Heating The Shop

mcoak

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I am in the process of finishing my shop. Finished size will be 15 ft x 30 ft with a 9 foot ceiling. Walls will be R29 and ceiling R42.
One of my open questions is how to heat. My options are propane or electric. Looking for a 500 gallon propane tank and not finding one locally.

The walls are open now but the electricians will be coming in a month. So I need to make a decision and get the hardware lined up.

Thanks,
Mitch


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this is probably too late but a heated slab with lots of insulation underneath .
my electrician heats his shop with electric- hydronic which is basically a very efficient electric hot water heater with no tank.
he circulates the water through pex tubing in the slab.
Dan
 
My shop area is 24'x28'x8' and ive used a single 220v electric heater called " the hot one" for around 25 years in SW Ohio. I start it when I take the dog out in the morning then 30 or 40 minutes later the room has gone from 35 to 60 degrees. A lot depends on the type of weather you get in your area. My heater gets shut off when I'm done for the day, about 4 hours later.
 
If I spent more time in the shop during the winter, I'd probably have a ceiling mount, forces air, natural gas heater. It's likely the most economic way to go, for a heater installation in an already built garage. But when I have to be out there, I just run a couple of propane heaters (with a window cracked open). Not as comfortable as the house, but it takes the edge away from the cold.
 
We have natural gas available so I put in a ceiling forced air heater of about 100KBTU for our 24 x 24 x 9' shop space. I put it in a corner to optimize air circulation.

Enough BTUs to bring the temperature up really fast when needed - and the AC power feed for the heater is connected to the lighting circuit so no lights- no heat and no likelihood of leaving the heater on over a weekend. Warm and toasty in the shop is a good thing!

If you don't have natural gas available, propane is the best option - much cheaper than electric for heating. We looked into a propane tank for our standby generator and if you shop around several propane suppliers will rent you a tank for $50-$75 a year, even with minimal propane gallonage. It didn't make sense to buy a tank if rental was so cheap. Definitely check with all available propane suppliers.

Stu
 
I live in a warm area so I just use a small propane heater, Designed for inside usage. But one that I have seen and is what I want if I build a separate shop is oil fired. It uses waste engine oil, cooking oil, atf, etc. Filters it then pressurizes it and heat is good, It is like a forced air heater but uses the waste oils for fuel. I have been around some in Alaska, and have seen some in other places, and even found plans for one on line at one time. I know in AK, it heated an auto hobby shop that is bigger than most mechanics shops, and even with the doors open in the middle of winter it got nice and toasty in there. Some times to hot. But if you and your friends change your own oils, or you make a deal with the local shop, it is cheap heat.
 
My shop is 14 x 20, and I use a ceiling hung 5000 watt 220 volt heater. It does the job, but I find the cost a bit high. I have R16 in the walls and 9 inch fiberglass bats in the ceiling. My floor (concrete) has a vapor barrier but no insulation. I think that is where I went wrong. The floor tends to get very cold. While the heating of shop is very good our electric rates are relatively high. If my shop was larger and I had a bit more room I would probably have gone to a pellet stove set up with a wall thermometer.

One of the heating problems is when the heat is off for a long period the tools and machines get cold and takes some time to rewarm, this tends to waste heating energy.

Paul
 
Thanks to everyone for their responses. Too late to install a heated slab in the garage. :chunky: Looking at energy costs in my area propane is less expensive than electric. All of the propane suppliers in my area have very poor online reviews. That's one of the main reasons I am even considering electricity. I'm reluctant to lease a propane tank since that locks me into a single supplier.

Does anyone have experience with ceiling mounted propane fired radiant heaters?

I won't be in the shop much during the week. I do want to keep the shop warm enough to prevent condensation on the machines. And I'll turn the heat up on weekends when I'm in the shop.

Mitch
 
The type of heat you use... depends on the weather.

If it were me... I would look into what is called 'dual-fuel'. A furnace (nat gas or propane), with a HP attached.
The controller has a set-point (outdoor temp) above and the HP runs, below and the gas furnace runs. One can get a thermostat that does the controller function.

Another approach would be an invertor drive mini-split...
 
Little different climate but I have been very happy with overhead (doesn't take up floor space) natural gas.
I have two 75 KBTU units for the forward and back of the space. Keep the garage at about 10C minimum and just use the forward heater when I am in the shop. Very seldom need both at the same time.
 
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