Which propane heater?

[Jonathan Jung]

I see there's other threads for heating, but those are now discussing insulation, etc. My question is simply, which propane heater should I get for a ~40x45 1700sqft shop space with 9' ceilings?

It's one big room, well insulated, with an existing wood burning vented stove. I'm moving to this new property soon and the landlord is letting me pick what heat source I want. I chose propane for the running cost. Now he wants to know what kind of heater. I'm thinking a ceiling hung forced air unit would do the trick and if placed near the wood stove it could help circulate heat coming off the stove into the room. I'd only use the wood burner as occasional supplemental heat.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Mr. Heater® Big Maxx Dual-Fuel Forced Air Garage Heater at Menards®

I am super pleased with my Mr. Heater. I have a 50,000 BTU for a 22 x 40 detached garage. It does not have to work hard to keep it warm. It will run me out when I turn it up to dry paint. The Gas bill remains moderate.

[Ron Selzer]

I see there's other threads for heating, but those are now discussing insulation, etc. My question is simply, which propane heater should I get for a ~40x45 1700sqft shop space with 9' ceilings?

It's one big room, well insulated, with an existing wood burning vented stove. I'm moving to this new property soon and the landlord is letting me pick what heat source I want. I chose propane for the running cost. Now he wants to know what kind of heater. I'm thinking a ceiling hung forced air unit would do the trick and if placed near the wood stove it could help circulate heat coming off the stove into the room. I'd only use the wood burner as occasional supplemental heat.

One with a sealed combustion chamber, will have a pipe for outside air for combustion and a flue

[Maurice Mcmurry]

My makeup air is ducted in from the outside. Before I had the makeup air ducted in, opening the shop door would trip the negative pressure switch in the sealed combustion chamber and the fire would go out for a few seconds.

[Jack Frederick]

A Rinnai EX-38 would be my choice. I’ve done over 1600 sq ft in Maine with this unit. Simple install (about 2.5 hrs), highly reliable, cool to the touch, quiet, programmable with built in stat, modulating burner and blower. Nice thing is the heat blows across the floor. I installed that one in the pic up on a platform to protect it from me rolling heavy things around. It’s a bumper. The vent is shown in the pic. Requires a 2.75” hole for install. 9” vent termination clearance to a door or window. I find that under a window is the best place for them. Another thing, they have a feature which allows you to set the unit for a minimum temp as low as 38*. I mentioned quiet before, but in so many posts here we talk about how to quiet things down. I was doing glue-ups 10 ft from my heater today and while if I paid attention to it I could hear it just working along. Nothing! They are pricey, but you won’t find better. I know that there are many rebates available for mini-splits in WA and they will heat for less than any LP unit. Have you checked them out?

[roger wiegand]

Cheap and effective: https://www.modinehvac.com/products/...ombustion-hds/ Not especially quiet.

Whatever you do, get a unit with a sealed combustion chamber that draws combustion air from outside.

FWIW, if I were doing it again I'd install a minisplit heat pump instead of the gas heater.

[Ed Aumiller]

Rather than a space heater, consider a very High efficiency lp furnace.... put it near a wall, takes 2 holes big enough for 2" pvc pipe to go thru.. up to 95% efficient.
get one where the outlet is on top (most of them) and put a tee above it with one duct running left and one running right with a 90 degree elbow at end to direct hot air to room.
You will have instant heat, very low cost to operate.

Search ebay for new units, cost will pleasantly surprise you...

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...rnace&_sacat=0

My shop is just under 1000 sq ft with most of it 12' ceiling. Put a 42,000 btu unit it 6-8 years ago and love it..

[Frank Pratt]

^^^
This. I have a residential furnace in my roughly 500 sq ft shop. It has ducts run to floor level registers around the perimeter. The shop warms up quickly and evenly with no hot head or cold feet. I also built a filter box with high efficiency filters that clean the return air.

[Bill Dufour]

Do you still have great electric prices? Consider a heatpump/ac minisplit. I am not sure propane would be cheaper for you.
Bill D