Suggestions for staying warm in da Shop?

Insulated walls, separate your feet from concrete floor by rubber mat or even sheet of plywood. My small shop is insulated and with a large 3/4” piece of conveyor belt on the concrete plus Insulated steel garage door. As for heat an infrared heater mounted near the ceiling facing straight down over my usual position heats the machine and me. It has two settings - one tube or both tubes. 400 watt or 800 watt. During this cold spell the 400 watt has been running all the time but usually I have it on a timer. One hour on, one hour off. When I go there I may or not turn on one or both if required.
 
Hey, you guys could always move to Hawaii. Think about it - 81 degrees right now, everything is blue or green and all you have to do is dodge the occasional hurricane or two. I remember working on an aircraft in a Kansas winter; -40 degrees and we had to stick our hands in a heater hose to get the tools to let go without losing skin. Nope, not for me, I'm staying right here!
 
The plain-surfaced (not glowing tube) IR heat panels are recommended for an
infrequently used space; you can turn 'em on and get instant sunlight-like heating
on your hands, even without heating the walls, floor, tools, and air.
Some look like paintings, hung on the wall, but for a shop you want ceiling
mount (and maybe dedicated wiring).
https://www.amazon.com/Marley-CP372...15385235&sr=8-4&keywords=radiant+heater+panel

Prices are all over the map, maybe an architect or HVAC shop will have useful info.

The unvented burners are the worst. Even if the propane burns clean, it emits
water vapor, and when you turn it off and leave, that will condense on... everything.
 
Thanks everyone for the suggestions, saw a couple of types I'd not known about. Budget is too tight currently to upgrade to anything decent. I've got to get a DRO on the mill - I had to suck 'scrapage' on 30 pcs a couple of weeks ago.

In hindsight I should have described the garage shop better. It's detached, 25x25x8 Ceilings. Wood siding exterior, 1/2" wafer board interior.
Ceiling is totally covered. So much so that I had to cut a section out to access the attic when there was a leak.
They put 6" of insulation up there, but as I found out when I re-wired the panel there's nothing in the walls.
Floor we've got covered. My Better-Half has snagged a bunch of decent (various) kinds of floor covers.
I've got it so packed now that I can't re-do the walls. A friend offered me a 3t heatpump that was on his 30x50 pole barn that he replaced with a 5t unit but I haven't gotten around to grabbing it. I also don't know how to install it properly. I would need to find some empty wall space and then the electric is a whole 'nother matter.
I had the 'jet engine' propane going when I made the post and when I went out to the shop the tank had emptied and the shop stank from that smell you get when you empty a bottle. I had a 100 pounder that an acquaintance 'borrowed' when his furnace crapped and never returned and I'm making do with 20 pounders.
I've got the 240v heater mounted 3' from the ceiling and it does a decent job when it's in the 30's - 40's. (Picture at end of post)
The thing that is getting me is that I can't keep my outer fingers and feet from getting chilled and going numb.
My father had some sort of difficulty with the same issue but alas I didn't pay attention when I should have.
And of course all that metal just loves to soak up the cold. So that gets to you hands and then if it gets too warm it starts to condensate.
I'm frustrated, trying to make some extra cash and I can't handle the cold as I could when I was a tad younger.
woodchucker said:
Same here. My snowmobiling boots were felt bootie inside a rubber lower and heavy nylon upper. They were warm and comfortable. I never see those anymore.
Click to expand...
Bob Korves said:
The ones with the felt liners are called Pac boots.
Click to expand...
EXACTLY! can't find them anywhere. Some of those 'UGG' boots look doable with the flat soles for my bad foot, but all I've seen in the stores are for the gals.

Picked it up for $25 at an estate sale.
1515385173717.png
 
middle.road said:
Thanks everyone for the suggestions, saw a couple of types I'd not known about. Budget is too tight currently to upgrade to anything decent. I've got to get a DRO on the mill - I had to suck 'scrapage' on 30 pcs a couple of weeks ago.

In hindsight I should have described the garage shop better. It's detached, 25x25x8 Ceilings. Wood siding exterior, 1/2" wafer board interior.
Ceiling is totally covered. So much so that I had to cut a section out to access the attic when there was a leak.
They put 6" of insulation up there, but as I found out when I re-wired the panel there's nothing in the walls.
Floor we've got covered. My Better-Half has snagged a bunch of decent (various) kinds of floor covers.
I've got it so packed now that I can't re-do the walls. A friend offered me a 3t heatpump that was on his 30x50 pole barn that he replaced with a 5t unit but I haven't gotten around to grabbing it. I also don't know how to install it properly. I would need to find some empty wall space and then the electric is a whole 'nother matter.
I had the 'jet engine' propane going when I made the post and when I went out to the shop the tank had emptied and the shop stank from that smell you get when you empty a bottle. I had a 100 pounder that an acquaintance 'borrowed' when his furnace crapped and never returned and I'm making do with 20 pounders.
I've got the 240v heater mounted 3' from the ceiling and it does a decent job when it's in the 30's - 40's. (Picture at end of post)
The thing that is getting me is that I can't keep my outer fingers and feet from getting chilled and going numb.
My father had some sort of difficulty with the same issue but alas I didn't pay attention when I should have.
And of course all that metal just loves to soak up the cold. So that gets to you hands and then if it gets too warm it starts to condensate.
I'm frustrated, trying to make some extra cash and I can't handle the cold as I could when I was a tad younger.


EXACTLY! can't find them anywhere. Some of those 'UGG' boots look doable with the flat soles for my bad foot, but all I've seen in the stores are for the gals.

Picked it up for $25 at an estate sale.
View attachment 253353
Click to expand...
Un-vented heaters leave water vapor in the building as the main byproduct of combustion. Every thing in your shop will be rusting with that kind of heater. I recommend you get something where the combustion gases are vented to the outdoors, or to electric heat, or a heat pump.
 
Bob Korves said:
Un-vented heaters leave water vapor in the building as the main byproduct of combustion. Every thing in your shop will be rusting with that kind of heater. I recommend you get something where the combustion gases are vented to the outdoors, or to electric heat, or a heat pump.
Click to expand...
Heck everything in the shops rusts anyway. :grin:
Seriously though, I've been using it the last couple of weeks to get the temp above 50° and then I let the electric unit try to handle it.
It's just that when it drops into the 30's with lows around 12° it's tough.
It's like right now at the computer with the house @66°, there's chill enough that my ring & pinky fingers go numb and start hurting.
Just before your reply I went and ran them under warm water... :-(
 
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