Shop Heaters !?!?!?!?!?!?!!?

[MossMan]

What kind of heaters are you guys using? I've got a Mr. Heater type propane unit that does pretty good but it's loud as hell. And I have to insulation and open rafters in the shop. The heat gets right out.

Part I
What are you using? And do you cover the vent in the winter? I'm thinking about the possibility of have a big tank delivered and istalling a propane stove/heater unit.

Part II
I am also converting the Heep to propane. Could I fill the tanks for the Heep from the big tank?

[SR5Dave]

I have a 40$ electric unit from Home Depot. Heats the whole garage slowly, heats right where I'm standing instantly. Makes no audible noise :cool2:

[D60]

I'm using a wood stove which does ok and so far have been able to get wood for free from various sources. I'm intrigued by infrared heat for situations like ours (no insulation) 'cause it reportedly heats objects, not the air.

Would love to hear experience from anyone on infrared.

In my brief research you'll be hard pressed to find any electric heater which can affordably put out the same BTU's as a gas or even wood unit. I mean some wood or gas units can put out 100k+ BTU, look for electric heaters capable of that and if you can find them you'll want to be sitting down when you figure up what they cost to operate per hour on 240V.

That said I'm thinking an infrared unit hanging over my workbench might complement the woodstove nicely.

[Navajo1]

If you can, go with the infared gas. My pops did one in his wood shop, huge steel building with minimal insulation in the middle of a wind hole in NE. Things in his shop soak in the heat, so when the big doors open and close it still feels pretty much the same after a real short while. When he ran air heating only it would take a half hour or so to get it comfortable again.

I run an old Sears gas heater with a house thermostat in my small 20x30 shop. I am fully insulated with drywall and false cieling though, and it stays toasty with minimal effort. I try to never open the big door except on the warm Colorado winter days, which are quite often. :D

[buffalogap4wd]

Part II
I am also converting the Heep to propane. Could I fill the tanks for the Heep from the big tank?

Part II Yes you can fill off of your bulk tank, as long as it has a wet line tap. If not you would just have to install one. :smokin:

[Ken Carter / BRUISER]

I have this one

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=6970&productId=595&R=595

http://www.northerntool.com/images/product/images/17303_lg.jpg

amazingly it works very well

[JeepAddict]

I just got through closing in all the rafters in the shop. What a PITA but well worth it. I have the 200k btu propane heater from Home Depot and it wouldn't even start to warm up the shop. After closing in the rafters it warms up adequately and now it's about 15 degrees outside instead of 40! Still no insulation, but that's next years project. I can't imagine electic heat being a good option unless you have a small, well insulated shop. If I get a chance, I'll run a gas line and I can stop buying propane!

[yager]

INSULATE !!!

I insulated my 20x22 garage went from being able to warm it up on weekends to being able to warm it to do work on week nights..

I added R22 on the celing and R13 on the walls, im definilty motivated to do somthign with the door... but its a 1000% improvment

I run my 18,000 Northern Tools Blue Flame propane heater, i run it on low and it will still kick off.. Its also my backup house heater since its got an O2 depetion sensor etc.. For garage use ive been going 2-3 weeks on 1 20# tank... so back to my first statement... It will definitly pay off..

[High5]

i have a 30x40 and i run an old kerosene heater my dad gave me. my shop is insulated and the heater actually works pretty good. i didn't think it would work since it was only 28,000 btu but the full insulation keeps it in. it takes 10-15 minutes it warm the area that i am working in but after an hour it has the whole place warm.

[IronBenderII]

My water heater in my garage, which is a gas heater. Anybody have a recommendation that will run off of natural gas? IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!

[Oxjockey]

I used to work in a 30'x36' shop and heated it with my kerosene salamander type heater. Worked OK, but was loud and when the compressor was also on, forget it! Open rafters, no insulation. I could get it comfortable in there, but the tools and floor were still cold. And I could only have it off a little while before I'd have to run it again.

I moved into my little 20x21 garage and of course, it heats that *really* well, but what's suprising is the lack of loss over time. The garage door is not insulated and has a good 2" gap in the middle at the bottom, but it stays warm in there and I can only speculate it's because of the insulation and sheetrock overhead. Open rafters means all you're heating is up there.

I've been thinking about trying to fit those pink panels into the garage door. Of course, that helps insulate the house, as well!

