# Using Propane Heaters



## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

I might pursue a job on an unheated Lake Michigan cottage for this winter. I would plan on heating it with a propane heater while workers are present only and timing application carefully so the coatings would be drying for as long as possible (this is a spray type job, so I could stagger prep on the 3 different floors with spraying to stay productive, hopefully).

Since the home is not insulated, would I have issues with condensation forming on the interior walls that would ruin the coatings?


----------



## NEPS.US (Feb 6, 2008)

If you keep shutting the heat on and off ...yes ....keep a constant flow until the paint (from spraying is dry) ... if not you'll run it everywhere. Dont spray at the end of the day ...cut it off with at least 3-4 hours of heat dry time. I crank it up when spraying ...heat it up before and wheel it around following me. I like the results from spraying with heat more than natural curing. Better finishes.

Use a propane for constant heat and a torpedo for spraying.

P.S. ..dont run Diesel ...use a good grade Kero ...you'll burn black smoke and stain your ceilings.


----------



## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

Dean my brother in law and I actually got sick from the exhaust of a propane heater a couple weeks ago. Make sure you have enough ventilation. At least I know now what monoxide poisoning feels/smells like. 

We were in my dad's garage and it was 30 inside, -negative like 2 or 3 outside. We heated it up to about 59 or so with the heater.. but everything was perspiring that was cold before.

I don't know if that helps, but please keep ventilation open.


----------



## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

Do you already have a propane heater? They do add humidity and the fumes can make you sick. When spraying, best to use 2 light coats rather than one heavy. Letting it get cold at night is not good. There will be touch up issues at different temps. I would think there would also be issues with caulking. Have you considered an electric? You can rent them, just make sure you have a the right outlet/220. We prefer electric because you can keep an even temp.


----------



## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

Some torpedo reedy heaters running off good kerosine will do a better job than the propane heaters.


----------



## Tonyg (Dec 9, 2007)

Did a two story last winter in the moutains with Kero. The heat ran 24/7 but the GC kept it at a comfortable 50-55 degrees. I quickly found that plaster walls, especially the ones on the top floor, were too cold and the runs and sags came out of nowhere. After that I cranked it up and ran it at least 12 hours before I started so the substrate was 65-70 degrees on the second floor. It was a little toasty but the good thing was that I ran everyone off the job because of the heat. They wanted to keep the heater on the first floor so downstairs stayed at about 85 or so 

Oh, and propane is going to get expensive.


----------



## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

I do own a propane heater, just bought one (the aluminum tube style). The way the house is broken up will work well for heating I think. The downside is having to bring it up to temp everyday. 

I have not seen an electric heater that would work well for this type of job, but they could be out there. The downside is that 100 year hold cottage are probably not wired for 220 to handle larger heaters. Shoot, I would be lucky to have 3 prong or grounded outlets.

As fore kerosene, I have always heard that kerosene is a definite no. When it burns, it leaves a residue behind that can prevent adhesion to the walls. A GC I work for has had this failure happen on one of his jobs and I have heard of other painters having problems as well. I think propane burns cleaner in general.

It sounds like I would be better off waiting until spring, but of course I have plenty of work for spring, not enough for Jan-Feb.


----------



## NEPS.US (Feb 6, 2008)

Kero will burn off as much residue as propane. Diesel will have more. It depends on the grade of fuel you buy. If you want to be cheap you will have smoke. There is no residue that will prevent adhesion to walls. You can get some smoke stained ceilings if you use crappy fuel. We do about 15-20 houses a year with kero and propane and have never had a issue. Many GC's place a propane heater with a 100lb'er in the basement and run it 24 ours a day to keep the house over freezing. The cost of kero has come down alot this year compared to last. Wear a respirator and have ventilation. 

If the job is not newly plastered you should not have alot of condensation problems.

There is no problem using kero on a house for painting. If your not comfortable with it and can wait until the spring you should do so.


----------



## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

*Newly plastered*

Newly plastered:icon_confused:. We are talking old cottage with open stud wall on 80% of the cottage. No new plaster here!


----------



## NEPS.US (Feb 6, 2008)

DeanV said:


> Newly plastered:icon_confused:. We are talking old cottage with open stud wall on 80% of the cottage. No new plaster here!


