I'm going to be building a VP1 over the winter. The basement in the house I'm currently renting is very cold in the winter. The upstairs for that matter is never what you'd call toasty unless I want to spend a fortune heating it. I have a programmable thermostat and the house is usually kept at 62 degrees when I'm at work and at night. The basement is at least 10 degrees less than that. When I get home from work and turn up the heat the basement still doesn't get very warm unless I really crank up the heat and then it's too hot upstairs.
I'm considering building in the very large living room (hardwood floors) since I don't see the building process generating a huge amount of sawdust. Any major power tool use to fabricate bulkheads, ribs, etc. will be in the basement. I could build in the basement (pretty sure I'll be able to get the fuse and wing out afterward, I'll verify first!) but I'd need to supply some heat.
First question is, what if any effects are there to building a wood aircraft in an environment where the temperature varies a lot? One thing I'm concerned about is epoxy properly curing when the overnight temp (in the dead of winter especially) is 50 degrees or even less. Will this have any effect on the wood structure.
Second, assuming the temperature variance won't be a problem, can a propane heater be used in a basement safely? I found a heater at the local Fleet Farm that is designed to be used indoors. Can these be used indoors safely and if so what kind of ventilation is required? I would probably use the heater to warm up the basement and then shut it off until is was needed again.
Mike
I'm considering building in the very large living room (hardwood floors) since I don't see the building process generating a huge amount of sawdust. Any major power tool use to fabricate bulkheads, ribs, etc. will be in the basement. I could build in the basement (pretty sure I'll be able to get the fuse and wing out afterward, I'll verify first!) but I'd need to supply some heat.
First question is, what if any effects are there to building a wood aircraft in an environment where the temperature varies a lot? One thing I'm concerned about is epoxy properly curing when the overnight temp (in the dead of winter especially) is 50 degrees or even less. Will this have any effect on the wood structure.
Second, assuming the temperature variance won't be a problem, can a propane heater be used in a basement safely? I found a heater at the local Fleet Farm that is designed to be used indoors. Can these be used indoors safely and if so what kind of ventilation is required? I would probably use the heater to warm up the basement and then shut it off until is was needed again.
Mike