Heating my shop?

[cedarranch]

Need some experienced input on heating my shop. I have a 24x36 pole barn type shop. The sides / roof are metal and the floor is concrete. Not airtight, but farely sealed. I live in Alabama so the weather is not bad. I only use it on Sat/Sun for things like maintenance, oil changes, etc. I need to install something to heat it. It will need to be something that will heat it quickly(an hour or so), since I will not be maintaining the heat all week. I purchased a 23000 btu kerosene heater last winter for backup heat during power outages. It would raise the temp about 10 degrees after one hour but no more. That helped, Afterall, 45deg is better that 35deg. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif What has worked good for some of you.

 

[bpence]

I have a barn (shop) about the same size in Michigan. I use a wood burner that was originally an "add-on" furnace to my brother in laws oil burning furnace. It has a pretty good size wood box, a big blower that can really move some air, and can raise the temperature in my barn, on a 20 degree day, to around 45-50 degrees in an hour to an hour and a half. Now, the building's not air tight, not insulated at all, but it is pretty protected from the winds. Usually, I'll go fire up the wood burner in the morning, really get it going by 9-10 AM, stoke it good until about 2, then let it cool down through the late afternoon. Works fine, but you need a pretty reliable wood source.

A good wood burner would probably heat your building nicely. Just have to be willing to manage a wood pile to feed the little monster.

Bob Pence

 

[HR_Mutt]

<font color=blue>manage a wood pile to feed the little monster.</font color=blue>
LOL! well said.
Someday I'll have a barn in Michigan also..it'll be heated w/wood/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
regards
Mutt

 

[cowboydoc]

I have the industrial tube type heater that is about 20 or 25 feet long. It is instant heat and in about 15 minutes it's as hot as you want it. It uses little propane and is excellent for what you are talking about. They are used extensively in industrial situations. I will get the name and such when I get home.

 

[MikePA]

Here's a link to Reddy portable propane heaters at The Tool Warehouse

Here's a link to a comparison of kerosene vs propane heaters.

 

[DocHeb]

As Richard (cowboydoc) said, the infared tube heater is a clear winner when it comes to intermittant heating in large areas. They use infared rays to heat objects, rather than the air. This allows for quick and efficient warmth in uninsulated areas. Take a look at:

Re-verber-Ray

 

[JJT]

I have a 1000 square foot garage with 10'+ ceilings, and live in upstate NY, (much colder tha AL), and I use a 110K BTU Kerosene heater. You can get from below zero to shirt sleeves in 15 minutes. I had to add a thermostat to keep from getting roasted. Kerosene is more readily available. A friend of mine uses a blue flame propane heater to heat his shop but he has a moisture problem. I don't have that problem, but I have high ceilings and rarely heat the garage for more than 4 hours straight. If I'm going to be in the garage for more than an hour or so I make sure a window is open, or the door is up 6", watch out for CO...

 

[Henry]

Many of my Pennsylvania friends heat their pole barns / shops with small wood-burning stoves. They're relatively in-expensive and easy to install in an existing building.

 

[Rick572]

Another idea you might consider is a double barrel (55 gal) wood burning stove. I use one in my barn which is just a tin barn with no insulation and it works pretty good. I bought the cast iron kit for my hardware store and cut up a couple barrels. It really works pretty good. I believe its rated pretty high btu and work pretty good. The only draw back is it takes about 45 minutes or so to really get it pumping, but after that you can chock it down and work in a t shirt if you so desire. It will also burn all night and keep the barn reasonably warm with on large log. Of course, I'm in TX, with mild winters, but it still gets down in the 20's every once in a while.

Rick

 

[Joe_W]

We are building a new house and a barn. the barn is 42x60 with an 11' ceiling. I just got an estimate today for the radiant tube ceiling heaters. For this size barn with 12" insulation in the ceiling and 6" in the walls, with a concrete floor, they recommend a 40' - 11" tube and a 31' - 3" tube. They are made by Detroit Radiant and are rated at 50 MBH, and 30 MBH. The price installed with all the assorted parts is $2842.00 + the LP tank & gas line. This include 2 thermostats.

Joe W.