Garage Heater

[Paul H]

Looking to add heating for occasional use in my garage , brick built 6m x 4m up and over door . I was considering a diesel heater like used in motor homes . Any body done this ? Don’t want to use electricity as up to the limit . I can fit outside and pipe in 

Paul 

[KevinR]

I've been using a Dantherm VA-M15 to heat a rather large "workshop" for the last few weeks, and its brilliant.

It sits outside and blows warmed air in via a pipe.

It can be setup to either draw in fresh air and hear it, or recirculate the air from the zone being heated.

Not outrageously expensive to run, but I wouldn't like to have to but a new (or even 2nd hand) one myself.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164912815144?hash=item266591dc28:g:aWwAAOSwHX9d-n7T&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoAfx2JxQBvyf5y6%2BC%2FtqMH20k8JqDmXPDYiBdjUL60Aa1QtBFygvbIDrwJRGE%2B4mXbWfuBkm0kyWwJq4Db9Q%2Bay3Z%2FY5QbRjnvqFG4BNzhoN%2FA6V%2FlvKm5LCcZBEUqEZ33s5Yg8Gb8TmrdiKEGJKJi%2BEjmQw6FZn%2BMXE7LlS%2FrRHRpAin0P083Tk4Lemyj77ndrGkzRk%2Ffqms%2B%2B2Tqst6Ys%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR_rR1ZOgYQ

 

[Clive]

This has made me interested. 

Plenty of people have used them, the 5-8kw chinese ones for about £100. Needs a 12V supply, and half a brick out of the wall to run the inlet and exhaust, or if you run it outside the garage a bigger hole. 

I would like to know how runnig costs compare to electric.

[PeteH]

Cannot comment on the latest Chinese ones except to say plenty are getting retrofitted to Motorhomes currently. Many years back I rescued an eberspacher from o scrap BT van and fitted that to an R V with decent results. I have an lpg heater for the garage at present but it’s quite expensive to run even on gas from the cheapest sources. AND, they make a lot of moisture/condensation too. I’m on the lookout for a multi fuel stove, burn all the workshop crap in it and convert to burn old engine oil.

Pete 

 

[Pete Lewis]

no experience to offer im stuck with electric  , some years back rescued from a closing dealership  two over door heat curtain blower fires that has  2kw  and a 4kw setting 

i dont use the 4kw these days and one is just kept as a spare any idea of running two at 8kw wouls put me in the looney bin

Pete

[Paul H]

2 hours ago, clive said:

This has made me interested. 

Plenty of people have used them, the 5-8kw chinese ones for about £100. Needs a 12V supply, and half a brick out of the wall to run the inlet and exhaust, or if you run it outside the garage a bigger hole. 

I would like to know how runnig costs compare to electric.

This is the type I’m considering . Meeting my Son in law next weekend he’s just fitted a 5kw diesel heater to his T25 VW Motorhome . I’ll report back with his findings 

Paul 

[JohnD]

I have a Little Devil space heater, runs off a propane cylinder and the electricity (just for the fan).     I use up about one cylinder a year, so not too expensive, and it can be used anywhere that has a power supply.

 

[Pete Lewis]

just dont use any open flamed heater when youre messing with fuel or thinners  or it may get too hot !!!

Pete

[JohnD]

Unless you mounted the diesel burner outside , then I suppose the same would apply.

Plus, I was very cautious about the Devil at first, fearing CO poisoning, but various tests showed nothing and it must burn very clean -the fan helps!    Would that be true of a diesel?

[PeteH]

MIne is similar to j_D`s. Just slightly larger. When I do use it It runs for a while and when the garage get too hot so I switch it off. Since "lockdown" the price of Propane has nearly doubled. I used to pay under 20quid exchange for a 19kg propane. it`s now closer to 36quid. Flogas, 6Kg was £14 (ish) currently £25.75. Calor is even more expensive @ £31.50.

The way the Eberspacher, and Chinese clones work, the combustion gasses are vented separately. The heated air is ducted separately from the exhaust. So theoretically, if you conduct the exhaust to the outside of the building, there is no access to the "flame" or any other source of ignition. In this manner they are used universally as "night heaters" in Trucks, and we sometimes slept with them running too!. If we turned them off, it was more for the noise than any danger. Most come with timers so you can set start and stop times. There is an Ebespacher fitted to the current Motorhome, Merc; Spinter base, It functions as a heater booster to quicken the warm-up from cold, brilliant on a cold morning or to demist the windscreen quickly.

Pete

[68vitesse]

If intending to burn old engine oil.

https://garagewire.co.uk/news/associations/iga/small-waste-oil-burner-confusion-remains-two-years-on-from-regulation-changes/

Regards

Paul.

[KevinR]

The Dantherm VA-M15 we have been using for the last few weeks lives outside the building, and the hot air is ducted in.  

It was designed as a military tent heater, specifically to ensure that no combustion gasses get into the hot air that is being ducted into the tent or building.

Therefore all the "dangerous" parts and combustion gasses are safely dispersed outside and the air in the tent or building is clean and safe.

