Hot Rods Beware!! Propane shop heaters are devastating! Pics of the carnage.

At least Bud wasn't injurded physically, the mental damage is enough. We are so fortunate to heat our shops with wood stoves, Rob Lee being a tree trimmer and our bro Buck works in a high end cabinet shop. Between them they supply starter wood and some nice logs. Please be careful guys, it happens so fast!! ~sololobo~

 

Best wishes


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I like what's refered to as a "unit heater", or what I call a hanging furnace. Mine's about 5 feet off the floor, natural gas, 175K BTUs. It's one of those old faithful type heaters you've seen in service garages your whole life. They can also be jetted for propane. The flame is in the heat exchanger vented through the roof. It's all UL approved and has all the standard safety features. Hit it hard and it all goes out. Fan is thermostatically operated and blows long after the flame's out. Fumes are heavier than air, flame is over 5' up and properly vented. It can be isolated enough to even provide heat for painting but I still shut it down even though I've blocked it off and vented the paint area. Converted home furnaces and ducting the garage for them is too risky. The flames are on the floor or very nearly so. The best safety measure? LOGIC. Flames. Fumes. Ventilation. All important. I'm glad nobody was hurt this time. Trouble lights? Fuckin hate em, but not for fear of fire. In over 40 years of this shit I never had a light bulb near gasoline. Hot light, fuel vapor, akin to checking the fuel level with a lighter

 

I also have one of these. It pulls combustion air from the outside around the outside of the exhaust pipe to keep it cool. No exposed flame inside the building. I also have floor heat using water heated by a high efficiency propane water heater that also draws outside air for combustion and has no open flame in the building. I also have an electric water heater used during off-peak times when the rates are lower.

I live in Wisconsin and keep the garage about 45 in the winter so I wonder why a heater is even needed in Bakersfield.

 

I know not everyone can afford it but radiant heat in the cement is the way to go. I just finished my 24X30 with heated floors and cant wait to put it to the test. No worries about getting things too close, explosions, or fires. And no more cold feet while your head is sweating or getting down on a cold floor for me.

 

a couple of years back i sprung for 2 220volt electric heaters for my 1000 ft shop. i have them suspended from the ceiling. they do pretty good. i am so glad i left the propane behind. flip it off or walk outside with it running for a bit and i feel comfortable with leaving it.

 

I agree with hoggyrubber. I'd say electric is best if open flames are an issue. I have a 220volt electric heater in my shop. I also like Big Jim's option but if the water or glycol is heated by an open flame boiler, that can suck in explosive fumes from the shop work area, that's probably not good either.

 

Excuse me for a minute while I go out to the shop and throw away my trouble light....

 

The furnace is in the house over 6' above the garage floor with a fire door between it per local code. A lot of thought went into doing it right. If it was an existing garage I would use forced hot air with the ignition source as far away from the floor as possible.

 

This is what I have [only one, not two]. I super insulated my shop 24x30 and it will run me out of there. I replaced the bulb in my old trouble light with a C-F bulb but after reading this thread I think I'll toss it out and go L.E.D.

 

Thats what i do. Safe and it saves you on your gas or electric bill.

 

YOU win the tough guy award hands down! Glad you are still with us.

 

I'm back. It's gone. Thanks for the warning, guys...I never realized how dangerous those things are.

As far as heat, I am very happy with my radiant electric system. I went that route because it's very efficient and there is no air movement to blow away my argon. I decided it was the next best thing to the in floor heating, which I just couldn't afford at the time.

 

Glass or not, that sucks big time. Glad that nobody was hurt.

 

Open flames in the shop isn't the problem, the problem is improper containment of combustibles WIH do you think you get from a torch or any kind of electric welding?
Yes, propane fumes are heavier than air and sink, when they reach the heigth of an ignition source, boom!
Natural Gas fumes are lighter than air as are many other combustibles, you've got to control the combustbles. I do agree however, about the incandescent light bulbs in old style drop lights.
Never, ever forgot an incident back in the 60's. Friend was getting a black lacquer paint job on a '34 coupe at a local shop operated by an old timer.
Spray booth was in the basement of a building next door to his body shop, no exhaust system and, since it was Winter, an open flame gas radiant heater in the corner burning brightly.
Mr. Akin started spraying after he had tacked off the car, heater still burning in the corner. I said "Mr. Akin, aren't you concerned about that heater with lacquer fumes all over?" he replied that as long as the flame was there before the fumes, it would burn them up before they became explosive, then turned and sprayed lacquer directly into the heater flames. The flames sorta flared a bit and settled back down. He said, "Son as long as the fire is there first and in contact with the fumes before they build up, you have no problem".
Mr. Akin had worked @ the Ford Motor Co. plant in Atlanta way back. In 1934 he was the 2nd highest paid worker @ the plant on the line. He applied the pin stripe on one side of each and every car coming down the line, and made $.50 per hr. The man on the other side had been there lots longer and made $.55 per hr.
Fire in a shop is bad, but proper containment of combustibles is the key. Me? I use a "torpedo" 125,000 btu heaterburning diesel fuel. Can't get much more open flame than that!

