howplum Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 I am in the throes of refurbishing my single attached garage to try and make it more user friendly in the colder months. It is single brick thickness with a timber door and a large window at the back. The roof is felted and tiled. It has no insulation so I am focusing on making it as draught free as possible, which shouldn't be too difficult. From experience fan heaters are not particularly effective, so I am wondering about an infrared heater of about 2Kw over the workbench instead. Does anyone have any experience of these, either good or bad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 33 minutes ago, howplum said: I am in the throes of refurbishing my single attached garage to try and make it more user friendly in the colder months. It is single brick thickness with a timber door and a large window at the back. The roof is felted and tiled. It has no insulation so I am focusing on making it as draught free as possible, which shouldn't be too difficult. From experience fan heaters are not particularly effective, so I am wondering about an infrared heater of about 2Kw over the workbench instead. Does anyone have any experience of these, either good or bad? If you make the improvements as stated above, the fan heaters will become quite effective as there will be far less ventilation heat loss. I made my man shed super draught-proof and 5 mins with the 1500w fan heater and all is well. IR are fine if you are staying in one place, as they 'heat what they hit', so not what I would choose for my own needs. The heat is instant from IR though, so merits are plentiful either way TBH. I just prefer the whole space heated and clutter / shelving walls etc cannot be taken up by panels. The fan heater just sits in one corner on the floor and is plugged in on demand. I'm just not a fan of having so much local heat concentrated in one place only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 My large workshop is not insulated and a bit draughty and would cost a fortune to heat but I installed an IR heater above the bench for when I am stood there and it works great (as long as I don’t move about). When I am not at the bench working mid winter it’s thermal underwear and bobble hat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howplum Posted July 29, 2020 Author Share Posted July 29, 2020 Thanks for your responses. To recap then: A) Focus on draught proofing. B) Use fan heater (s) for background heat whilst under the car. C) Install an IR heater above the workbench. After that I may reuse some of the double glazed units from the house, which are being replaced, since presumably the window glass is the least thermally efficient material in the structure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 The fan heaters I bought have a switch on the underside. If they tip over they cut out. Safety first, so if you’re working on cars you need to keep the fan heaters well away from the stuff that makes them go ! Also, if draught-proofing, you must watch for the accumulation of fumes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howplum Posted July 29, 2020 Author Share Posted July 29, 2020 41 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said: Also, if draught-proofing, you must watch for the accumulation of fumes. Good point! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now