Dont be confused Dean, I only asked because you were worried about alot of condensation from heating at a extream rate. In most cases when a contractor has to supply their own heat it is due to new construction or a remodel job that has not had the heat turned on for one reason or another. 

Propane or Kerosene would not even be a option for me on a job like that. Old cottage with old dried out timbers ....no way. The liability isnt worth it. You might as well get a 50 gallon drum and have a fire in the living room.


----------



## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

I was just trying to point out that this project is at the opposite end of the spectrum from "new plaster." Thanks for the input everyone. It sounds like it might be workable, but I think there are too many things that could go wrong with this type of home. If I could rig up a safe system that could run while I am gone, I would feel more comfortable but I think with heating it up everyday and then it cooling quickly overnight, there is just too much that could go wrong. I have worked on a job before where the GC had a furnace brought in temporarily, but with this one being 3 floors instead of a one floor job, even that would not work very well.


----------



## Bender (Aug 10, 2008)

Dean, you can barrow mine:jester:


----------



## timhag (Sep 30, 2007)

You will have no problem using a kero heater. I used one on a projest last Jan and Feb and the torpedo was our only source of heat. We would turn it on when we got there and off when we left. Night temps dropped into the single digits. 

Bender, what the hell do you do with that thing?????


----------



## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

timhag said:


> Bender, what the hell do you do with that thing?????


I was wondering the same - finally concluded it's for snow removal. He just melts it. No one in his neighborhood needs to shovel now - hs's a hero ! :thumbup:


----------



## timhag (Sep 30, 2007)

daArch said:


> I was wondering the same - finally concluded it's for snow removal. He just melts it. No one in his neighborhood needs to shovel now - h's a hero !


We were wondering why our snow was mysteriously melting here in Pittsburgh. Thanks Arch, I will spresd the good news to the people of this great city.:thumbsup:


----------



## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

Now we have the cause of global warming figured out.


----------



## Bender (Aug 10, 2008)

> Bender, what the hell do you do with that thing?????


Well, heat the garage of course:jester:

Actually I found that at a scrap yard. Paid $150.00 for it. That was the beginning of my pig cooker.
It was so big it had 1" hose for the gas line and a 220V fan. 5 million BTUs!!
It was an awesome project which eventually became this.


----------



## Bender (Aug 10, 2008)

I think it started life as a stadium heater.


----------



## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

DeanV said:


> As fore kerosene, I have always heard that kerosene is a definite no. When it burns, it leaves a residue behind that can prevent adhesion to the walls. A GC I work for has had this failure happen on one of his jobs and I have heard of other painters having problems as well. I think propane burns cleaner in general.
> 
> It sounds like I would be better off waiting until spring, but of course I have plenty of work for spring, not enough for Jan-Feb.


Dean

Kerosene actually works really well, the key is that is has to be vented directly to the outdoors. We have used a Monitor 422 in our shop for over 5 years and it is very clean burning, dry heat. We have also used a Rinnai propane heater to heat up thick mil plastic tents for time sensitive exterior entry work on new construction. Tank outside the tent, heater inside venting to the outside with a flex hose. There are options that would work safely for you, and the question is can you sell the customer on the convenience and value of having you perform the work during the unoccupied season in the building. I dont know how big of a job this is, but you could look into renting a Monitor or a Rinnai with a tank and I'll bet you could figure out how to rig it up, or pay a plumber for an hour (probably around $300 haha) to set it up for vented temporary service. This would be far preferable to unvented kerosene, salamanders or any of the other dirty burning stuff. Years ago we would do onsite prefinishing in basements with a salamander and respirators, and there is nothing more sickening than when fumes start getting cooked. Thats the beauty of the vented monitor type system, its blowing heated fresh air, not cooking any fumes or sucking in any dust to bake.


----------



## NEPS.US (Feb 6, 2008)

Bender said:


> Well, heat the garage of course:jester:
> 
> Actually I found that at a scrap yard. Paid $150.00 for it. That was the beginning of my pig cooker.
> It was so big it had 1" hose for the gas line and a 220V fan. 5 million BTUs!!
> It was an awesome project which eventually became this.


 
:yes::yes::yes::notworthy:


----------



## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

Bender said:


> Well, heat the garage of course:jester:
> 
> Actually I found that at a scrap yard. Paid $150.00 for it. That was the beginning of my pig cooker.
> It was so big it had 1" hose for the gas line and a 220V fan. 5 million BTUs!!
> It was an awesome project which eventually became this.


