Getting shop ready for heat

[Joseph M Lary]

I have spent the last 4 days putting insulation in the ceiling , sheathing it with OSB ,10' cealings that was fun . putting in new florescences that are good to 0 deg . Started the walls in the summer and now Im getting around to finishing it . Its a work in progress . I have other things I want to do but, I want to get some heat in there so I can do some turning . Now I need a heat source , I only want to heat a 16x24 aera. Any ideas? Wanted to do wood, but that is a no no with the insurance comapany.
Was thinking elect or gas.

[Randy Rizzo]

Have been pondering the same. I have a 24X32 shop over a garage. Fuel is one thing to look at first. Natural gas is not an option for me so I'm stuck between LP, Elec, Wood, or pellets. I'm not much in favor of wood as a source since it requires constant attention, hauling, cutting, and stoking a stove or furnace and it sounds like yer ins co has put the kibosh on that anyway. Elec seems to be more costly than an LP option. So, I'm kinda leaning toward a separated combustion LP garage heater. The separated combustion design pulls air in from outside, keeps from pulling dusty shop air into the heater. Modine and Sterling are two of the brands I've been looking at. I live in the UP so it gets to -20F here quite frequently. We insulated the ceiling with R38 and the walls with R19. I'm hoping a 75,000 BTU heater will do the trick without breaking the bank to keep things around 50-60F during the winter here in "Frostbite Falls".

[Dave Schell]

I had a shop that size and bought one of the round kerosene heaters. That thing would heat that space from 30 degrees to 70 in no time at all. After about 30 -45 minutes I had to either turn it way down or turn it off it would get so hot. And kerosene is pretty reasonable and the heater burned it fairly slowly. Best bang for the buck from my experience.

You can find them on Craigslist too: http://raleigh.craigslist.org/hsh/1475903165.html

[John Keeton]

Dave, there was a thread on this topic in the workshop forum so time back, and along with the fumes, there are concerns with excess moisture from the kerosene heater and possible rust issues in the shop after the temp drops and hits the dew point. Just something for you to watch. I have no personal experience, but thought it was an interesting discussion.

Joseph, I heat my shop with electric baseboard units. Not the cheapest method by any means, but for the minimal amount of heat I need it works fine. My shop is 24x24, and insulated with foam so it is tight.

I have given thought long term to an in the wall heat pump. Would run about $2000 I think, but then I could have A/C as well.

You may want to look at the overhead radiant heaters. They heat you more so than the air, but that is the most important thing!

[Baxter Smith]

Hi Joseph,
FWIW I'll tell you what I did. You probably won't get another suggestion for possibilities exactly like this one. When I was researching the same question last winter and spring I never did! Some people just don't listen I guess!

Spent last winter and spring finishing one end of a pole barn for a new shop. A 16x30 area with a 10 ft ceiling. Insulated and finished with OSB.
All spring and summer I watched Craigslist for a direct vent lp rinnai heater. Since they were a top rated (or at least advertised) gas heater for a house-dependability, economy wise etc. I figured why not get one for my shop? They are not suitable for a real dusty location but I hoped to make my new shop a little more healthy anyway. This summer found a 556 (22000 btu maybe) for 500. They are about 1500 new though. The gas company put in a tank and ran the gas line a couple of weeks ago.

Haven't gotten a gas bill after using it yet, but it is great so far. Of cousrse the only thing I can compare to is using portable kerosene heaters for the last 20 years and putting up with either being cold, or having my wife and kids tell me "You stink" whenever I came in from the shop. At least I always blamed that on the heater!
Spent the afternoon turning today, and thinking, I don't know what I like more, the heater, the clearvue dust collector, or this wolverine jig I just got. Having all three made for a very pleasant afternoon!
Its probably the wrong time of year to look for used heaters on Craigslist expecially if you want one "right now" but good luck in your search and decision!

Baxter

[Jim Underwood]

I was just thinking about this as I shivered my way through a couple hours of shop time yesterday. I've got 3/4 in of exterior ply between me and the outdoors, and a small electric heater. If I turn on the overhead lights, the station lights, and the heater, and leave for a couple hours, it takes the edge off...

It would never do in a northern climate.

[Jim Underwood]

Spent the afternoon turning today, and thinking, I don't know what I like more, the heater, the clearvue dust collector, or this wolverine jig I just got. Having all three made for a very pleasant afternoon!

Baxter

Good job Baxter! How do you like the cyclone?

My Clearvue still sits on the shop floor. I'm thinking I'll build an 8 foot extension on my 16x24 shop and put the noisy compressor and cyclone in there. And perhaps while I'm at it, I'll insulate. Uh. Yeah. When I'm rich and famous...

[Wally Wenzel]

Joseph, I have a14x30 shop here in SE SD and have a 45000 btu Hot Dawg heater that will drive you out if you get busy and forget to turn the thermostat down. It is NG Wally

[Baxter Smith]

Hi Jim,
Compared to the delta 1hp barrel top I had with its 30 micron bag, its pretty darn good! The air compressor and dust collector filters are just behind the wall on the left of my pic. Think there is a picture of that in one of my posts. Good luck with yours!

Baxter

[Chuck Isaacson]

+1 for the Hot Dawg. I also have the 45000 BTU unit. It is the separate combustion model. I have a digital thermostat and I set it and forget it. I really couldn't ask for a better heater.

Randy, I think that a 75000 BTU heater is a little over sized for the space. My shop is 24x30 and my 45000 BTU unit is perfect. Even if you need bigger, I cant imagine that you would need anything over the 60000 BTU unit. After everything gets warmed up, it only runs like once an hour for about 10 minutes or so. Make sure you check on that size before you get something that is too big.

CHuck

[Philip Johnson]

Joseph,, I have a 28 by 34 garage with 10 foot ceilings, just installed a 75,000 btu Reznor heater, was a toss up between Reznor and Modine and the dealer felt Reznor was quieter so went with that brand. Like Chuck says it doesn't take as much as you think to heat a well insulated area, once its up to temp it only runs a few mins every 45 mins to hour. You don't want to get one too big or it will only run few mins and cycle on and off a lot.

Phil

[Peter Aeschliman]

I went with the Dayton electric unit for my 480 sq ft insulated shop:

http://www.amazon.com/Dayton-G73-Ele...0206044&sr=8-1

It's compact and heats the place great. After about an hour, I can wear a t-shirt comfortably when it's 30 degrees or so outside. I just installed it last weekend and have been very happy with it. We'll see how happy I am after the first electricity bill though!!! Until then, ignorance is bliss.

[Joseph M Lary]

Im leaning to the elect heaters more because I do not want to run a gas line out there. The city will not let me have an outside LP bottle, I could use a 100 lb bottle and leave it in the shop. Im only going to heat it while im out there, it will not run when im not working out there.
Those of you that have elect how much more is your bill running and do you run it all the time ???