Shop Heaters

[glen pickren]

I have an uninsulated 37 x 17 shop that I want to heat on typical 35 to 45 degree days which I get for maybe 3 months. I am in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

I am considering a portable propane job type heater, either fan forced or radiant. Has anyone had success with one of these. How large a cylinder do you use and how long does a tank last?

Any better recommendations? Thanks.

[John Gregory]

The issue with unvented propane heaters is water vapors. They create humidity and can contribute to causing tools to rust. And of course, humidity affects wood.

[George Bregar]

My shop is 36x24 and in Northern WI, and am temporarily using a propane heater rated at 110K BTU. Although it will heat the shop quickly, it puts a lot of moisture in the air. I am in the build out phase still so not a big deal, but not a good choice for long term. A 18# tanks will last a weekend. I will either go to a vented propane unit like a Hot Dawg, or a wood stove.

[glen pickren]

Sounds like vented is the rule if I use propane. What about the electric 220v heaters?

I would go with a wood stove, but I would need a 26'+ chimney to keep smoke out of living area. Too bad as I have unlimited firewood. I am also looking at pellet stoves because they can vent through the wall but even used ones are pricey and I keep reading reviews of faulty motors and no factory support on older units.

[Steve Friedman]

Could just be me, but I tried a propane heater (100,000 btu) and found that it worked well, but irritated my eyes - even with plenty of ventilation. I just got a small heater from LV and it works well, but only where you're standing - not really big enough to heat the whole area.

If I was in a shop all day, I would definitely go with a wood stove.

Steve

[Ray Newman]

I would first insulate the bejesus out of the shop, then look for a heat source. You'll save money and be more comfortable in the long run.

[George Bregar]

Sounds like vented is the rule if I use propane. What about the electric 220v heaters?

I would go with a wood stove, but I would need a 26'+ chimney to keep smoke out of living area. Too bad as I have unlimited firewood. I am also looking at pellet stoves because they can vent through the wall but even used ones are pricey and I keep reading reviews of faulty motors and no factory support on older units. No reason you can't vent a woodstove through the wall https://store.woodstove.com/xcart/home.php?cat=286

[glen pickren]

No reason you can't vent a woodstove through the wall https://store.woodstove.com/xcart/home.php?cat=286

True, I understand the method in the link. My problem is my shop is on the ground floor of a 3 story barn with living space in the upper level. I would have to have at least 26' of chimney pipe supported by braces to keep the smoke out. I don't like the look of that as well as some functional limitations.

I will probably insulate and finish the shop interior. It is already pretty air tight already. I am now leaning toward 220v electric.

[Brian Schroeder]

I have a shop about your size slightly smaller, 14' x 37'. I ordered a window unit heat pump 11.6k BTU with backup electic heat. http://www.amana-ptac.com/Home/Products/WRAC/HeatPumpAH12/tabid/545/Default.aspx Just ordered it this weekend actually. In the process of running a 220v line to the window along with a 220v to my new dust collector. I can't say how well it will work, as it's not in the shop yet. But, from reading up on other people input about window units I've found it should work well at least for my needs.

[David Nelson1]

True, I understand the method in the link. My problem is my shop is on the ground floor of a 3 story barn with living space in the upper level. I would have to have at least 26' of chimney pipe supported by braces to keep the smoke out. I don't like the look of that as well as some functional limitations.

I will probably insulate and finish the shop interior. It is already pretty air tight already. I am now leaning toward 220v electric.

Take a look @ this unit.
http://www.finehomebuilding.com/tool...nt-heater.aspx (http://www.finehomebuilding.com/toolguide/product-finder/w-b-marvin-manufacturing-7060-overhead-quartz-radiant-heater.aspx)

[Joseph Tarantino]

I have an uninsulated 37 x 17 shop that I want to heat on typical 35 to 45 degree days which I get for maybe 3 months. I am in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

I am considering a portable propane job type heater, either fan forced or radiant. Has anyone had success with one of these. How large a cylinder do you use and how long does a tank last?

