Heating the shop...getting to that time!

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GouletPens

GouletPens

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Joined
Nov 9, 2008
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1,449
Location
Ashland, VA
Last year I used those little radiant enclosed oil heaters, and they worked OKAY but I was still freezing all winter and they just sucked up the electricity. I was thinking of other alternatives for heating my shop this winter and wanted some input. My shop is 525sf and completely insulated. I have almost unlimited electricity, so I was looking at a ceiling mounted space heater type that I could just blast in the morning to heat up the shop and blast a few times throughout the day when I need a little warmth. Anyone have any other ideas? I'm obviously looking for ease of install, low cost of purchase and operation if possible. Thanks!
 
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I use a fairly small home depot ceramic heater with a fan in it...think I paid about $50 for it...I turn it on an hour before I want to "play" and the shop stays nice and warm (about 350 sq feet)
 
In my old house, I used a small cermic heater to get the place warm in like goodturns does. Then once it was toasty I had two elec. baseboard heaters that I set at around 68 degrees.

Once it was warm in there, they kept it nice and comfortable for little engergy used..
 
My shop is 960 Sq FT, completly insulated. I went to a mobile home/furnace dealer and got a used Coleman furnace from a mobile home for $25.
It does take 220 volts and works great. I got some duct work from Lowes. One outlet from the furnace to the shop area.
 
GoodTurns...I saw those and was looking at them but was wondering how much electricity they used. I know it varies by locale and whatnot, but can you give me a rough idea of what it costs you to actually use the thing?

Kaspar...very cool looking. I'm intrigued. Do you actually have one or know someone who does? $400 is a bit to drop, but if it works that well and is really effecient (and safe with sawdust and whatnot) then it might be worth looking into

Dennis...what kind of baseboards are you talking about? I'm concerned about the install involvement, not because I can't do it but b/c I don't have a ton of time for a major project like that. What kind of electricity costs do you have?

Nick...is that furnace installed outside? And that's electric right, not LP? what kind of electricity costs do you have? I'm very intrigued by this, esp. b/c there are a bunch of RV places near where I live.
 
Pellet stoves work great!:biggrin: But then again, you've seen it at my shop. :wink: I tried ceramic but it kept blowing circuits. The contractor who wired my house when it was built was a Bozo.:clown:
 
Nick...is that furnace installed outside? And that's electric right, not LP? what kind of electricity costs do you have? I'm very intrigued by this, esp. b/c there are a bunch of RV places near where I live.

Brian,
It is an elect. unit. I do not run it full time. The shop is a stand alone bldg with a 200 amp panel. The shop is behing our house. In the shop there is 13" of insulation overhead and 3.5" in the 2x4 walls. I only run it when I am in the shop, the shop heats up fast and the shop holds the heat well. My bill is around $25 per month. The furnace is installed in the back corner of the shop (inside the shop)
 
JFeagans said:
Pellet stoves work great!:biggrin: But then again, you've seen it at my shop. :wink: I tried ceramic but it kept blowing circuits. The contractor who wired my house when it was built was a Bozo.:clown:
Click to expand...
Pellet stove might be a *tad* out of my budget.:wink: And in your contractor's defense, he could have never anticipated the kind of kooky experiments you're cooking up in that garage!! Most guys just use their garage outlets to charge up their cordless weed wackers and drill batteries....:tongue:
 
I heat my 16X20 well insulated shop with two very small ceramic electric heaters from Wal Mart. And I mean small they are each about half the size of a loaf of bread. I keep the shop heated all the time and at the very least I am not bankrupt. I also have south facing glass doors on my shop that allow the sun to heat it during the day. for the most part the heaters only have to work at night and maybe take the edge off during the day. My shop is more comfortable than my house most of the time.
 
Isn't this a wonderful topic. I anticipate the cooler weather and am so glad when I actually have to turn the heat on. Of course, I am in South Carolina where the heat and humidity make summers tough in the garage. So from my perspective, bring on the 50 degree winter. :)
 
I have a 400 sq foot non insulated garage. Osb walls and pretty air tight. I use a 55000-85000 Btu propane blast air heater and get the shop from about - 5 to 80+ in about 15 minutes. ( with my DC venting outside i have good air exchange) I find if you gave a concrete slab floor without infloor heating insulating does not help do much as the slab sucks the hot air right out really fast. I'm Thinking if I put down rubber floor with a small air gap may help. I had a parabolic IR heater . It SUCKED.... kept your face and chest warm and the whole back freezing.
 
This topic has been on my mind lately as well.
Last year I was thinking about one of those "hang from the ceiling" types, powered by gas! You see them in warehouses and auto shops all the time.

My shop is only half a townhouse (20x14) so I think it would work just great!

The only caveat I would give you is to be careful where you look for the unit. The local electric contractor shop wanted $500 or more (not installed)! I saw a few on line from $250 to $400.

This year I have to really make the decision to do it or not... instead of deciding to do it later! (now it is later!)

good luck on yours!
 
GouletPens said:
GoodTurns...I saw those and was looking at them but was wondering how much electricity they used. I know it varies by locale and whatnot, but can you give me a rough idea of what it costs you to actually use the thing?
Click to expand...

i only know it costs me cold fingers if i don't use it! shop is on the same meter as house, so no idea on the cost. it DOES suck some power, have to make sure not to plug into the same circuit as the vacuums or they all take naps.
 
