Shop heating
- Thread starter Rick Otts
- Start date
John Wilson
Well-Known Member
Motors and VFD actually like the cold. It will not cost any more to run them in the cold. It's not an issue. The grease in the motor bearings will not cause more friction / load when it's cold. As soon as the motor shaft begins spinning it will warm up the grease to normal temperature. Heat is what kills motors and VFDs, but we're talking extreme heat. If you can stand to be in the shop, the motor and VFD are oblivious. Their operating temperature ranges are well below/above what you as a human can stand.
EdCaffreyMS
"The Montana Bladesmith"
Unless things get "Montana cold" you shouldn't have any problems. For the first couple of years after moving to Montana, I had a wood stove in my finish shop, and my Blacksmith shop was a small pole barn, with the only heat being the forge. It was generally 2+ hours of running the forge, heating heavy bars of steel, and heating up the anvil, power hammer etc. before I could do anything. After the second year of spending more time feeding the wood stove then I did working, I jacked up my entire finish shop, poured a pad under it, then re-wired and insulated the entire thing, and hung a 70,000 BTU "Overhead" natural gas heater... now it's 45 at night, and 65 during the day, thanks to a programmable thermostat. It wasn't until 2002 that I built a new Blacksmith shop.... but when I did, I put in radiant (hot water) heat in the floor. About the only time it has difficulty "keeping up", is when the temp hits -25 or colder. Now both shops are temp controlled and MUCH nicer. 
Just be careful with the "salamander" heater.....those things pump out carbon monoxide something terrible! If you ever get a headache while it's running, shut that thing down and get outta there! Would much rather be talking to you, than about you!
Just be careful with the "salamander" heater.....those things pump out carbon monoxide something terrible! If you ever get a headache while it's running, shut that thing down and get outta there! Would much rather be talking to you, than about you!