Hot-Dawg heaters... anyone using one?

[John M. Cioffi]

Hi All,

Is anyone using a Hot-Dawg heater in their Garage shop?? If so,what size is it & how do you like it?How well & efficient is it?
I'm thinking of installing one in my shop.
Thanks for the replies.
John

[Matt Meiser]

I have the same thing from a different manufacturer. Very easy to install and it works great. I had to buy a conversion kit for propane which was easy to install as well. If I had to think of one bad thing to say it would be that the fan is a little noisy, but then not as bad as the furnace in my old shop.

[john whittaker]

It's 100 degrees in the shade and your askin about a HEATER....:eek: Man, your killin me.

Sorry...couldn't resist. We have a Hot Dawg in the warehouse and it does pretty well. Throws out a lot of heat with a good blower. Would be too big for a garage but they come in different sizes. Can't answer your question about efficiency but go to hot-dawg.modine.com. They should be able to answer your questions.

- John W

[John Gregory]

I have been using a HotDawg 65,000 BTU for 3 years now. My shop is 4,000 cubic feet and it works great. Very cost effective. I use propane with a regulator like they have on travel trailers. It switches over automatically when one take empties. I couldn't run a gas line to the shop. Winters are cold here in Utah, but my cost is about $1 a day to heat my shop in the winter months. I keep the thermostat @ 50* when I am not working in the shop and at 70* when I am using the shop. It takes 5-10 minutes to warm up the shop when I turn up the heat. I am really glad I bought it.

John

[Bill White]

Isn't ventilationan issue with those "puppies" (my humor for the day)? I.ve used 'em, but only with open air or warehouse situations.

[Larry Crim]

I was looking at getting one in prep for the winter but my concern is it being gas is that could you safely use it while finishing a project? could the fumes from a finish get strong enough to ignite?

Pat

[Rob Littleton]

I have the Hot Dawg and it is awesome........it only takes my 1000 sq ft shop about 5 mins to heat up to around 75......I love it. I exhausted it out of the roof and have never had any fumes or concerns yet.

Here in Arizona, I dont use it too often but when I do, it's a blessing. I got a good price on mine too from..........oh dang, the name escapes me. Let me know if you want the name, I can get it.............

[John Miliunas]

And another Hot Dawg user. 45K BTU for @ 1000 sq/ft. shop. B-class vent, right out the side. I have mine wired to an automatic setback thermostat. 55° when gone, set to kick in to about 68° about the same time I leave from work. By the time I get home, it's comfy in there and all the tools are close to the ambient temp, as well. No probs with the exhaust and I believe you'd have to have a great deal of flammable fume concentration to be any threat. Two seasons in the land of the "Frozen Tundra" now and I wouldn't be without it!:) :cool:

[Kurt Voss]

We use a 60K BTU Hot Dawg in our greenhouse. It has worked flawlessly for 5 years in a rather humid environment. It uses about 200 gallons of LP over a fall/winter/early-spring season heating a 650sf greenhouse, keeping it at least 60 degrees F 24hours/day. Bought ours at www.igcusa.com (http://www.igcusa.com).

[Mike Deschler]

John:

I finished my second season with my 45K BTU Hot Dawg and marveled how did I go so long without one. My propane bills are less than $100 per season here in Northern Indiana and I usually am in the shop (24x32) at least every day for a few hours. I go out and set the thermostat for 65 degrees, go back into the house for a cup of coffee and when I go back out, it is up to temp. It is fast and very efficient and not really noisy at all. Best of all, it is a sealed combustion chamber design and vented to the outside, hence no problems with excess fumes from explosive products. By all means get one if you are serious and you can install it yourself as it is very easy to do so. I bought mine off the web as you can find a deal by shopping around.

[John Lucas]

I have a 45,000btu HD and love it. Ileave the thermostat at 65 in winter andit maintains that space easily. I have a high/lo indoor outdoor temp gauge and it shows has closely the HD keeps the shop. Shop is 26 x 32 and is very well insulated. It is a propane unit and best I can say is that it runs $80/mo in the cold months.
As to safety, it is a sealed burner unit that uses outdoor air for combustions and exhausts to the outside as well.

[Frank Hagan]

Isn't ventilationan issue with those "puppies" (my humor for the day)? I.ve used 'em, but only with open air or warehouse situations.

Don't think ventilation is much of a problem ... they vent the flue gasses outside. You do use up "room air" for combustion (I think) so to meet code you have to have a vent that equals 1" for every 4,000 BTU rating at the floor level and cieling level ... but people often cheat on that requirement and do OK. Not that I recommend it, of course, but in a shop you probably have a lot of air infiltration anyway.

[John M. Cioffi]

Thanks for all your replies.