Bryan

[darkstar]

My water heater in my garage, which is a gas heater. Anybody have a recommendation that will run off of natural gas? IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!

I have a Hot Dawg natural gas heater in my 2 car garage. This thing ROCKS. Its quiet, relatively small, and it will make it 80 degrees in there when its 20 outside if I want. it is controlled by a regular house thermostat.

http://www6.mailordercentral.com/igcusastore/prodinfo.asp?number=HD45A-01

Edited to fix stupid typo. Its early damn it!

[MossMan]

I've been thinking about trying to fit those pink panels into the garage door. Of course, that helps insulate the house, as well!

Bryan

That's a good idea :idea: I was thinking about putting some plastic on the rafters until I can insulate and close it off. This may be better. Put it on the top and then add the wood later :shrug:

[csudman]

I use a medium size room heater. 20x22 garage. Insulated walls, plaster ceiling. Regular garage door. Takes about 15 min. and she'll get toasty. Till I open the door.

[yager]

Northern has the same pro-somthing heater like im using avaliable in a Natural Gas version.

Garage doors - i just priced out some of that shinny bubble wrap stuff, its ~$40 to do my whole door 7x16 but its got a R12 i think which will put it at where the walls are. The pink stuff is cheep but i could only fit an 1" and that give like an R3-4 ?

Fan - i have a cheep-o $10 box fan on top of a high shelf to circulate the air that helps a lot to..

[glfredrick]

For the water heater, they are convertable from propane to natural gas - just an orfice in the gas control. A very simple fix.

For the cheapest and easiest non-wood heat, just get an old furnace from a contractor - they generally trash them once they remove them - and they will most of the time give you one for free... They will easily heat a garage with a minimal hookup (just need 120v for the fan and controls - a 24v bell wire to a thermostat, and a line for the gas. Set them up off the floor - at LEAST 3 feet so they don't suck up gas fumes and dynamite you.

Otherwise, I love wood as a shop heat source - it burns all the time - needs no fans - is a very convenient way to get rid of shop trash (oily rags, etc - even filters - just clean out the residue) and the ashes work PERFECT for de-icing the drive (best there is!). Wood is free or cheap if you are resourceful (everything from old pallets to storm damage are available in most areas of the country - plus slabs from sawmills, etc - not to mention plain old firewood cut from dead-falls).

In my shop in Wisconsin (30 x 50 uninsulated) I made a furnace out of a 250 gallon fuel barrel (ipright) with a double chamber - tubes for grates that also acted as heat exchangers - and I eventually added a drain oil burner setup (used a small pump to spray drain oil on an already hot fire - really adds the heat!) which, if done right, is not much different from fuel oil furnaces and gets rid of that pesky used oil as well.

[Aaronius]

I use an 80,000 BTU propane drywall heater. Works realy well, quite enough, and the propane lasts a long time. The garage is insulated but the role up doors dont exactly seal to well; but they do work as a vent so I dont get asphyxiated. :ghost:

[pendy]

Anybody seen a waste oil heater with a Babington burner in it instead of a nozzle? Seems this would help with burning contaminated oil and cleanup as well.

I have not seen a commercial version of this yet.

JP

[86turbodsl]

In floor radiant heat using a fuel oil boiler. *DIRT* cheap to heat the shop. And super comfy.

[glfredrick]

In floor radiant heat using a fuel oil boiler. *DIRT* cheap to heat the shop. And super comfy.

If I ever get the pleasure of building a new shop this WILL be what I use. Nothing like heated floors in cold climates - and it is super easy - just run the flexible tube under the concrete before pouring - then hook it up to the hot water system.

Hey, if it will keep Lambeau Field (Green Bay Packers) thawed out enough for green grass in early January in sub zero temps, it will surely heat a garage!

And, BTW, you can still opt for multi-fueled boilers (use wood - which is basically free in the north for the industrious person) to heat the water.

[MOGXJ44]

I've got an L shaped garage 30x45 on the long sides. 3 electric 120VAC cheapo $20 heaters gets the garage comfortable when it's 40* outside. I don't want to know what they cost to run. My garage is very well insulated in the walls and ceiling with 3 uninsulated garage doors. I'll eventually be putting in a wood stove, but will still keep the electrics for quick job 'spot heat' projects.
Travis

[mudhound72]

In my shop in Wisconsin (30 x 50 uninsulated) I made a furnace out of a 250 gallon fuel barrel (ipright) with a double chamber - tubes for grates that also acted as heat exchangers - and I eventually added a drain oil burner setup (used a small pump to spray drain oil on an already hot fire - really adds the heat!) which, if done right, is not much different from fuel oil furnaces and gets rid of that pesky used oil as well.

