What's a good kero or diesel heater to get for shop?

[sixdogs]

I'm looking for help to buy some sort of salamander or whatever heater for the 42' x 60' uninsulated shop but I know nothing about them and am confused over which ones are reliable and which ones aren't. Diesel is my first choice and some kerosene ones say they are checked for use with diesel. Doesn't say you can use diesel so not sure what that means. Kerosene is pricey while diesel and propane are pretty cheap. 150,000 BTU, maybe more seems like the right amount?

Propane would also work but none seem to throw enough BTU's.

Salamander styles come to mind as a good choice only because I don't know any different. There is the VAL6 heater that looks terrific and uses diesel but it seems they only sell through a wholesale guy and then a dealer so likely they are marked up to be expensive. Can you use any of these heaters indoors?

Can anyone point me in a direction or suggest a type or brand name that works for you and has been reliable?

 

[KennyG]

How often are you heating the space and how warm do you want it? If you are heating it a lot of the time, you really need to insulate it. A salamander will do a good job of heating the local area you are working in but trying to heat an entire uninsulated building is probably a losing battle.

I just took a quick look on line and it seems prices are up on these. I think they are all quite similar and pretty simple. I have a 70k Remington (from Menards) which is an economy priced brand but it has been 100% trouble free for over 5 years, even though I don't do the annual cleaning you are supposed to do. I use mine to heat the pole barn up until I get the wood stove going so I don't use it for a lot of extended runs. I use only diesel in mine and am surprised that there's no odor. The noise level is annoying though, and this will be true for almost all of the salamanders.

 

[bigtiller]

I used a 60,000 btu LB White portable heater with propane for several years. I built a rolling cart to put it on, added a firewall to the cart and put a 100 pound tank on the cart. It rolled around the garage to various projects. It is now hanging in an out building and ready to use.

L.B. White | Guardian® Forced Air Heaters for Pig Buildings

 

[George2615]

I just bought a 135,000 BTU salamander at TSC about a month ago to supplement heating my garage when I need to work out there. TSC mailed out a 10% coupon so that knocked off almost $30. from the $299. price. The heater has its own T-stat and will run on #1 or 2 kerosene or diesel.
I already had an 80,000 BTU mobile home furnace in the garage but the 135K warms it up quick then the furnace can maintain it to where I have it set about 60*.
I have a 24x24 garage with an 18X32 attached pole barn. Only 1152 Sq. Ft total but nice to have heat when I need to work on something. Your space is a little more than double mine but the 135K is rated to heat up to 3375 Sq.Ft. The next model up is a 215K BTU and heats up to 5300 Sq.Ft. for about $100 more. Name on the heater is Master.

 

[sixdogs]

I know I can't heat an uninsulated metal building but can warm the area I want to work in during moderate temperatures. That's good enough and will give me another 30 or so days when I can work out there. That's all I'm looking to do.

 

[George2615]

A friend of mine built a 40x40x16 pole barn a few months ago. It is currently not insulated. He just bought the 215K salamander to heat his building when he needs to be in there. He hasn't decided yet but he will be adding either a wood stove or a furnace of some type.
I keep my pole barn heated (for my guard dogs) to 45* in winter. I separate the main garage from the pole barn with a tarp. The main garage stays between 25-30* even when below 0 outside. When I need to work in the garage I roll up the tarp, set the furnace T-stat at 60* and the salamander at 60*. It only takes about 15-20 minutes to get both bldgs. up to 60. The salamander, like the furnace, shuts off when the stat is satisfied. The salamander will certainly take the chill off the area so you can work in there.

 

[Jstpssng]

I had a 40K BTU Knipco that my father gave me which used to be backup heat for one of the greenhouses. It wouldn't heat my entire garage in winter (No walls or roof.) The last time that I used it before it died was to install a block heater when it was too cold for the 'Bota to start; -10'F plus the wind was howling; I stayed warm and got the tractor going even though the heater never worked. (My 3rd and last Kat heater in <5 years... but that's a story for my own thread.)

You might also consider a Miller furnace for your purposes. Around here you can find a used unit for a reasonable price, and if memory serves me they burn about .7 glons per operating hour.

 

[bucktaker]

I dont like the fumes from kero or diesel... I have a Propane tube style for like you are describing......connects to a 20 lb bottle or larger if necessary

 

[Jstpssng]

I dont like the fumes from kero or diesel... I have a Propane tube style for like you are describing......connects to a 20 lb bottle or larger if necessary

Just out of curiosity, do you have your tank inside or outside the building while it's running? I've seen the former many times but itnever seemed like a good idea to me.

 

[bucktaker]

Just out of curiosity, do you have your tank inside or outside the building while it's running? I've seen the former many times but itnever seemed like a good idea to me.

Six foot hose is what it came with.... Not sure why that would be a problem

 

[sixdogs]

I dont like the fumes from kero or diesel... I have a Propane tube style for like you are describing......connects to a 20 lb bottle or larger if necessary

How big is your heater and how much propane do you use?

 

[farmer2009]

Have a 125,000 btu Mr. Heater brand. It's tested for diesel and has a fuel pressure gauge. I've burned kerosene and diesel in it. When I was burning kerosene the hoses would dry out and crack. Needing replaced every year. After I switched to diesel the fuel gauge gummed up but hoses stopped cracking.

