How to Heat a 667 Sq. Ft. Shop

[Eddie Ormerod]

I've searched through other posts and most of the heaters that are recommended heat up to 400-500 Sq. Ft. My shop is 667 Sq. Ft.
I need an electric heater. All of the other heaters, gas propane, kerosene are out of the picture.
I have a 30A breaker in my panel. My FIL which is a retired electrician said I need a 30A heater. Well now I'm stuck because I don't think I can put 2 electric heaters in the shop. If I get a heater that heats up to 500 Sq. Ft. then I don't how warm my insulated shop would get.
Any suggestions?
Eddie

[Brad Townsend]

I heat 600 square feet with a 9' ceiling with one of these:

http://www2.northerntool.com/product/595.htm

It's not going to get your shop to a balmy 80 degrees in the dead of winter, but if you are well insulated, it will make it pleasant enough to work in. I can get mine to 60 even in subzero temps outside.

Edit: You can often find it cheaper than the price in the link. I got mine for under $200.

[Scott Loven]

What temperature do you feel comfortable working in now? I am running my gas heater at 35 degrees in my shop as I insulate it and feel quite comfortable.

I have a 4000w heater in my sun room on a 30a line that keeps the room toasty if I run it at 70f. To hot to work in, but my wife wants it to be "nice" when guests pass through the room from the -27f outside to the 70f house. I said that 42 would feel fine after -27 but lost that argument. I keep it at 42F most of the time. Got it at HD with a programmable thermostat made for electrics.
Scott

[Dennis Parslow]

Did you just wire a separate circuit for the heater?

[Eddie Ormerod]

I think so. I'm electricity stupid. I have 30A breaker in the box with nothing on it. The heater will be on it.
I want to use this in my shop:

http://www.heater-home.com/product/L5600.aspx

[Don Abele]

Eddie, I have the Farenheat unit that Brad linked to. It's an excellent unit and at 5000 watts it has no problem keeping my 660 sq foot shop warm. Northern is currently selling it for $279.99 - I got mine for half that about 4 years ago (on sale at the actual store).

The link you provided is for another unit I looked at when I bought mine. The ONLY reason I bought the Farenheat was because of price. I liked the Dayton a lot more, but it was double the cost. The site you have linked has that unit on sale for TODAY ONLY for $177.95 - I'd jump on that deal. One of the biggest advantages this unit has over mine is the Dayton is wired with a cord and plug, the Farenheat must be hard wired.

Hope this helps.

Be well,

Doc

[Rick Gifford]

I too have the Fahrenheat that is linked above. My shop is smaller than everyones here, but I can say the heater works well. A gentleman that I work with heats his 600+ ft garage with the same heater. Its where I got the recommendation for it from.

I ran it on a dedicated 30 amp breaker.

FYI I just finished installing my insulation. Before I had to crank this heater for a couple hours to get the shop up to a decent temp. Now I have it set just below the "low" setting and I walk in there and its comfortable even when the outside is 20 deg. Insulation is deffinately key.

[Ken Deckelman]

I heat 600 square feet with a 9' ceiling with one of these:

http://www2.northerntool.com/product/595.htm

It's not going to get your shop to a balmy 80 degrees in the dead of winter, but if you are well insulated, it will make it pleasant enough to work in. I can get mine to 60 even in subzero temps outside.

Edit: You can often find it cheaper than the price in the link. I got mine for under $200.


Where are you guys getting these for under $200?
I can't find it or the Dayton G73 for less than $280. I believe they are the same heater

[Brad Townsend]

Where are you guys getting these for under $200?
I can't find it or the Dayton G73 for less than $280. I believe they are the same heater
I bought mine locally at Farm & Fleet. That won't be much help to anyone outside the upper midwest. I think I paid around $190 on sale. They normally sell them in the low 200s. It may take some searching around. Northern Tool is a good outfit, but everything they sell is close to or at MSRP.

[Eddie Ormerod]

My 2 story garage is insulated with R-13 insulation. I built a wall and a door to keep the heat from going to the second floor. I still need to put some insulation behind the garage doors.
The garage is always cooler that outside. Cold weather or warm. Almost like a basement temp but the garage is detached from my house.
Eddie

[Jared Greenberg]

I was doing some work in the shop today, had it set at 44 and I was sweating....I could have taken off a layer or two to say the least.

[Kevin Cantillon]

I have the Farenheat 5000 watt heater in a 800 sq. ft. garage/shop. I also got mine at Farm and Fleet on sale for under $200 this past fall. Looking at the pictures of the Dayton heater it looks the same as the Farenheat that I have.

It has worked really good so far. I only get time on the weekends to do any work in the shop - I turn the heater on to low when I get home from work on friday afternoon and turn it up when I am working. On it's low setting it will keep a temp of 50 - 60 degrees. When I turn it up when I am working I have not had any problems getting it up to 70 - 75 degrees (by then I turn it down because it is too hot for working). I have a 12' x 20' area for a workshop and the heater is on a far wall pointed towards my work area so the heat is blowing at you while you are working.

Marley Engineered Products is the mfg of the heater. Here is their website.

http://www.marleymeh.com/

Kevin

[Joe McCormick]

Eddie
Check out these radiant electric heaters at http://www.radiantsystemsinc.com/index.html
I will more then likely buy these for my shop, which is about the size of yours. No fan noise, and no dust being circulated from the fan.
Call them with your specs and they will recommend what would be good for your situation.

[Bill Kingman]

I just bought the Dayton 240v heater mentioned above for $159 here:
http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/heaters3.shtml.

I checked around a lot and think its the best buy for an electric heater for a small shop. I liked the idea of having a plug in unit, however, I was surprised to find it does not have an on/off switch. It has a built in thermostat and can be run as a fan only, but the power light is always on when it is plugged in.

I need to add a wall switch between the supply line and the plug. Any suggestions for a 30amp 240v switch?

Thanks