baseboard heaters in wood shop - safe?

I have a temperature controlled boiler system here. The baseboard
units are all hydronic (hot water circulated). The maximum temperature
of the boiler is 180 (which it never reaches unless it is below 0F
outside, mostly it is somewhere between 140-155). I am not sure what
the self-ignition temperature of wood dust/chips is but I would take an
educated guess at above 400F. I would also take an educated guess that
any resistive electric heating element *would* reach this temperature
on its surface. The pipes inside the hydronic baseboard devices are
usually 10 degrees cooler than the boiler. I'll stick with hydronic.

Not sure if I want to use the fireplace in the shop though ;)

Charles Mulks wrote:
> I'm converting a 20' x 24' tool shed into a wood shop, adding
> all new electricity, benches, lighting, insulation, etc.
>
> I'm located in southern Michigan and it will need summer
> cooling and winter heating. I assume a window AC unit can
> handle the cooling, but I'm not sure about the heating.
>
> Will baseboard heating be safe in a dusty environment? I'm
> talking sawdust, not the stuff I find under the bed. Will a
> dust collector sufficiently mitigate the problem, assuming
> a problem exists?
>
> TIA,
> Charlie Mulks

Hi Charlie.......Oooooooo no on the baseboards. Even with a good dust
collector/airfilter there will still be stuff that gets in on the
heating elements of the units. They're just not made for that type of
abuse/use.

You'll want to keep a close eye on that window A/C unit too... The dust
will cake in the filter of it fast too... My neighbor had one in his
window and he had to clean the filter multiple times a day depending on
what he was cutting/sanding/milling.

And folks think sawdust is just a harmless little thing... ;-)

"Charles Mulks" <[email protected]> wrote in news:easrm2$1p1$1
@news.msu.edu:

*snip*

>
> I'm located in southern Michigan and it will need summer
> cooling and winter heating. I assume a window AC unit can
> handle the cooling, but I'm not sure about the heating.
>
*snip*

Depending on the window unit, it can probably be used to do both heating
and cooling tasks. Considering where you are, you'll *need* it 6 months
of the year so take the time to get a unit that can handle the
environment.

I wonder how good of an idea it would be to have a "self-cleaning"
filter. Once an hour or so a brush swipes off the outside of the
filter...

Puckdropper
--
Wise is the man who attempts to answer his question before asking it.

To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm

Charlie,

> I'm converting a 20' x 24' tool shed into a wood shop, adding
> all new electricity, benches, lighting, insulation, etc.
> I'm located in southern Michigan and it will need summer
> cooling and winter heating. I assume a window AC unit can
> handle the cooling, but I'm not sure about the heating.
> Will baseboard heating be safe in a dusty environment?

I don't think a baseboard heater would be safe in a woodworking
environment.

Radiant heat would be best, either embedded in the floor or in the ceiling.
But it's an expensive and complicated option. I considered in-floor heat
when we built our garage, but I figured I would only be working in the
garage occasionally. So, it didn't make sense to invest that much money
into something I seldom used.

I finally chose an electric "Hot One" heater, manufactured by Cadet:

http://www.cadetco.com/show_product.php?prodid=1012

I have the 4000 watt model, but I see they have a 5000 watt model now too.

For my occasional use, the Hot One has worked fairly well. My garage is
24'x28' so the 4000 watt heater is rather undersized for that space
(ideally 10 watts per sq/ft). However, my garage is insulated (R19 walls
and ceiling), and it will still warm up the space to a comfortable working
temperature in 30 minutes or so.

The Hot One is designed for the shop environment, but I still have to blow
the dust out with compressed air every now and then and clean up the fins
with my shop vac.

It's not perfect, but for the price and ease of installation, I've been
happy with it.

Anthony

I use those radiant oil filled heaters. I also put a low speed fan behind it
to move the air around my shop it works for me and is not a fire hazard.

Al



"Andrew Williams" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:060820061112465217%[email protected]...
>I have a temperature controlled boiler system here. The baseboard
> units are all hydronic (hot water circulated). The maximum temperature
> of the boiler is 180 (which it never reaches unless it is below 0F
> outside, mostly it is somewhere between 140-155). I am not sure what
> the self-ignition temperature of wood dust/chips is but I would take an
> educated guess at above 400F. I would also take an educated guess that
> any resistive electric heating element *would* reach this temperature
> on its surface. The pipes inside the hydronic baseboard devices are
> usually 10 degrees cooler than the boiler. I'll stick with hydronic.
>
> Not sure if I want to use the fireplace in the shop though ;)

Charles Mulks wrote:

> I'm converting a 20' x 24' tool shed into a wood shop, adding
> all new electricity, benches, lighting, insulation, etc.
>
> I'm located in southern Michigan and it will need summer
> cooling and winter heating. I assume a window AC unit can
> handle the cooling, but I'm not sure about the heating.
>
> Will baseboard heating be safe in a dusty environment? I'm
> talking sawdust, not the stuff I find under the bed. Will a
> dust collector sufficiently mitigate the problem, assuming
> a problem exists?

