Best Heating Option For Your Hobby Shed

[FlyinFlynn]

12 hours ago, Sam Longley said:

Am I the only one that found these diesel heaters useless. I seem to spend my time filling it with fuel & the heat from it is pretty poor inspite of my trying different settings & checking instructions on the internet. For the 12 V supply, a battery on its own is insufficient, so I hook it up to a battery charger. That in itself is not a problem

My shed is a concrete garage 22ft * 10 ft 8 ft storey with pitched roof.with 25mm celotex to all walls & ceiling. This is covered with 6mm plywood to avoid damage.

I found a butane heater far quicker to heat the building, but it kept going out due to the gas being cold.

So I have now bought a propane blower & I turn it on for 8-10 minutes with the door slihjtly ajar then it is so hot I have to take my coat off. The shed stays warm for 60 mins & i repeat the process.

These diesel heaters are primarily aimed at the car or truck warming market in really cold climates, perhaps you were expecting a little too much from it  to heat 1760 square foot space in 10 minutes?

[Sam Longley]

1 hour ago, FlyinFlynn said:

These diesel heaters are primarily aimed at the car or truck warming market in really cold climates, perhaps you were expecting a little too much from it  to heat 1760 square foot space in 10 minutes?

I never said that I expected it to heat the workshop in 10 minutes. What I expected was a much lower consumption of fuel & a higher heat output.

It works out very expensive to run, (a lot more than calor gas) even using red diesel, that  I get from the local marina.

Being aimed at vehicles is OK but it is missleading to suggest that they are suitable for anything other than a small confined space. Certainly not a workshop. Lots of model makers probably use their garage & these heaters will not be suitable, unless one is prepared for the expense of running for long periods.

It is also quite noisy. That does not worry me, being inside the building. But anyone with an adjoining neighbour might want to take that into consideration. That being said I believe silencers are available at extra cost

[John15G]

I think that something might be wrong with your diesel heater. I have a slight smaller concrete garage (18 ft x 10ft), and it heats this without problems. When it -1 C recently it warmed the garage to 14C in about 30 minutes. The heater that I use does not get though much diesel. Max 5 L a month. I will note how much I use and will update on this thread.

JM

[Jason Channing]

14 hours ago, Sam Longley said:

Am I the only one that found these diesel heaters useless. I seem to spend my time filling it with fuel & the heat from it is pretty poor inspite of my trying different settings & checking instructions on the internet. For the 12 V supply, a battery on its own is insufficient, so I hook it up to a battery charger. That in itself is not a problem

My shed is a concrete garage 22ft * 10 ft 8 ft storey with pitched roof.with 25mm celotex to all walls & ceiling. This is covered with 6mm plywood to avoid damage.

I found a butane heater far quicker to heat the building, but it kept going out due to the gas being cold.

So I have now bought a propane blower & I turn it on for 8-10 minutes with the door slihjtly ajar then it is so hot I have to take my coat off. The shed stays warm for 60 mins & i repeat the process.

The disadvantage is the condensation by product from propane and butane which can be hell of a lot in a cold workshop, where as The diesel heater produces dry air, Using a 12 volt 20 amp power supply works perfectly with no issues and the fuel consumption is pretty low.

 

[Phil Green]

1 hour ago, Sam Longley said:

... it is missleading to suggest that they are suitable for anything other than a small confined space. Certainly not a workshop.

 

Sam, this thread is all about people doing exactly that, using a diesel heater for their workshop.  After 17 pages it seems odd to declare "Certainly not a workshop" 😁

Could there be something wrong with your heater or its setup?  Is it a draughty workshop? does the heater airflow feel hot? any insulation? (ceiling first) 🙂

Edited December 13, 2023 by Phil Green

[Martin McIntosh]

A agree that you must have a faulty unit. Is it 5kW with integral tank or only 2kW needing a separate tank?

Mine works  fine in my wooden 5m x 3m x 2.5 to apex, lined with 25mm foam with hardboard covering.

Be very careful with butane/propane. I used this in the past and found that I felt drunk after an hour despite there being plenty of ventilation. It was of course CO poisoning.

[Barnstormer 52]

Good advice Martin.

 

I would not be happy in the workshop with the diesel heater (or anything else for that matter) without a carbon monoxide detector/alarm present.

 

It does sound as though there is something wrong with Sam's unit.

 

I use more than John's 5ltr month but have not used enough that I have started to worry about the cost.

 

I could not get red diesel from my local marina, they said the laws had tightened and they needed to see proof of ownership of the vessel.

