Indoor Propane heaters 18000 Btu for Shop ?

[ecomodded]

A work light modified for floor use would be Bright (and warm) as Full sunlight . . and easy enough to do I like it.

[philb]

I have a heater like the Dyana-Glo in an enclosed space where I work. It does a great job and is fairly fuel efficient. My unit also has an oxygen sensor. The heater cannot be lit if there's not enough O2 and it will also extinguish the flame if O2 levels fall below its threshold if it is lit. I still won't trust it without an alarm on the wall.

Also had one in a 2500 sq. ft. house a few years back. That heater took $400 per month off my electric bill.

The CO, CO2 and VOC alarms are a good idea anytime you are using propane because it settles toward the floor. I tested several of these alarms against EPA certified instruments in my past life. All the alarms tested higher than the true concentration. At 2 PPM, the alarms read at 10-15 PPM. That was a big relief. Please keep in mind the alarms use a membrane that does not respond to instantaneous changes in concentrations because they don't have anyway to circulate the air through the membrane.

A modified floor light sounds really good after I think about it. It's easy to unplug and move wherever you need it.

[AC_Hacker]

Originally Posted by philb

...All the alarms tested higher than the true concentration. At 2 PPM, the alarms read at 10-15 PPM. That was a big relief...

I think your numbers are way off.

For instance,

Normal CO2 Levels

The effects of increased CO2 levels on adults at good health can be summarized:
normal outdoor level: 350 - 450 ppm
acceptable levels: < 600 ppm
complaints of stiffness and odors: 600 - 1000 ppm
ASHRAE and OSHA standards: 1000 ppm
general drowsiness: 1000 - 2500 ppm
adverse health effects expected: 2500 - 5000 ppm
maximum allowed concentration within a 8 hour working period: 5000 ppm

(The levels above are quite normal and maximum levels may occasionally happen from time to time.)

Extreme and Dangerous CO2 Levels
slightly intoxicating, breathing and pulse rate increase, nausea: 30,000 ppm
above plus headaches and sight impairment: 50,000 ppm
unconscious, further exposure death: 100,000 ppm

REFERENCE

I measured my "ventless heater", which I installed with cross ventilation, go up to and passing 1600 ppm, and I was getting dizzy...

-AC

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by ecomodded

Attachment 4876
This one is for indoor use apparently

Attachment 4877
Even a cheap Camping type would be good for those winter Projects

Use the stepped approach.
When its kind of cool out, maybe misting starting to get cold you can use a heat lamp for both heat and light to fight the chill away.
Out side, a heat pump wont do anything to keep your hands warm or provide light.
Then when it starting to get really cold use the radiant fuel fired heaters to keep your back side warm and the radiant heaters to keep your front and hands thawed if needed.
Again if out side a heat pump is useless. If used for a garage that is infrequently cold or used to preform work when cold then a heat pump is at worse a huge waste of money.
The Indoor use heater shown in the attachment have been used may years in the US.

I have one of those camping radiant heaters and two 40lb propane tanks to fuel it. It is my emergency backup heater.

The house I lived in has natural gas, the old guy that lived there before us would close him self off in the insolated back room with a natural gas heater in a 500 square foot room with his heater going, was in very bad cardio health for the past 5 years, till he was 84 years old and it didn't finish him off.
The heater he used was almost identical to the "indoor heater" attachment.

I have a 2 car garage I am going to run gas out to and install a few gas outlets and reuse that old 18,000BTU/hr heater out there. The 2 car attached garage is drafty and about 1000sq.ft.

[ecomodded]

I have been using a 1500w ceramic heater for my heat source if forced to do winter repairs. As a bonus when using the work lamp the heat output would be little effected by wind or the large open surroundings as its a direction IR heat source.

The quartz lights can be a fire hazard (like matches) and should be used with caution, keep it off the carpet haha.

[randen]

Guys

For the man cave. No mater the amount of usage. I believe the best bang for the buck is a retired fan-forced furnace. You can use a BBQ tank. If you make yourself avalible to a contractor up-grading a client you can be the removal guy. $50-$100 could get you a good working albeit maybe a lower efficiency rating fan force furnace.

REMEMBER VENT PROPERLY!! Eco-Renovators don't work long on carbon monoxide.!!!!

Imagine you have a vehicle to repair. Put it in the garage flip the switch and 15 min toasty warm. No matter if its insulated or not, your not going to live out there. But when you need to be warm to accomplish the task.

We did this with my dads garage. For weeks he may not go there but when he has the desire. Boom its warm. He's not standing over one of those infared things trying to warm his hands. In all probability, not using anymore propane.

Randen

[Daox]

I'd have to agree with Randen. I've checked the craigslist around here and you can pickup an old forced air gas furnace for a couple hundred dollars.

[ecomodded]

The work light idea certainly deserves a try , especially if you have one sitting around ..


May need sunglasses though..haha

[philb]

AC-
My numbers as far as testing the battery powered alarms for CO2 are spot on. I wanted to see how accurate the alarms actually were. Sorry if I misled you.

[stevehull]

Phil,

40% CO2 is lethal. Even 4% is lethal. Perhaps the Apollo number was .4% but expressed as a ppm or other number. Even .4 is highly toxic (in minutes) so it might have been 0.04%


Steve