Very nice work bender. I like it!!


----------



## JNLP (Dec 13, 2007)

I've used torpedos with kero for quite a few houses in the winter with no problems I noticed. It's nice when they have a thermostat so it don't get too cold or too hot & you don't have to keep adjusting it.


----------



## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

I too have used torpedos withe kerosine for the past 10 years and never had any adhering problems. The only problems i can say are kerosine and oil fumes are a bit rough. I run a 170t torpedo and a couple of smaller ones. The big one will warm up 3000 sqft pretty quickly.


----------



## Tmrrptr (May 4, 2007)

I've seen propane cause problems with sweating, sags, and runs when product was not applied very lightly in a couple coats. We use a flock of electric room heaters, and circulating fans.


----------



## zerowned (Jul 23, 2008)

Workaholic said:


> I too have used torpedos withe kerosine for the past 10 years and never had any adhering problems. The only problems i can say are kerosine and oil fumes are a bit rough. I run a 170t torpedo and a couple of smaller ones. The big one will warm up 3000 sqft pretty quickly.



I just used 2 of these indirect construction heaters on a job last week and they worked really well the picture below is basicly the same, i dont recall the name but it was big and white like this one











You attach a big hosing duct like the one in the picture below











you can run a few different types of fuel through these units and they have probably between 11 and 20 gallon tanks, they really warm up a place with out the fumes and any residue. they arent cheap though, but if you are doing alot of work in the cold you could price out per job to pay it off, or price in the heater with the job plus markup so you dont lose anything. just dont forget the added cost for the fuel on top of renting or owning


----------



## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

wow Bender that pig looks great man! Awesome smoker man!!


----------



## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

I like those indirect heaters. That looks safer and would help with condensation issues from moist propane heated air and the fumes from the kerosene or diesel style heaters.


----------



## johnthepainter (Apr 1, 2008)

dean, i would go to the fuse box, put in a dedicated breaker for a 220v electric heater, and let that puppy run 24/7

nice and easy

kerosene is a pain in the butt to haul/deliver, it stinks, and you lay out $$$ for it,,,even if you are reimbursed, it sucks

they will pay the elec bill, and its clean, and doesnt smell, and wont get you sick.

the 220v heaters are sweet.

or>>>> keep your eyes opened for an electric furnace, and dolly it right into the house,,,,i know a gc that uses one,,,got it for free when it was removed during a remodel. just wire it up and go.


----------



## zerowned (Jul 23, 2008)

high fibre said:


> dean, i would go to the fuse box, put in a dedicated breaker for a 220v electric heater, and let that puppy run 24/7
> 
> nice and easy
> 
> ...




thats what i would try to do also, but if they dont have power hooked up yet or arein the middle of no where the indirecte heaters are a good choice for fumeless dry heat. the 220 heaters are nice though the next job im at im going to seeif i can get a few hooked up in each house


----------



## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

How would you run the power to a electric heater up 2 floors with 220? Do they even make extension cords heavy duty enough to handle that? Or do you run a duct hose off from the heater up the stairs (that would be one crazy long duct)?


----------



## premierpainter (Apr 17, 2007)

They do sell long "extention" cords for 220. Flooring contractors use 220 to power the sanders that they use. Tap them right into the box.


----------



## NEPS.US (Feb 6, 2008)

I'm sure GC's and HO's love it when painters are messing around with their electric. 
:jester:


----------



## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

Well, talked to the customer today, and they are thinking of only doing one of the bedrooms at this time, so it at this point it is all academic. I really appreciate the input though, and I am sure the information will be useful in the future. At least I had enough information to know that I could make it work if they wanted the entire job done at once.


----------



## johnthepainter (Apr 1, 2008)

why buy a cord??? run a length of wire.


----------



## johnthepainter (Apr 1, 2008)

NEPS.US said:


> I'm sure GC's and HO's love it when painters are messing around with their electric.
> :jester:


 

if a fuse box intimidates you, disregard.


----------



## Gnarlywood (May 30, 2009)

Bender said:


> I think it started life as a stadium heater.


Hmmmmm.....my guess is it started out as a WIND TUNNEL!
Gnarly


----------

