Heating your shop......ideas?

how big is your shop and where do you live

-- kosta Virginia Beach, VA http://www.kostasworkshop.blogspot.com/

Shop area is roughly 19’ x 29’. I live in southern PA just north of the MD border. It can get pretty cold here. Its been down around 32-33 degrees a few times in the past week in the shop with the cold snap. With normal winter temps outside it may only get down around 35-36 in the shop.

Forced air, either natural gas or LP, is the best way to go. A ceiling mounted unit heater using 100% outside air for combustion would be my personal and professional recommendation.

-- If at first you don't succeed then maybe skydiving isn't for you.

I agree with the forced air – LP, ceiling mounted. That is what I have in my garage. Knew a HVAC contractor that bought a bunch of apt furnace units for a complex, was able to get one for about $500, and installed it myself, had a local contractor come out, paid $75 to check everything. Good thing, I had the wrong shutoff valve installed and had a small leak. My shop is 24×24.

small leak = big boom!. Good thing he checked it.

On the note of return air. I have had 2 units in 2 different outbuilding shops that the HVAC contractor just let it cycle. If you pull air from outside, then you are wasting fuel to heat cold air instead of already warm air. I just put 3 filters infront of the return. If you feel like you have to pull air from other than the shop, then pull from the attic, which will be slightly warmer than outside.

I think there is one called the bulldog. that is a gas or lp ceiling mounted self contained unit for around $500 made for up to a 3 car garage.

My vote is for a radiant overhead NG heater. Great heat and economical. It’s warm from the floor to the ceiling. I have had forced air in another garage and it took for ever to warm all the way down to the floor unless you leave the thermostat high all the time. Just my opinion though.

My “Workshop in the Woods” is 24’ x 28’, and at 46 degrees north there is plenty of cold weather. For heat, I installed a Reznor 35000 BTU ceiling mounted heater. There is a 250 gallon propane tank just outside the back wall. This heater has the separated combustion feature, thus there is no open flame, and all products of combustion are vented to the outside.

I can usually get my shop up into the high 60’s within about 15 minutes.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

I have a “Hotdawg” heater by Moline and I love it. It heats my 2 1/2 car garage no problem and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

-- Chip -----------http://www.penmanchip.com-----------------Micah 6:8

I have in floor heat but it’s too late for that with you concrete floor.

A safe and maybe cheaper way with no gas would be an electric hot water system. A small hot water tank and a 2 gallon per minute circulation pump piped to a force flow heater or even an old car radiator with a fan attached should keep it toasty.
Small HWT – $200
Pump – $75
Unit heater (used at scrap yard) $40
Pipe and fittings $60
Electrical parts $100

Total $475 for parts

-- Tom From Winnipeg

Are there any good ceiling/wall mounted heaters that run on 110/220 (no gas)?

~the turtle

-- ~the turtle

Yes Turtle! Cadet makes a very good heater called “The Hot One” It’s a 240 volt heater. It comes in two versions. A 20 amp and a 30 amp. I purchased the 30 amp model and it puts out a lot of heat and moves a lot of air throughout the shop. I paid $221.00 from A BOY here in Portland Or. A lot depends on the size of your shop and how long each day you spend in the shop. My shop is 21’ X 19’. I can bring the temp of my shop up from high 30s F. to high 60s F. in about a 1/2 hour. My shop is insulated with R19 in the walls and R30 in the ceiling. The heater isn’t as cheap to operate as a gas radiant heater but that wasn’t a good option for me so I went with electric forced air. Another consideration will be the cost of your fuel source. Some areas have fairly cheap electric rates.

http://www.cadetco.com/show_product.php?prodid=1012

-- www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops

Today I finished having heat installed in my garage workshop (gets cold here in Michigan). I put in a Reznor UDAS 75,000 BTU natural gas heater (with a separated heating chamber so that no flames are exposed to the inside air). My garage (which I share with my wife’s car) is 22 ft x 26 ft x 12 ft high. It is great to have a shop that warms up in 10 minutes! I plan on leaving the heat on, since the garage is insulated. Here is the heater…

-- DonFaulk0517@gmail.com

I’m just south of you on the MD side of the border and my shop is 13×26. I use a small radiant heater that I got at the Depot. I turn it on about 15 min before heading out to work and it keeps the shop very warm. I often have to turn it off when doing hand work as I generate enough heat on my own. I turn it off when done and have no ill effects from the cold. It is the warmer month you need to worry about with the humidity. Wax your cast iron often and get some kind of cooling in there if you are going to work. My shop is attached to the house and the ambient cooling from the AC keeps it comfortable fortunately.

-- The Hand Tool School is Open for Business! Check out my blog and podcast "The Renaissance Woodworker" at www.renaissancewoodworker.com

“On the note of return air. I have had 2 units in 2 different outbuilding shops that the HVAC contractor just let it cycle. If you pull air from outside, then you are wasting fuel to heat cold air instead of already warm air. I just put 3 filters infront of the return. If you feel like you have to pull air from other than the shop, then pull from the attic, which will be slightly warmer than outside.”

I was referring to combustion air, not return air. On a unit that uses outside air for combustion you would have a sealed combustion chamber and not have to worry about any dust/dirt working it’s way into your heat exchanger or combustion area for that fact.

-- If at first you don't succeed then maybe skydiving isn't for you.

” Are there any good ceiling/wall mounted heaters that run on 110/220 (no gas)?

~the turtle

—~the turtle”

I’ve got 2 that I am pulling out. Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll get you the Specs…

-- Life is a sales job.

hi guys , new here but i like the idea of heating the shop with a hot water tank , but i have something to make it more inexspensive to run and it dehumidifies the space it is in and also can heat your domestic hot water too . its called a Geyser hot water heat pump . it can heat alot of hot water and do it for only 400 watts , in stead of 3000 watts in the hot water tank solo.it is 110 volts plug in and conections included .
it dehumidifies as it runs thats great news in the summer months , and can be transfered to heat your domestic hot water in the summer months when the shop needs no heat , or it can be vented to supply 6000btus of ac to the shop or your house , its stand alone and can be hooked up to any type of tank , and makes 15 galon in the first hr . every hour . if need be . and dehumidifes 1 quart an hour as it runs too .
great for keeping the shop wood dried out , and the tools from rusting . the same company makes wood kiln dryers from 200 board feet to 50,000 board feet . i distribute these in Atlantic Canada but they are made in Maine U.S.A. Now if i had a choice of heating my shop i would heat the floor , in the concreat , if not i would consider putting in a sub floor insulated under neath and then in floor under ply wood 3/4 .
beter for 5 reasons , if i drop a project piece it wont get damaged as easy , and if i was to drop or bump a tool,bit or blade it wont get damaged ether . also i could run my power outlets under the floor so as to make my shop safe from triping over cords , and even dust colection hoses could go under as well . plus hard concreat is murder on the back and legs . useing air barrier pex 5/8 ” in one continious run , and a small flow reciuculation pump
and a small thermos stat . average heating needs would be about 20 btu’s per square foot . but the geyser is adjustable from 80-140 degress . so that could be tweeked to suit , and the unit is not bad
for cost . definetly the cheapest long term heat source that i was reading above .

-- Kier Mizuik,Miramichi ,New Brunswick,Canada ://www.heatpumpproducts.com