Do you got a pic of this, what did you use for a pump, sprayer, and any other items.

I have been thinking of something like this but trying to fig it out and cheeply is the prob. :rolleyes:

[glfredrick]

Do you got a pic of this, what did you use for a pump, sprayer, and any other items.

I have been thinking of something like this but trying to fig it out and cheeply is the prob. :rolleyes:

Sorry - I don't have any pictures. That was eight years ago when I lived in Wisconsin and actually had a real shop... Now I'm in Louisville with all my shop tools crammed into a 12 x 12 toolshed... sucks, but at least it is warm enough her to mostly work outside year 'round and I'm pretty creative in making things work no matter what... You know, it's the old, "I've done so much for so long with so little, that I am now fully qualified to do almost anything with nothing..." sort of deal.

When I did that, I tried a couple of different things to be able to both pump the oil and to control it as it sprayed into the fire... It takes a bit of planning so that you don't eventually torch the entire shop, and also, the fire gets REALLY hot when you do this - so the stove part needs to be up to the task.

For the stove part, I used a 250 gal. fuel barrel, standing upright, and about 1 foot above the bottom, I pierced the barrel with 1 1/2" pipe, layed as a grate (almost touching, but with room for ashes to drop to the area below).

Below the tubes, I cut a hole in the barrel and made an ash pan that slid out for easy cleaning. I then layed firebrick around the sides of the barrel about 3 layers high - with no particular care about being perfect, just stacked them around and layered the next layer above them. This proved fairly effective, in that the bricks had a natural air gap between them and the sides of the barrel, which seemed to help burn through issues.

I installed a chimney pipe fitting near the top on the back of the barrel (not directly on top - but on the side and about 6" under the top - the reason being that I wanted to circulate the heat inside the top of the barrel instead of loosing it all up the pipe). I stuck a damper inside the chimney pipe as well. All the hardware (stove door, chimney pipe fitting, etc.) came off an old woodstove that dismantled, but there are kits out there for the purpose as well (or you could just make something).

Now, for the oil injector... I first tried a parts washer pump, but discovered that it wasn't up to the task - too much volume and not enough PSI to actually spray the way it needed to spray to burn good - ended up just hosing the barrel full of oil - which then lit off and made for an interesting afternoon... (Let's just say I was glad that I had a steel building :rolleyes: )

I eventually ended up using a small block Chevy oil pump with a fan-shaped winshield washer nozzle to spray the oil. I drove the oil pump with a little electric motor that I salvaged from some kitchen appliance and a home built coupler (just drilled out some round stock to fit both ends and added set screws). I ran the pump into some copper line, and silver soldered the nozzle into the end of the copper - aimed it where I wanted it to burn and let fly. I had to add an adjustable flow control (a simple ball valve) to control the amount - but once I got it dialed in, it really burned...

It was pure trial and error - and I recommend starting to test your design outside until you get it working right... :D

[sceep]

propane/air (top right)

currently gathering supplies to put together a mothers (http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/ethanol_motherearth/me4.html) to burn the 200 or so gallons we got kickin around.

[Bruce T]

Finally! Someone posted the mother oil burner plans. I had that saved and lost it and could not find it again. Thanks. I'm going to convert a small wood burner to it. Its fucking cold up here right now. Thanks again, Tab

[Tolly]

My shop is pretty small, attached to the house, and I store chemicals inside so it limited my choices. I put two of these small ceiling mount radiant heaters up. They work very well, and pivot to where you are working.
http://plumbing.aubuchonhardware.com/heating_duct/electric_space_heaters/radiant_quartz_workshop_heater-450375.asp
http://media.doitbest.com/products/450375.gif

[Csnyder]

I recently bought a 23k kerosene heater for my 22x32x14 shop:

http://www.homedepot.com/cmc_upload/HDUS/EN_US/asset/images/eplus/164149_3.jpg

Works fairly well, but w/ the tall ceilings, most of the heat is trapped up top so I need to get some cheap ceiling fans. I would imagine that w/ 8 or 10 foot ceilings it'd be much more effective.

- Chris