I have a 20x20 garage that probably will not require as large a unit as most of you;so it is a serious concideratoin. My heating co. down the street says they can install one complete for around $1300. It is more than I want to spend, but there doesn't seem to be anything else to concider.
John

[John Miliunas]

Thanks for all your replies.

I have a 20x20 garage that probably will not require as large a unit as most of you;so it is a serious concideratoin. My heating co. down the street says they can install one complete for around $1300. It is more than I want to spend, but there doesn't seem to be anything else to concider.
John

13 big ones????:eek: No way, John! Go to: qcsupply.com (NOT affiliated!), get yourself one for @ $550.00 w/shipping and find yourself an HVAC guy who's willing to do it on the side. If you vent out the side of the shop, shouldn't run more than 60 or 70 bucks for the venting. Then it's just the gas line and hookup. You can locate and hang the unit yourself. I daresay you should be able to cover it and associated costs (including labor) for way, WAY under a grand!:) :cool:

[John M. Cioffi]

Thank you,JohnM.

That sounds alot better.I'm weighing the difference between my abilitiy to install correctly vs.their expertice. I'd have to go to them for the propane tank,anyway. They will not allow anything except a100lb tank. I'm not sure about all these details, so I have to do some more calculating.
I'm going to view your recommondation & probably ask more questions.
Thanks John for your concern.
I'll keep you posted.
John

John, I just checked out the site.Great prices & free shipping!!!
Could you be kind enough to help me compile a list of parts I would need to order?
They show a motor,ext. Are these separate purchases???
Thanks for your help,again.
John

[Bruce Page]

John, I installed a Sterling 45K btu w/power vent a few years ago. I was able to get the unit at wholesale and installed it myself for about $550 total cost. (I did have the installation blessed by a licensed H/V pro). I ran some Unistrut across the rafters in the attic to distribute the heaters weight. The hardest part of the install was lifting the unit up to the ceiling, and that wasn’t that big of a deal. The heater heats up my 540 sf garage in just minuets.

[John Miliunas]

Thank you,JohnM.

That sounds alot better.I'm weighing the difference between my abilitiy to install correctly vs.their expertice. I'd have to go to them for the propane tank,anyway. They will not allow anything except a100lb tank. I'm not sure about all these details, so I have to do some more calculating.
I'm going to view your recommondation & probably ask more questions.
Thanks John for your concern.
I'll keep you posted.
John

John, I just checked out the site.Great prices & free shipping!!!
Could you be kind enough to help me compile a list of parts I would need to order?
They show a motor,ext. Are these separate purchases???
Thanks for your help,again.
John

John, you need only to order the unit itself from them. It comes complete. From there, most all the other vent connections you'll need are available at one of the Borg's, depending on where/how you're going to vent out. The unit comes with a very complete installation manual, giving you all kinds of options and details. The guy who hooked mine up is an HVAC pro, so he provided the LP supply lines. He used a special type of flexible pipe to run into the unit. I had the advantage of having a main supply line already sitting pretty close to the the actual installation, so that was not a biggie. Typically, your LP supplier will give you a pretty fair shake on running a supply line, as long as you're using their tank and fill with their gas. Also, the setback thermostat I installed was another Borg purchase. You just need to be sure it's a 12VDC unit. Mine has both, weekday and weekend schedules built into it. Well worth the investment, IMHO.:) :cool:

[John M. Cioffi]

John,

You're a Gem!
Thanks for taking the time to help. As soon as I'm able to, I will order this unit. There is only a 28 dollar difference between the 45 & the 60 units,in price. I may go with the bigger one,for even more heat & easier heat-ups, from a cold start.Those cast iron machines get pretty cold to the touch.
Brad,
Thanks for your response & pic. I'm planning to install it in the ceiling for maximum height.
Thanks to all for your help & responses. I'll post pics & updates when I get started.
John

[Rob Littleton]

13 big ones????:eek: No way, John! Go to: qcsupply.com (NOT affiliated!), get yourself one for @ $550.00 w/shipping and find yourself an HVAC guy who's willing to do it on the side. If you vent out the side of the shop, shouldn't run more than 60 or 70 bucks for the venting. Then it's just the gas line and hookup. You can locate and hang the unit yourself. I daresay you should be able to cover it and associated costs (including labor) for way, WAY under a grand!:) :cool:

THAT'S where I got mine.........

Awesome guys to deal with I thought......

[Ed Breen]

John,

I also run a HD lookalike. Did fine in my 4600 shop and will move it to my 15,000 foot shop this fall. One word re: gas supply. I use propane and buy it in the middle of summer while it is priced 20 cents a gallon cheaper than fall and winter. I use a 250 tank.

Also, I installed the unit myself following the manufacturers instructions. No problems. It is vented out the roof.

Good luck

Ed