# Oh No! There's a water heater in my woodshop.



## 65BAJA (May 27, 2012)

My landlord has expressed concern about the wood dust I'm making in the garage. My water heater is in the corner of the garage and is propane. 

When I run my tools I hook up my shop vac to the tool but inevitably some dust gets out. I am going to slightly upgrade my setup with a dust deputy kit so that should help the shop vac filter.

My question is has anyone ever had problems with a propane water heater and wood dust? I don't want to burn myself to the ground here.

Thanks.


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## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

The potential is always there. Open flame and wood dust.

I have a modine propane heater in my shop. I don't even worry about it.


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## troyd1976 (Jul 26, 2011)

ehh just shut it down, i mean really whats more imporant warm showers or shop time?..On a searious note i wonder if theres a way you could talk your landlord into one of those tankless units, which at the same time clears up more shop space, lol. seems like those things can be wall mounted about anywhere, closet inside, etc.


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## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

65BAJA said:


> My landlord has expressed concern about the wood dust I'm making in the garage. My water heater is in the corner of the garage and is propane.
> 
> When I run my tools I hook up my shop vac to the tool but inevitably some dust gets out. I am going to slightly upgrade my setup with a dust deputy kit so that should help the shop vac filter.
> 
> ...


My shop is in my basement with both a gas water heater and a gas furnace. I don't worry about either. I use a dust deputy with a 12 gallon shop vac equipped with a high efficiency bag and a HEPA cartridge filter. All that and there is still sawdust around but just don't let it accumualte, especially around the appliances.
As far as sawdust explosion hand wringing, I have yet to hear of anyone actually being able to create one from raw sawdust, much less have one occur accidentally.:smile:


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## H. A. S. (Sep 23, 2010)

Unless you're down there sanding fine particles 24 hrs. a day, I wouldn't worry too much. Occasional sanding isn't going to cause an explosion.


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## Itchytoe (Dec 17, 2011)

You'd have to have too much sawdust in there to breathe and see what you're doing. You would leave before it became a problem.


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## Carvel Loafer (Dec 31, 2011)

I agree that an explosion is possible but not likely. It's a matter of fuel to oxygen concentration and the fuel would be air borne dust. I use my wood stove in the shop all winter and for general work I don't worry, I just frequently blow the dust off the stove and from around it. Of course if I have any real dusty stuff to do I do it before lighting the stove and turn on the wall exhaust.

To summarize, I wouldn't worry but I wouldn't ignore it. Keep it clean, turn it off during extreame dust, blow it out and then relight it. Keep the dust from ever accumulating near the heater.


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## BassBlaster (Nov 21, 2010)

My water heater is also in my shop. I was also conserned in the beginning but it hasnt been an issue and I no longer worry about it. I do vacuum any accumulated dust from on and around the heater frequently but other than that, no issues.


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

Itchytoe said:


> You'd have to have too much sawdust in there to breathe and see what you're doing. You would leave before it became a problem.


Yeah you would leave because the dust was too thick to breathe. If you didn't leave on your own, the coroner would put you in a body bag but you would still leave.

Seriously, you wouldn't get the dust in sufficient concentration to support combustion. If you were able to ignite one dust particle, the adjacent particle wouldn't be physically close enough to sustain combustion.


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## dat (Nov 11, 2010)

I have a wood heater on one end and a propane deerborn heater on the other, no problems.... YET


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

the more likely problem is Hot Water tank operation failure. the newer closed firebox design have an air inlet filter, usually on the bottom. also being a contractor, i get many calls on heaters not working, to find out the filter is clogged. you can clean them by blowing them out. you have to open up the firebox from the front, sometimes not easy, and blow out from the inside. 

maybe if you got some filter media and attached it underneath as a prefilter, you could replace or clean more easily.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Grand dad had a wood burning furnace in his shop for years and the dust was never a problem. He often had a roaring fire going in it that you could actually look through the grill and see the flames. He did everything in there from sanding to applying finishes and the only dust control he had was a blower connected to his thickness planner.

