Shop heat decision

[Reddinr]

I'm thinking of upgrading my shop heat. Shop is 24x36x9 Ft. 6" insulation on walls, 6" in ceilings. I have two large propane vented blower type heaters mounted near the ceiling. They are really loud and the shop is unevenly heated and they suck up the propane. I'm thinking of changing that out. I would like to stick with propane. Being quiet and reliable is a priority. What are people's thoughts on these options: Hot water/steam radiant heat or a small forced-air furnace. I do woodworking and metal working. I would need to keep dusting the radiators if I had radiators I guess. I wouldn't mind keeping the shop at about 50F through the winter and 65F when I'm working. Outside winter temps. are usually in the 30's-50's but it very occasionally dip to 10-20F.

 

[whitmore]

I'm thinking of upgrading my shop heat. Shop is 24x36x9 Ft. 6" insulation on walls, 6" in ceilings. I have two large propane vented blower type heaters mounted near the ceiling. They are really loud and the shop is unevenly heated ... Outside winter temps. are usually in the 30's-50's but it very occasionally dip to 10-20F.

Forced air will work best if you want your woodwork precise, because there's frequently a rough-cut phase,
stacking to 'relax' the wood, and final dimensioning afterward. The stacks will equilibrate best if
there's forced air, or at least a whole-room fan (ceiling fan in center might be enough). Downside: there's
a sawdust/airfilter ongoing maintenance issue.

As you probably know, a heat pump (which both heats in winter and cools/dehumidifies in summer)
can be effective in your mild climate. Turning it off during the coldest week of the year would make
the shop uncomfortable 2% of the time, but save big on the electric bill.

Radiator heat can work, but if you move things around the shop (most folk do) the usual baseboard emitters
are problematic. Tubes embedded in a concrete slab floor, on the other hand... are impossible to
do as an upgrade.

As a cheapskate, I'd look into ceiling fans to even out the heating that's there already.

 

[RJSakowski]

I would opt for the forced air furnace. Hot water/steam would be slow to heat up a cold shop. Overhead propane fired radiant heating can be effective at keeping you warm and has a fairly quick response but if your intent is to stabilize your machines. it won't help much there.

 

[MikeInOr]

I have a mini-split heatpump that does a really nice job. Much more efficient that a straight electric heater in my neck of the woods and much less hassle than propane. I installed it myself.

When I was growing up my father put an old natural gas forced air furnace in the corner of the garage... without any ducting. It did a nice job. Make sure you put some kind of dust collection on the intake to filter the shop air and keep the innards relatively clean and efficient.

 

[Reddinr]

Thanks for the comments. Very helpful. You guys from my neck of the woods understand the "moisture" issues I'm sure. I'm hoping that keeping is reasonably warm will help with that too. I'll need to check out the $$$ for heat pump install and operation vs. propane. I think our electric rate is somewhere in the $0.11/KWHr. around here. Propane varies in price quite a bit.

 

[tjb]

I converted a dirt-floor pole barn into a nice shop. It is 24 x 48 with an L wing added on to it that is 16 x 20. I know I'm from the South, but we get some reasonably cold weather down here as well. (Tonight, we're headed for about 23 with a high tomorrow of 32.) The building has metal siding with a shingle roof, the entire front side (48') has four garage doors on it, there is no insulation on the inside, and the ceilings are exposed all the way to the gables. I had a natural gas forced air heat system installed by a qualified HVAC guy. He installed vents in all the critical work stations, and it works great. I turn the system off at night and only use it as necessary. On the absolute coldest days, it can stay pretty 'cool', but I've never had to stop working because it was just too unbearably cold - and it's never necessary to wear a jacket while working. Usually, I'll need to manually turn off the heat while I'm still working because it gets too warm. In the farthest corner of the shop I had a vent fan wall unit installed to keep the air moving. (AC would be nice down here, but not very efficient in my type of building.) The real trick to making the system viable is that the heat exchanger is in the 'attic', that is, up in the gable. It takes up no floor space, and it has a filter element that is easily accessible. If your shop is like most, you'll need to keep an eye on that pretty regularly. Obviously, the system is not as optimal as a home unit with proper insulation/sheet rock/etc., but it's really nice for a shop. You need to be comfortable, but when you're working, it takes far less heat than when you're resting. I tried the space heater approach with very poor results (you're not always going to be that close to the centralized heat source). Bottom line: I've been very pleased with this setup. I live in a farming community, so I have several friends who, like me, have converted barns into shops. NONE has a shop as uniformly comfortable in cold weather as mine. If you can get a forced air system installed without using up floor space, give it some serious consideration. A good - and honest - HVAC guy can help you decide it it's right for your application.

Regards,
Terry

 

[Hukshawn]

If the option is there, boiler fired (can be a tankless hot water unit or a tank) radiant heat piped through the floor.
That’s the most efficient heat there is. Keeps a constant temperature for the cheapest price. I used to work for an hvac guy and we installed lots of these in garages, driveways, and shop spaces as well as homes. Can’t beat it.

Or, it would be forced air for me.
I have a hotdog unit heater in my garage and I had set up a blower on the other side oft he garage to move the cold air pockets once the unit had shut off. But found in order to get consistent heat, it would have to be running constantly. Annoying.

Find a used furnace if possible and some duct work. Run a plenum up to the ceiling then a trunk across the ceiling in a corner with vents every few feet to blow the heat across the shop. You could build a small shack around the furnace equipped with air filters to keep the dust out and cut down on noise. Sounds like a fun project.

 

[jcp]

I have a 30 x 40 metal shop with batt insulation. When I decided to heat it I found a gymnasium heater from a school remodel job. It's natural gas fired and while I can certainly tell when I've been using it by the gas bill, it's tolerable. As far as making the shop comfortable, it's great. Got an extended range thermostat so I can set it at 40 to keep the bathroom from freezing.

 

[Glenn Brooks]

Shop heat? What is shop heat?

Seriously, one answer could be to install some kind of ceiling fan or desk top box fan to keep air circulating during the winter. Then you might even lower your temp settings when you are not in the building, as the air circulation will keep condensation from forming.

I don’t have any heat at all and have several,periods throughout the winter where condensation becomes horrendous - water literally weeps off my machine tools and runs down on the floor. Last time this happened was December. I plugged in a cheapo 18” box fan from Costco slowing cold air in the direction of my mill and lathes. next morning the machines were dry as a bone. Simply amazing.

Only thing I don’t about is cost to run a fan, versus an efficient natural gas or propane heater.

Glenn

 

[Cadillac STS]

Don't forget the simple things. Like wearing a few thin layers of clothing if it is cold. Or a light jacket to throw on while out there.

Ceiling fan is helpful to circulate the air and get even heat.

One trick is to install a furnace with a thermostat, the older kind round with the mercury switch. The thermostat is supposed to be mounted level for accurate degree readings but you can mount it with a tilt that allows you to set the heat at 45 degrees or so while you are not there so it keeps some heat and won't allow freezing.

Search Craigslist or Canadian version for furnaces. Frequently used ones are there and they are there because employees of a furnace place are selling things pulled out and refurbed from a new install. Some employee (Or owner) working on the side for himself. So you have access to the lower cost equipment and more important maybe an expert in HVAC to help out for free...