Heating a shed

[ray66v]

i've used the unvented gas heaters for about 20 years now: i keep a humidastat(misspelled) in a couple rooms: and have NEVER seen a big rise in humidity:

That could be for a lot of reasons, like the temperature you set, the amount of air leakage from outside, (including number of times the door is opened), climate, and the big one, the size of the area.

I would suspect, your home has enough air leakage, through tiny leaks like in doors, windows, fireplace, and from opening the door, that the moisture is not accumulating.

I have seen water literally condensing on the walls and ceiling in a 2 car garage, that was using an unvented catalytic heater.

We know gas, particularly propane, is loaded with moisture, and with an unvented unit, the moisture has no where else to go, but into the area your heating.

If you sealed this small barn with an unvented heater inside, it would be detrimental to the car.

He would be much better off not heating it at all.

 

[mbrule]

If I use propane, I will likely use a vented model. Given that I can vent easily enough. I appreciate the input.

 

[Roger 1088]

Hi, I have a wooden garden shed 3m x 4m, that is well built, no draughts, but not insulated. In the winter we get well below freezing. I'm thinking of installing electric tubular heating. Just to keep the plants from freezing. How many watts will I need?

Many thanks

Roger

 

[ray66v]

Hi, I have a wooden garden shed 3m x 4m, that is well built, no draughts, but not insulated. In the winter we get well below freezing. I'm thinking of installing electric tubular heating. Just to keep the plants from freezing. How many watts will I need?

Many thanks

Roger

Depends on your climate, and how much wind there is, whether your going to open the door in the cold weather, or not.

My guess is 2000 watts could keep it 45 degrees. And it is potentially going to run a lot of the time.

You would be much better off insulating it, if your going to heat it.

The difference in the amount of wattage would be considerable.

In contrast, you can heat a small area with a light bulb, if you insulate it well enough.

 

[Roger 1088]

Thanks Ray for such a quick reply.

The truth is that until last winter we never bothered. Temperature never got worse than a couple of degrees below (Celsius) so there was no need. In the winter we just use it as safe haven for plants. No traffic in and out.

Then the surprise in December, heavy snow followed by deep freezing over the following months. We jumped down to minus 17 (Celsius) . This was partly the effect of the Iceland Volcano so I hope it won't be so bad this year. Just want to be on the safe side.

By the way this is "sunny" Italy.

Thanks again

Roger

 

[ray66v]

Ciao, What part of Italy?

In that case, I would just insulate the building, and not worry about heating it. It should not freeze in there, in that kind of climate.

 

[sweettractors]

To be safe with the plants, A thermostat controlled electric 1500 watt heater would do the trick. Ken Sweet