Building a dedicated reloading room

[cdhbrad]

Wobbly:  That would not have helped me, the only outlet I could access was beneath the table I used.  Plus, all the USB ports really come in handy for me.  Lots of options.

[Pistolet]

Both outlet ideas are great but Wobbly's suggestion is more within my budget. Any ideas for extra lighting?

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[CzechnoWizard]

Regarding heat: yes a typical space heater could pose a fire hazard. No, infrared is not much better. Either style may have an element hot enough to ignite errant powder dust. The infrared still has an element (lamp) glowing orange hot, it's just hidden from view.

I would use hot water or electric radiant baseboard.

A small strip of electric baseboard is cheap and does not reach ignition temperatures.  Or, you could build a heater box containing a small coil and fan. Maybe go to autozone and buy the smallest cheapest radiator they have. Run hot water thru it and blow air thru that into your shop. Set it up to avoid creating drafts near your scale.

You could possibly run a bunch of pex tubing on your ceiling. Push domestic hot water thru it with a small circulating pump and get radiant heat. Put reflective foil and some foam insulation on the ceiling before attaching the pex. Only run the pump when you want heat.

If you were just starting this project I would have recommended building a 2x4 floor platform to raise your room off the slab. That would have created space to insulate and install radiant heat beneath the floor of your man closet. You would probably never want to leave once you felt the comfort of a warm floor.

Just some crazy ideas from Michigan where we envy your climate but pity your oppression.

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[Dan_69GTX]

You could pick up those oil filled radiant electric heaters pretty cheap.  Seen them at thrift stores and at yard sales.  They work very well in small places!  A friend who is getting ready to sell his house offered me one - free - maybe you'll get lucky too.

Lowe's has them for $34
https://www.lowes.com/pd/PELONIS-5-200-BTU-Oil-Filled-Radiant-Cabinet-Electric-Space-Heater-with-Thermostat/1000108031?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-rpe-_-bing-_-pla-_-171-_-electricandgarageheat-_-1000108031-_-0&kpid&msclkid=b312505b6b0519150e170dfc782d3b24&gclid=CIGJguTpoOUCFaYFiAkdBTADcw&gclsrc=ds

[Pistolet]

You could pick up those oil filled radiant electric heaters pretty cheap.  Seen them at thrift stores and at yard sales.  They work very well in small places!  A friend who is getting ready to sell his house offered me one - free - maybe you'll get lucky too.

Lowe's has them for $34
https://www.lowes.com/pd/PELONIS-5-200-BTU-Oil-Filled-Radiant-Cabinet-Electric-Space-Heater-with-Thermostat/1000108031?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-rpe-_-bing-_-pla-_-171-_-electricandgarageheat-_-1000108031-_-0&kpid&msclkid=b312505b6b0519150e170dfc782d3b24&gclid=CIGJguTpoOUCFaYFiAkdBTADcw&gclsrc=ds

I just found an electric oil radiator that I forgot I had. I'll try it.

[Pistolet]

Regarding heat: yes a typical space heater could pose a fire hazard. No, infrared is not much better. Either style may have an element hot enough to ignite errant powder dust. The infrared still has an element (lamp) glowing orange hot, it's just hidden from view.

I would use hot water or electric radiant baseboard.

A small strip of electric baseboard is cheap and does not reach ignition temperatures.  Or, you could build a heater box containing a small coil and fan. Maybe go to autozone and buy the smallest cheapest radiator they have. Run hot water thru it and blow air thru that into your shop. Set it up to avoid creating drafts near your scale.

You could possibly run a bunch of pex tubing on your ceiling. Push domestic hot water thru it with a small circulating pump and get radiant heat. Put reflective foil and some foam insulation on the ceiling before attaching the pex. Only run the pump when you want heat.

If you were just starting this project I would have recommended building a 2x4 floor platform to raise your room off the slab. That would have created space to insulate and install radiant heat beneath the floor of your man closet. You would probably never want to leave once you felt the comfort of a warm floor.

Just some crazy ideas from Michigan where we envy your climate but pity your oppression.

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I would never  have had the head room for a raised floor. Part of the deal with my wife is to have storage room above my man closet for us to put stuff cause we have a small house.
I like the idea of a strip of electric baseboard, I will look into it.

[Wobbly]

Any ideas for extra lighting?

First of all, you gotta get yourself some in-press UFO lighting from KMS Squared. Don't waste you money on anything else.

Secondly, get those reading lamps with the flexible goosenecks from the thrift store and put the "daylight" white bulbs in them, either CFL or LED. They usually have weighted bases and the ability to snake around and shine right where you need it. Thrift stores in my area have those for about $3 ea.

 

[M1A4ME]

Nice bright lights are really important for all the visual inspections you need to be making.

I sat down two days ago to reload some 9MM at my old bench. 

Picked up the Blue Dot, put about 1/2 a hopper full in the electronical measure/scale. 
Turned it on, let it warm up a bit.
Calibrated it.
Set the unit up to give me the desired weight.
Calibrated/checked the mechanical scale.
Started the electronic unit up and began measuring the first few charge weights and started putting the powder in the cases.

Part of the way through I went from just looking at how much powder was in the cases (visual inspection before putting a bullet in the case mouth) to a really bad feeling of, "OH NO!  I've got the wrong powder!  There are no blue flakes in it.  How did I grab the wrong powder??  I know I grabbed the right powder.  Why doesn't it have the blue flakes?"  I looked down at the can and sure enough it was Blue Dot.  Why no blue flakes? 