You need to make it clear whether you are talking about baseboard hot water
or baseboard electric. Baseboard hot water should be fine if you vacuum
the sawdust out regularly (make sure you don't shoehorn it into a space
that makes the cover difficult to remove), baseboard electric is probably
not a good idea.
>
> TIA,
> Charlie Mulks

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

"J. Clarke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Charles Mulks wrote:
>
> > I'm converting a 20' x 24' tool shed into a wood shop, adding
> > all new electricity, benches, lighting, insulation, etc.
> >
> > I'm located in southern Michigan and it will need summer
> > cooling and winter heating. I assume a window AC unit can
> > handle the cooling, but I'm not sure about the heating.
> >
> > Will baseboard heating be safe in a dusty environment? I'm
> > talking sawdust, not the stuff I find under the bed. Will a
> > dust collector sufficiently mitigate the problem, assuming
> > a problem exists?
>
> You need to make it clear whether you are talking about baseboard hot
water
> or baseboard electric. Baseboard hot water should be fine if you vacuum
> the sawdust out regularly (make sure you don't shoehorn it into a space
> that makes the cover difficult to remove), baseboard electric is probably
> not a good idea.
> >
> > TIA,
> > Charlie Mulks
>
> --
> --John
> to email, dial "usenet" and validate
> (was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)


Hmmm? - I seem to have lost track of my original posting, so...

Thanks for the thoughts and suggestions. It looks like I will be
going for an electric heater of some type (but not the baseboard),
at least for the near-term. Ignoring the expense (which I actually
can't) I have a concrete slab floor and seven foot ceilings, and can't
give up any height (top or bottom).

I do have a seldom used wood stove in the house. I can foresee it
eventually finding its way out to the shed/shop.

Thanks again,
Charlie Mulks

"Charles Mulks" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> Will baseboard heating be safe in a dusty environment?

Safe? Sure, nothing will burn as it does not get that hot.

Good idea? Maybe not as the fins will need frequent cleaning to maintain
efficiency.

On Thu, 3 Aug 2006 08:54:27 -0400, "Charles Mulks" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>I'm converting a 20' x 24' tool shed into a wood shop, adding
>all new electricity, benches, lighting, insulation, etc.
>
>I'm located in southern Michigan and it will need summer
>cooling and winter heating. I assume a window AC unit can
>handle the cooling, but I'm not sure about the heating.
>
>Will baseboard heating be safe in a dusty environment? I'm
>talking sawdust, not the stuff I find under the bed. Will a
>dust collector sufficiently mitigate the problem, assuming
>a problem exists?

Safe? I don't know- but I did have a baseboard heater in my first
small turnery, and it was okay for well over a year. The only problem
I could see was the same for all the baseboards in the place- when
they were first turned on after a period of inactivity, the dust
smelled bad.

As a good point, there is no open spark or flame as there would be
with a wood stove or even a regular cumbustion furnace. On the bad
side, they're costly to run, provide less comfortable heat, and are
generally the worst option you've got. I don't know how much money
you've got to put into your heating and cooling, but if safety, and
not cash, is the main issue here, you might want to look into an
outdoor wood burner, especially in your neck of the woods. Then you
can heat the shop with boilers, and save yourself a large hunk of
change to keep the shop toasty all the time in the long run- most of
those are big enough to do your house as well, should you be
interested in a backup to whatever you've got now.

"Charles Mulks" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm converting a 20' x 24' tool shed into a wood shop, adding
> all new electricity, benches, lighting, insulation, etc.
>
> I'm located in southern Michigan and it will need summer
> cooling and winter heating. I assume a window AC unit can
> handle the cooling, but I'm not sure about the heating.
>
> Will baseboard heating be safe in a dusty environment? I'm
> talking sawdust, not the stuff I find under the bed. Will a
> dust collector sufficiently mitigate the problem, assuming
> a problem exists?
>
> TIA,
> Charlie Mulks

NO! I tried one, bad move. Dust settles on the top and in on the heating
unit itself. I would guess, maybe, if you could put a small fan to keep the
dust away from the heating fins. That would sort of circulate the heat too,
but I still wouldn't do it. If your going to use electric anyway, think
about the heat cable on the ceiling. I can't remember what it's called.
Around my area, baseboard heat is frowned upon by the inspector and the fire
marshal.
>
>