Low oxygen shut off is of course very important. But just having plenty of oxygen available, through leaky windows and boards or whatever is only part of what you need to worry about when you are burning anything in an enclosed space. Carbon Monoxide, AKA CO, will kill you even when there is plenty of oxygen available. And it can kill you slowly enough that you don't even notice. This is because CO sticks better to the hemoglobin in your blood than oxygen. Hemoglobin is what carries oxygen in your blood and delivers it to the rest of your body. Carbon Monoxide, since it sticks to hemoglobin better than oxygen, will crowd out the oxygen in the air you are breathing. And it doesn't let go easily. This means it builds up in your blood over time, whereas oxygen doesn't. So if enough CO is present in the air you are breathing it will eventually bind to enough of your hemoglobin to suffocate you, even though there is a normal amount of oxygen in the air you are breathing. And it gets worse, because CO not only prevents you from using the available oxygen and so causes suffocation, it is also a poison. So it is best you not only have plenty of ventilation, you must also make sure your heat source also burns cleanly. I have a CO alarm in my house for this very reason because I have a gas furnace.Hi all. Thank you for all of the recommendations and advice. I think my non insulated garage is leaky enough to invite fresh air without any extra effort. Good to look for a unit that has some kind of O2 safety shutoff.
I recall my parents having a kerosene heater for the house many years ago. And the smell... But it sounds like modern kerosene/diesel are much better about that.
I have one of those propane flame throwers already. Never even thought of the redneck option.
The Val6 or a propane torpedo seem like the best options for me. Time to go shopping.
Thanks,
Doug
How do you keep the water from freezing?I had this problem in the seventies when I had no money and absolutely needed my car fixed. I found that if I put my wrenches in a bowl of warm water to heat them up that I could work much more comfortably. Obviously this limited my selection of tools but I got it done.
I insulated attic (12 " of fiberglass) then walls (6" insulation) on my 28x32 garage/shop and it made a huge difference. Don't have to add heat to often now. Temperature before insualtion pretty muched matched outside temps. With insulation there is at least a 20 to 30 degree temp difference between outside and inside, this works until night time temps get below freezing.You may have surprisingly good results just insulating the garage. When we lived in Wisconsin, our garage rarely got below 40 degrees with no heat. Add some insulation and a little space heater will probably be enough... This is for an attached garage....the insulation will also make it easier to keep your house temp moderate.