With winter fast approaching, I was wondering what people use to heat their shops? My shop (12' X 14') isn't attached to the house and has no heating. I worked last winter with an electrical space heater at my hands and feet. It's performance was marginal at best. I have looked into some propane systems and kerosene heaters. I would like to heat the air and not just my body. Any suggestions or recommendations?
So long, Brad in North Carolina
I use a propane Reddy Heater that cost $99. It is 30,000 Btu and heats my shop very well. The only downside is that it does make some noise from the burner and a fan in it. Not obnoxious, but not silent like a home heater. Depending on the outside temperature, I start it 10 to 20 minutes before I go out there to work.
So far, I've insulated half my shop this past month. The rest is not done yet, but anything should help. I figure I can turn the heater off for longer periods now as more heat will be retained. I'm thinking about an infra-red heater at some point, but right now I have other priorities. Ed
geez, how cold does it get there?
I use a barrel heater. My shop is 18 X 20, with R13 walls and R25 ceiling insulation, and the place is toasty inside when it is zero outside.
Tim
It gets cold enough to chill the bones when I tinker for long periods of time. Last winter, the thermometer in my shop read 36 F. Too cold to have fun. Maybe not arctic conditions but it is plenty chilly for me. Call me soft but I prefer "warm and toasty".
So l> geez, how cold does it get there?
yep, needs to be around 60 - 70 for any fun to start. otherwise it is just work. :-)
I keep the shop at 45 (thermo doesn't go any lower) and jack it up when I am going to work there for any length of time.
BRuce
brad heid> It gets cold enough to chill the bones when I tinker for long periods of time.
No, thats cold enough alright.
We have a double barrel stove that we picked up for free. It works great. Our shop is a very large metal building with no insulation but that stove will roast you out even on the coldest days. :}
Vicky Oregon
I have looked
Buy a used furnace.
Propane makes lots of moisture and Kerosene makes quite a stink.
I'm curious too, how cold does it get in NC?
Good call on the moisture, I hadn't thought of that. I figured at those temps all moisture would burn off. Interesting point. True about kerosene. It does stink. (Note-No worse than B.L.O.)
As far as NC temps, depends where you live in NC. Eastern part it is relativity mild (average low Dec-Feb 36F, average high 55F). It is 15 degrees colder in the western part of the state. The western part is mostly mountainous while the eastern part is pancake flat. Last winter, we had a "deep freeze" for two weeks straight. It dipped into the teens at night and never got much over freezing. It wouldn't have been so bad but the cold weather coincided with duck hunting season. I had to break ice for decoys during those hunts. That is unheard of here in central NC. All in all, great weather here in NC. As a side note, we have more sunny days in Raleigh than L.A.
Brad~
Mark wrote:
people create moisture, mother nature creates moisture, propane will be the least of your problems. I find the unvented propane heater creates less moisture than the normal summer humidity.
not a lot of temp below 32 "normally" and not for long period of time. low 40s most of the winter, 31 - 33 during the ice storms.
BRuce
Mark wrote:
Brad, i use a standard propane heater (2 seasons now) and no problems. there may be more moisture than outside but not more than the summers here. I am "down" in Benson.
BRuce
brad heid> Good call on the moisture, I hadn't thought of that. I figured at those temps
You should also be carefull about the carbon monoxide levels when using those kinds of heaters indoors.
Brad:
I have been using a couple of kerosene heaters and a couple of fans to move the heat for a few years with moderate to good results but this year I installed a propane Modine Hot Dawg 45K BTU heater with a thermostat control and I love it. My propane tank is 120 gal. Well worth the money spent. I have a 24 x 32 insulated garage. We live in Northern Indiana. Modine has a 30K btu heater which should work quite well in your size building.
What size do they actually call that 120 Gal Tank...?
The reason I ask is last winter my sons installed a natural gas furnace in my shop that they converted to Propane for me...and since the shop is located where the Truck can not reach it with their 100 foot hose I have been using
100 POUND tanks... one connected and 2 in reserve.. each holds about 22 gallons... My plan for this year (or next) is to buy a tank and install it near the driveway and trench a line back to the shop...As it is I do NOT heat the shop...but when I ENTER I fire up both the 116,000 BUT furance and a 30,000 Ready heater...the ready heater blasts the chill off and within 20 minutes the shop is in the mid 60's even on 10 degree mornings... used less then 10 gallons of Kero last year and used 5 tanks (hair over 100 gallons of Propane)
Major reason is that with 30 inches of snow on the ground I had a hell of a time swapping out the 100 POUND tanks...especially with the drifts... lol
The furnace was brand new never used (but was installed) in a new home that was susposed to be heated with oil...lol .. the boys got it for free ...someone was covering their butt in their companies home office I guess...
Bob G.
I have a horizontal, natural gas furnce with central air conditioning. Hanging from the ceiling. Warm in the winter, cool in the summer!! GReg
Gives me a headache very quickly. I have a kerosene heater, but I'd have to be pretty desperate to ever use it.
That's really sort of a silly question if you think about it a bit. North Carolina is a big state, with several different ranges of climates. We don't know where the OP lives. If he lives out near the coast, then it probably doesn't get much below 30 very often. If he lives in the western mountains, it gets plenty damn cold in my book.
One night last year, curiously, it was colder where I was in Asheville (5 degrees) than it was here at home in Virginia (7 degrees.)
There's a lot more to weather than latitude. Look at a climate map sometime, and you might be surprised.
Hi Brad, I just finished converting my garage to a shop and plan to install a PTAC thru the wall. This is like the hotel units that provide heat and AC. I'm also in NC and for me the hot humid summers are as bad as the winters for shop work. Good luck.
On Wed, 29 Oct 2003 16:28:20 GMT, Brad Heidinger scribbled
I have a bathroom fan in the boiler room that blows air into the attached gara^H^H^H shop. It's usually enough to keep the shop above a balmy 0 degrees Celsius, unless it goes below -20 degrees C. I also use a propane heater that attached directly to a 20 lb propane tank.
Most of my friends have wood stoves, but I can't run a chimney since the shop is below a solarium, and it would take up too much space.
Luigi In the Yukon replace "no" with "yk" for real email address.
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