Safety: Rustolium vs propane heater?

PNW_Steve

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2014
Posts
6,408
Hey Everyone,

After reading the instructions on the Rustolium can and looking at the weather forecast.....

Can says not to spray below 50F. Based on that I have two choices. Wait for spring or put a propane heater in the bus to keep it warm enough.

Is there a hazard with the open flame of the heater?

I have no idea how flammable the fumes are....

What do you all think?
 
If you were just brushing and rolling the paint on a propane heater would probably not be an issue... Spraying it near an open flame could definitely cause a problem. You can put a propane heater inside the space and warm up the bus.. then spray everything you can spray.. ventilate and put the heater back in after the fumes have been ventilated.. bug spraying with an open flame is not a good idea. Even if it's not flammable just the size of the particulate could make it flammable.
 
I suspected that may be the case. I am considering rolling most of it and just spray the difficult parts.

Thanks for the input.
 
We had to paint our bus on a day when the temps were in the mid-low 40's. We put it under a tarp next to a barn and used a kerosene heater blasting to get the temp up a little. We rolled and brushed the paint on and our only concern was how long it would take to dry. We never had an issue with fumes (or explosions). We painted it on a Sunday and the paint was still tacky on Tuesday but was dry on Wednesday. The temp never did get above 50 during those days.

Dave
 
Thanks Dave,

It got up to 49F today and the sun is shining on the bus. Must be at least 52F inside :)

I went ahead and rolled a coat on. When it starts to cool down I will fire up the propane heater to help it dry.

Today is likely to be the warmest day we have until Spring. 10 day is showing highs in the low 30's.
 
In my experience the biggest adversary of oil based paint as temps drop is condensation, and a non venting propane heater inside the bus will make that problem a lot worse.

Oil based paint will eventually dry, even at low temp, but if the metal gets condensation during drying it will significantly change the finish quality.
 
An idea I have thought about for a different use but might help get some painting done.without the fuel fired heat issues in the bus.
Use a forced air fuel fired heater (torpedoe style or turkey house style) under the bus and use something for a type of underpinning to block the wind,outside temp. From blowing in and let the thermal break that everyone is trying to stop work to your advantage.
Haven't tried it? But if you have a bare bones bus and want to work on it in the winter without the worries of painting,fumes and stuff then this should work?
Underpin and heat the underside metal and it should radiate up through the floor and walls?
My idea started as a way to keep the motor and accessories warm and ready to go?
Maybe the night before with a small unit and just kept expanding into for me? Why not get a little bigger unit and use the radiant heat off of it?
Just a thought? And on a bare bones bus in the winter, trying to paint,insulate or whatever slows me down in NC? And I know what a lot of people do in the colder areas? Cause the marine corps stuck me in quite a few? NO THANK YOU!
But I do commercial heating so if the heats working I am moved to the next one that's not? Same with AC in the summer?
Just my idea?
 
Last edited:
This was out painting setup:
24620-albums1639-picture20541.jpg


Not the best painting weather now....
24620-albums1639-picture20542.jpg
 
Last edited:

Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days

  • New Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
  • Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
  • Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
  • and much more...
Try RV LIFE Pro Today
Back
Top