 

Geoff

[Sam Longley]

48 minutes ago, Barnstormer 52 said:

Good advice Martin.

 

I would not be happy in the workshop with the diesel heater (or anything else for that matter) without a carbon monoxide detector/alarm present.

 

It does sound as though there is something wrong with Sam's unit.

 

I use more than John's 5ltr month but have not used enough that I have started to worry about the cost.

 

I could not get red diesel from my local marina, they said the laws had tightened and they needed to see proof of ownership of the vessel.

 

Geoff

No problem- I have a yacht & get the reduced tax rate as it is for heating.

Edited December 13, 2023 by Sam Longley

[Sam Longley]

4 hours ago, Martin McIntosh said:

A agree that you must have a faulty unit. Is it 5kW with integral tank or only 2kW needing a separate tank?

Mine works  fine in my wooden 5m x 3m x 2.5 to apex, lined with 25mm foam with hardboard covering.

Be very careful with butane/propane. I used this in the past and found that I felt drunk after an hour despite there being plenty of ventilation. It was of course CO poisoning.

Do not need it on for an hour. 8-10minutes & the workshop is a bit too hot. So I leave the door open 4 inches whilst it is running. Theen shut it when I turn it off. No need to run it for another 50 minutes, when I give it another burst. Condensation is NOT a problem as it does not run long enough. My shed is not airtight, but still fairly well sealed. Mine is an integral unit.

Edited December 13, 2023 by Sam Longley

[Jason Channing]

11 minutes ago, Sam Longley said:

Do not need it on for an hour. 8-10minutes & the workshop is a bit too hot. So I leave the door open 4 inches whilst it is running. Theen shut it when I turn it off. No need to run it for another 50 minutes, when I give it another burst. Condensation is NOT a problem as it does not run long enough. My shed is not airtight, but still fairly well sealed. Mine is an integral unit.

if you running it for only 10 minutes to heat up your concrete garage, I'm sure the fuel burn cant be that bad, as said before you will not get condensation as the moisture by product is exited via the exhaust, You may well have clouds forming outside your garage but not inside it.

 

Your posts are confusing as you say your the only one that finds them not very good yet you only run the heater for 10 minutes as it gets too hot inside the garage, If its heating up your garage in 10 minutes then I think your on a winner.

[Sam Longley]

5 hours ago, Phil Green said:

 

Sam, this thread is all about people doing exactly that, using a diesel heater for their workshop.  After 17 pages it seems odd to declare "Certainly not a workshop" 😁

Could there be something wrong with your heater or its setup?  Is it a draughty workshop? does the heater airflow feel hot? any insulation? (ceiling first) 🙂

I think that it is important to get alternative views. having had a yacht for the past 56 years & cruised extensively around the Uk & near Europe I spend a lot of time on yachting forums. I have also given some training & lead some club cruises over the years. Time & time again I will see people post stuff which they say is marvellous & it makes me cringe. I often wonder if they actually know what "good" is compared to " pretty poor". People will say how good their sails are- They are infact baggy old rags. They will say how fast their boat is- Not really.

 

An example- nothing to do with sailing- but some might recognise it- was a particular firm doing easy cook meals, which one ordered on line. Covid had started & shortages appeared in the shops. So seeing this my wife & i invested £70 in the so called excellent meals. On the first meal I had a beef concoction, My wife liver & bacon. A couple of mouthfulls in to them & we both spat out whatever rubbish it was. Someon the forum insisted it was good. Most agreed it was c..p. But it goes to show that some just accept rubbish because their expectations are low. We put the rest in the free food bin.

Now I would never try to insult those here by suggesting that forumites here are quite in that zone,( please do not take this in the disrespectful face value that it might look) but some may have lower expectations. No problem with that, but reviews can be misleading.

I am offering my experiences & opinion. Others are quite entitled to tear them apart- No animosity taken if they do. However, some might decide to look further before investing hard earned cash.

Edited December 13, 2023 by Sam Longley

[Sam Longley]

5 minutes ago, Jason Channing said:

if you running it for only 10 minutes to heat up your concrete garage, I'm sure the fuel burn cant be that bad, as said before you will not get condensation as the moisture by product is exited via the exhaust, You may well have clouds forming outside your garage but not inside it.

 

Your posts are confusing as you say your the only one that finds them not very good yet you only run the heater for 10 minutes as it gets too hot inside the garage, If its heating up your garage in 10 minutes then I think your on a winner.

I run my new Calor one for short time- Apologies-I should have made it clear. That was in response to the quote about carbon monoxide inside the building. The diesel heater can run full time as the exhaust gas is ejected via the piping through the wall.