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Safe heater position for painting?

17K views 24 replies 12 participants last post by  SuthnCustoms 
#1 ·
I have a Modine LP heater mounted in the upper corner of my shop:



I will be painting in the dead of winter this year and need to find some way to keep the temperature in the garage up while I'm shooting. I'm wondering if I moved the Modine so that the back side (where it draws it's combustion air) is either sticking into the next room of the garage OR is sticking through the outside wall, if that would be safe enough to prevent the fumes from potentially igniting. My thinking is that this, combined with normal cross ventilation in and out my windows AND my Jet air cleaner, would hopefully prevent the paint fumes from entering the combustion area of the Modine and that I could run it during the painting process.

The other alternative is to jack the heat up prior to the shoot, reduce the cross ventilation of fresh air, and hope I can maintain at least 60-65 degrees in the shop throughout the shoot. BTW, I just ordered a Hobbyair air supply system with full hood so I think I can get away with a little less cross ventilation than might normally be the case. I still need SOME to prevent the "cloud" from depositing too much crap on the car, but health wise, I think I can afford to reduce the flow of air out of the shop.
 
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#2 ·
I have a Modine LP heater mounted in the upper corner of my shop:



It looks like I'll be painting in the dead of winter this year and need to find some way to keep the temperature in the garage up while I'm shooting. I'm wondering if I moved the Modine so that the back side (where it draws it's combustion air) is either sticking into the next room of the garage OR is sticking through the outside wall, if that would be safe enough to prevent the fumes from potentially igniting. My thinking is that this, combined with normal cross ventilation in and out my windows AND my Jet air cleaner, would hopefully prevent the paint fumes from entering the combustion area of the Modine and that I could run it during the painting process.

The other alternative is to jack the heat up prior to the shoot, reduce the cross ventilation of fresh air, and hope I can maintain at least 60-70 degrees in the shop throughout the shoot. BTW, I just ordered a Hobbyair air supply system with full hood so I think I can get away with a little less cross ventilation than might normally be the case. I still need SOME to prevent the "cloud" from depositing too much crap on the car, but health wise, I think I can afford to reduce the flow of air out of the shop.

Also, would an electric heater be safe to run during the shoot or might the fumes passing over the hot element cause ignition?
 
#3 ·
Generally in that situation we run the heat up till the metal is warm..then shut the heater off ..vent and shoot..then heat goes back on until cure is acheived..PITA..but what we need to do in the winter..

We use the infrared type heaters mounted on a roll away stand to heat the metal which is the inportant part to help us....also we have the thermometers that are the no-touch type to tell us the metal temp..That is the basic what we do in the winter in collision repair..

Probably one can get by by pointing an infrared heater at the metal until it is warm enough then shut it off while shooting and then turn it back on for the cure..One needs 60-65 + to acheive a good cure of the paint..this is not all that hard to acheive..

Sorry for the long answer..

Sam
 
#5 ·
Dewey: If you only want to heat one bay of your garage to paint in, why not get two 7 foot electric baseboard heaters ( about $60 for both at Home Depot or Menards) which will warm up that section of your garage in a heartbeat and not present any problem with open flame. Also, no moving air to deposit anything on your fresh paint. My home workshop is heated that way and it works beautifully. You'd only have to use the electric heaters for a couple days, and then you'd always have them to use when you paint in the Winter. You could mount them on low stands, and they'd be portable.

BTW, can I hire you to come over and organize my shop?
 
#7 ·
we warmed my bros garage with car in it, the temp was up to like 78 all night and till noon next day, when it was like 35 or 40degrees outside, we wet the floor and shut off his gas furnace. and put a furnace filter in one window & a fan in another window and shot the car. when done we let it air out, pull filter and fan outa the windows and warm it back up to 60 or so, and let it dry. we tried to pick nicer days like 40s.
 
#9 ·
35WINDOW said:
Please tell us that your Shop isn't always that clean!
Bingo! That picture was taken shortly after I finished building the shop...it just happened to include a pretty good view of how the heater is currently positioned. It's much more cluttered now as you can detect in this more recent shot.

