Posted By Bob Paterson We have a workshop where we occasionally use thinners and paints. We consider this to be a possible fire/explosives risk. We are looking for a heater system to keep the guys warm in the winter but are having problems finding one that is safe to use in this environment. Any ideas?

Posted By Neil Tonge Hi Bob, I suppose the first step would be to establish whether or not the thinner and paint vapours are present in explosive quantities in the workshop ie within the upper and lower explosive limits of the substances. This may require air monitoring and could lead to the workshop being zoned as per the ATEX directive and DSEAR. This may well be outside of what you are capable of in-house so see my recent posting regarding explosive atmosphere zoning for referrals for Companies which undertake this sort of work. Following on from this an intrinsically safe air exchange heater may be required but bear in mind this will be expensive. Ruffneck (a part of CCI Thermal Technologies) manufacture this sort of equipment - just put it in google. Alternatively some sort of artificial ventilation could be used to reduce the amount of vapour in the air to below the lower explosive limit in which case normal heating systems could potentially be used. This would also have the added benefit of reducing exposure to your workforce from isocyanates and other nasties which paints often contain. Hope this helps, just of the top of my head so apologies if i've missed something really obvious! Neil

Posted By Jonathan Breeze Is the problem because the thinners are being applied next to an existing heater or potential ignition source? If so, then there is a distinct possibility that a stray splash or concentrated localised vapours (as opposed to the general background levels of solvent) could be ignited. In which case, move the heater/ ignition source away from the work or move the work away from the potential ignition source as previously suggested.