Get one of those kits where you make it out of two 55 gallon drums; one for the burner, one on top of that for a heat exchanger.
-- Jim in NC
I grew up in a house primarily heated with wood, supplemented by natural gas (gas when we only needed a bit of fire in the mornings to take the chill off, but wood for the serious heat). Our woodworking shop was heated entirely by wood.
I see two main things to consider: 1) how much heat do you need; and,
2) how long will each heating session be?If you are looking at building a fire and spending the day in the shop, then a King-style heater (with a thermostatically controlled damper) is the only way to go.
If you need to generate a lot of heat quickly, and only for 3-4 hours, then a two-drum kit is great. (For occasional heat in our workshop, we used a cast iron box stove. Heated quickly, but almost no controls.)
Whichever way you go, remember that the pipe is a great source for quick heat that would otherwise go right up the flue, heating only the air outside your shop. Don't place your stove so that the pipe goes straight out the wall; place it so that it runs up, then over, at least several feet. Take advantage of that free radiant heat.
Kevin
Best is none. I know in an attached garage, solid fueled heaters are prohibited. In detached, it may be. If you put your cars in the garage, it probably will be. Some codes allow them but must be a certain distance above floor level.
The reason is that solid fueled heaters can have a glowing ember for many hours after the fire is"out" and you close up for the night. Flammable chemical, gasoline fumes from the car, mowers, etc, and BOOM.
I supplement my house heat with a wood stove, but use propane in the detached garage. In either case, insulate first. Ed snipped-for-privacy@snet.net
" Don't place your stove so that the pipe goes
One thing to keep in mind. You will now have a good ignition source for all of the nasties we tend to use. Of course, you will not use it when such things are planned, but for the occasion that something spills, you should elevate the stove off the floor by a minimum of 18 inches.
Another thing you could consider is to put a boiler type stove outside, then us hot water heat units inside. This could be the best way to get a consistent temperature, if you make a large (several hundred gallons) insulated tank. I know a guy that has a system like that, and he only lights a fire every couple days, and it still keeps the place very comfortable.
Good luck
-- Jim in NC.
I have a 22x22' 2 car garage. No insulation and a cheap pot bellied stove I got at a yard sale. The sides of the stove get cherry red and in upstate NY with the stove going for hours I can still see my breathe. Wth insulation it would do fine I`m sure. The uninsulated pipe does go up
10 feet,above the roof is insulated pipe. In my house I did get a permit to build a block chimney with tile flue pipe and hearth for a woodstove. The firemarshall inspected it and gave me a paper for my homeowners insurance so check your local codes.You know how tough or easy code enforcement is where you live,cities are usually alot tougher than rural towns. Hope this helps a little.Don't go propane. I have read that propane combines with available air to produces 4X as many water molecules as would be normally found. In my experience, it will rust everything in the shop if you use a propane torpedo type heater for more than a very few hours.
Lawrence Ramsey states:
Depends on the type of burner. If it's a torpedo or other type non-vented burner, it sure will make a mess. But propane fueled furnaces are designed to drip off water vapor formed in the combustion chamber.
Trouble is, propane is costly as all get out...I made this discovery after installing a propane furnace in my Bedford house. Fortunately, it's got a heat pump attached, which runs probably 90% of the time, because about the time the installation was finished, propane went out of sight. Moved to WV, and natural gas was said to be less costly. Not so.
AFAICT, gas just ain't the hot set-up for heat anywhere but in water heaters, stoves and dryers. At least not if you want to save a buck or six.
Charlie Self
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." Sir Winston Churchill
Hi Charlie! I stand corrected. I had second thoughts as I wrote it and added "torpedo" since I was not sure about the other. How's the job hunt going ? I may be starting up a consulting firm writing plans for counties. Funny since you are the writer. Good luck!
Indeed - however I meant building a wood stove from old propane cylinders.
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