Any better recommendations? Thanks.

your shop is 2.5 times larger than mine, but i use propane. the left side of the pic below shows the 30K btu tank top heater i use, with a wrinkle. i mounted a 20" box fan about 2 feet above the top of the tank top unit and put the fan on low to circulate the warm air coming off the heaters. in 1 hour, i'm out of my coat and reasonably comfortable with outside temperatures in the 20s in an uninsulated garage/shop.178737 i'm in the NY tristate area and have had no problems with rust or adverse effects from propane combustion. but my garage is uninsulated, so there is plenty of make up air for combustion. a 20 lb. tank averaging the mid setting (~20K btu) lasts around 15 -18 hours.for a quick, cheap set up, i'd get 2 30K units and, if you can, 40(?) lb tanks. those will burn for some time, but the air circulation is absolutely crucial to the performance of this set up. the propane heaters sans air circulation are really not terribly effective.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/misc/pencil.png

[David Nelson1]

My shop is close to ya'lls with 12 foot ceilings. I also have a 12K BTU window/thru wall unit. Its works well as long as you don't let get to cold. From 40 to 55 in a few hours with an outside temp in the 30's. The past few days I left it on all weekend the table saw was warm to the touch. Mine has no thermostat so it stays off more than on. It did a far job of cooling as well. 100 degrees with mega humidity it was about high 70's after a few hours. The biggest + was not cleaning rust from all the cast iron since I insulated and regulated the tempature.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

When we moved into our current house 8 years ago it came with a Kozi pellet stove works great! We replaced it in the kitchen this year with an automatic model that I could easily put closer to the wall and take advantage of some tax credits... but the old stove is going out into the far end of my workshop in what we've started calling the "Pub". It's been very simple to work with, the manual is good, when I had a fan for the combustion air fail, I could diagnose it from the lights in the back and the company shipped a new fan from Canada the next day. It was easy to replace.
Last time I looked, Home Depot was selling an somewhat updated version of the same pellet stove.. The serviceability and excellent company support is one reason it is being recycled rather than sold.. The new one (not a Kozi ) is really nice, but I suspect with so many electronics I'll have to get a service call if anything goes wrong.
Kozi also makes gas/pellet and regular wood stoves. ( No connection to Kozi, other than a very satisfied customer). Some of the stove companies make you go through their dealer network for parts, etc. I have a soapstone stove that I'm having to replace a door handle on... if their service was like Kozi I would have it replaced already. Instead I'm having to order it through the dealer, with all of the problems dealing with a second party. They would really rather I get a service call to replace a door handle!
Anyway, good luck in finding a good solution.
The latest pellet stoves don't exhaust much smoke.. its a very efficient way to burn wood. Now if I could afford to buy a pellet making machine (you CAN find them on the internet.... maybe if I formed a co-op)...

[Bob Winkler]

I second the comment on insulation. In my mind, it the best and most cost effective way to keep warm. My shop is 2 floors, 24'x30' down and 16'x30' upstairs, and because I spray-foamed the entire envelope, I heat the entire thing with a 5000 watt electric heater. And I live in New England where it gets pretty cold, especially lately.

Bob

[Andrew Joiner]

If your going for electric remember a watt costs the same to produce heat or light. 20- 250 watt bulbs will produce the same heat as a 5000 watt heater,but also a LOT of light.

I get radiant heat and light for the same dollar. I have 250watt clear (not red)heat lamps above my benches. It is all the heat I need in Oregon's mild winters. My shop is 2 -stories 20'x30' and it isn't insulated.

It may work to supplement a main heat source in a cold climate. You do get instant on light and heat. Kinda like stepping from the shade to direct sun.

It does take the thermometer about an hour to get to 55F, but it's on the wall 4 feet from the warm benches.