The VA-M15 pumps out 38KW of heat, and we are heating a tent the size of a quadruple garage inside a much larger building, and we are getting through about 10 litres of diesel per day.

I would worry that one of the small 5-8KW jobbies would be inadequate to heat a garage, other than to take the "edge" off the cold - they are designed for heating camper vans and cars.

[Richeee]

Purely by chance came across this video.   I say chance because everything we do or read is being watched by advertisers etc.

Anyway was reading the forum.     Then went to go go on youtube and this video popped up about diesel heaters.

May or may not be relavent.

 

 

[PeteH]

This one intrigued me.

Pete

[Wagger]

My motorhome has refillable gas tanks. About half the price of LPG bottles. I can fit a tube to it and pipe it to the garage.

[ahebron]

I was going to post the one PeteH has.
It seems to be a reasonable unit and there is info on waste oil conversions.
Pricing in NZ is comparable
Not needed here though we are high 20s C which is not good. 

[Paul H]

11 hours ago, PeteH said:

This one intrigued me.

Pete

Hi Pete that was the brand I was looking at though hadn’t checked the videos . Looks like 8kw will heat my garage . 

Paul 

 

[thescrapman]

On 11/12/2022 at 20:33, KevinR said:

The Dantherm VA-M15 we have been using for the last few weeks lives outside the building, and the hot air is ducted in.  

It was designed as a military tent heater, specifically to ensure that no combustion gasses get into the hot air that is being ducted into the tent or building.

Therefore all the "dangerous" parts and combustion gasses are safely dispersed outside and the air in the tent or building is clean and safe.

The VA-M15 pumps out 38KW of heat, and we are heating a tent the size of a quadruple garage inside a much larger building, and we are getting through about 10 litres of diesel per day.

I would worry that one of the small 5-8KW jobbies would be inadequate to heat a garage, other than to take the "edge" off the cold - they are designed for heating camper vans and cars.

That’s £80 a day to heat the garage!!

I think I would put an extra jumper on.

[Richeee]

Since you started this thread, i have been intrigued by the number of videos and ideas on using diesel heaters.  Tbh never new they existed / or were used for garages.

My intention today is hopefully go into my double garage and work on my herald rear wing.    Approx 6 hours. Warmth being provided by 2 3kw heaters either side of the garage.  34p x 6kw x 6 hours  Thats £12 on my hobby.   

I have a 1250 litre heating oil tank 3 foot from back of garage wall.   Just ordered a new top up at 90p litre. Seems they run on heating oil.

You have got me thinking.........

 

[Clive]

And a word ofwarning. There was something on the news about a batch of diesel heaters being seized.

https://uknip.co.uk/Breaking/News/breaking/suffolk-trading-standards-imports-surveillance-team-have-detained-973-diesel-heaters-at-the-port-of-felixstowe-over-the-last-two-months/

 

It seems mainly down to terrible installation instructions. So be careful what you buy!

[Colin Lindsay]

On 11/12/2022 at 18:40, JohnD said:

I have a Little Devil space heater, runs off a propane cylinder and the electricity (just for the fan).

I had one of those for years, amazing heat (till I dropped it and the fan went off centre, so rattled all the time)

During a TSSC Run at my garage, a mate's long-haired collie dog walked in front of it and singed right down to stubble all along one side.

 

[Richeee]

Pasty heating ability is another consideration.

[KevinR]

4 hours ago, thescrapman said:

That’s £80 a day to heat the garage!!

I think I would put an extra jumper on.

????

10 litres of (red) diesel costs £14, and we are heating a massive tent inside a building the size of a football pitch with no other heating, so the heat loss is enormous.

I would expect it to cost about 50p of fuel an hour to heat a double garage.

 

[JohnD]

I won't ask what you are doing inside that tent of yours, Kevin, no doubt you couldn't possibly say!

But unless the building that the tent lines is very draughty, the air gap between tent and walls should provide insulation, just by inhibiting convection losses.

Three things last for ever in heat loss - Conduction, Evaporation and Convection.  And yeah, Brothers and Sisters, the greatest of these is Convection!

 

John

[steveo]

Got an old oil burner in the house from the late 1990's (Heating world sorrento) really cheap to run, told by the plumber 9 years ago it was too old & needed replacing, never missed a beat in all that time, running 7 radiators.

Due to selling the house we thought a proper service would probably be needed to make sure its safe for out buyer, tried 4 local firms, no one will work on it as its too old & no bits are available (I manage to get bits new from ebay)  and it needs replacing at 4 grand.

Looks like I will be servicing it myself as I have done for the last 7 years since the bloke that did it retired due to poor health, always thought if I can rebuild a car/motorbike from end to end I can service a oil fire, lots of info online as well.

The thing that really bugs me is that the internals of the thing (Ecoflam minor 1 burner) are the same as newer Rayburns/Argas, still available new online, so this "no service parts" is bulls**t, they just don't like it as its in an old style box.

Why does everyone want to replace old things that work well with poorly made modern toss that only last 10 years?

Rant over,

Cheers, Steve.