Shop/Garage Heater

[RSKY]

This is the ceiling Heater that I am referring to View attachment 534494

And a wall type of heater such as this oneView attachment 534493

Unless your ceiling is 8.5ft or less, the ceiling unit helps a LOT.

Where did that top one come from? That looks like what I need. Two of those in the shop and one in the garage.

RSKY

 

[ovrszd]

My 24x24 two car garage is attached to my house. Insulated with insulated rollups. No heat. Wife has pantry shelves in it. She stores freezable food items there along with bags of potatoes, liquids of various types. Never freezes in there. Not freezing temps in there right now and we've been below zero more nights than not for the past 10 days.

I think you'll be surprised and pleased with your "new" garage after you insulate it.

 

[RSKY]

My 24x24 two car garage is attached to my house. Insulated with insulated rollups. No heat. Wife has pantry shelves in it. She stores freezable food items there along with bags of potatoes, liquids of various types. Never freezes in there. Not freezing temps in there right now and we've been below zero more nights than not for the past 10 days.

I think you'll be surprised and pleased with your "new" garage after you insulate it.

You are probably right. Putting insulation in the walls and ceiling would hold the heat in. Then a small portable radiator type heater could maintain enough temp to do small projects there. We are both about to go crazy sitting here in this weather. Too cold to go outside. Nothing to do in the house.

RSKY

 

[ovrszd]

You are probably right. Putting insulation in the walls and ceiling would hold the heat in. Then a small portable radiator type heater could maintain enough temp to do small projects there. We are both about to go crazy sitting here in this weather. Too cold to go outside. Nothing to do in the house.

RSKY

I hear you my friend. I'm in my shop now, 75 degrees inside, 16 degrees outside. I'd go crazy if I didn't have my heated shop. I may not do anything out here today. Or I may get motivated and work on a project the rest of the day. Either way it's a winner.

Hope you get something going soon. We should get a break from this severe cold weather in the next week or so. My weather guy says by the 15th we'll be under Pacific air flow and should have above normal temps. I'm hoping for a big thaw in late January thru most of February. Last year we didn't have any frost in the ground all thru February.

 

[RSKY]

I hear you my friend. I'm in my shop now, 75 degrees inside, 16 degrees outside. I'd go crazy if I didn't have my heated shop. I may not do anything out here today. Or I may get motivated and work on a project the rest of the day. Either way it's a winner.

Hope you get something going soon. We should get a break from this severe cold weather in the next week or so. My weather guy says by the 15th we'll be under Pacific air flow and should have above normal temps. I'm hoping for a big thaw in late January thru most of February. Last year we didn't have any frost in the ground all thru February.

I have played so many games of "World of Warships" I'm getting my sea legs.

RSKY

 

[RNeumann]

Are these really all they’re supposed to be? I don’t see how 100 percent efficiency can be improved upon.

It’s semantics (electric is 100% efficient) but yes their are ways to make electric heat cheaper.......urrr more efficiently. As an example, heat pumps make more BTUs/kw than traditional resistive heat.

Btw- it’s roughly 1/3 watt per BTU. So if One had a 40,000 BTU (heat output, not total output) gas furnace you would need about 13,000 watts to replace it. But again, sizing will need to be calculated.

 

[grsthegreat]

rhe problem with these cheap heaters, there cheap to buy but expensive to operate. for example, a 5,000 watt electric heater run 50% of the time in cold weather (in reality it would probably never shut off in this cold) would cost
5,000 watt = 5kw per hour
X 12 hours per day = 60 KW
here in idaho we pay .06/kwh for electricity, therefore this heater would cost 3.60 per day to run. that equates to $108.00 per month to heat.

a larger heater wouldnt need to run as long, so is more efficient in the long run. Most electric shop heaters are in the 5,000 watt size, but i have seen a few 7,500 watt ones. the larger ones would need 30 amp circuit draw.

 

[ovrszd]

Having had a heated shop in my backyard since 1994, I'll say this, if you can heat your shop for $100 per month, go for it, doesn't matter what method is used.

Again, I can't stress this enough, efficiency of the building in regards to heat transfer is what should be discussed, not heat source.

 

[grsthegreat]

i wonder how much it would cost to heat a shop with a medium sized pellet stove attached to a thermostat. ... per month

 

[ovrszd]

i wonder how much it would cost to heat a shop with a medium sized pellet stove attached to a thermostat. ... per month

This plays right into my point. What's the "R" value of the insulation in said shop??

