Shop heat

BrianGreen

BrianGreen

SSG Brian Green
Joined
Apr 5, 2008
Location
Kings Mountain
What are yall using for shop heat?

Not the guys that work in their shop all day, every day. Not the guys that are in their shop for 30 minutes each week.

My shop is small (480sqft, 10' wall height). The walls and ceiling are insulated, but the 10'x10' roll up door isnt. I dont work in it every day, but the dogs do (they have a doggie door in the back). Since it is getting cold at night, I want to keep it at least 50* in there. Right now, I have a little $20 utility heater on a thermostat that runs damn near nonstop, but it keeps up.

Looking for something electric and more permanent, but not full HVAC permanent. 120v or 240v.

What do yall recommend?
 
I don't know if it violates your definition of "full HVAC", or what your budget is, but have you looked into ductless mini-split heat pumps? It would be year round climate control, and you can set the temperature to whatever you want to save energy and money. It's not the cheapest way to get heat, but it's the most efficient if you're using electricity as your energy source. More efficient than a window AC unit in the warm months too.
 
Chase around residential HVAC guys and try to get a deal on a takeout when someone upgrades. @CurtisH did this in his shop. Lady just needed a simple contactor and said she wanted a whole new unit. He took it, put a $20 part on it it's been keeping us comfy in his shop for years now. Hanging from the ceiling, no duct work or anything. Works great. Being a heat pump we do have to help it some in the real cold season.
 
I've used a couple of the plug in base board heaters in the garage when it's been cold. Keeps it manageable for working and not freezing your fingers or toes off. It's a cheap initial cost and install (simply plug into wall outlet) but isn't exactly easy on the wallet when it comes to electric use. Back in the day when I was a struggling college student, I purchased 4 of these and used them in a rental house that had propane gas pack. At the time, propane was $$$$ and based on my consumption of the propane in a monthly time frame versus the added electrical costs, after the first month, the savings of not using propane was enough to offset the cost of the initial purchase of the electric heaters. From that point on, that's all I used in the winter for several years as it was cheaper than propane. So, the additional electrical use may not be all that bad.




To add, I'd recommend you consider adding insulation to the garage door if possible. That would help retain the heat and be a little more efficient.
 
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I use a $99 patio heater and a CO detector.

Quiet, and no problem getting to 50 even when sub-zero and windy.
22x28 steel building; uninsulated...and barely wind-tight


~and the heater does double duty on the deck during shoulder seasons/bbqing
 
Yeah nothing wrong with a good kerosene heater. Also handy to have for the house if the power goes out.
 
ponykilr said:
You say electric, but a wall mounted infrared propane heater would do it easily and safely. A 100lb cyl should run it a while on lowest setting.

ProCom Radiant Vent-Free Liquid Propane Heater — 5,500 BTU | Propane Wall Heaters| Northern Tool + Equipment
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I had one of these in my shop and the flame went out every time you opened the door. You have to consider drafts with these...

The forced air floor kerosene units are ideal but loud as hell.

I'm tending to lean towards the patio umbrella heaters. Proven to be dependable, very portable and very versatile as mentioned by ecoast.
 
Forced air to hear it up real quick, then a regular kerosene heater to maintain after that.
 
Would a portable gas/kero heater be ok to keep running unattended at night with dogs? That would be my concern with these units but I have very limited experience with them so it may be a non issue.
 
6BangBronk said:
I had one of these in my shop and the flame went out every time you opened the door. You have to consider drafts with these...

The forced air floor kerosene units are ideal but loud as hell.

I'm tending to lean towards the patio umbrella heaters. Proven to be dependable, very portable and very versatile as mentioned by ecoast.
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Infrared heaters don't have a "flame" and I have used one for years without the trouble you describe. They even use them outside at a restaurant known for long lines on the front porch I know of.
 
rockcity said:
To add, I'd recommend you consider adding insulation to the garage door if possible. That would help retain the heat and be a little more efficient.
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I wish I could. My door is a roll type door. I didnt want a typical garage door type because of overhead lighting. I also have a wonderful 2"x10" gap at the top. That is one thing on my to do list - get a seal for that gap.
 
ponykilr said:
Infrared heaters don't have a "flame" and I have used one for years without the trouble you describe. They even use them outside at a restaurant known for long lines on the front porch I know of.
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I must have something different? Mine's got 3 quadrants that run off of a pilot light. 1 quadrant for low / 3 for high and such. Bought mine like 5 years ago. We tried everything. Moved the fan shield around several ways and then tried side shields screwed on the walls and no help. Something about my back door? It's sporadic and as soon as one of the quadrants get blown out the whole thing shuts off pilot and all.

Anyways, it is in one place mounted on the wall and only a hand warmer for it does nothing for the area you are actually working in when the weather dips down to a unreasonable cold.
 
The main reason I am thinking electric is I have a propane tank heater in the shop. Right now, both of my tanks are empty. I dont like the idea of leaving anything burning overnight in my shop. My dogs are restricted to a small portion of my shop and are free to come and go as they wish due to the doggy door. I am usually in my shop a little each night, but when I shut down for the night, I dont go back in it until the next night.

I think something electric with a thermostat would work best.

Thoughts on this?
Shop King 5000-Watt Electric Garage Heater with Thermostat at Lowes.com
 
Burn barrel to heat my barn. That is all.
 
I use a wood stove. If I run it choked all the way down, it'll keep my shop around 50, and I put in about 5-6 logs every 12 hours. If I want it warm, I open up the breathers and put in 5-6 logs every 3-4 hours. I also have a free firewood supply, so that helps.
 
We had a trailer converted into a jam building when I had my band and one of the guys had a unique thermostat that hung on the wall and controlled a 110 plug-in that we plugged a forced air kerosene into. Worked VERY well. But I've never seen another thermostat like that one. Everything the dude had was 50 years old anyways...
 
We had a discussion the other day... Every form of fuel for a heater has come down in price besides electricity and kerosene. And $3.99/gallon kerosene is a by-product of $1.75 gasoline???

On opposite spectrums.... Propane is $1.85/gallon for mass quantities delivered right now in the RDU area. Electricity went up 9% since last year due to the coal ash spill. And kerosene is the same price it was 4 years ago.

Best bang for buck right now (and probably for many more to come) is definitely propane. That is unless you have the time to cut wood? Then that would be the way to go.
 
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6BangBronk said:
We had a trailer converted into a jam building when I had my band and one of the guys had a unique thermostat that hung on the wall and controlled a 110 plug-in that we plugged a forced air kerosene into. Worked VERY well. But I've never seen another thermostat like that one. Everything the dude had was 50 years old anyways...
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Google "thermostat controlled outlet"..
 
If it's a small area would a heart lamp work?
 
I have a 22v ac/heat unit Thai keeps my uninsulated 690sf garage around 60* w/o running constantly. 60* is as low as it will go. I've seen your shop, I bought the hot water heater off you, This would probably work even better in yours and you'd have ac in the summer too.... I would put some sort of insulation on those doors no matter what route you take.

LG Electronics 12,000 BTU 230/208-Volt Window Air Conditioner with Cool, Heat and Remote-LW1215HR - The Home Depot


For when it's really cold and I want to warm it up quick I fire up my sun stream. It works like a forced air but is radiant too. Only takes about 5 minutes to get it up to around 80* no matter how cold it is.

ProTemp Portable Kerosene Radiant Heater — 70,000 BTU, Model# PT-70-SS | Kerosene Heaters| Northern Tool + Equipment
 
GotWood said:
If it's a small area would a heart lamp work?
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Can't imagine that would put off much heat.
 
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