Experience with pole barn heating

[dave1949]

Thanks 'neck, so it sounds like solar is rated in yearly production. I was kinda thinking in "generator" terms as to output.

Generators are "on demand", you start it, you get power. Solar has no start button :laughing: The annual output is a useful measure for grid-tied systems.

 

[ray66v]

The best solution, especially if you want to be comfortable fast, and don't want to breathe any fumes, is a radiant tube heater.

They are quiet, fairly easy to install, explosion proof, and don't blow dust around.

I have lots of experience with them in pole buildings and hangars. And I would not use anything else in a larger building, particularly if you only want to heat it occasionally, and don't want to wait for heat.

 

[boggen]

insulation,
insulation,
and insulation,
and one more time insulation!
and making sure you have all the cracks filled.

if you are going to heat entire shed, vs having parking area and them some space walled and insulated up for a work shop. you will want "roll up doors" vs sliding doors that slide off to the sides.

i have used 1/2", 1", and 2" hard board insulation with and with foil on it. and enough cans of "great stuff" red can close cell spray foam. that i should of bought stock in the company.

insulation ya it costs, but it really does pay for itself. if i had cash i would of went with a company that did spray insulation and did the entire shed at one time. but at time only spray companies near me, required something else to be placed over the spray foam. to deal with "fire codes"

======================
if i had option, i would go with radiant heating. to many times i am caught on the ground under something, repairing or doing something. to just plain seating on my rear, do to project is to large to set up on a bench / table.

personally not a fan of of a wood stove. ya they seem nice and cheap, but i have to many other things to do, than dealing with fire wood or wood pellets. and then cleaning out the ashes and cleaning up bark and like from dragging wood into the shed and like.

at moment the one shed has i want to say 24' wide, 40' long 12' high ceiling. with 1" hard board insulation with foil on it. that is divided off of rest of shed. and is heated by a cheap LP gas vent less wall heater. and it takes 1 to 2 hours (pending on how many times i open the door) to heat it up. then about 2 to 4 hours after turning it on. i am having to leave the door open or open up a window just to reduce amount of heat. the con is "fumes" from the vent less heater.

due to fumes, from any gas heater. (make it a furnace for a house, to a gas water heater, to gas boiler), one of the many projects on the list. is to move to a "furnace" like a house might have. and run some duct work. to circulate the air in the partitioned work shop area. and pipe the exhaust out of the shed. it is not about the air ducts blowing directly on me, but rather making sure i get good circulation of heated air through the shed, that is of a bigger concern. and then at later date, the other area of shed that currently has dirt floor, is putting in concrete with radiant heating.

ya others said it takes some time for radiant heating to kick in, but if you go overboard on insulation. and size the boiler to correct size. heating costs can be nice and cheap. and for the projects were i am out there an entire weekend, and then over the next week after work. and not having to deal with fumes, or taking time for wood stove... so much the better.

 

[sdkubota]

Here is my 27'x40' garage's solar heater I made. Please note the electric heater (x2) next to the solar panels discharge. It supplies 100+ degree air when the sun is shining...I said when the sun is shining. Hint...the sun doesn't shine as much as you think:

 

[pfatz]

All - Just started my 56x40 pole barn and am looking for some input on pros and cons of heating options.

Relevant information - Framing is 6x6s, 8ft apart. 12 foot ceilings, with attic trusses, total building height is around 22 feet to the peak. The walls will be metal, but I am planning to insulate. Floor will be concrete slab.

Since the barn will be used for mostly storage and workshop, I don't want to heat it all the time. Something that will get the inside up to 40-50F when it's 0F outside in 20 minutes would be ideal.

In West Central Arkansas My friend & I built a 30x40' Pole Barn for his Mechanic Shop. We ran the slab, & built up to the Trusses. We installed 1'2" Foil Backed Foam Insulation, Foil in with standard Corrugated metal for the Roof. (The walls were bare Metal) We hung a couple of old salvaged ceiling fans from an old hotel in between the rafters near the peak. We used light dimmers to control speed. For heat we used and old Pot Belly stove out of a former RR Depot. With a large sliding door on the gable end and another on 1 side along a side he kept it at at temp satisfying to work in. An early morning fire and an ocassional stoking in the day it remained warm. I later used his shop to repair RV trailers during some unseasonlly cold weather and found it comfortable. All due to the roof insulation & the fans I think. The doors, of course, we normally closed in cold weather. EH

 

[Mylspen]

You should be using a mixture of water and antifreeze for heated floor. A proper mixture will never freeze when not used.

 

[ovrszd]

You should be using a mixture of water and antifreeze for heated floor. A proper mixture will never freeze when not used.

Mylspen, welcome to TBN. Look around, there's a lot of information and discussion on this website.

 

[Zerk]

You should be using a mixture of water and antifreeze for heated floor. A proper mixture will never freeze when not used.

I don't think my house has it, but when I installed boilers in homes, we put anti freeze in.