Shop/Garage Heater

[ovrszd]

i wonder how much it would cost to heat a shop with a medium sized pellet stove attached to a thermostat. ... per month

This plays right into my point. What's the "R" value of the insulation in said shop??

 

[4570Man]

It’s semantics (electric is 100% efficient) but yes their are ways to make electric heat cheaper.......urrr more efficiently. As an example, heat pumps make more BTUs/kw than traditional resistive heat.

Btw- it’s roughly 1/3 watt per BTU. So if One had a 40,000 BTU (heat output, not total output) gas furnace you would need about 13,000 watts to replace it. But again, sizing will need to be calculated.

But that unit isn’t a heat pump. It’s resistance coils or some form of it. I’m not seeing how it’s heat output is any higher than an equivalent wattage space heater.

 

[RSKY]

Why not just use propane, and park the tank outside the shop?

Don't have room for a large residential tank and a 100-lb wouldn't last that long plus I would have to load it up to get it refilled. If I was going to do that I would have a natural gas line run from the house to the shop. Too much money for too little gain. I am not wanting something to keep it warm enough to work in it all day. Just something to go out and work for a few hours once or twice a week. Plus with gas I would have to get a vent thru the ceiling or wall. Too much complication and cost. If I can get an electric that will keep the temp above freezing during these cold spells and make it warm enough to work the rest of the time I will be happy. May get the electric and use the Mr. Heater or the big propane heater to get it warm enough to work.

I have a big propane floor heater that will heat the shop in less than an hour. BUT it scares the heck out of me to use it. There is always sawdust and stuff around and that thing shoots flames up into the vent and I cannot bring myself to take my eyes off it when it is running. So I go out there and start it and stand around freezing until it heats the shop up. It burns up a tank in about 4-5 hours. So even if I wanted to leave it on overnight, which I don't, I would have to go out and change tanks all the time.

Keep the ideas coming.

RSKY

 

[4570Man]

Having had a heated shop in my backyard since 1994, I'll say this, if you can heat your shop for $100 per month, go for it, doesn't matter what method is used.

Again, I can't stress this enough, efficiency of the building in regards to heat transfer is what should be discussed, not heat source.

It doesn’t cost that much to heat my shop. I leave the thermostat set on 45 and bump it up to 60 when I’m working. It only takes a few minutes to make that climb with the gas heater. That’s a nice feature for the gas unit. It would probably take an hour for a 5000 watt electric heater to make the jump. My shop gas bill is hardly above the minimum.

 

[ovrszd]

It doesn’t cost that much to heat my shop. I leave the thermostat set on 45 and bump it up to 60 when I’m working. It only takes a few minutes to make that climb with the gas heater. That’s a nice feature for the gas unit. It would probably take an hour for a 5000 watt electric heater to make the jump. My shop gas bill is hardly above the minimum.

Yep. I totally get that.

My shop is 9 years old, it's never been under 60F degrees. I can lay on my concrete floor, it's not cold. I can easily take a nap in my old Barber Chair. I work in my T-shirt. It's all about what your personal goals are. I have little use for a 45F degree shop.

 

[Deere Dude]

Have you considered wood or pellet stoves. Just start a fire when you need it and it will continue to heat just from mass of steel build up. I have an old wood stove in my 24x30 shop with 3.5" walls. The temps will get close to freezing on cold days if I let it go but when it gets to 45 I will generally start a fire and keep it going for a few hours and all is good for the rest of the day. You may not be a wood guy, but it works good for me in Tennessee.

It sounds that if you just want to stay above freezing with no effort involved, electricity may be your choice.

 

[RNeumann]

But that unit isn’t a heat pump. It’s resistance coils or some form of it. I’m not seeing how it’s heat output is any higher than an equivalent wattage space heater.

U r correct in that resistive heat can be no more or less efficient.

 

[dadster4]

Have you considered running a supply off your home furnace to the attached garaged?

 

[4570Man]

U r correct in that resistive heat can be no more or less efficient.

And aren’t all of these wonder box heaters resistance heat? I’m thinking they’re full of crap and are equal to any electric resistance heater.

 

[4570Man]

Yep. I totally get that.

My shop is 9 years old, it's never been under 60F degrees. I can lay on my concrete floor, it's not cold. I can easily take a nap in my old Barber Chair. I work in my T-shirt. It's all about what your personal goals are. I have little use for a 45F degree shop.

My goal is to never drop below freezing and warm it up as fast as possible when I decide to work. That makes gas the best choice. The garage has a small fan that pulls air off the back of the wood stove. That keeps it fairly warm and the electric heater is only used on the rare instance I need to work out there.