Heating a Garage Woodshop

[Gary Petit]

Hello,

I am inquiring for some knowledge on how to heat my garage woodshop. I have done some research, and noticed a lot about in floor radiant heat. I do not have that option, although sounds like a great alternative. I have been looking into electric fan forced heaters or gas possible, pending the cost associated. The one concern I have noticed is that there can be some dangerous situations with negative air flow, and possible dust explosion. What should I be careful about negative air return or what would be the best option to heat my woodshop?

Thanks,

Gary

[James Zhu]

Check this out, very good reviews.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Williams-30-000-Btu-hr-Direct-Vent-Furnace-Natural-Gas-with-Wall-or-Cabinet-Mounted-Thermostat-3003622/100084617?MERCH=RV-_-RV_search_plp_rr-2-_-NA-_-100084617-_-N

[Myk Rian]

I use electric. Keeps the garage/shop to 40º, and I crank it up when I'll be out there.
I ordered it from greenhousemegastore. They have a huge selection of gas, electric, etc.
Mine is 17,500 watts, but I moved a plug in it to the next lower value. Something like 14,000.
It is a 230 volt unit.

[Don Nicholas]

I have a 1000 sq ft shop, insulated. I picked up a used mobile home furnace for $25, 220 volt and it works great.

[ken masoumi]

I am going to have a radiant heater installed in my small shop soon,after researching what's available and what's the most appropriate type of heater for a woodworking shop ,I have come to the conclusion that tube heaters/radiant heaters would be the best type ,they don't not have an open flame,don't take the combustion air from outside,heat the objects in front of them not the space .

The gas installer that did my fireplace swears by Schwank radiant tube heaters (http://www.schwankusa.com/tube-heaters/info/),the one for a small shop is model P40-R ,I still don't know how much it's going to cost but I already have natural gas in the vicinity of my shop so installation won't be from scratch.
http://www.schwankusa.com/tube-heaters/compactschwank-p40-r/compact/

[Brad Seubert]

Myk, Any idea about what that costs you a month to run?

I'm thinking about putting an electric heater in instead of running a gas line out to the garage. I'm just afraid it's going to cost a fortune to run.

[Dave Richards]

I've got a Modine Hot Dawg in my two care garage. I think it's the 45K BTU unit. It works fine here in southern MN.

[Bruce Page]

I've got a Modine Hot Dawg in my two care garage. I think it's the 45K BTU unit. It works fine here in southern MN.

I have the Sterling version 45K unit. Total cost installing it myself was less than $500. I did have it blessed by a HVAC pro.
It's one of the best shop investments I have made.

[Gary Petit]

I have the Sterling version 45K unit. Total cost installing it myself was less than $500. I did have it blessed by a HVAC pro.
It's one of the best shop investments I have made.
Is there any worry of all the dust being created, that may cause the heater to create a fire or dust explosion? I am thinking of electric or gas, and was just curious. Thanks.

[Dennis Aspö]

I plan to have an electric heater with an oil filled element, I'll put it near the inlet for outside air. Long term plans are to build a solar heating system to get a few extra kWs during winter.

[William C Rogers]

I have in floor radient heat, however when I was building my house I used a mobile home electric heater. As Don suggested. It worked great. Intake at top and outlet at bottom. You would need to hard wire due to amp draw, but it worked great. I tried to use propane when my shop was under construction, but not satisfied with that.

[Jim Matthews]

Any heat source, with exposed heating elements can be a risk for dust explosions.

The dust concentrations need to be pretty high.
When was the last time you heard of one?

*******

If it's a serious concern, dust collection and ventilation should be
your first orders of business.

*******

It's unorthodox, but if you're concerned about sparks, or an open flame
I would run an electric hot water heater on demand
pumped through baseboards.


*****

Christian Becksvoort heats his shop with a woodstove.
This requires that the shop be tidy, and sawsdust
swept out, regularly. He's been at it awhile.

http://www.chbecksvoort.com/

[Dave Richards]

Is there any worry of all the dust being created, that may cause the heater to create a fire or dust explosion? I am thinking of electric or gas, and was just curious. Thanks.

As Jim says, the dust concentrations would have to be pretty high for there to be a problem. I think you'd be choked out first. I don't have any problems with mine. I climb up once in awhile when I think about it and vacuum any dust that might accumulate off of it. With an air filtration unit and the dust collector, it really isn't an issue.

[Bill White]

My shop is abt. 400 sq. ft., 9 ft. ceilings, insulated windows and doors, walls and ceiling. My go-to unit is an oil filled elec. radiator. Might use 2 units if it is really cold, but, in Mississippi, that's a rare happening.
Some may say that they are not the most economical, but with the low initial cost of the units and all the insulation, I find them to be quite adequate.
No worry about open flame, dust, fumes, etc.
Bill

[Mike Ontko]

I'm working in an extended space of about 12 x 20, situated in the back of an attached 2-car garage (overall size of 30 x20 with a 10 foot ceiling height). The space is insulated (except for the 2 car doors) and heats up well with a thermostatically controlled 5,000 W electric heater (Fahrenheat) that I bought from HD. I've mounted it to the ceiling in the corner of the shop area and given it a dedicated 220V 30A breaker, so there's no interference with the dust collector or other large power consumers. After heating the space initially, it cycles on and off every 20-30 minutes, running for only 5 minutes or so depending on how cold it is outside and whether I'm opening and closing doors or windows. The main reason for this solution was portability--so that I could pack it up and take it with me to my next place, when we downsize for retirement (if that ever really happens :)).

[Bob Grier]

Over the past few years I have heated a couple double garages I turned into shops with King Model KBP electric unit heaters hung from the ceiling in the corner of the shop. They work well in heated insulated garage in the Pacific Northwest and you can move jumpers to select alternate heat outputs. I used 30 amp 220 volt circuits and run them at full power but that would not be necessary. They just recover faster in the winter when operating at full power. I also purchased the in-line King thermostats from Lowes or Home Depot, again not sure which but think Lowes so I could wire in a remote thermostat. You can select a KBP model that comes prewired for a remote thermostat if you want or you can buy a model that comes with a hardwired thermostat and remove it so you can then wire in the remote thermostat. I rewired mine but recommend buying a prewired unit to preserve the warranty and avoid any wiring confusion. The reason I bought ones with built in thermostat is that I found good buys on them at Lowes or was it Home Depot and then again on Amazon.

Good luck.

[Jim Stearns]

I've got a Modine Hot Dawg in my two care garage. I think it's the 45K BTU unit. It works fine here in southern MN.

I have a Hot Dawg too. It mounts right near the ceiling, an inch below I think. It works very well in northern IL. Not quite as bad as MN probably, but still pretty cold. It can take the garage up to 80 degrees if desired.

[Bruce Page]

Is there any worry of all the dust being created, that may cause the heater to create a fire or dust explosion? I am thinking of electric or gas, and was just curious. Thanks.

No. I can't imagine generating that much dust. My DC, vac and overhead filter do a good job at dust removal.

[Ole Anderson]

Reznor 45k btu gas near ceiling mount gas heater.