and used a Giant Propane Salamander to heat the Booth. It pointed right into the room like a Jet engine.

It never caught anything on fire, and they painted all day long. Maybe because it was running all the time and burning the fumes before they had time to build up to Dangerous levels. The whole system was Designed by a Devilbiss Rep, and he was the one that suggested the Giant Salamander.

[cornfieldrodder]

i've used all sorts of heaters and not had aproblem. 'Course I dont paint in the winter
I got a propane heater to gointo the rafters this year
Why press my luck?

[flt-blk]

Uhhhh, What's a Salamander heater??
TZ

[McGrath]

A Salamander looks like a Jet Engine setting on top of a fuel Tank. Runs off #1 Diesel, or Kerosene, some run off Propane. Used mainly on Farms, Construction site, etc. Puts out a hell of a lot of heat, and a slight odor, unless you have a Propane one.

[Deyomatic]

A salamander also can have a long hose that allows you to aim the heat where you want it, or to remove the unit from any explosive atmospheres.

[fordnutz]

Maybe I can help out here. I live in the frozen north and am a licensed gas fitter/troubleshooter. Most places have regulations for heating appliances in garages due mostly to the gasoline problem. Usually there is a requirement to have the pilot light so many inches/feet off the floor to eliminate the problem of the pilot igniting gas fumes. Gasoline isn't fussy about the percentage of gas in air for ignition. Natural gas has to be 5-15 percent gas in air to ignite. Especially a problem with a propane powered vehicle leak as propane is heavier than air and will stay low and fill the entire room before ignition. Sort of like water filling a container until it fills it to the point of reaching an ignition source. Regulations vary from state to state and province to province. Rule of thumb is a about 18 inches off the floor. Check your building code in your area to find out the height yours should be. Build yourself a sturdy stand out of steel to sit it in. Better safe than sorry.

[D Picasso]

anyone from Moosejaw who's telling you about heat is probably right.

it gets nippy down here in the desert occasionally, and I find small radiant heaters work well. obviously it can't heat an entire room but for directing heat to one spot and warming up quickly, it can't be beat.
infrared lamps are also very effective and a good light source to boot.

[delaware george]

thanks for the tips....so as long as the heater is over 18 inches off the floor it should be ok?...it's still hard to imagine that a redi heater wouldn't make the same problem http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[fordnutz]

I had a friend working on a leaking gas tank that dropped a trouble lite. Used to have a nice car and truck. Almost lost his house too. Gasoline and ignition sources are not good. I also used to, as part of my job at the gas company, investigate fires to make sure natural gas wasn't involved. You can't believe how stupid some people are with gasoline around ignition sources. Yes, the hot water tank caused the explosion if you don't count the guy cleaning parts with gasoline. People never fail to amaze me. If there is a safe way to do it, use it.

[Deyomatic]

Too many people are WAY too comfortable with gasoline. The last time I was at my parents' house, my mother wanted to go down to the store and fill up the gas can for the lawn mower. We had other errands to run, so she wanted to fill it on the way back. NOT so that the car wouldn't stink, but because she wanted to smoke in the car. I couldn't believe it. Yeah, the likelihood of the fumes building up in the trunk to the point where the her cigarrette in the front seat would touch it off is pretty slim, but WHY RISK IT? Shit, I'll pull over if you NEED a cigarette that bad.

[Machinos]

So are those "salamander" heaters safe to use around painting or not? My dad's big garage has a gas furnace in it that doesn't get it warm enough for painting in the winter, and I don't think it'd be safe to run it while painting, but if I warmed it up first (gets to about 50 degrees) and then ran a propane heater, I think I might be able to paint. As long as it's safe to do, that is.

[fordnutz]

Thinners and ignition sources are bad. I always turn off my pilot light in the gas unit heater when painting in the garage. On glue products and handyman paints for the house they always say use in a well ventilated area, turn off all ignition sources. Real paint booths use explosion proof lights and don't have furnaces in them. They use make-up air units or draw the heat from the shop through filters. They do that for a reason. No big bangs. I have seen too many explosions not to be safety conscious.

[McGrath]

That Paint booth I mentioned had one entire Wall used as the Exhaust. At Least a 15 ft long by 12 ft tall area, covered by Filters, with a Giant Grain Bin type Fan drawing the Fumes through it. I am sure that had something to do with the Fact that it never exploded from the Salamander.

The Giant Salamander was the only heat source that could even begin to keep up with the Heat loss caused by the Exhaust system. Like the other guys say, better safe than sorry, but I know a hell of a lot of people that use Salamanders to heat Shops and Garages, with no explosions.

Gross neglegence is generally what causes fires, in my opinion. If people are dumping thinner all over the floor, or working on Gas tank leaks without the doors open and a big Fan running to clear the fumes, they are asking for it.

[delaware george]

nothing like that...havent even been working on the car that much....just had it parked near the heater and that's when my buddy told me i was gonna blow up...he's a dipshit so i thought he was full of it,but freaked me out none the less....thanks alot for all of your infomation...george