 

OMG. i've always been paranoid about propane.

 

X 4 on the hanging 220V electric - I even have a spare waiting.

 

I've got one of these...

http://reverberray.com/


same ones you see in factories, arenas and other public spaces, completely sealed, no risk of ignition of fumes and made in the USA.

 

i am in the propane gas business. ALWAYS, remember , propane is heavier than air, it will settle if there is a leak. mix up some dish soap and water and spray ALL of the fittings and the regulator body for leaks each season. some of the heaters operate on high pressure, as much as 10 lbs. if the regulator is red, it is high pressure. dont try to mix them or patcch them if bad.also if the heater you are using has to be vented, then vent it. that is where your unburned flue gases go. any of you guys need advise or assistance, pm me and i will be glad to give you my phone number and answer questions about heaters, gas lines conversions, safty what ever. stay safe. propane is very safe for heat. you just got to understand what you are dealing with

 

I have a wood stove in my shop. Has worked well for 25 + years. I have a drain oil drip system I designed so as to save the rain forests.

I weld in the shop at least twice a week so the wood stove is no worse than the mig welder.

Tim

 

Fire is a serious thing that should not be taken lightly. Common sense=Safety.

 

I have a house furnace in my garage. Works great. It 'should' be safe.

 

Been using a wood stove 25+ years, if its combustible, it gets worked on with the big shop door open or completely outside. Common sense is the rule here, I value my shop and contents, I could never replace them. Welding, cutting steel all the ways possible are fire hazards, don't be working in the closed area with vapours, use the noggin. Sometimes though, shit happens to the best of us.

 

I use a electric heater in my garage. keeps the chill down. I would also like to tell a tale of heated floors. While in college, for body and metal working, we had floor heat. Which was really cool except on real cold days when you had to work under a car. You would get down there and very soon you would be asleep. I got locked in the shop twice.

 

Advise heeded on the drop light issue. Thanks for the tips on propane. Wood burner subscribed.

 

If you are talking a gas wall heater, depends on if it is direct vent to the outside, meaning the the combustion air doesnt come from the inside of the house, or in your case garage.

Direct vent heaters work great in a bedroom, it doesnt eat up your breathing air, gets it from outside. Flame/burners draw from the outside. Otherwise your just have an exposed flame.

 

Like was said. Don't get too paranoid about the trouble light/ drop light. It's the fumes/ combustables that are dangerous. Just a light switch lets out a spark, a grinder can ignite things, same as a welder. Always keep a water source and an A B Fireextinguisher. I have a bunch of 15 lb'ers around and also 2 of the high pressure water extinguishers that you can refill. There are always sparks in a working garage. And there's always a risk of fire if you don't prepare and keep fumes from gathering. I have Propane, Accetalene, oxygene and a ton of other flamable gas in containers. I just make sure that all are sealed and that I don't smell anything like gas before welding, etc. I have a Natural gas Reznor heater with a pilot light. When I paint, I turn the pilot light off.

 

I snoop gas connections before use. It works on mig gas as well. Soapy water, a spray bottle, I use eye glass cleaner.
It works on cutting torches and propane. I also do the the mig gas because I forget to close the bottle all the time and if there is a small leak the bottle be empty the next time you try it.
You'll be amazed the small leaks you'll find.

I'm paranoid about shop fires, my torches are stored under the carport.

 

Most homeowner policies will not cover fire in a garage if you use a wood stove, at least here in MI it's that way.

 

This might help but lately i've been using those "fluoresant" type bulbs for my drop lite ( the ones that look like pigtails).It doesn't heat up as much, it can withstand a"drop" pretty good & its cheap to use!!I get the 7w or 13w ones from the dollar store.They seem to last forever.
BUT they will spark when you first turn them on(inside the base) or they will burst if gas or water spills on them.
JimV