MDWine said:
This topic has been on my mind lately as well.
Last year I was thinking about one of those "hang from the ceiling" types, powered by gas! You see them in warehouses and auto shops all the time.

My shop is only half a townhouse (20x14) so I think it would work just great!

The only caveat I would give you is to be careful where you look for the unit. The local electric contractor shop wanted $500 or more (not installed)! I saw a few on line from $250 to $400.

This year I have to really make the decision to do it or not... instead of deciding to do it later! (now it is later!)

good luck on yours!
Click to expand...

Having worked in a tire shop that had those type of heaters, they are very directional. Bent over the hood of a car, and you get a warm bottom, but your hands are still freezing.

So far the best idea I've seen in this thread is the mobile home/RV heater. That's ingenius!
 
GouletPens said:
Pellet stove might be a *tad* out of my budget.:wink: And in your contractor's defense, he could have never anticipated the kind of kooky experiments you're cooking up in that garage!! Most guys just use their garage outlets to charge up their cordless weed wackers and drill batteries....:tongue:
Click to expand...

They are still Bozo's . I would try the ceramic and go for the propane if it doesnt work.
 
JFeagans said:
They are still Bozo's . I would try the ceramic and go for the propane if it doesnt work.
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You changed your avatar!

I have one of those aircraft engine type propane heaters, they heat up nicely but cost a bit in propane....ceramic might work, but I'm really intrigued by the rv idea, I may check it out...
 
I am in central California so cold here is 30-40 degrees. Really cold, it dips down into the teens, very infrequent. I guess I don't have anything helpful to add to the conversation. Just thought I would brag and tell you how I keep warm. I wear a sweatshirt and sometimes I sweat.
 
CaRed said:
I am in central California so cold here is 30-40 degrees. Really cold, it dips down into the teens, very infrequent. I guess I don't have anything helpful to add to the conversation. Just thought I would brag and tell you how I keep warm. I wear a sweatshirt and sometimes I sweat.
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Thats not very nice. :biggrin: I had to postpone a small project I had planned for last weekend because it was too cold to spread finish and I dont have my shop insulated or heated. I also realized that I need to move all my glues and finishes inside.
 
Move to SW Florida, THe pool is now down to 74 degrees(almost to cold to swim in) and in the winter, all two weeks of it it some times get down into the mid 40s
 
In past years I've used a propane heater to heat my shop. That worked fine when I could plan ahead and get it going in time to take the chill off but as I often can only grab a half hour here or there of shop time, it really was frustrating. My solution this year is going to be a Jet mini (purchased used but like new) that I can take down into my basement. Heat will no longer be an issue. =0)
 
GouletPens said:
Kaspar...very cool looking. I'm intrigued. Do you actually have one or know someone who does? $400 is a bit to drop, but if it works that well and is really effecient (and safe with sawdust and whatnot) then it might be worth looking into
Click to expand...

I cannot say I know anyone who has such a heater, but I have had treatments for minor lower back injuries with infrared heat and I have to say it does penetrate deep at a minimal energy use. Theoretically, infrared heating should use 100% of the electricity used to make it, though of course you'll lose a bit to conduction and convection.
 
I have a ventless propane heater in the insulated shop and one of those fake fireplace vented propane heaters in my downstairs office/TV room/goofing off space.

In the winter, I leave the heater in the shope barely above the pilot light setting on the thermostat. It keeps a few of my hanging baskets from freezing, and I can make the shop comfortable for working in 10 minutes or so. FYI, the shop is roughly 12 x 24.
 
How about a good ole fashioned wood stove. I can see it now, your trying to decide if you were going to turn the wood or burn it.
 
I am in the process of building a new barn. It will be 50'x24'. The first 20' is my shop and the remainder is for horses. Since it is just a drawing on paper at the moment I figured this would be the time to design in solar heat. 480 sq-ft shop. To provide enough solar collectors on top plus all the plumbing required to make it work cost about twice what the whole barn cost.:mad: Looks like I wont be doing solar after all. I am now in the same boat you are but I don't have unlimited electricity. I am thinking a small stove to burn scraps. Unfortunately, there are not many of those in this hobby!:smile:
 
Wood stoves are not good...they take WAY too long to heat up the shop. I had that setup before at my old place which had limited electricity. It took about 5 hours to get the shop warm enough to work in, which was just about when I was finished doing whatever work I needed to do!:eek:
 
holmqer said:
I use these

http://cozywinters.com/shop/tfw.html

I have one in front of each place I stand for long durations. By keeping my feet warm, the rest of me can take a bit more cold. They draw around 135W and I leave them on 24x7 so thats about 3KW a day each
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That's great for foot comfort, but then the electric socks I have will do just as well for me there. I need to keep the shop at least 50 degrees so the glue and everything cures properly, it's not just about comfort. Those are neat though.
 
GouletPens said:
That's great for foot comfort, but then the electric socks I have will do just as well for me there. I need to keep the shop at least 50 degrees so the glue and everything cures properly, it's not just about comfort. Those are neat though.
Click to expand...

With an almost identical sized attached garage as my shop, I used one of the enclosed oil filled radient heaters on a timer and three of the heated floor mats. I would run the radient heater for 6 hours a day, and here is 2 years worth of temperature data, inside and out checked twice a day, once in the morning and once at night.

During the winter I put up plastic sheets over the windows to cut down on heat loss.

When I wanted to make sure glue cured nicely, I would put things over a heated mat and they would stay in the 70s on the coldest night.
 

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