Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Has anyone built a heated storage cabinet?
Phil Joines Krum Texas
>I want to get the water based finishes and glues out of the house and into my unheated garage. I'm thinking 3/4 ply lined with 1" blue foam board, a 45 degree button thermostat, a 60 watt bulb and a fan to circulate the air. Probably as large as I can make from 2 sheets.
Re: Has anyone built a heated storage cabinet?
Jeff Spirer
>Phil
I had the same problem.
A cabinet from plywood and 2" foam would work.
My solution was to pick up a free Upright freezer from the recycle center.
I wrapped a water proof (also explosion proof) 6 ft strip of premade water pipe heat tape along the shelves.
It comes with a built-in thermostat and cost me all of $7 at my local hardware store.
You can't buy plywood and insulation for that price.
Works great and keeps everything at 60 all the time.
The metal shelves are open and no fan is needed.
Jeff
Re: Has anyone built a heated storage cabinet?
George (Oxford, NC)
>I have an old upright freezer in my shop. I gutted the motor and compressor to make it lighter and easier to move. I keep a 25W bulb in an old reflector type worklight in the bottom. I didn't plug any holes or anything and it keeps everything at 50+�.
George
A few tricks
Dale Sherman - Manlius, NY
>Add weatherstripping to the door so the heat doesn't leak out. But if the bulb burns out without you knowing it, you'll lose everything to freezing, anyways. I'd use a 130 Volt rated bulb, they last much longer. Otherwise, wire up two bulbs in series so that each bulb gets only 60 volts. This guarantees that the bulbs won't burn out for a very long time and you'll still get the heating advantage. I use this latter method on my shop furnace to keep the condensate from freezing when the furnace is off.
Dale,
shoveling a foot of lake effect in 15� while the shop warms up
Re: Has anyone built a heated storage cabinet?
Steve Clardy
>Thats what I used for ten years or so, before I got actual heat in my shop.
Get to know your local appliance repair guy.
John Cotten
>I have a used SOBE cooler, insulated glass door that I store my glue and finishes in. It came from an appliance repair guy who said people just drop them off for him to get rid of. He scavenges whatever parts are usuable and scrape the rest. Total cost of the cooler...NADA! Just loaded and unloaded. A 40 watt bulb keeps the case interior in the mid 60's to 70's even when the temp in the shop plumets to the teens at night.
Save your money look around for a used glass fronted cooler.