Shop heating system, thinking out loud.....

[phil harold]

insulate an more important air leaks
I have a shop about the same size
after i sealed and insulated only the north and west walls my shop stay much nicer and uses less wood to heat it.
with time and money i will get the next two walls done
I use a double barrel stove

[Larry Edgerton]

I did some reading and I do not think natural convection will push the water high enough to get it where it needs to be to be out of my way. I think as long as I have to have pumps I will do a drainback system to a tank located under the center of the shop. I was hoping to stay away from pumps, but don't see that happening.

Larry

[Marty Paulus]

Larry,

I have relatives in FL that have an in ground pool. They have solar panels on the roof of the house. They pump the water through the panels and the filter with one pump. If the 'brains' sense the water getting too warm it re-directs the water so it no longer runs through the solar panels but still goes through the filter. They have a check valve to prevent back flow and drain down from the roof. Seems to work pretty good. Not sure how well it would work for us in Michigan to heat a shop during those weeks of overcast we seem to get but at least the system can be designed with one pump and not two.