Evening folks,
Just wanted to get some feed back on heating my shop. I have been warned that radiant tube heating, while comfortable will dry out lumber and cause it to twist.
i have gas available and have aquired a furnace recently, just wondering what drawbacks i should expect and how to avoid them.
thanks for any input, Woody.
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Replies
You want your lumber wet???????????
Excellence is its own reward!
The drying out of wood is entirely dependent on the humidity in the shop, not the type of heat. If you shop is sealed up quite tightly, and you generate some moisture in the shop, then the humidity will stay up somewhat. But, most shops have no source of humidity, so end up dryer than a house would, regardless of the source of heat.
In any cold climate, a shop will be quite dry in the winter unless you provide humidification. Almost no one does. Generally, in a shop, it's better to be a little on the dry side than on the humid side, because rough wood you bring in tends to need to be a little dryer than when you acquired it.
If the wood were going to warp, it would anyway. If not in your shop, then in use in a dry home. Better to have the wood do what it's going to before you finish it to final size, anyway.
Radiant heat is great for a shop. There's no risk of sawdust clogging ductwork or building up on the heating components. No floorspace or wall space is taken up. You won't suck sawdust into the house if the shop and house are on a common system. It's mighty comfortable. And there's no fire hazard like there can be with a wood stove.
Of course, it's about the most expensive system you can install.
For a furnace, you'd have to be sure to keep it clean. The filters will clog often, so you'd have to keep on top of it. Occasionally, you'll need to check the heat exchanger and ductwork just to be sure they are clean. When using certain solvents, you'll have to lock the furnace off, including a pilot light if you have one.
Unless your furnace is very small capacity, it will cycle on and off frequently, because most furnaces are way to large to heat a single room. You'd never design a system like that, but if you already have a furnace for free you could live with it easily.
To keep it short here,
woody, you have been misinformed.
I could go into lengthy explainations if you wish, just ask..
Hey Frenchy,
What have i got myself into with this furnace. The shop is 24 x 22 with 12 foot ceilings. I have no problem with hanging the furnace if necessary. I was told that radiant gas tube heating will check and twist even dry lumber, not that i build a whole boat load of fine furniture. I am a small contractor ( myself and one helper), and traded my old cube van for the furnace. any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks Woody
OK, the heat source has little to do with the checkin and twisting of wood.. wood will check twist and dance the hootchie cootchie if itis improperly stored.. period.. NO Matter the heat source.. !!!!
a little further amplification.. wood used in construction, (2x4's and such) is shipped pretty damp about (19% moisture) and as it dries out it will want to releave internal stess.. if you left it in the middle of an unheated shop it will still want to check twist and dance on ya.. storing it properly will help reduce that tendancy. (but how much work do you want to go to for a board that only costs a couple of bucks to start with..) Furniture wood on the other hand is dried much further, typically around 7 % moisture.. thus it has less flexibility inherant in it (green wood is the most limber and dried furniture wood the least)
Now, it is true that certain types of furnaces will extract the moisture from the air faster and in certain cases it could cause the wood to develop internal stess called case hardening.. If ya ain't building furnature don't worry. If you are using the wood for construction store it flat with a wieght on it to keep it flat and it should never cause a problem..
'iffan ya want more information just ask.. glad to give you every bit of knowledge I got but hate to bore people..
ya - stay away from the radiant tube heat if you're gonna have projects set around the bench - woodstoves are traditional - I don't like hot air blowing dust around the shop, I'm sure the radiant floor mentioned is as good as he says it is, but if this is a retrofit, it might not be practical - I don't think you mentioned your location, that is a consideration...
Ya I forgot to mention that I am freezin up in Canada (Ottawa to be more precise). Not that bad now only about 3 degrees ( thats about 35 in fryin heat).
I guess I am stuck with the furnace for now , on account of the price bein right, I am not goin to miss the cube van. Any suggestions on hangin it near the ceiling and making a few drops off a round supply duct. I dont plan on installing the whole thing myself but i thing i could safely do the tin banging. Gas goes boom real easily and besides my licence says carpenter.
no more than it will twist your bones if you walk in wet......What a weird thing to suggest to someone.....
Radiant heat so rocks in such a subtle way.
Be warm
andy
My life is my practice!
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Sme body put the bad word out to you...
Unless you wamt everything in your shop wet.
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
I have had radiant heat in my shop for three years now it is the best! the floor is warm to lay on if you need to work on something , My truck bed can be full of snow at night and by morning every thing including the floor is nice and dry. If you leave a wrench on the floor its nice and warm when you pick it up. I would have to say besides building the shop itself it is the best thing I have done. If you put it in your shop you wont be sorry.
Mike
Mike, what sort of radiant heat are you talking about? In slab hydronic? Infrared from the ceiling? Electric?
I'm building my workshop now and have decided on infrared tube.
Leehttp://www.furniturecarver.com
HI Lee,
It is pex. tubing in the floor slab, running on an oil fired hot water furnace. I don't really know how it works but it does work great. My plumber that we use for our jobs recommended it to me and set me up with every thing I needed for the install, I was not sure I would go that route at first but decided to install it cause my plumber told me I was gonna hate my self if I did not do it. I bought all the tubing and fittings for around 600.00 And my plumber Jay Leblanc explained to me how to lay it out. The big thing was not to exceed 250 LF. of tubing before returning back to the manifold. I installed 2" t & G Styrofoam insulation on the ground and then put steel mesh in sheets with the little tree stands and starting from the outside working in zip tied the tubing to the mesh at 6" oc. till I was 3' into the garage and then did the rest at 18" oc. I think spacing is determined buy your location I'm in MA. My shop is 32' x 40' and I have it set up with two zones,one for shop and one for my office. I have some digital pictures I will try to find and send to you. Jay told me not to try and make rocket science out of it when laying the tubing and I didn't. After putting it in the floor Jay did all the other plumbing stuff He got me a used boiler for 100.00 I also have heard of people using a hot water heater to run radiant but don't know anybody personally that has tried that route.
Mike
Forced air heating in a shop is not only a nuisance, but dangerous. No open flame should exist in any shop and any blowing only stirs up dust. There is also a vast difference in temperature from the concrete slab your standing on and the ceiling. You freeze from your knees down as you're wearing a t-shirt. Whatever furnace type you use, make sure it is fed air from the outside for combustion.