Garage/Shop Heater Installs?

[downsizingnow48]

I put a small high efficiency propane furnace in the shop back room with ducting to the main space. The hardware cost was about 3k and the installation was about 2k which I happily paid as it including all the ductwork plus hooking up to the existing propane tank about 50 ft away with pipe in a deep ditch. I keep the thermostat on 65 degrees which is comfortable to work in. I only need it from about November to Jan/Feb, the rest the time I have a ducted ceiling fan that sucks sun-heated air out of the attic and keeps the shop comfortable. The north coast california climate is probably about the same as yours. The type of heater you are looking at is probably 85% combustion efficiency vs the high efficiency units that are 95%.

 

[dragoneggs]

Using a non vented kerosene heater gave my machines a real nice coat of rust. Never again. If you're going to be there for a while, do what is best for you.

I have a portable floor roll around kerosene heater that I gave up on a long time ago. Not to mention the moisture it cranked out but the fuel seemed expensive too. Propane fuel seems to be cheaper but I have nearly the same humidity problem. Looking forward to a vented system with a programmable thermostat.

 

[downsizingnow48]

To me what the efficiency rating means is that with the regular unit you pump 15% of your heat out the vent vs 5% with the high efficiency unit. Depending on the cost of propane and how much you need to heat that could add up.

 

[dragoneggs]

The Modine Hot Dawg heaters are advertised at 80% output efficiency. The Reznors at 83%. My last home had a condenser and a little pump and hose plumbed to get rid of the water. It claimed to be in the high 90's for efficiency but it was costly. Being that this is part time use heater (winters) and will keep it maybe 50deg when not present, I think as long as I insulate well (none yet), my propane bill will be tolerable.

Since the garage is already sheetrocked, I guess I will have to drill a hole in every bay between the studs and blow in the insulations. Not looking forward to that job as it means moving a bunch... and I mean a bunch, of crap off the walls to get access! :smiley_aafz: Above the ceiling should be a piece of cake though.

 

[Michael In Tennessee]

I went with a Sterling GG45 and horizontal sealed combustion. About $1k self-installed less the Natural Gas line.

Do check local codes and use the exact venting required by your heater vendor. Rules keep getting stricter. My venting was almost as much as the heater.

Do get help lifting the unit into place. Don't be like me and lift it with 4 $0.25 garage sale pulleys and some clothes line.

 

[dragoneggs]

I went with a Sterling GG45 and horizontal sealed combustion. About $1k self-installed less the Natural Gas line.

Do check local codes and use the exact venting required by your heater vendor. Rules keep getting stricter. My venting was almost as much as the heater.

Do get help lifting the unit into place. Don't be like me and lift it with 4 $0.25 garage sale pulleys and some clothes line.

View attachment 641740

View attachment 641741

Thanks for posting and the pics. Quite a bit less cost than the Reznor 45 sealed if you did it for $1K.

 

[Jack Murdock]

If your garage is attached to the house or has living area above the heater exhaust must be stainless steel gasketed exhaust pipe. If it is freestanding single wall smoke pipe to one B-Vent piece through the wall with the appropriate termination. An Empire DV-35SG is usually less money hangs on the wall is direct vent vent and doesn't require electricity. ( Except for the blower ) The combustion efficiency is less but it is not as noisy and the heat is where you need it not 8 feet in the air.

 

[John_Mc]

I was thinking of a mini-split for our well-insulated workshop. I'm hesitant for a few reasons:

1. I'm not sure how well they handle dust (my wife does a lot of woodworking in there, we do not have a vacuum system, and she's not the greatest about using the shop vac to clean up). Is it going to be clogging up regularly?
2. We don't keep the shop heated all the time. In the winter, we use a space heater to keep it at about 40˚F until we'll need it. I've heard that heat pumps are not great at bringign the temp up quickly
3. We have yet to find a heat pump that will let you set the temperature beow about 55˚F (the Rinnai propane heater in the room above our garage has a "frost protect" mode that allows settings in the 40s)

I'm wondering if any of you have experience with Mini splits in these situations

 

[zoedog2012]

The Modine Hot Dawg heaters are advertised at 80% output efficiency. The Reznors at 83%. My last home had a condenser and a little pump and hose plumbed to get rid of the water. It claimed to be in the high 90's for efficiency but it was costly. Being that this is part time use heater (winters) and will keep it maybe 50deg when not present, I think as long as I insulate well (none yet), my propane bill will be tolerable.

Since the garage is already sheetrocked, I guess I will have to drill a hole in every bay between the studs and blow in the insulations. Not looking forward to that job as it means moving a bunch... and I mean a bunch, of crap off the walls to get access! :smiley_aafz: Above the ceiling should be a piece of cake though.

I had a house insulated back in 1972 where they drilled through the exterior siding and blew in insulation and then plugged the holes with vents. Shake siding.

 

[dragoneggs]

I had a house insulated back in 1972 where they drilled through the exterior siding and blew in insulation and then plugged the holes with vents. Shake siding.

Yeah I have horizontal lap siding on the exterior. Now thinking I could maybe remove a row, use a hole saw and then put the lap siding back?