Shop Heater Question

[scott vroom]

I installed a Fahrenheat FUH724 7500 watt shop heater about 3 years ago to heat a 28 x 22 shop. I'm on the eastern slope of the Cascades at about 4,200 feet and winter temps are very cold. The heater takes well over an hour to begin warming the shop. Part of the problem is that the heater is off during the night and the walls/ceiling act like a heat sink when I fire up the heater in the morning....shop air space doesn't begin to get comfortable for a considerable amount of time. There's no natural gas where I live, only propane and electricity. I was wondering what others are using to heat their shops during the winter. I don't have floor space for a wood stove.

Thanks

[Jerome Stanek]

I have a propane torpedo heater that I run for about 15 minutes to get the temp up before the small propane wall unit takes over

[Kevin Jenness]

I used to heat only with wood and had the same issue- although my shop is pretty well insulated the temp would drop from the 60-65 I like to work at down to 50 or below on a cold night and would take an hour or so to get comfortable. I had a Fujitsu air to air heat pump installed that keeps the temperature at 60 overnight. These units are pretty efficient down to 10 degrees or so and are supposed to function as low as -15- they are becoming very popular around here. They also can act as an air conditioner in hot weather.

[Bill Dufour]

7500 watt is less then 25000 btus so it will take a good amount of time to heat it up. This is a little less then a small wall heater. Propane is cheaper then electric heating not sure about heat pump vs gas cost.
I would recommend a mini split or a package unit heat pump/ac let it run at night to stay above dew point or warmer. If the neighbor is close use a minisplit since a package unit will be twice a s loud and annoy the neighbors all day and night with the noise.
Bil lD

[John M. Smith]

I used to heat with wood. Got sick of cutting wood. Last year I installed a Modine ceiling mounted propane heater. Used about 300 digestible worth of propane last year. But I also used the woodburner on weekends. Sold the woodburner this spring. So far about 150 digestible spent on propane. Im guessing about 500 dollars total for the year. Keep the thermostat set at 55°. And turn it up to 68 when im ot the. 32 by 40 foot shop building.

[Bill Dufour]

Or just install an old electric stove and use the oven with the door open to gain about 3,000 watts. It will be useful for baking paint and powder coating.
Bil lD

[Lee Schierer]

Here are some calculators that will help you determine how many BTU (watts) you need to warm up your shop.

[Tom Dixon]

When I built my 24' x 36' x 10' shop a couple years ago I installed a 75k BTU Modine Hot Dawg HDS enclosed combustion heater. It uses outside air so fumes and sawdust aren't an issue and it doesn't add any moisture to the shop either. I used the Quick-Sling Flush Mount and Vertical Concentric Vent Kit. I also use a programmable thermostat to keep the shop around 60 degrees weekdays and bring it up to 65 automatically on weekends. It costs me an average of about $35 a month to run during winter in central TN. I'm running the natural gas version but there is also a propane version as John mentioned earlier. I couldn't be happier with it. I stay very comfortable so it was worth every penny it cost me. I could have probably gotten away with a smaller unit but the cost difference was not much between 65K and 75k.

[roger wiegand]

I use the same Hot Dawg enclosed combustion heater. I put an Ecobee thermostat on it and can turn the temperature up from my phone (from anywhere in the world!) while having my coffee so the shop is warm when I get out there. If you're on a regular schedule a simple timer thermostat would also work. That heater is oversized for my shop, so it takes less than 15 minuted to bring it from 45 to 65.

[Tony Latham]

I've got a Rinnai vented propane heater in my shop and really like it.

T

[Eric Danstrom]

I live at 5kft in a climate I would think is a little colder than yours. I heat my 12x22x11 shop with a single 1.5kW electric resistive heater and thermostat (DeLongi oil filled radiator). This winter I decided to leave the heater on 24/7. I keep the shop at 55* during the week and on weekends I crank it up to 60*. The heater is able to keep up even when it's 10* outside.

I did insulated all the walls with r19 insulation/vapor barrier and taped all seams and cracks before drywalling. I made a cheesy insulation blanket to cover the garage door that I use in the winter to seal it well. Cost is running about $0.70 per day ($20/month).

The last few years I heated with propane right before I used the shop. I used a single daisy burner and gas grill style tank. I consumed about $30 per month along with the fumes and cold tools. Constant electric heat is better and cheaper for me.

(BTW, in my area, per BTU, propane and electric resistive heat costs are within ~10% depending on propane market variability.)

What I'm trying to say is I think you have plenty of heat. Perhaps it makes sense to keep your shop at a minimum temp and raise it when you're going to be in there. It keeps the tools at a reasonable temp. Prevents freezing fingers and condensation/rust too. Good insulation is critical and as energy costs skyrocket due to government mandated changes insulation will be even more important.

Long term I'm plan on getting a mini-split, heats at 1/3 the cost of resistive and adds air conditioning.

[Donald Hofmann]

I live at 5kft in a climate I would think is a little colder than yours. I heat my 12x22x11 shop with a single 1.5kW electric resistive heater and thermostat (DeLongi oil filled radiator). This winter I decided to leave the heater on 24/7. I keep the shop at 55* during the week and on weekends I crank it up to 60*. The heater is able to keep up even when it's 10* outside.

I did insulated all the walls with r19 insulation/vapor barrier and taped all seams and cracks before drywalling. I made a cheesy insulation blanket to cover the garage door that I use in the winter to seal it well. Cost is running about $0.70 per day ($20/month).

The last few years I heated with propane right before I used the shop. I used a single daisy burner and gas grill style tank. I consumed about $30 per month along with the fumes and cold tools. Constant electric heat is better and cheaper for me.

(BTW, in my area, per BTU, propane and electric resistive heat costs are within ~10% depending on propane market variability.)

What I'm trying to say is I think you have plenty of heat. Perhaps it makes sense to keep your shop at a minimum temp and raise it when you're going to be in there. It keeps the tools at a reasonable temp. Prevents freezing fingers and condensation/rust too. Good insulation is critical and as energy costs skyrocket due to government mandated changes insulation will be even more important.

Long term I'm plan on getting a mini-split, heats at 1/3 the cost of resistive and adds air conditioning.

What are propane and electricity prices there currently? Thanks

[Eric Danstrom]

What are propane and electricity prices there currently? Thanks

The incremental cost of electricity here is right around $0.10/kWh (no hook up or meter charges averaged in). Propane is ~$18 for a 20gal refill after rebates.

[Jeff Monson]

Scott, how often are you in your shop?? If its every day I'd look into a hot dawg style propane furnace and keep it at a low temperature until you want to work. These style are pretty efficient and heat a space like yours very quickly (assuming its properly insulated). I use radiant floor heat in my new shop with a propane boiler.

[Donald Hofmann]

Thanks, I thought you were saying that bulk propane was more expensive than electricity. In southwest Colorado propane is about $2.10 gallon while electricity is around .13 so unless you have a mini split that is very efficient resistive heating is no where near as cheap as propane.

You can rent a 500 gallon propane tank for $50 year. You paid about $3.60 gallon to fill your small tank. It wouldn't take much propane to break even on renting a large tank and getting bulk prices.