If you're willing to put in a 100lb or 250 gallon propane tank in then a L.B. White or Hired Hand heaters are very good. Pick your size. I have 24 of the Hired Hand 225k btu heaters and are very reliable. But that size needs at least a 250 gallon tank IMO.

 

[PhysAssist]

Have a 125,000 btu Mr. Heater brand. It's tested for diesel and has a fuel pressure gauge. I've burned kerosene and diesel in it. When I was burning kerosene the hoses would dry out and crack. Needing replaced every year. After I switched to diesel the fuel gauge gummed up but hoses stopped cracking.

If you're willing to put in a 100lb or 250 gallon propane tank in then a L.B. White or Hired Hand heaters are very good. Pick your size. I have 24 of the Hired Hand 225k btu heaters and are very reliable. But that size needs at least a 250 gallon tank IMO.

I believe our Kero-Diesel "salamander" is a 135K Master Pro from TSC, and we don't like to burn Kero because it smells and we both end up with headaches, but we haven't had any problems at all burning diesel with it, and it heats our virtually uninsulated 45'x35'x16' pole barn at least well enough to work in without frostbite even when it's in the negative degrees outside.

We do have a vapor barrier with about 1/2" of fiberglass and radiant heat barrier on the roof, but it works better to keep it cooler in summer than warm in winter.

YMMV

 

[newbury]

I've a similar situation to the OP but need a portable solution to move between 4 uninsulated shops.
I'm in north Mississippi (average low only gets down to 32 degrees from January 10-20) and I'm from Vermont and comfortable working down to 50 degrees. So what I really need is something to "flash" heat for a few hours in the morning while I putter around in the shop

Does anyone have experience with the "radiant" heaters, like ProTemp Portable Kerosene Radiant Heater — 70,000 BTU, Model# PT-70-SS | Kerosene Heaters| Northern Tool + Equipment, which might be a knockoff of the VAL6 which the OP mentioned?

About any hardware store, big box store or northern tools, that handle keroseen / diesel heaters, can get the MiTM - Val6 knock off - you need to ask for them to order one for you . . .. Northern tools has their own version, which is a bit cheaper (constrution/materials) then the MiTM ~
Here is the parrent company that markets them ~ http://www.pinnacleint.com/products.html
Mi-T-M Hot & Cold Water Pressure Washers Compressor Generators
ProTemp Oil-Fired Radiant Kerosene/Diesel Heater — 125,000 BTU, 3125 Sq. Ft. Heating Capacity, Model# PT125OFR | Kerosene Heaters| Northern Tool + Equipment
and another new comer - V40Heater - Like No Other

from http://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=269902&DisplayType=flat

I'm thinking the radiant heating may be very good for my needs.

 

[MarkF48]

Anyone have any comments on the CO a kerosene salamander heater might throw out? I have one I use in my barn, but I've often wondered if there's any risk of succumbing to the CO it puts out.

 

[KennyG]

Anyone have any comments on the CO a kerosene salamander heater might throw out? I have one I use in my barn, but I've often wondered if there's any risk of succumbing to the CO it puts out.

Any time you use an open combustion device for extended periods of time, it would be wise to have a CO monitor. They are very low priced and it's easy to be sure. If I remember correctly, the instructions suggest cracking a door or window when you use the salamander units. Because I only use mine 10 to 20 minutes at a time I don't worry much about it, but I am going to add a CO monitor in the shop this year.

 

[dodge man]

I have what I think is a Redi Heater, somewhere around 75,000 btu's. I always cracked a door when I ran it. I have a 28 x 30 insulated garage and it heated it well. I now have a LP furnace hanging in the corner. I know mine was for kerosene only, not diesel, and when it was cold out, it would go through 5 gallons in a few days just to keep it above freezing. The Lp furnace is much more convenient and trouble free. My kero heater keeps getting a crack in the pump that I keep glueing to fix it.

 

[Jstpssng]

Anyone have any comments on the CO a kerosene salamander heater might throw out? I have one I use in my barn, but I've often wondered if there's any risk of succumbing to the CO it puts out.

I got CO poisoning years ago from using a propane heater and forklift in a cold storage building for apples.
To this day I can't stand the smell of propane.

 

[bucktaker]

How big is your heater and how much propane do you use?

I went and looked its an All-PRo it has low 50,000 and high 85,000 settings never really timed the usage but i only use it on a 20 lb bbq tank

try this link
All Pro heaters - heater parts and accessories

 

[teejk]

I heated my uninsulated 2 stall garage (NY) with a 80,000 BTU kero salamander. Had to leave the garage door cracked on start-up and shut down (it was a very nasty "poof" of foul smelling stuff). But it churned out a lot of heat quickly. Also learned to keep it clear of the hose from my shop vac! Here I bought a 60,000 BTU propane unit...Kero is expensive but on a "per/hour" basis I think it is cheaper. I hunted out of a "shack" that used a table top kero heater (keroSun as I recall)...it required a little "lead time" but it worked well and didn't pose the same risks as a hot forced-air flame.