Then I realized I'd never turned my bright overhead light on flicked the switch to on.  BLUE FLAKES!!!  In the powder.  The powder went from a dull gray to dull gray with blue flakes.

Nice lighting is important.

[Wobbly]

Regarding heat: yes a typical space heater could pose a fire hazard. No, infrared is not much better. Either style may have an element hot enough to ignite errant powder dust.

I don't quite follow this.

I understand that small particles suspended in air can be explosive. That's why sealed motors are used in flour mills, coal mines, and other places with dust filled atmospheres. But I don't think pouring smokeless powder from a can into a powder measure hopper can form that type dust. Unlike the aforementioned powders, smokeless powder only comes in a single granule size. I'm not aware that it gets "airborne" and saturates a room. I've never read of reloaders blowing their garages off the ends of their homes for this reason.

Just wondering what data you have to support this view.

I agree it's not optimal. I agree that Tinker Bell with her pixie dust should be barred from the room. But I think sparks and open flame might be the big issue. But they are always an issue in any environment. Concentrated heat is a distant second, so he shouldn't store his powder and primers on the floor 12" from the mouth of the heater. But I don't get the 'errant powder' thing.

 

[cdhbrad]

Both outlet ideas are great but Wobbly's suggestion is more within my budget. Any ideas for extra lighting?

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I just checked my power outlet I mentioned above and there are 4 of the 8 outlets in use.  2 for LED lights and 2 for digital scales.  All use transformers that take up space and all are at different positions but not conflicting with each other.  If you go with the add-on outlet suggested, you will likely lose the use of several of the outlets.  I ran into this issue before building my new reloading room and avoided it with the unit I bought.
As for lights, I use both the UFO and In-line Fab on the press and have a high power LED desk lamp too.  I also keep a small LED flashlight on the bench to use when I need to read the settings on the micrometer adjusters on my powder measures and seating dies.
I live in FL so no help on heaters.......ask me about AC, we run it year round.👍👍😀😀

[CzechnoWizard]

Wobbly, I'm not suggesting a dust explosion is imminent or even likely. None of us would ever stay in our reloading rooms while  particulate concentrations ever approached that level.  What i am suggesting is that conventional (cheap)resistance element  space heaters can get hot to a point of incandescence.  Infrared heaters have a quartz lamp that is similarly hot but hidden from view. In either case, a flake of powder floating around to that element could ignite. If you've ever touched a flame to a pile of smokeless powder, you know it just sort of fizzes and sparks.  I would expect a little spit of sparks out the front of the heater if this ever happened but I still don't want it to happen. Fact is, if you were to hepa vac my reload room, I'm sure you would capture a fair amount of rogue powder. Having processed maybe 100 lbs of powder over the years, its inevitable that a few mg have escaped.  There is a non zero chance that a few sparks out of the front of a heater might lead to a brief flash across the floor. Hopefully it stops there but we usually have solvents present, rags, etc. Best idea is to eliminate any ignition source, and I count space heaters as one.

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[M1A4ME]

You can buy an outlet with USB ports as well as the standard 110 volt plug ins - if you have anything that requires power through a USB port.

I installed those on the walls between the base and wall cabinets on both sets of cabinets I installed in the house. 

The make surge protector sets with that set up, too. 

My youngest son installed a power strip, like this one, above his work bench in the garage.  It allows him to plug his cordless tool batter chargers in with plenty of room for all the oddball sized plugs, transformers, etc. those can have.  Since only one or two are actually charging at a time it's not a big load on the outlet the power strip is plugged into.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/MonoSystems-8-Outlet-Silver-Power-Strip/1000394551

[Wobbly]

Since only one or two are actually charging at a time it's not a big load on the outlet the power strip is plugged into.

And that's my thinking too. First of all, forget about anything LED. They don't pull any power at all. Then secondly, you can discount anything with a "wall wart" power supply. They are usually under 1 amp. That leaves an array of items like case trimmers, case prep centers, and case feeders... none of which are used at the same time.

So multiple outlets don't always equate to huge power consumption. It's more about having them plugged in for the sake of "ease of use" than anything else.

[Wobbly]

I've been thinking about this heating issue, and have come up with the best way. As I understand it your new loading area is right up against your house.

The cheapest, easiest, quickest, and safest way to do this is to tap into your existing forced air system for your home. All it would take is a flexible 4" duct; the type typically used to connect clothes dryers. You'd be tapping about 1% of your furnace/AC units blower ability, so your home would never know the difference. That solution has the added advantage of bringing in low humidity air, which will safeguard all your equipment.

You wouldn't need a return duct. The leaks around the door and wall joints will take care of that. You might need to add insulation around the 4" duct if it's a long run though an unheated area.


I presently load in my basement area, directly below my living quarters. Not having any vents in the basement meant the humidity was hard to control. I bought a 4" hole saw and tapped into the existing supply duct work by simply drilling a single hole. That's all it took. The air is no longer stagnant and stale-ish. Just having "fresh" air brought in dropped the humidity by 8 points in a 1500 sq-ft basement. I'm seriously considering drilling one more. 

[Wobbly]

Secondly, get those reading lamps with the flexible goosenecks from the thrift store and put the "daylight" white bulbs in them, either CFL or LED. They usually have weighted bases and the ability to snake around and shine right where you need it. Thrift stores in my area have those for about $3 ea.

Dang! I was in thrift store today with the idea of getting some photos of the type lamps I like and there on the shelf, buried in the back, was an LED reading lamp on a 18" goose-neck for $3.95. That was about 95 cents over budget, but it was in such a nice mauve color... and I have been trying hard to get in touch with my softer side... so I bought it.

Photos later.