Need heat for 42X60 pole barn.

[sixdogs]

I have a recently built 42X60 Morton bldg with concrete floor that I am going to have insulated in June. Fiberglass batts in walls and 30" blown fiberglass in ceilings and covered with metal. I guess I need a vapor barrier but I have heard yes and no both ways. I plan to work a couple months a year in there and mostly when it's 40 degrees or so outside. Rarely in cold weather and I do not want to maintain a warm temp 24/7.

I thought about a woodstove but I have to cut a hole in the celiling and not sure I want to. Thought about oil but it has a smell to it and can get expensive. So that leaves propane, either space heaters or something more permanent.

What do you guys think of propane? Good or bad? I need to decide fairly soon so I can get on to other things but the heat aspect stumps me. I really only have experience with woodstoves. Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Redneck in training]

I have a recently built 42X60 Morton bldg with concrete floor that I am going to have insulated in June. Fiberglass batts in walls and 30" blown fiberglass in ceilings and covered with metal. I guess I need a vapor barrier but I have heard yes and no both ways. I plan to work a couple months a year in there and mostly when it's 40 degrees or so outside. Rarely in cold weather and I do not want to maintain a warm temp 24/7.

I thought about a woodstove but I have to cut a hole in the celiling and not sure I want to. Thought about oil but it has a smell to it and can get expensive. So that leaves propane, either space heaters or something more permanent.

What do you guys think of propane? Good or bad? I need to decide fairly soon so I can get on to other things but the heat aspect stumps me. I really only have experience with woodstoves. Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

If you do woodstove be carefull designing the chimney. Otherwise the creosote will wash down on the roof and stain it black. It is also aggressive to paint and it will rust the roof pannels over time.

 

[varmint]

I've got a 24' x 32' Morton building... built 2x4 walls flush with the poles, installed R-19 insualtion and drywall, with R-30 in the ceiling. You will not need a vapor barrier if you have a tight metal interior finish- in fact, any moisture would be trapped between the plastic and the metal- not good. I put 2" rigid foam boards under the slab around the perimeter... and really wish I had installed radiant heating under the slab, but of course I didn't. I heat with a 30,000 btu direct vent propane heater, which will give me any temp. I am willing to pay for- I keep it above freezing all winter, and warm it up as needed. I am going to install a solar heating system (which I have on hand) when it warms up, mostly since propane costs me $4 gallon and the solar system will be almost free... whatever heat I get will be welcome.

 

[forester2]

Nothing wrong with propane. If you buy the tank, you can choose your supplier based on price. Natl. gas and propane appliances essentially operate the same; you need to change to the proper oriffice for the propane. If you want to use wood, why can't you go out thru the side wall as opposed to the roof?

 

[LBrown59]

Do you have Nat Gas.?

I have a recently built 42X60 Morton bldg with concrete floor that I am going to have insulated in June. Fiberglass batts in walls and 30" blown fiberglass in ceilings and covered with metal. I guess I need a vapor barrier but I have heard yes and no both ways. I plan to work a couple months a year in there and mostly when it's 40 degrees or so outside. Rarely in cold weather and I do not want to maintain a warm temp 24/7.

If so it would be cheaper than propane fuel oil or elect.

 

[pitt_md]

I have a 3 year old furnace that was in my old house that is just sitting in my garage. It's a carrier 94% effecient and is setup to run on propane. Would something like this work for heating a shop like that?

 

[john_bud]

Exterior wood boiler. No holes in the roof and it can take 36-48" chunks of wood.

jb

 

[charlz]

For intermittent use something that can put out a lot of heat quick. Woodstove takes a while to get going and with a building that size it would take a while, and probably fans, to really warm the place up.

I would think an exterior wood boiler would take even longer. The Pallet Burner is appealing in that case though as you can often get junk pallets for free Storing pallets does take up a lot of room though. I chop some up for my shop stove, the oak ones really put out the heat once they get going. Cutting up pallets is a serious pain in the butt.

Propane is expensive but might be the way to go. The overhead units also save floor space taken up by a wood stove and firewood as well as mess-free

Solar pop-can heaters or similar might be interesting to play with... have a warm(er) shop all the time.

 

[sixdogs]

No nat gas--I live out to far. But I can buy a used propane tank and get a deal on the fuel--I already do this with the house. I also have thought of solar or wind when things get more figured out.
It would work for right now but I live in a very windy place and in the winter could have it blowing nearly every day. Maybe free heat at some point?
Thanks for good ideas.

 

[hanson1999]

get yourself one of these propane hanging furnaces,

ON SALE! - Modine Power-Vented Propane Heater 120K BTU - FarmTek

i just ordered one the other day, showed up next day, hung it up, power vent means only need a exhaust out the sidewall (very easy and cheap). this thing heats great, and i doubt you'll ever find a better price. i know of at least 4 of these in shops around my area and everyone loves them.