 
#10 ·
DanTwoLakes said:
... why not get two 7 foot electric baseboard heaters ...
Geeze, I can't believe it. There was another paragraph on my original post that asked that very question (would an electric heater be safe) but I must have somehow clipped if off when I entered the post.

Anyhow, that be the perfect solution providing the heating element on the baseboard heater can not ignite any fumes.
 
#11 ·
I think you heater should be close to the ground.

Heat rises.

Then you need a ceiling fan to circulate the heated & cold air

as far as painting in the dead cold .get it warm check it with a laser infrared thermometer & make sure that your intake air is pre heated.

do not leave any thing that can generate a spark on.

Those oil filled radiator heaters work real good at making radiant heat.

Do some experimenting before you go for the "money shot"



Good luck



Rob :thumbup:
 
#12 ·
cboy said:
Geeze, I can't believe it. There was another paragraph on my original post that asked that very question (would an electric heater be safe) but I must have somehow clipped if off when I entered the post.

Anyhow, that be the perfect solution providing the heating element on the baseboard heater can not ignite any fumes.
There is no "glowing" element in a baseboard heater. The heat comes from a series of aluminum fins, so it can't ignite anything. They also have thermostats ( a few bucks extra) so they will only heat as much as you set them to. Rob's right, the heater should be at floor level, especially the electric baseboard heaters. They could be a couple inches off the ground to pick up cold air.
 
#13 ·
DanTwoLakes said:
There is no "glowing" element in a baseboard heater. The heat comes from a series of aluminum fins, so it can't ignite anything. They also have thermostats ( a few bucks extra) so they will only heat as much as you set them to. Rob's right, the heater should be at floor level, especially the electric baseboard heaters. They could be a couple inches off the ground to pick up cold air.
BTW: When the local hospital isn't using cboy's garage for outpatient surgery, it is a little messier than the first picture.
 
#15 ·
OneMoreTime said:
I still think you guys should use infrared to get the metal warm as that is the critical part....
Sam,

One other option I have is that my Modine is programmable...I can set it up the night before I'm going to paint so it comes on a few hours before I intend to start so that not only should the shop be up to temperature but the metal as well. My big concern was KEEPING the place warm during the shoot since I have to be ventilating very cold air in from the outside. I'm also leaning towards Dan's idea because I have a nice use for those baseboard heaters when I don't need them in the shop.
 
#16 ·
Rob Keller said:
I think you heater should be close to the ground.

Heat rises.

Your right Rob....heat rises....but fumes settle to the floor, thats why they recomend that any shop heater should be at least 18 inches above the floor. When I got out of the service I worked in a paint manufacturing facility. They had gas heaters like cboys mounted near the ceilings...the lights and light switches were explosion proof ( sealed air tight) . Any way those heaters ran while we were mixing solvents and resins making paint....never a problem. The way I do in my shop...I have infra red heaters....I warm things up good, turn off the heat , shoot the paint....wait awhile for the fumes to settle and then go back with the heat.

........................................................................................................
 
#17 ·
Henry Highrise said:
....I warm things up good, turn off the heat , shoot the paint....wait awhile for the fumes to settle and then go back with the heat.
Do you see any problem with Dan's idea of running one or two baseboard type electric heaters during the actual mixing and shooting?
 
#18 · (Edited)
cboy said:
Do you see any problem with Dan's idea of running one or two baseboard type electric heaters during the actual mixing and shooting?
There should be nothing in those electric baseboard heaters to ignite the fumes. The heating element is encased in a ceramic tube and surrounded by aluminum fins. You should be able to have them going while you're mixing and painting. Check with an electrician, Dewey.
 
#19 ·
Henry Highrise said:
Rob Keller said:
I think you heater should be close to the ground.

Heat rises.

