How are you guys heating your shops/garages?
- Thread starter Porno Joe
- Start date
In my shop it has radiant heat, heats up very quickly, maybe 10 minutes and you can take your jacket off. Best way to describe it is it can be 40 degrees outside but if the sun is out and your in direct sunlight it feels a lot warmer simply because the of the sun rays.
My heaters work the same way, it doesn't heat the air specifically, but heats the objects in the room which heat the air, hence the name "radiant heat". After 10 minutes they are plenty warm to work.
In my garage (separate from shop) I have an air heater/fan and it feels totally different. With the air heater if I open the garage I feel like all the warm air is gone, with the radiant it doesn't feel as cold because your still being heated. I notice my hands get cold in the air heater rather than the radiant heat.
Here's the shop setup. Probably a bit overkill for a smaller shop but I have seen radiant heaters that curve around the shop so you only need to run one.
Thermostat
Heaters
My heaters work the same way, it doesn't heat the air specifically, but heats the objects in the room which heat the air, hence the name "radiant heat". After 10 minutes they are plenty warm to work.
In my garage (separate from shop) I have an air heater/fan and it feels totally different. With the air heater if I open the garage I feel like all the warm air is gone, with the radiant it doesn't feel as cold because your still being heated. I notice my hands get cold in the air heater rather than the radiant heat.
Here's the shop setup. Probably a bit overkill for a smaller shop but I have seen radiant heaters that curve around the shop so you only need to run one.
Thermostat
Heaters
Attachments
well I know you may have a floor already, but I have floor heat running a tankless high efficient propane boiler
Not really. Depending on where you live there are lots of places you can get dry already split. Just gotta stack it.
Electric log splitters take alot of the work out of it too.
But I say this as someone who doesn't mind doing it himself. A little exercise never hurt me none!!
My buddy is wood heat in his 22'x22' garage and with his fan in behind the stove to move the air it's super dry heat and it's awesome. No better heat Imo.
looking around the web I came across this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Pleasant-Hearth-Cabinet-Pellet-120-Pound/dp/B008R514Z0/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_1
seems reasonably priced, especially with the 120 lb hopper size.
has the pseudo-thermostat on the side, and thats fine with me.
Also still considering radiant heaters, though I dont know much about them. something like this:
http://www.teksupply.com/contractor...ssories-ts_tube_heaters;f6aae374_103205N.html
question about radiant heaters, could i vent them into the chimney already there for my natural gas furnace?
http://www.amazon.com/Pleasant-Hearth-Cabinet-Pellet-120-Pound/dp/B008R514Z0/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_1
seems reasonably priced, especially with the 120 lb hopper size.
has the pseudo-thermostat on the side, and thats fine with me.
Also still considering radiant heaters, though I dont know much about them. something like this:
http://www.teksupply.com/contractor...ssories-ts_tube_heaters;f6aae374_103205N.html
question about radiant heaters, could i vent them into the chimney already there for my natural gas furnace?
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Biggest key to heating/cooling any facility is insulation. Keep the building well insulated (easiest done when built) is so important. I had insulation custom cut for my walls so there was no seems/joints in 2 different rolls between my posts. Also make sure all doors, garage doors, etc are well insulated doors and the same w/ windows. Drafts at all will certainly kill your heating. I have 24" of insulation in my ceiling too. I hardly ever run my LP furnace in the winter to keep the shop at 50deg. Like it may run every 2 days for just a bit to keep it that warm. If I'm in the shop I usually keep in 65-70. and once it warms up (approx 20min-30min tops depending how high you set temp). I do have 4 ceiling fans in my shop and highly recommend them. It was going to be $20K to install floor heat in my shop so I opted for the $4K heater and AC unit combo. Yes, my shop is Air Conditioned and without question, I would put AC in a shop before heat again. I can always use a torpedo heater/wood stove etc if needed to heat the shop but in the summer nothing like working in 75 degrees vs 95degrees. Floor heat would be awesome and is great once installed, just bit pricey upfront. But it all depends on the size of the building too. I run LP heat in my house too.
We have the radiant heaters in a shop at work and they are awesome. Being a work building I couldn't tell you how much they cost but I know last winter when I was working I had to open a bay door to cool off. The shop is about 2500 sq ft and is completely uninsulated.
They can be cost friendly. It's not so cost friendly if they're on 24/7 and heat a large area.
My shop is 40X42, 12' ceilings open beam 6" wood stud construction with one 10'X12' rollup and one tandem 38'X12' hangar door which is covered with 3" thick styro insulation panels. Ceiling has 10"-12" of insulation. It stays at 55* when OAT is 30* and If I need to warm it up for painting, etc I have an 80,000 BTU gas heater that will bring it to 65-70 in 15 minutes. It also stays at 60*-70* when it's 100* outside, as long as I keep the doors closed.
