Masonry Magazine March 1966 Page. 25
All-Weather Conference Report
This paper was recently presented by T. E. "Gene" Vocker at the All-Weather Conference held in Milwaukee, Wis. Mr. Vocker has been a member of the Space Heater Institute since 1964 and is currently that organization's President. He is General Sales Manager of the Champion Manufacturing Company.
SPACE HEATING
It certainly is a pleasure being invited to your meeting and also being asked to give a brief talk on the effects of heat in construction today. The construction industry has met and conquered many thousands of problems in the past years, but a never-ending problem is "old mother nature." Old mother nature can be real sweet at times, but usually does not favor her step-son, the contractor. The contractor has problems with heat in the summer, water in the spring, rain and snow in the fall, and rain, snow and freezing temperatures in the winter time.
Our main concern today, gentlemen, is the rain, snow and freezing temperatures of old man winter. These three conditions have cost many contractors their hard-earned profits and at times even their entire business. Up to approximately 1945, the majority of contractors only figured to work approximately seven months per year, and would not bid winter work because of the hazards involved. During these pioneer years of construction, the heat on a construction job was the ageless salamander, the coke burner, or the old 50 gallon oil drum wood burner. The sole purpose of these crude units was to warm the hands and the feet of the construction worker. They were inadequate, and they were extremely dangerous to both the worker and to the project. You will recall that in about 1945, the United States had a construction expansion in both residential and commercial buildings, larger than ever before in the nation. This fantastic expansion created the necessity for a contractor to operate his business all the year around. Since necessity is the mother of invention, the first forced-air portable space heater was conceived and announced to the industry. Of course, there were certain models available before 1945, but they were designed to heat buildings such as warehouses, and industrial plants and could hardly be called a portable heater.
We should take a moment to investigate why we use portable heaters in construction. A portable heater, has many applications. Actually many more than I can discuss in the thirty minutes alloted to the discussion, so we will take only the most important issues.
By T. E. "Gene" Vocker
President
Space Heater Institute
(1) With the use of polyetheline plastic sheeting, canvas, plywood, wallboard, etc., it is possible for the contractor to completely enclose a work area regardless of size. With the work area enclosed, and the use of a portable heater, a construction worker, can produce 50% more output of actual productive work. The working conditions can be as comfortable as working in a factory.
(2) If the worker has proper heat his morale will be considerably higher, and here again, gentlemen, another very good reason for increased output of completed construction.
(3) I do not need to tell you the effects on concrete and mortar, when it freezes before it has the opportunity to properly "(set)." A portable space heater will eliminate this hazard completely.
(4) Proper portable heat assists the concrete and mortar to "set" properly and at the proper time. This will allow a contractor to complete his project on time.
(5) Regardless of outside weather conditions, a contractor can continue to operate his project and have no fear of paying penalties and will not have the doctor bills to pay to cure his ulcers.
(6) By using proper portable heat the worker can take off those bulky clothes, heavy gloves, and reduce lost time accidents to an absolute minimum. This is a direct savings in insurance premiums.
As I stated before, we could outline countless advantages of portable heat but these six should give you the general idea of how and where and why portable heat should be used.
During the past twenty years, there have been a number of changes in the portable heater industry. I believe a brief run-down would be of interest to you. Portable heaters are classified by British Thermo Units called "B.T.U." of output heat. The majority of portable heater manufacturers have four B.T.U. sizes to offer a contractor. Each size is designed to heat certain size areas. The sizes offered in general are as follows:
(1) A 75,009 B.T.U. unit
(2) A 150,000 B.T.U. unit
(3) A 250,000 B.T.U. unit
(4) A 140,000 B.T.U. vented portable heater
As a rule of thumb, and you should use it exactly this way, you may figure that on the average construction job, it requires about 75 B.T.U. of heat per square foot of floor space. As an example, if the area to be heated is approximately 1,000 square feet, a 75.000 B.T.U. heater is needed. This rule depends on how well the area is sealed. Good judgement will prevail and tell you immediately if you have more than the average ventilation, or the temperature is below zero and more heat per square foot