Shop Heat

Electric is the most expensive heat in my area and propane is very cheap, clean and efficient. I'd try to find one with a sealed flame just for safety.

I'm using kero myself and with the additive you can buy don't smell as bad as it used to, but plan to switch to propane this summer when the price of the stuff drops and the heaters go on sale in the next couple of weeks.

Reply to
Knucklehead
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I have a single bay garage that id like to insulate and heat. Don't like the idea of smelly kero or expensive electric and of course want to spend as little as possible. $100 Home Depot propane jobby or $100 bucks worth of electric base board and plan to up grade later. I will only be in the shop a few hours a week.

Reply to
Jason Pope

I heated my house for a week with a 15 year old kerosene heater, and the smell wasn't that bad. Propane is nicer, but the gas and burner are both more expensive. Baseboard has to be worst idea.

Reply to
Toller

I bought an 80,000 BTU job site type propane heater - hooks up to the gas grill size or bigger propane tanks. I also work out of one garage bay of a

2-car garage, and it is insulated. When I crank that puppy up it goes from 30 deg. F to about 75 deg. F in 20 minutes. Even after turning the propane completely off, it will still be above 55 deg. 2-3 hours later, depending on the outside temperature.

Mike

Reply to
Mike in Mystic

First, do a Google search (DAGS) on this, as it has been handled many times on this newsgroup.

Next, I've used a kero fired salamander style heater for years in my shop. It is heat that can be used anywhere. If you need to run heat on a concrete slab some day, it would be a great choice. If you might have need to heat another space away from your shop, it is a great choice. If you buy a big enough unit, you can set up a spray booth and have the heater run on the outside of the booth, while the fan is running, and it will provide warm makeup air.

I have two CO detectors and feel that to be a minimum.

It does not stink if it is properly used and maintained.

On the coldest of days here in Pennsyltucky, I could fire up the

150,000 BTU salamander in my twelve hundred square foot shop, and have the air temperature to sixty degrees in less than half an hour.

They can be put on a timer, of the kind that times any 120V appliance plug and that gives you the ability to have the heater shut off after you have left the shop - leaving finishes and glue enough drying time to work properly. The timer can also be used to turn the heater on a half hour or so before you come into the shop in the morning - which can be a great comfort when the ambient temperature is in the single digits.

There are those who would argue that the moisture created by the combustion process is a problem. I have never found this to be so and on the coldest days, the admixture of moisture to the air can be quite pleasing.

Thomas J. Watson-Cabinetmaker (ret) Real Email is: tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet Website:

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Reply to
Tom Watson

Detached or attached? What type of climate. Mine is detached 1 1/2 car garage and partially insulated. I have a 30,000 Btu propane heater and can easily get a 40 degree temperature rise. That means I miss working in the shop when it bets below 20 and definitely the days it was single digits.

In hindsight, I should have looked around more and bought a 30 - 80K unit like Mike has. Ed snipped-for-privacy@snet.net

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Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

I guess I am the exception in this case. I just built (last summer) a detached 20x24 garage/shop. While I only have the experience of the winter so far (and it has been unusually cold), I went with electric heat, and a lot of insulation. I have warmed the shop from in the 20's to 60 in an hour with 1-220 shop heater and 2 oil-filled electric radiators. After that, and depending on if it's day or night, the fan heater comes on for a few minutes about once every half hour or so, and the radiators cycle more frequently. No smell, no condensation, and no tank refills. My electric bill did not go up what I consider significantly for December.

One of the biggest improvements is to have an insulated garage door. I have a steel one that I cut 1" foam panels onto (watch the weight if you do this). It made a tremendous difference. In hindsight I should have probably just went with an insulated door to begin with.

