How to Heat Up a Darkroom

bernard_L

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Doc W said:
The oil radiator just can't seem to get it up high enough
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I use oil-filled. Works. A watt is a watt. Maybe you need to reconsider the power rating. And, sure, it takes more time (inertia) than the ventilator type to be felt. The ventilator type is quick to heat the air; less so the wall surfaces and all solids and liquids in the room (think developer stock, developing tank, etc). I would avoid any ventilator type because of dust (and noise).
 

AgX

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bernard_L said:
A watt is a watt.
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Not quite. Even if the whole power consumption completely would be transfered into heat, the differene between an electrical oil-filled heater and an IR reflector-heater should be obvious.
 

semi-ambivalent

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My darkroom has a heating vent but I've covered it because why expose the room to the dust in the air from the entire house? Instead I use a small floor heater with a fan, and make a point of keeping the darkroom clean. I mop the floor once a week after wiping the various surfaces. It's easy if you just do it. Temp cycles between 63 and 72 as the heater cycles but the developers on the shelf stay at 67 degrees exactly. The surprise is that with the darkroom closed all the time I have discovered a higher than healthy level of radon in the air, so a vent to the outside is being put in.
 

BMbikerider

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My darkroom is about 15x8 feet and although I have central heating, it is not turned on because I don't use the room all the time. What I use if I need to is a 1.5 kilowatt convector heater at the far end of the room. This heater has 5 settings and a high and low range. I find that at the middle point i.e. setting 3 on the lower setting will keep the room quite comfortable to work in a T shirt during a North East of England winter where it can get down to -10C. I also have 4x4 feet square double glazed window (blacked out) and about 14" of fibre insulation in the area above the ceiling. It can actually get quite cozy!
 

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MattKing

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The price of electricity varies greatly, depending where you are. However, if you are working in your darkroom, and you are alone in your house, you can turn the heat down elsewhere, and save some money there.
 

BMbikerider

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Electricity may be expensive in some places but that is better than killing yourself with carbon monoxide poisoning or accidentally knocking the kerosene heater and starting a fire.
 

grahamp

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I have insulation in the walls of my exterior building, and I use rubber mats on the concrete floor. Heating, when I need it, is an oil-filled radiator with a thermostat set at 68/20 degrees. I sometimes bring in an air-cleaner if I want a fan. One mistake I made building out the darkroom was placing an extraction point in the ceiling. Great in the summer, but I can lose a lot of heat in the winter.

Now this is the SF Bay area. A cold night is a few degrees below freezing
 

Sirius Glass

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AgX said:
What is a "extraction point"?
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Where the tooth came from? Or from where the body will be removed? Or from where Special Forces exfiltrate hostages? Do tell!
 

Andrew O'Neill

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My darkroom is about the same size. I have one stand up radiator style heater on wheels that keeps the space a constant 20C... or warmer, if I like. Bought it at Canadian Tire years ago. Mind you, it doesn't get as cold as Ottawa here!
 

Vaughn

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Electric socks and a wool cap.

My house would be unlivable in Ottawa.
 

RalphLambrecht

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Pentode said:
The radiant panels I'm thinking of don't emit any light at all. They're solid panels with electric heating elements inside. They can be painted to match the walls.
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there may be light from some of the control or power switches but <I don't think they are of any concern; neither is the IR radiation.
 

Mainecoonmaniac

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I was born, raised and live in Central Valley in Northern California. I don't think I have the toughness required to live in cold climates like Canada. I visited my cousin for Xmas one year in Chicago and I thought I was going to die. He stockpiles kerosene during the summer because it's cheaper then uses it to heat his house. He said "I could heat my house to 55°!" That's in Farenheight of course. But whimpy California, the standard temperature that is economical is 68°. When I print in my darkroom in the winter, I start my electric oil radiator 4 hours to warm up the darkroom to 68. Anything colder makes it hard for me to print or process film.
 

Andrew O'Neill

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Chicago is colder than Canada... I grew up in Saskatchewan, so I know cold. We're spoilt here on the west coast.
 

Mainecoonmaniac

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Andrew O'Neill said:
Chicago is colder than Canada... I grew up in Saskatchewan, so I know cold. We're spoilt here on the west coast.
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I'm still a whimp

I have an uncle and an aunt in Chicago. Most of their college friends have moved to warmer California and haven't looked back. The winters are brutal there. The stuff I saw that shocked me when I was there in the winter include funerals for old guys that died shoveling show, senior citizens holed at home up in the winter due to fear of falling and breaking their hip. Having to pour boiling water on your car door just to get in. Electric dip sticks so your car could start in the morning. My uncle told me it cost thousands to heat his home in the winter. Luckily, the expense is spread out over a year. I think I would never have my own darkroom there.
 

MattKing

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It is 7C and raining here today - pretty normal for this part of Canada.
 
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Doc W

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Here is where I am now. In the coldest months, the darkroom can go as low as 40F/5C. Right now it is about 50F/10C. A few days ago, I ran a small fan heater to get the temperature up to 68F/20C and I was able to maintain that temperature with an oil radiator. The fan from the small heater is probably not going to produce as much dust as duct from the furnace so I may try this for a while.

I would have to keep all of my liquid chemistry out of the darkroom but that is not such a huge problem: film developer, paper developer, fix, stop, and a few other things. I don't think it is good for the temperature of the chemistry to fluctuate so much. I have a lot of dry chemistry too since I mix my own developers but I don't think that it is affected as much as liquid chemistry. I also wonder about the effect on my equipment (Jobo, enlargers, etc.) of wide temperature fluctuation. For this reason, I am also consulting with a heating guy about running a small duct into the darkroom which would run all the time and thus keep a constant temperature in the darkroom. I already have a vent extraction point.

Insulating the darkroom is not the issue. The rest of the basement is just fine, heated by the furnace ducts. The darkroom simply doesn't have a source of heat so there is nothing for the insulation to keep in.

Andrew, just for the record, the average daytime temperature in Chicago in January is 29F/-2C. At night, the average is 14F/-10C. You are right: this is very cold. But the same data for Ottawa is 21F/6C down to 7F/-14C. The darkroom is not this cold (thankfully!) or I would truly freeze my arse off down there.

Thanks again for all the replies. This has been very helpful.
 

CMoore

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If a small fan heater will "blow dust all over the place" you have problems beyond just the heater type.
Anyway.....those oil heaters work quite well, just leave it on "Low" so the room does not get freezing cold.
I chose those small LED lights with a "normal" screw size because they make no heat. You may want to use the traditional Red Bulbs that DO get hot. It will not heat your darkroom, but it might help a degree or two.?
good luck
 
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Doc W

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I have not had much success with the oil heater. Maybe I need a much bigger one.
 

Mainecoonmaniac

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I'm thinking out of the box. How about do "Seasonal" printing? Print silver gelatin during the warm months. On the colder months, do alt processes that don't require a separate dark room but could be done inside the house? Cyanotypes and salt prints could be done in a warm laundry room or bathroom.
 

CMoore

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Doc W said:
I have not had much success with the oil heater. Maybe I need a much bigger one.
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I will be very interested to know what works best for you.
My new darkroom is going to be in a large garage. It is insulted in the roof, but i will need to do some work on the walls. Heating this place (my new darkroom) is going to be a nightmare. It has AC for the summer time but no heat for winter. The previous owner was a car-nut.....I guess he did not worry about his Studebaker or Dusenberg getting cold.
 
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