Quanset Hut Heat

rvtech · Nov 3, 2005

My recently purchased property has a 40 x 80 quanset hut that I will be using as my RV storage/service work building. It has water, electric, and sewer. The floor has been half poured, so it has a 40 x 40 concrete floor and the remaining 40 x 40 that I am preparing for concrete. I am insulating the entire building with a "foil foam foil" r14 insulation. It has a 14 x 24 sliding door and a 7 x 32 service door. There are 3 skylights and no windows. I need a heating set up to maintain 50 degrees and be able to warm it up for working. I have an L.P. furnace in the house and there is a line already running to the quanset hut. I have 1 -500 gallon L.P. tank. The building has a center height of 18'. The RV's will be parked 2 wide and 2 deep. They will be as close to the walls as possible given the quanset hut shape. This will allow approximately 4 to 5 feet of floor space down the middle. I'm thinking about L.P. tube style radiant heaters attached to the ceiling. Any ideas or input is appreciated

beenthere · Nov 3, 2005

If me, I'd isolate an area to 'work' in, with insulated walls and lower ceiling, to heat and let the rest of the huge building go without heat. But it isn't my gas bill to pay so I won't mind you doing otherwise. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Also, you didn't ask for suggestions /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif Keep us posted how well it heats, please.

Birdman · Nov 4, 2005

I think some ceiling fans would help. Radiant heat on the ceiling seems to me would take a long time for heat to reach the floor without some help.

kn6md · Nov 4, 2005

You might want to put PEX tubing in your new slab and heat it with something like a Munchkin high efficiency boiler. If you insulate the slab correctly and route the PEX correctly, the slab will take a long time to heat but it will also retain heat much longer. I also like beenthere's idea of isolating the work area and non heated area.

Farwell · Nov 4, 2005

Don't know if you live near a good supply of corn, if you do an in cement floor heating coil (Plex Tubing) heated by an out door corn heated boiler as a heat source. The initial expense will be a little high but if you live at your location for a few years, you should be able to recover your costs in a few years. A friend of mine heats his home using a corn burner in Mid Michigan for approximately $200 a year. I have natural gas in my 30x40 pole barn, use a Hot Dawg forced air heater, keep the building at 47 to 50 degrees all Winter long. The monthly cost last year was an average of $35 a month. I do not know what the higher cost of natural gas will be this Winter so maybe I will switch to corn in 2007. Do an Internet search on the corn heaters.
I also agree with isolating your work area, lowering the ceiling, and just heating the area that needs heating.
Good luck.
Farwell

MadDog · Nov 10, 2005

I have a 26x24 Tek-Supply tubular steel arch barn (pretty much a quonset hut, but much smaller than yours). I heat it only when I am working in it, with a 75K BTU kerosene fired tube heater set towards the middle rear and aimed towards the front, where my working area is. I agree that your going to heat more efficiently if the heater is fan driven and you keep the heat source low.

I am also thinking about running it when heavy snow is expected to keep snow from accumulating on top. I don't know yet whether it will be either effective or economical for that purpose, but I'm pretty sure to find out this winter.

rvtech · Nov 10, 2005

I am considering a kerosene or l.p. tube heater. Are the fumes very strong from using this style heater?

The radiant type vented tube heater that hangs from the ceiling will cost about $1000 for materials. I had those in a previous shop and they worked very well. From what I read they are very efficient too.