Portable heaters in loading area?

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Squeaky Wheel

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Can any of you comment on the safety (or lack of) with using a portable heater in your loading area? Is it safe to use small portable ceramic heaters in the same room?

I load in a small building (storage shed that was finished out) that does not have heating (it is insulated though).

Thanks in advance.
 
They aren't like gasoline vapors or something. Even if you try to light smokeless powder on fire, it just burns. Pretty much no real danger. Keep the heater 5' or 10' away from the bench (really so you can't realistically spill powder INTO it) and you'll be fine.
 
Why not. Have you ever tried to light powder on fire? Powder and primers are not going to ignite just because you have a heater in the room. My reloading area gets hotter then 80 degrees in the summer and my powder and primers haven't started on fire yet.
 
i had 5 or 6 rounds that i wasnt sure what powder i had used in them, so i broke them down and put all of the powder in a pile in the driveway and lit it... needless to say, i was a little disappointed at the lack of entertainment... A heater isnt going to do anything, unless you try pouring the powder all over the heater, in which case it still wont explode...

unless you do reloading with black powder...
 
Yes you can.

Just don't set it 2 feet away from your full powder measure!

As already stated, powder & primers give off no flammable vapor like gasoline.

My reloading bench in the basement is 5-6 feet from a gas furnace & gas water heater, and has been since 1970.

rc
 
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I believe there aren't enough VOC's involved in normal handling of powders and primers for there to be a concern. Just make sure there is a reasonable separation from these and the heater.

Gasoline, for example, has a relatively low flash point and volatilizes easily at room temperature. If you store gasoline in a leaky container and introduce an ignition source, you can have a fire or explosion before you can blink.

Smokeless powder, on the other hand, isn't easily ignited from a distance (low VOC's). The concern of using a tight-fitting lid is not to prevent accumulation of explosive vapors in the storage area, but to exclude oxygen and increase storage life.
 
i used to have a wood heater about 8 feet across the room from my loading bench. you'll be fine with a small space heater or something.
 
Yep. I use an electric space heater frequently. It puts out enough heat that I have to place it about 8 feet away, so it's not really close to the hazardous stuff.
 
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How small? Storage sheds come in all sizes.
Click to expand...

It's about 13 feet wide and about 7 feet deep. My bench is on one end of the 13 foot side, so I could put a heater on the other end.

Thanks to all for the replies.
 
Once winter hits, I bring my small ceramic heater into my "Reloading Cave" and use it for everything but cgun cleaning when I am spraying oil.
 
I use electric heaters to take the chill off the basement reloading area. Mine are the kind with the heating elements immersed in fluid that is circulated through a heat exchanger.

While probably safe if kept an appropriate distance from the reloading bench as Sam1911 said, I would not be comfortable with the space heater that have exposed heating elements.

Spills happen.
 
Only been loading for a few years, but I've had a heater going in the cold months since I started. Haven't blown myself up yet.

You should always be careful, but powder isn't volatile like some seem to think it is.
 
The bigger question should be what press you will be using to reload in a really cold shop? I tried reloading using dillon 650's and Hornady LNLap's in a freezing cold garage and found that things didn't slide or turn like they should. I had to bring my progressives inside the house to get any good reloading done.
 
Yeah, you'll be fine. Like rcmodel, my bench at my old house was right next to the gas water heater and furnace. In eight years there, nothing ever ignited.

If you haven't done it by now, pour some powder out onto your driveway today and put a flame to it. You'll be underwhelmed by the result.
 
I've had good luck with a portable oil-filled radiator heater in my shop. It gets down to -5 in the winter and with my shop well-insulated, this heater set to minimum keeps the shop warm into the 70's with little effort. No open flame so I can leave it on overnight.
 
I've used space heaters on occasion, especially when I lived up north and in the mid west. The only issue I had was creating air movement when weighing powders, but I wasn't concerned about the heater creating any type of ignition source.

GS
 
I've had good luck with a portable oil-filled radiator heater in my shop. It gets down to -5 in the winter and with my shop well-insulated, this heater set to minimum keeps the shop warm into the 70's with little effort. No open flame so I can leave it on overnight.
Click to expand...

Those hydronic style heaters are really good for this application (or others) we've used them in various areas over the years and they do a great job in a subtle, quiet, no fuss way.

In fact, you can buy baseboard versions off the shelf at the big hardware chain stores that work fantastically and are more efficient and a WHOLE lot safer than the old style electric baseboards. (With the elements in a liquid jacket they can't set on fire if stuff falls into them.) One 6' section of that in your loading area would be more heat than you'd likely ever need (unless you're loading in a carport in January), and out of the way as well.
 
I have a 12' X 16' out building that I use as a reloading area/man cave. It is also insulated. I use a small propane fueled ceramic heater without any problems. I have also used an electric ceramic heater (1500 watt) that works well on a cool rather than cold day. I don't think you will have any problems as long as you keep the heater a safe distance from your combustibles.
 
I use a small cylindrical upright electric heater about 4-5ft directly behind me when I'm reloading in the winter--- in the garage. It doesn't warm the garage, but it does keep me reasonably warm.
20 degrees is rare cold day in South TX--more often in the 40's.
 
rcmodel said:
Yes you can.

Just don't set it 2 feet away from your full powder measure!

As already stated, powder & primers give off no flammable vapor like gasoline.

My reloading bench in the basement is 5-6 feet from a gas furnace & gas water heater, and has been since 1970.

rc
Click to expand...
My boiler and hot water heater are about 8 feet from my loading bench.
 
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