Keepng warm

[Andrew O'Neill]

another oil filled rad user but get the larger one. also doubles as a hand towel drying/warming rack

Great idea, Fred!

[Rick A]

I prefer a ceramic disc heater, they are very safe and efficient. You can add a small filter to the back and help eliminate dust.

[Kirk Gittings]

Just cover the "on" light with a piece of tape. This can fog asa 400 films being tray developed-I found this out the hard way.

[cyrus]

A quartz heater is all you need.

[jeroldharter]

Many heaters use fans which means their primary purpose is to blow dust on your negatives noisily, generating some heat in the process. I suggest an oil heater which is quiet, has no dust issues, and can safely dry towels as Frank mentioned.

[Harold_4074]

I've been using one of the oil-filled heaters for several years, and find that it is a nearly ideal heat source---no dust, no fire hazard, no worries about getting burned by accidentally touching it. The only drawbacks are a) the thermostat is a bit flakey, and b) only the chimney effect pulling cold air from near the floor is available for air circulation when the darkroom is idle. The first problem I solved by getting a high-precision thermostat and putting it in series with the heater; the second I may have to deal with by continuosly running a tiny computer fan---as it is, the temperature stays nearly perfect at thermostat height, but is a bit chilly for the chemical bottles sitting on the floor.

[nolindan]

Electric heater that looks like one of the oil filled ones but uses heated metal plates instead. I keep a small oscillating fan going to even the heat.

I also use a heating pad under the developer tray. A sheet of ensolite under the pad keeps the pad from wasting it's effort in heating the bench. When I had a sink I used a bigger tray as a tempering bath.

[coops]

Well thanks for all the great feedback. I live in Florida and buying heaters is not something we do a lot of, but we do occasionally get close to or slightly below freezing, at night, and my darkroom is in the garage wilth no insulation. I went to Home Depot to buy an oil heater and wouldnt you know it, sold out. All they had was one very small $20 ceramic heater left. I took it home, plugged it in and within 10 mins the room was toasty. Wow, powerful little bugger. Did not need to run it again once the heat from the enlarger, lights and body heat from me and my dog kicked in. And yes, a bottle of alcohol (not cocnac) did help.
Thanks again.

[Eric Woodbury]

Space heater for the room. Wool socks for the feet.

[Alan Gales]

Space heater for the room. Wool socks for the feet.

You got that right! When I used to work construction I wore a pair of wool socks and uninsulated work boots in the winter. At least my feet never got cold!