Your right Rob....heat rises....but fumes settle to the floor, thats why they recomend that any shop heater should be at least 18 inches above the floor. When I got out of the service I worked in a paint manufacturing facility. They had gas heaters like cboys mounted near the ceilings...the lights and light switches were explosion proof ( sealed air tight) . Any way those heaters ran while we were mixing solvents and resins making paint....never a problem. The way I do in my shop...I have infra red heaters....I warm things up good, turn off the heat , shoot the paint....wait awhile for the fumes to settle and then go back with the heat.

........................................................................................................


If I ever get a shop. :rolleyes:

The distance of my heater Give or take is ,91 to 94.5 million miles away! :D

I know but Its better to be a Smart Arse than a Dumb Arse! :thumbup:



My thoughts; Not being, a electrician is that Radiant Heat/ Infrared Heat would be the way to go .
Just be careful & aware of the switching devices .IE: Pilot lights & thermocouple switches.

Heating the objects in the area will also heat the air & create air flow circulation.

Any thing that MIGHT create a spark in a Volatile environment!


Even a Static spark .

Remember dust will explode given the right set of circumstances.

I wonder if sanding dust will burn if enuf piles up?

Henry 's way has to be the safest .





Rob :thumbup:
 
#20 ·
After screwing up a paint job last winter because of the cold, I resigned myself to painting ONLY when it was 60 or higher. Makeup air is cold. It cools metal off FAST. Leads to irregular curing, IMO, and results in orangepeel.

Or , see if you can rent a booth.


I made such a mess of my shop, it made me sick. I masked everything off, wet the floors, you name it. I shot red and white single stage. Guess what color my floors were? And my tool boxes, and the walls behind the mask. That crud gets EVERYWHERE.

One word to the wise. If you insist on using your shop, buy some sprayable paint mask, like they use in booths. Spray the floor. When you are done, it peels right up.
 
#22 ·
Thine spray mask may be procured through any one of thine local autorefinishing purveyors. A multitude of suppliers sit waiting by thier monitors just waiting for a googlesk type individual to find them, and purchase their wares.





(Can NOT think of the name of the magazine that comes to me. AutoRefinish Mart, or something like that? Comes quarterly. Several local supply houses tout it as better than sliced bread. )
 
#23 ·
One word to the wise. If you insist on using your shop, buy some sprayable paint mask, like they use in booths. Spray the floor. When you are done, it peels right up.
We used to use it in spray booths and I think it was called PeelRite or Peel-E-Z. I can't remember which. But that was a few years ago. If you use a BC/CC, the paint will cover things but it is more of a dust. The clear will definately leave an overspray. Single stage will and does cover everything. Get a roll of Sharkskin plastic. It's about $35.00 for a 12' x 400' roll. It is the thin painters plastic. Use it to cover what you don't want painted. Workbenches, etc. One roll will last you forever.

Kevin
 
#24 ·
Our booth for painting trailers has in-floor heating in it. That is the cat's meow. Plus when you are rolling around on a creeper and your shirt slides up you don't get a surprise when you slip of the creeper. Just warm concrete :D

In your shop, I wouldn't run the heater even if you were taking your air from the outside... just too scary. Seriously, I don't think you will have any problems if you turn your heater on 3-4 hours ahead of time. Your metal will be warm through and through and your air temp will be fine. It shouldn't cool off past 60 that quick. I am not sure what the proper range is for painting but maybe get your inside heat up to that point before you shoot. You might sweat at first but it will take longer to get to 60 degrees.
 
#25 ·
Just a thought that a freind of mine in Pennsylvania did with his shop to use for painting off and on...
He found an old home that was being tore down and got the old water/radiator heating system out of it for free if he got it all out in a certian time.
He put 4 radiators in each corner of his shop and the heating unit outside in an isolated and insulated housing for it.
For ventilation and keeping warm while ventilating fresh air he put a trap door right behind one of them that goes directly outside and filtered for when he is painting and ventilating.
No hot glow or ignition whatsoever and ive been in the shop in near zero weather outside and was sweating in a T-shirt.
I know you dont have time or money to do it right now Dewey but ,I thought i'd share it with all here for future ideas for heating a paint booth area...John
 
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