I could see it being a problem only if you were feeding the dust directly into the pilot flame.


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## 27207 (Jan 25, 2012)

I have a furnace and water heater in my garage also. Never thought about it until now. But like timba said, I'm more worried about longevity of the components with the dust collecting on them. I need to look into how I can enclose them within codes. They don't feed from outside air, just surrounding air.


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## Juliapeters (Dec 28, 2021)

If you don’t use your woodshop to heat the house, it doesn’t really matter if there’s a water heater in there. After all, the chances of a catastrophic failure are extremely low.


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## kcm.MN (Dec 23, 2021)

Under normal circumstances I would say not to worry too much about it. As others have said, you are not likely to have a concentration of fine dust capable of supporting combustion. 

That said, I've seen lots of things happen that shouldn't have happened. But the main issue here is that your landlord has concerns about it. I'm sure you don't want to have to find a new place to live because he chooses to not take any chances. One thing you could do would be to build an enclosure around the water heater. It can be wood framed and covered in something like T-shirt fabric that can be bought by the roll at Walmart and other places. The fabric will allow ample air flow while preventing any concerns of dust getting to said flame. That should keep the landlord happy.

White fabric would be easy to tell when it's getting a buildup. Then just suck it off using your shop vac, which will trap most of the dust before you get done. Then take the vac outside and blow with compressed air or a leaf blower. Be sure to wear a respirator, as many wood dusts are toxic, and none of it is good for your lungs.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

10 year old thread!
Electric hot water heaters, NO Problem what so ever!
Propane and natural gas hot water heaters, Minimal risk of explosion from woodshop saw dust in the air.
The amount of dust concentration for an explosion is not possible in normal woodworking shops.
If you have ever thrown a handfull of sawdust onto a campfire, you know that it doesn't "explode", it just burns quickly:


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## _Ogre (Feb 1, 2013)

🤦‍♂️


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

If there old and have no value , why are they here?


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## EdS (Mar 21, 2013)

I wouldnt worry about wood dust in the air, however DO NOT spray lacquer anywhere near an open flame.


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## B Coll (Nov 2, 2019)

65BAJA said:


> My landlord has expressed concern about the wood dust I'm making in the garage. My water heater is in the corner of the garage and is propane.
> 
> When I run my tools I hook up my shop vac to the tool but inevitably some dust gets out. I am going to slightly upgrade my setup with a dust deputy kit so that should help the shop vac filter.
> 
> ...


If you decide to spray lacquer in there, set the workpiece on a bible.


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## JamesTinKS (Nov 15, 2012)

Rebelwork said:


> If there old and have no value , why are they here?


The information still has value to someone in a similar situation. I search for old threads before asking a question to see if it has been asked and answered before. When I find an old thread it usually says something to the effect that with it being an old thread a comment may not elicit any response.
My first shop was in my basement with the furnace and water heater. No problem with the water heater but I had to replace the blower motor in the furnace because of all the dust sucked in through all the holes past the filter.


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## GCTony (Apr 5, 2018)

EdS said:


> I wouldnt worry about wood dust in the air, however DO NOT spray lacquer anywhere near an open flame.


I was working on a McD's remodel in the 90's, fixture guys were spraying contact cement on the walls for plastic laminate wall protection. Never thought about the water heater. The pretty blue flame about 2' high rolled across the floor of the whole building. The fire/explosion only lasted for seconds and no one was hurt but scary as heck.


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## Juliapeters (Dec 28, 2021)

Since propane gas water radiators have a faster recuperation rate (almost double that of an electric water warmer), they can get additional boiling water from a similar size tank. While considering the utilization of room in a home, the way that a lot more modest propane water radiator can do the occupation of a bigger electric unit is a significant component. Propane models are additionally incredibly sturdy and can keep going for a long time with negligible assistance necessities.


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