Hi guys,
I am finally going to add some heat to my shop-as I plan putting some more time out there this winter. This is what I went through in my thought process...My shop is a 3-car garage. approx 20' x 30', with about 8' to 9' ceilings. It is concrete, and not insulated (yet). I am in Boston, and it is starting to get cold.
Wood Stove- I've always got plenty of scrap from different jobs...but too long to get heat out of a unit, sometimes I may only go out to the shop for an hour, I don't want to have to spend time getting a woodstove going. Also the space requirements, my shop isn't huge. So that is off my list.
Propane heater - I liked this idea, put a small tank behind my shop, and hang a propane heater from the ceiling. This requires a bit of work to install. Then I started reading about moisture issues with propane heaters. I also was a bit worried about sawdust and a flame. My plumber is also telling me that it would be pretty expensive to operate.
while i don't recommend this for everyone, especially if you have a well insulated space with minimal air infiltration. in my 240 sq' uninsulated 1920s vintage garage, i use a tank top propane heater with a 20" box fan hung from an adjacent wall about 18" above the heater blowing the heat into the shop. kind of like a ghetto forced hot air system. due to the amount of air infiltration, moisture accumulation is not a problem. after 1 hr on high (double infrared tank top unit), it's warm enough to work in a sweater and thick sole shoes. as for fire hazard, nothing has happened in the past three years. regarding expense, it's a function of your propane cost and the amount of shop time. as i noted, this isn't for everyone, but it can work in the right circumstances. just passing along first hand info on one of options noted by the OP.
Infrared electric heater - these sound great in theory. they are silent, pretty inexpensive to operate. They come as long bars. The way my shop is set up, I could install these where they would be very unobtrusive. They are pretty affordable. I have a three bay garage, approx 30' x 20' I think I could put one of these for each bay. They can be controlled by a digital programmable thermostat. I talked to one manuf, he recommends keeping them running all the time. Just set it low at night, he said they run more efficiently and make the space more comfortable if operated that way. Here is one I am looking at -
http://radiantsystemsinc.com/heater-...es/pricing.php The thing is I have never used a heater like this, and don't really know how well they work. I read a couple reviews of folks thinking they are great. What do you guys think?
Shop heater - last option is something like this -
http://www.air-n-water.com/product/B...ml#description or this
http://www.amazon.com/Dimplex-DGWH40...d_sim_sbs_hi_2 . I saw this recommended on another thread. I think these are louder (which seems to be the number one complaint about them). This is probably the most affordable option. It just seems like the heat would be really concentrated with one of these. The IR heater seems like it would spread the heat out better.
Your thoughts?
side note/question - when I research stuff on the forum, sometimes I see threads that are a couple years old. That is why I start a new one-I figure the old one is too old, and it makes more sense to start a new one, is that the right thing to do?
thanks...