A thermometer on the benches goes from 40F to 90F real fast. On the coldest days it goes from 20F to 70 or 80F almost as fast. That's when I switch off every other lamp. Great for drying glue. I have 3 lamps 4' above each 3'x7' bench. There's 2 benches 4' apart in the center of my shop. I've got a lamp 4' above the table saw and bandsaw, so 8 lamps total. I use a couple extra lamps on clip on fixtures to warm the ends of long glue ups if they overhang the bench area.

An added plus is the heat lamps last much longer than standard bulbs. It's a simple,cheap way to get heat for my needs. I pay about 7cents per KWH, so it costs $1.20 per 8 hour day to heat the shop if I have all 8 bulbs on . Usually I've got 4 bulbs on for good heat and light.

I not in the shop much in the summer, I'd switch the bulbs to CFL's if I needed more light than my 12- 4' fluorescent bulbs give off.

[John Gregory]

My shop, which is 20' X 20' has R13 in the walls and R38 in the ceiling. I use a Hot Dawg to heat my shop. I pay about $2.25 per gallon for propane and on average it costs $1.00 to $1.50 per day. Lots of variables really, Most of December and January, Utah had temps well below normal. And my time in the shop varies. But the thermostat never goes below 50 to protect my finishes stored in the shop. For me I see three deterrents to burning wood. 1. Space, Just with tools, my space is tight. 2. I do not want to "tend" a fire all of the time. 3. Everything would be subject to freezing in my shop when the wood stove is not burning. I love the Hot Dawg that I use. Cost effective, warms up quickly, no hassles.

[David Hostetler]

Your comfort, and your long term budget would be so much happier if you would insulate the space before heating it... I have an 18x20 garage workshop that I heat to the low 70's with an oil filled radiator type electric heater with no problems (temp rise of 40+ degrees). The side walls are uninsulated, but drafts are sealed off with spray foam, the common wall, and front wall by the doors is insulated R19, the doors are insulated R10 with radiant barrier, and the ceiling is insulated R30 with radiant barrier. I sometimes use an 18K BTU portable ventless propane heater (the kind used in hunting blinds) to heat the shop up QUICKLY... The humidity issue is a legit one...

I typically leave the radiator on when the overnight lows are below 40, but only right next to the finishes and water softener in my garage / shop. Keeps the finishes and glue from going bad, and keeps the pipes from costing me a fortune...

[Eric McCune]

I would second the PTAC recommendation. I have one in my shop. The heatpump is more efficient vs electrical elements AND you get AC. I have an Amana and I'm really happy with it.

[Jonathan Spool]

I'm in the same camp as Ray, Bob, and Dave. If you intend to heat the shop, insulate it first. It will cut your heating expenses tremendously. Keep any unvented propane heater away from your tools.
I have found the most economical heating solution to be split ductless systems running on a DC VFD.

[Jason White]

I have a pellet stove in my shop that is tied to a wall thermostat. Works great, but I wish I'd gotten something with a bigger hopper (my hopper only holds 40 lbs of pellets, which means I can only put one bag in there at a time). One bag of pellets will heat my 1-car garage for about 24-48 hours, depending on how cold it is outside.

Jason

[glen pickren]

I just picked up one of these. http://www.amazon.com/Dimplex-DGWH4031-4000-Watt-Garage-Workshop/dp/B00064NURU Turned out one of the cheaper internet stores was a few miles away from my home in Irvine so I picked up a 4000 watt Dimplex.

Now I have to wait until I get back up to my mountain home to hook it up. I will post how that goes next week.

The unit is quite small but I am comparing it to a 3000 watt 220v wall heater I already have that keeps a 425 sq. foot apartment in the barn cozy warm. The heating element area in the WH is only about 3 1/2" x 9 or 10" (smaller than the Dimplex) but the elements are enclosed by tubes that go thru a grid of fins. The heat transfer seems good because of those fins and I imagine the idea was for the fan to keep the heating elements as cool as possible since this little heater is enclosed in the wall between the studs. It pours out a lot of heat.

In contrast, the Dimplex is basically a metal box with a fan on the back that blows air thru a heating element that looks similar to the coil type burners on an electric range. Very low tech looking. So we will see.