Need heat for 42X60 pole barn.

[Mattlt]

Outside wood boiler.

Check with your insurance agent before installing a wood burning stove inside any building you want insured. Many will allow it, but charge a higher rate. Not telling them is a huge mistake.

Also, check with the insurance company regarding placement of an outside wood boiler as well - many want them a minimum distance from the nearest building.

Too bad you didn't put radiant tubing in the floor. Combine that with an outside boiler and you've got a nice setup.

 

[varmint]

Lots of good ideas here. PITT MD mentioned having a forced air furnace... FWIW, in my first shop- a 26' x 26' x 10' frame garage, in Indiana, with basic insulation, a contractor buddy gave me a free used oil fired updraft furnace and tank- he installed a small orifice so it would put out less heat, and the thing had its return air collected on its side, next to the floor, and it just blew hot air out the other side, via a down-turned duct off the top... not ideal, but it sure heated the shop in a hurry. Nobody was using oil, since nat. gas was widely available. A gas furnace would make a great heater, if you could throttle it down a bit so it would run long enough to even out the heated area. I use propane now because A. nat. gas is not available, B. I need a little heat around the clock, to keep machines from rusting and finishes from freezing, etc. and don't want to mess with wood. Plus, the double wall vent system prevents (in theory) any shop fumes from being consumed by the burner.

 

[pitt_md]

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.

That is some serious heat (120K BTU) for the money.