Heating new garage

[AlbertaDan]

Last year we built a big garage for all the toys and trucks. Now I want to finish the inside and provide some heat. It is not a work shop but I would like to keep it above freezing in winter or in case I have some service work on the vehicles.

I am thinking of a waste oil furnace. Does any one know anything about them. Are there any cons to putting one in? What are the pros, other than getting rid of all my used oil?

Where I live we have access to electricity, furnace oil and propane. From all research I have done all these are an expensive way to heat. So i am thinking the waste oil may be the way to go. Between the trucks and toys I can get about 35 liters when all the vehicles get their oil changed. I have yet to talk to the local shops about how they get rid of their oil. But my thoughts are that they may be willing to give me some to help reduce their disposal fees.

 

[123rday]

A service garage in town has used one for years. I think it'd be a good idea as long as you can get enough supply.
So talk to your friends and neighbors as well, post an ad on craigslist in your area to bring in your supply.

 

[tommygun]

i have a repair shop where i do state insp,general repairs oil changes and such.i do not generate enough oil to have a waste oil burner so i donate what oil i get to an paving plant that uses waste oil to heat their rather large shop. over the years they have improved their methods of storing and filtering the waste oil they get (mostly free for picking it up)to the point they have very little problems.i do not know what btu burner they have.

 

[rdln]

I dropped my collection of oil to a shop that used a heater, he has a 4 bay service garage. he regets the decision due to the time required to find the oil to make up for what he cant produce.

 

[90cummins]

Absolutely go with the waste oil furnace! The best decision I made was to install a Cleanburn CB2800 in my 40x60 garage. I have always changed my own oil and would store it until I could find someone to take it. Now it's fuel for heat. I selected a unit that was approx 2 times the output from what was recommended for heat recovery purposes such as when you open a door or when the heat has been off for 3~4 days in the winter. My furnace will heat my garage from 30 to 50 degrees in 20~30 minutes so I never leave the heat on.
I have no disposal concerns and can also use heating oil or diesel to make up for shortages in waste oil supply.
Tim

 

[crbr]

yes...


however, more carbon footprint...

 

[Code54]

You are going to need a fair amount of oil to do any real heating. You may want to look into a wood burner as an option. I am putting a wood stove in my work shop (4 car garage) and putting a elec. P-Tac unit in as my backup and for summer A/C if needed.

 

[ch47dpilot]

90cummins, how much did you pay for the heater? Were do you live and how insulated is you 40x60? I live in Southern AL so I'd only need it for those really cold winter nights to keep shop around 50. The CB2800 max consumption is 2.0 GPH, what are you burning a month and at what temp are you keeping the shop? Even at 1/4 GPH that would be almost 200gal/month seems like a lot of waste oil to find/store.

 

[brandoro]

A friend of mine has two waste oil furnaces in his shop. He said when he got the first one getting enough oil was a bit of a problem but after a while people found out that he had it and started bringing him oil. I'm one of them:thumbsup:. Then he got the second one and uses waste oil entirely to heat the shop. It takes some time to deal with the oil compared to other means of heating but he feels it is worth it compared to the cost of heating the shop with other fuels.
He told me the most important things he learned is to at very least screen the oil to keep foreign objects out of the oil tank and not to accept oil from people who drain anti freeze into the same container as the oil.

 

[grsthegreat]

there putting one of these in a service shop im wiring right now. he said he bought it USED for $2,500.

i also wonder how he plans on getting enough used oil to use it...oh well. not my worry.

i personally use a propane heater in my 30x40 shop. but i only use it when im in there. so maybe 1 day a week in the winter. and usually im in there cutting metal or welding so the door is up and the vent fan is on...who needs heat.

 

[forgeblast]

I was also going to say use a three brick propane burner, you can put it on high to get the place warmed up and keep it on low to maintain the heat.

 

[90cummins]

90cummins, how much did you pay for the heater? Were do you live and how insulated is you 40x60? I live in Southern AL so I'd only need it for those really cold winter nights to keep shop around 50. The CB2800 max consumption is 2.0 GPH, what are you burning a month and at what temp are you keeping the shop? Even at 1/4 GPH that would be almost 200gal/month seems like a lot of waste oil to find/store.

I paid 5k+- new in 2005.
I live in the NE Ma.
My building is a fully insulated steel building with (2) 12x12 doors. I'll have to look at the hour meter to calculate the gallons used.
Tim

 

[George2615]

I insulated my garage when built so I'd be able to heat it when needed. I thought of a waste oil burner but they are rather expensive and no used ones were readily available in my area. I do a lot of oil changes on my own stuff but couldn't justify the waste oil burner purchase. I ended up buying a used mobile home furnace and set it up in my garage. I can run it on kerosene or #2 fuel stored in a 15 gallon plastic container and it does a great job keeping my garage warm when I need to use it. My total cost including exhaust duct piping was under $400.

 

[90cummins]

I paid 5k+- new in 2005.
I live in the NE Ma.
My building is a fully insulated steel building with (2) 12x12 doors. I'll have to look at the hour meter to calculate the gallons used.
Tim

I checked my records and on 3/5/2006 the hour meter was 34 hours.
5/1/2008 hours 487
1/29/2011 hours 993
4/24/2011 hours are now 1056
Fuel consumption of my furnace is 2 gallons per hour x 1056 = 2112 gallons used since installed.
You need to consider the BTU content of fuel when making your selection.
Propane has 90,000 BTU per gallon.
Diesel has 130,000 BTU per gallon.
#2 heating oil use to have 138,000 BTU per gallon.
Consider that while you may not be able to totally heat with waste oil you will reduce your heating bill and have no waste oil to dispose of.
Oil can be accumulated and is free, propane needs to be purchased.
As was said word gets around and friends will bring their oil to you if you want.
But only take oil from a trusted source. Water, antifreeze, brake fluid and cleaning chemicals can cause issues.
I have a 275 gallon tank that receives all oil so it can settle out. When the 250 gallon furnace tank gets low I run a pump that transfers the oil from the 275 to the furnace tank.
Tim