Well I was hoping to put this off another year, but I just hate the thought of not using the shop in the winter months because of no heat in the shop.
So, I am looking for input on ways to do this.
Here is the setup:
At first I thought I would go with a LP forced air unit overhead. (Hot Dawg or the like.) Then I started reading more about the radient heat tubes and thought that would be the better way to go. What I liked about both of these was the fact that I could direct vent the combustion air from the outside.
- 24'x32' fully insulated detached pole barn. ~10' ceilings (6 inches in walls. 12 inches overhead.
- 2 car overhead door. Single man door.
- Concregte slab floor.
- Elec and LP for sources.
- Hobby use. Really ony get to work on the weekends and a few nights. Won't be out there every day even if it is heated.
I liked the radient because of the fact that it heated the objects and I wouldn't be moving air when I didn't need to. Maybe I read too many threads on this stuff over time, but I thought that forced air introduced humidity to the equation which introduced rust to the tools. I am not looking forward to having to topcoat all my wrenches etc. just to keep them from rusting.
Has anyone got a radient tube heater in a setup similar to this? If so, do you like it, would you do it again? Was it worth the cost?
To make matters even more difficult I have a family member in the HVAC business that said they can get me a used home forced air furnace for nothing when the replace one at a home. I may need to replace a few parts and it won't be new and won't be as efficient but it is free.
That has me wondering is a forced air unit really going to cause enough of an issue to cause rusting on the equipment? Another upside to this is that it can handle AC in the summer as well.
I figure if I go with the free forced air I won't run it until I plan on being in the shop. So far in the 3 years that I have had the shop it has never gotten below 38F without any heat source.
I figure I go out early and turn on the furnace, go back to the house for breakfast and it should be pretty warm in no time. However with the radient I figure I would leave the thermostat set for 50F when not in use and maybe turn it up the night before I want to work so that it has time to warm up.
Thoughts?