larger shop heaters

grumpyvette

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electricity and electrical hook-ups , and electrical heaters that make a difference in a large shop,almost always cost more in the long run than use of a propane or kerosene forced air heater , if your only using the heater in a shop for a few hours a day a few days a week than electrical convenience, is a plus, but if you spend several hours almost daily total cost and efficiency come into play rapidly
a easily portable 40lb propane tank lasts, a good while in my shop and the propane heater stays on the shelf out of the way when not in use.
In my case it heats the 36' x 75' x 16' high shop in a few minutes time, but keep in mind I'm in Florida so it gets used only a few weeks a year and Ive got 21 60" ceiling fans keeping the air tumbling so hot air doesn,t sit up at the rafters, mines only rated at 42,000 btu , I probably need a 80k BTU heater in an ideal world, but its large enough to take the chill out of 30-40 degree days so that working in short sleeve shirts and genes is comfortable
 
I have a Lanair Waste Oil Heater in my shop and have had for quite a few years now. Its neat because I collect the oil all summer and burn it in the winter. The initial cost is kinda high and it is a maintennance type heater but its still worth it for me. I don't have to worry about where to put the oil, and I love the heat. I am from Ohio and this morning it was 0 degrees F outside and I went out in the shop at 6 am,and there was my warm Corvette at about 74 degrees. I keep it on all the time. I usually lower it some in the evening but Its warm in there .When someone wants to come over to work on their car ...I always warn them. "I will be working in the shop when you are here so bring your summer clothes". I had a friend come over a few years ago and he wore his insulated coveralls....He said turn down the heat....I gave him a pair of shorts,and a tee shirt. I really should live in Florida...I don't like it cold
 
If you're not concerned about working with local code people and spending a little more, consider going with natural gas forced air heater. I bought a 45K BTU heater on eBay that included the stainless steel vent for about $450. I had a spare Honeywell thermostat that I used. Mounted the thermostat just thru the door from the house, makes it very easy to turn the heat on when needed. Where I live you can't do anything as a homeowner without a licenses (electrical, gas etc).

This is the heater I bought.
http://www.hamiltonhomeproducts.com/furnaces-garheaters.htm

Both your links were to unvented type heaters that would cause you to breath the products of combustion. One of which as you know is water, that tends to raise the humidity level, which is not a good for a lot of things. Here in Oklahoma when its 40F outside I can be comfortable in about 30 minutes. When I had an unvented heater before, I would have water condensing on the concrete floor.

Rick
 
I see a lot of info on garage heaters in this section but not much on insulation. I just put up a 40x60x12 pole building so there is nothing but a thin layer of steel between me and the outside weather.
Does anyone have any recommendations on Insulation R-value for walls and ceilings.
I was thinking R19 on the walls and R30 for the ceilings.
Should the electric be done before the insulation or insulation then electric?
I read grumpy put fans to keep the heat circulating. Does anyone else have any tips to keep the garage warm?

Im intending on hanging a couple LP heaters from the ceiling to be able to heat it up fairly quick.

I'll be using the garage mostly on weekends. I live in eastern PA.

Thanks
Frank
 
step one
only consider fire proof , and highly water absorbent resistant insulation,should be used in a auto shop, do the research

step two
carefully measure the area to be insulated and calculate the cost of the insulation, remember theres at least 15% wasted MINIMUM
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ITQ5D...y=9012039&hvtargid=pla-273265664819&camp=3638

it only gets rather cold here about 1 week a year ,
winter in south florida lasts about 36-72 hours most years,
Heat is rarely something we have a need for.
I purchased a kerosene garage heater for the colder mornings
, and in the last 20 years I think I've burned through about 6 gallons of kerosene ,
or preferable mineral spirits, as the odor is far less.
but I purchased a kerosene heater for the shop years ago,
its reasonably effective and not difficult to use and a couple gallons of fuel lasts all day if you were to want to run it that long,
(use mineral spirits as fuel it smells much better)
I rarely need to run it more than 45 minutes, just to get the chill out
a few minutes running is enough take the edge out of the low shop temps around here,
(usually high 30F at worst) but of course your conditions are a bit more extreme,
so Id have no doubt youll have to keep it running a few minutes


shphet.jpg


step three
in a garage IVE generally found that running the electrical wiring in conduit surface mounted is the easiest to work with and maintain

step 4

put up some interesting posters, it always seems to get your mind off the cold and get a males blood flow up to speed
sexy2.jpg




http://www.doityourself.com/stry/insulating-your-garage

http://www.home-garage-help.com/garage-insulating.html

http://www.diyhomeinsulation.com/tablegarage.php

http://www.ehow.com/video_4420126_garag ... -tips.html

http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/how-to ... html#step1

http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/ener ... ge_r11.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmxrRWMd ... re=related



you might want to look thru these threads also

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=5

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=297

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=550
 
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