temporary heat for drywall/ mudding

[jpcjguy]

Hi all,

So I have a 48x30 that is being drywalled Thursday. It is already insulated and I am debating on renting a heater for the crew to help with the drying of the mud. I do have attic truss over 32' of the garage and the upstairs is being done also.


Looking at sunbelt rentals at their electric heaters.
I have a welder and compressor outlet available so I can do 240V. Question on how big? Here is a link to some options:
https://www.sunbeltrentals.com/equipment/subcat/1802/heating-electric/?items=1862,1863

Any thoughts on this?

 

[yeldogt]

My well insulated 1700sf building can be heated with 4000w -- it's one open space

what are you going to use to heat after ?

 

[NUTTSGT]

They not bringing their own heat ? They using bucket mud (USG +3) or mixing mud on site ?

 

[DieselNut88]

I would rent or buy a diesel torpedo heater. It will heat the space up really quick and diesel is cheap.

 

[KenC]

I would rent or buy a diesel torpedo heater. It will heat the space up really quick and diesel is cheap.

Me too.

 

[Mwaters]

Just did a similar thing last month. Rented a couple 1500w portable heaters and borrowed one from my neighbor. Ran them 24/7 for about a week to get the tape/mud to dry before paint. Temps were upper 40s to low 50s outside but inside those three heaters got it up to over 70. Of course, it doubled my electrical bill for last month!

 

[jpcjguy]

My well insulated 1700sf building can be heated with 4000w -- it's one open space

what are you going to use to heat after ?

going the route of mini-splits, but that is down the road...

 

[jpcjguy]

I would rent or buy a diesel torpedo heater. It will heat the space up really quick and diesel is cheap.

Is that a "wet" heat? I was told to not use my propane torpedo because the humidity will counteract the drying...hence why I thought electric - and bite the bullet for the month on the electric bill. (use the wood burning insert alot more!)

 

[jpcjguy]

They not bringing their own heat ? They using bucket mud (USG +3) or mixing mud on site ?

Appears they are mixing on site - Quick Set 45 minute Lite(18 lb. bag) - is what is on the invoice that I paid (6 bags).

All the materials came to just under $2300 including boom delivery for the upstairs. Getting a good price on the labor so extras are not included....

 

[greg13]

Any indirect heater will be dry. They use a heat exchange just like a furnace, direct heat uses the flame of the fuel source directly for heat. You may want a large indirect unit that you can run ducts off of.

If you are looking at Sunbelt, call the store and they can advise you on what you need and what is available locally.

 

[nadogail]

I remember contractors using a lot of plastic sheeting and oil fired portable heaters on jobs in Anchorage, about 60 years ago. They probably have now switched to Propane.

 

[BillK]

I would ask the drywall guys. They will hopefully be standing behind their work and might have particular recommendations.

 

[iamrfixit]

You can probably buy one of these cheaper than you can rent. I've heated some 800-1100 sq ft garages in really cold climates with a heater like this. Installed one in a friends 24x30 two story and heated both levels easily. It takes a while to warm it up from cold, but once it's warm it will hold temp pretty easily. Runs on a 30 amp 240v circuit so install is easy.

I dislike torpedo heaters, especially with diesel in them, they make a lot of fumes and pour in the moisture. Kerosene is only a minor improvement. Propane burns cleaner but the fumes bother me even more. Any of these requires letting in a lot of fresh air to keep the air breathable.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

I am a contractor and face this regularly....actually today. I finished muddng a basement and brought over my kerosene heater. I run diesel in it and not kerosene. I ask the homeowner and make sure to give a lesson on how to use it. Prior to this I was using multiple oil filled electric heaters. They didn’t produce enough heat and would always throw breakers. Now it’s the kerosene heater and a dehumidifier running at the same time.

 

[egdede]

I would think even in cold climates that the hot mud would cure just fine.

 

[jpcjguy]

You can probably buy one of these cheaper than you can rent. I've heated some 800-1100 sq ft garages in really cold climates with a heater like this. Installed one in a friends 24x30 two story and heated both levels easily. It takes a while to warm it up from cold, but once it's warm it will hold temp pretty easily. Runs on a 30 amp 240v circuit so install is easy.

I dislike torpedo heaters, especially with diesel in them, they make a lot of fumes and pour in the moisture. Kerosene is only a minor improvement. Propane burns cleaner but the fumes bother me even more. Any of these requires letting in a lot of fresh air to keep the air breathable.

That is not a bad idea to get 1 or two of those. The 6K unit at Sunbelt is $35 a day - with tax and insurance, probably $42 out the door. So really 2 days of rental and the unit is paid for. And I could sell it.
Wonder if I could let it sit on the ground? or sit across 2 cinder blocks so there is some air flow underneath.....

 

[jdieter]

Just went through this with a 1200sq.ft. room inside a pole barn. Have a 10,000btu electric heater and contractor stated if it didn't keep it warm enough he would bring his salamander. All this contractor does is finish drywall, been at it for 20 years, has a separate crew to hang. He also runs several fans overnight to circulate air helping mud dry. The electric heater did the job, didn't need the salamander.

 

[59 wagon man]

did this for numerous buildings for nyc housing authority. multistory buildings with a kerosene heater on each floor. don't need to have it burning hot just enough so it didn't freeze maintained about 50 degrees with no finish problems

 

[Higgins]

This should answer your questions.

https://www.americangypsum.com/site...nter Related Installation Recommendations.pdf

 

[iamrfixit]

That is not a bad idea to get 1 or two of those. The 6K unit at Sunbelt is $35 a day - with tax and insurance, probably $42 out the door. So really 2 days of rental and the unit is paid for. And I could sell it.
Wonder if I could let it sit on the ground? or sit across 2 cinder blocks so there is some air flow underneath.....

The wiring is behind the bottom panel on all of the 5k units I've installed and the bottom doesn't really get hot. I'm sure the install directions will say not to set it on a surface, but I doubt it would bother anything for a temporary usage, especially up on some cinder blocks. Just want to make sure it can't fall off.

You could fasten the bracket to a sawhorse and then mount the heater on top of the sawhorse with the bracket upside down, I did that with a Farenheat brand heater once. Or another option might be to hang it under an open step ladder with some wire.