Shops With Propane Infrared Heaters

Anyone else have trouble with these heaters drawing oil/trans fluid/gas fumes from race car to their heaters? I was told these heaters draw anything around to the heater ' then burns it...I had my heater turned up on 3 bricks yesterday & everytime i walked in the shop ' it smelled like racing fuel strong..Have no leaks anywhere ' but think its pulling it from the carb and headers...When the heater is not running' u smell nothing at all..Last night after i was replacing a few parts & went back in the house i started getting a headache & raipid hearbeat...Its a 30x30 shop and im gona swap to a different heat i think....

If you have a source of cheap wood, a wood-fired water boiler is the bomb. JMO

LOL..no. The energy emitted by your heater(s) is absorbed by anything having mass, like your carb, fuel tanks/cans, etc... Which in turn warms the fuel/oil and gives off fumes just like setting them in the sun on a warm summer day. Except you're enclosing all that in a 30x30 shop, and not out in open air.


Hope this helps!

I cracked the front door today and didnt smell anything...But i also put plastic with a big rubberband around the 1250 carb & a set of rubber gloves over the hedders....When the heater is not on you dont ever smell anything...The air in the summer is fine..Someone else told me it draws it like u said and burns it

DFI429 wrote:LOL..no. The energy emitted by your heater(s) is absorbed by anything having mass, like your carb, fuel tanks/cans, etc... Which in turn warms the fuel/oil and gives off fumes just like setting them in the sun on a warm summer day. Except you're enclosing all that in a 30x30 shop, and not out in open air.


Hope this helps!

What about paint thinner & different gallon jugs of stuff like that..And also racing fuel in jugs..Can it draw from them even though the lids are tight..HAve a lawnmower om there also...I put a peice of plastic under the lid on the riding mower fuel lid and tightened it back down but still smell a small amount if u get close to the lid...

Is this heater vented to the outside? Or is it one the unvented type sold in the last 10 yrs?

Its one of the older unvented vanguards ....

95lightiningguy wrote:Is this heater vented to the outside? Or is it one the unvented type sold in the last 10 yrs?

That is what I was wondering. If it is burning up anything it can get in the shop it definitely mustn't have a fresh air intake. Do you run it all the time or just when you go out to the garage?

I got treed on that post. So is it just a floor unit or does it hang from the ceiling?

I had a large Natural gas unit in my 30x28 garage but it was never insulated and sealed well enough to notice what you are saying. It also had a fresh air intake IIRC. I have a cousin that has similar units in his shop and has never mentioned what you are saying as well.

Some days it runs for hours when its cold outside...I put plastic around the carb with a huge rubber o-ring' and put 2 thin rubber gloves over the open headers..When i layed on the floor ' i could smell the racing fuel fairly strong at the hedders....I put good insulation all around the walls and front garage door also..Most air that comes in is small openings around the door...So its fairly tight and i guess thats why its soo strong...If i open the doors and crank the car sometimes earlier that day' Thats when it smells stronger all through the day..Everytime i would open the door u could smell racing fuel...When i came in the house the other day was after still smelling it after hours & thats when i had a rapid heartbeat..Took awhile to get it back to normal..Headache came on right before that..The heater is a 5 brick and i use 1 or 3...Its propane 5 brick infrared and hangs half way on the wall...I noticed after i put gloves on the hedders and band around plastic on carb we didnt realy smell anything yesterday..That day it was bad we cracked the garage door and never smelled anything..When the heater wasn't running u never smell anything...Even when you spray carb cleaner and have a transmission opened up and some fluid in a pan it smells strong also...I have a 5gal jug of racing fuel in the shop but all lids are tight..1 riding lawnmower' i put plastic under the lid and it still has a faint smell of gas...Sorry about the long post...I just know this stuff is dangerous....thanks

never noticed any fuel smell in my shop with the heater going, but then again all my stuff aint gas powered...........

I know after a bit the alky drums will expand from the heat and scare the shit out of me when the top pops.................

richter69 wrote:never noticed any fuel smell in my shop with the heater going, but then again all my stuff aint gas powered...........

I know after a bit the alky drums will expand from the heat and scare the shit out of me when the top pops.................

Maybe you got a guilty conscience and your a little gun shy Those dang drums never do that when your ready for it

leave a wrench layin on top of one.....makes a bigger racket when it happens lol.

I would HIGHLY reccomend you go out and buy a good carbon monoxide dectector(and yes it will go off when you start your car and let it run in the shop just means you need to leave a door open) and put it in the shop when your running the heater. As for the fuel smell the infered heaters heat up liquids quicker than other things which will cause fuel to evaporate quickly and why you are smelling it. It is not pulling it to the heater and burning if it were there would be a large fire around the heater.

The carbon monoxide dectector never goes off even when the fuel or trans fluid is soo strong' and the heater is on 3 bricks...It only does that when i have the garage door open & the side door open and fans running on high...The detector sits not far behind the car...It goes off in 1-2 mins like it should...Soon as i hear that loud detector go off ' im out the door...I may try finding me a heating unit from a house tralier or something...I dont know if they make any electric heaters big enough with blowers ' that would hit it...

My guess would be that it's consuming enough oxygen to cause the headaches if the carbon monoxide detector is not going off.

I've tried several different types of heaters in the shop. Kerosene, I hated the smell. Electric, It made me dizzy watching the electric meter go round and round! A wood burner with a blower, I liked it, although I decided to remove the "open flame" from the shop before I spilled gasoline. I installed a downdraft furnace in the attic. I collect fresh air from the attic and not from a return located below the ceiling. It probably cost a bit more to heat the colder air, but it's always fresh air, not contaminated with explosive fumes. The furnace works great, no dust, no concern of normal fumes that may cause an explosion and I don't need to stoke it down for the night!

Happy Holidays,
Dave.