Cheers! Duke

Reply to
Duke

1200 SF shop space.... nice driveby!

:)

Myx

Reply to
Myxylplyk

While we're on the subject of shop heat, anybody good with gas lines? I've got a gas furnace in the garage, I think about 80k btu that I've got just a duct running into the shop. Keeps it real toasty in there, with the thermostat set at 60 in the garage. I'm getting another furnace tomorrow to have the shop independent of the garage, so I can set the thermostat to whatever I want and be comfortable. My question is, I've got a 5/8 inch gas line running to the garage, when I tap off of it to run to the new furnace, is it big enough to run both furnace's when and if they kick on at the same time? I've kicked around the idea of running a separate line for it, but damn!!!! Just looking for a better, no strike that, lazier way. Thanks!

Reply to
Jerry Gilreath

What kind of line is it? I don't know of any 5/8" pipe or tubing but 1/2" copper measures 5/8" OD. Are you measuring the OD?

To determine if it is adequate you need to know the gas pressure and the consumption rate of the two heaters. I'd say it would be marginal with that size though. Ed snipped-for-privacy@snet.net

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Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Oooops, sorry. It's 3/4 copper line. I don't know where I came up with the

5/8! I'll pick up the other furnace tonight and check the tags. I've got a friend that work for LG&E to see what size line he would suggest, but I hate to ask him. I've been telling him I'd do some work on his truck, and just can't seem to find the roundtuit!! Thanks again.
Reply to
Jerry Gilreath

Well, that's your house service, isn't it, not the diameter of the feeder line to your burner?

If you have a gas stove and water heater in addition, maybe a problem. Otherwise, nope. Stove is the biggest gas burner.

Reply to
George

Well no actually the house service is more like an inch or so, never measured it. It's black iron. I've teed off it and ran the copper 3/4 out to the garage where only the furnace lives. Hot water is made by electric, but if it's doable, I might change it to natural gas too. That would probably be pushing things a bit though. 2 furnaces and a hot water heater on 3/4 line???? Don't think that'll fly.

Reply to
Jerry Gilreath

You might want to have the gas company verify that your gas meter has enough capacity to handle the extra flow as well. When I switched from an oil fired heating system which made hot water to a gas fired boiler and a gas hot water heater, the gas company had to install a higher capacity meter to handle the increased demand.

Tim

Jerry Gilreath wrote:

Reply to
The Guy

Briefly, I have a large single stall garage that I heat with a combination coal/wood stove that is simply wonderful heat. I use wood in warmer temps by burning scrap in the morning. By mid day the sun takes over and keeps things at a comfortable level for the rest of the day. As long as the temps don't go down too low at night I will let the stove burn itself out. When the temps get cold I switch to coal which produces a steady volume of heat 24 hrs a day. I pay $4.50 for a 50# bag which last two days. Cheap enough? I through a few coals on every three or four hours daytime and at night around 11 give it a good shaking and fill it gradually until it is full up. A point to remember is to add just a little coal at a time as you don't want to lower the temp too suddenly as this will produce clinkers. Just add a few coals at a time and let them catch before adding more. Yes it is a little more work than turning a thermostat or filling a kerosene tank but the plus side IMO is worth it. Nice dry even heat without condensation or fumes for cheap money. Using scraps to heat is a big savings. No cost at all. Beat that!!

Reply to
gustav

gustav wrote: . Using scraps to heat is a big

Scraps? You make scraps?

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

I hope you didn't run copper through the house, from what I've read ,IIRC, is all piping within the dwelling must be iron pipe.

Reply to
Mark

No, it's about 30 feet or so out to the garage, then it turns back into black iron. It is in an unattached garage, and has nothing to do with the houses' gas lines.

Reply to
Jerry Gilreath

not in Arizona. but AZ is a copper *producing* state. those kinds of codes vary widely. In San Francisco I saw waste lines- 4 or 5 inch ones- installed in copper. asked why not ABS or iron- answer was codes. go figure. Bridger

Reply to
Bridger

You tapped off the gas line after the meter and before the line enters the house?

Reply to
Mark

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