 

[4570Man]

It’s semantics (electric is 100% efficient) but yes their are ways to make electric heat cheaper.......urrr more efficiently. As an example, heat pumps make more BTUs/kw than traditional resistive heat.

Btw- it’s roughly 1/3 watt per BTU. So if One had a 40,000 BTU (heat output, not total output) gas furnace you would need about 13,000 watts to replace it. But again, sizing will need to be calculated.

But that unit isn’t a heat pump. It’s resistance coils or some form of it. I’m not seeing how it’s heat output is any higher than an equivalent wattage space heater.

 

[RSKY]

Why not just use propane, and park the tank outside the shop?

Don't have room for a large residential tank and a 100-lb wouldn't last that long plus I would have to load it up to get it refilled. If I was going to do that I would have a natural gas line run from the house to the shop. Too much money for too little gain. I am not wanting something to keep it warm enough to work in it all day. Just something to go out and work for a few hours once or twice a week. Plus with gas I would have to get a vent thru the ceiling or wall. Too much complication and cost. If I can get an electric that will keep the temp above freezing during these cold spells and make it warm enough to work the rest of the time I will be happy. May get the electric and use the Mr. Heater or the big propane heater to get it warm enough to work.

I have a big propane floor heater that will heat the shop in less than an hour. BUT it scares the heck out of me to use it. There is always sawdust and stuff around and that thing shoots flames up into the vent and I cannot bring myself to take my eyes off it when it is running. So I go out there and start it and stand around freezing until it heats the shop up. It burns up a tank in about 4-5 hours. So even if I wanted to leave it on overnight, which I don't, I would have to go out and change tanks all the time.

Keep the ideas coming.

RSKY

 

[4570Man]

Having had a heated shop in my backyard since 1994, I'll say this, if you can heat your shop for $100 per month, go for it, doesn't matter what method is used.

Again, I can't stress this enough, efficiency of the building in regards to heat transfer is what should be discussed, not heat source.

It doesn’t cost that much to heat my shop. I leave the thermostat set on 45 and bump it up to 60 when I’m working. It only takes a few minutes to make that climb with the gas heater. That’s a nice feature for the gas unit. It would probably take an hour for a 5000 watt electric heater to make the jump. My shop gas bill is hardly above the minimum.

 

[ovrszd]

It doesn’t cost that much to heat my shop. I leave the thermostat set on 45 and bump it up to 60 when I’m working. It only takes a few minutes to make that climb with the gas heater. That’s a nice feature for the gas unit. It would probably take an hour for a 5000 watt electric heater to make the jump. My shop gas bill is hardly above the minimum.

Yep. I totally get that.

My shop is 9 years old, it's never been under 60F degrees. I can lay on my concrete floor, it's not cold. I can easily take a nap in my old Barber Chair. I work in my T-shirt. It's all about what your personal goals are. I have little use for a 45F degree shop.

 

[Deere Dude]

Have you considered wood or pellet stoves. Just start a fire when you need it and it will continue to heat just from mass of steel build up. I have an old wood stove in my 24x30 shop with 3.5" walls. The temps will get close to freezing on cold days if I let it go but when it gets to 45 I will generally start a fire and keep it going for a few hours and all is good for the rest of the day. You may not be a wood guy, but it works good for me in Tennessee.

It sounds that if you just want to stay above freezing with no effort involved, electricity may be your choice.

 

[RNeumann]

But that unit isn’t a heat pump. It’s resistance coils or some form of it. I’m not seeing how it’s heat output is any higher than an equivalent wattage space heater.

U r correct in that resistive heat can be no more or less efficient.

 

[dadster4]

Have you considered running a supply off your home furnace to the attached garaged?

 

[4570Man]

U r correct in that resistive heat can be no more or less efficient.

And aren’t all of these wonder box heaters resistance heat? I’m thinking they’re full of crap and are equal to any electric resistance heater.

 

[4570Man]

Yep. I totally get that.

My shop is 9 years old, it's never been under 60F degrees. I can lay on my concrete floor, it's not cold. I can easily take a nap in my old Barber Chair. I work in my T-shirt. It's all about what your personal goals are. I have little use for a 45F degree shop.

My goal is to never drop below freezing and warm it up as fast as possible when I decide to work. That makes gas the best choice. The garage has a small fan that pulls air off the back of the wood stove. That keeps it fairly warm and the electric heater is only used on the rare instance I need to work out there.