Need propane heater ideas for insulated 42x60 Morton bldg

[sixdogs]

I'm about to have my 42x60 Morton pole barn insulated and need ideas what to get for a propane heater or furnace. I don't want to heat it to 80 degrees but do want to heat it so I have place to work over the winter. I know nothing about these because I have heated with wood or a furnace in a house. 50 degrees or a little more is a comfortable number.

The barn/shop has a concrete floor and I have a VAL6 diesel heater I use in the fall or spring to take the edge off. Still, all my tools are cold and it's not really that comfortable. I searched for those suspended propane heaters, which I know nothing about. Propane comes to mind because I have two 500 gallon tanks ten ft from the barn.

Does anyone have a larger propane heater in their shop or know anything about them? Any comments or experience welcome.

 

[grsthegreat]

You need to have a heating contractor do a site evaluation after its insulated. Get an idea of btu needed. My shop is uninsulated so i went with a suspended 125,000 btu propane unit to tale the edge off. I only need to turn it on 20 min before i intend to use it, than i can almost shut it off while working, as it stays pretty comfortable. I can remove jacket and work ok. I can cycle it on and off as necessary. My shop is only 30x40. About half was insulated, the rest still not done. I also have metal ceiling fan to cycle hot air down.

 

[groundcover]

These are slick , they heat you and objects, not the air.

Infrared Radiant Low Intensity Tube Heaters

Choose Great Lakes Radiant for infrared radiant low-intensity tube heaters. These systems require minimal maintenance & are efficient at heating many spaces.

www.glradiant.com

These are the old standard, nothing wrong with them. A little noisy, trouble free, maybe not as efficient , but will keep you warm.

Home - FarmTek - Hydroponic Fodder Systems, Farming & Growing Supplies, Hoop Barns, Poultry & Livestock Equipment, High Tunnels, Greenhouses & More

FarmTek offers the best customer service and most economical prices on products for the agricultural industry. Product offerings include farm supplies, aquaponic, poultry supplies, agriculture products, animal housing, home improvement, commercial high tunnels and hoop houses, fodder growing...

www.farmtek.com

Put all the insulation to it that you can , you only buy it once, not every month !

 

[bigtiller]

I'm watching cuss I would like to do the same someday. The radiant tube heaters interest me because I have 14' tall walls.

sixdogs, how high is your ceiling?

 

[grsthegreat]

not too sure about those tube heaters. I have had to rip quite a few of them out of state buildings here in idaho over the years. They replaced them with hanging furnaces. Was told that they saved energy doing so.

 

[Sigarms]

not too sure about those tube heaters. I have had to rip quite a few of them out of state buildings here in idaho over the years. They replaced them with hanging furnaces. Was told that they saved energy doing so.

I'm curious as to why you had to rip the radiant tube heaters out. Generally never a problem with them.

Generally, particularly if you're on LP, a tube heater will save you more money than a 80% hanging unit heater.

I've laid out more than a couple of jobs for firehouses and warehouses with tube heaters here in NC over the last 20 years, as far as I know, none have ever been taken out (first, do a proper load, and depending on exactly what tube heater your using, that will determine layout for what you want to achieve for the space wanted heating).

Depending on the size of garage doors and the amount of time opened, it can get a little tricky, but if laid out properly, once that overhead door closes, boom, instant warm heat on you if laid out right.

 

[ponytug]

I'm about to have my 42x60 Morton pole barn insulated and need ideas what to get for a propane heater or furnace. I don't want to heat it to 80 degrees but do want to heat it so I have place to work over the winter. I know nothing about these because I have heated with wood or a furnace in a house. 50 degrees or a little more is a comfortable number.

The barn/shop has a concrete floor and I have a VAL6 diesel heater I use in the fall or spring to take the edge off. Still, all my tools are cold and it's not really that comfortable. I searched for those suspended propane heaters, which I know nothing about. Propane comes to mind because I have two 500 gallon tanks ten ft from the barn.

Does anyone have a larger propane heater in their shop or know anything about them? Any comments or experience welcome.

What's the relative cost of propane and electricity for you? Your pole barn might benefit from a heat pump if you are out there frequently, or could use the cooling in the summertime.

+1 on @groundcover's comments on insulation. Get more insulation than you think you want. It is the gift that keeps on giving.

All the best,

Peter

 

[sixdogs]

I'm watching cuss I would like to do the same someday. The radiant tube heaters interest me because I have 14' tall walls.

sixdogs, how high is your ceiling?

14 ft. I'm having an Amish crew do the insulation and they do excellent work. I'll get in all the insulation I can.

 

[sixdogs]

How much do the propane heaters cost? Again, I only want to knock the cold back a little and maybe maintain 50 degrees. Sometimes more.

 

[grsthegreat]

I'm curious as to why you had to rip the radiant tube heaters out. Generally never a problem with them.

Generally, particularly if you're on LP, a tube heater will save you more money than a 80% hanging unit heater.

I've laid out more than a couple of jobs for firehouses and warehouses with tube heaters here in NC over the last 20 years, as far as I know, none have ever been taken out (first, do a proper load, and depending on exactly what tube heater your using, that will determine layout for what you want to achieve for the space wanted heating).

Depending on the size of garage doors and the amount of time opened, it can get a little tricky, but if laid out properly, once that overhead door closes, boom, instant warm heat on you if laid out right.

these were all torn out of Idaho state maintenance buildings with multiple 16' tall roll up doors. they had too many complaints of not maintaining heat during winters. they ripped them out years ago, and installed the separate hanging units. i kinda wish i kept a section of one of them for my own shop though.

 

[bigtiller]

14 ft. I'm having an Amish crew do the insulation ad they do excellent work. I'll get in all the insulation I can.

I had 15" of cellulose insulation blown into the ceiling of my Morten building and 6" of batt Rockwool in the walls. I'm very impressed with its performance.

I go in the building on hot sunny days to cool off before supper. I keep a de-humidifier running all summer long.

 

[oosik]

I had a hanging Modine natural gas heater in my garage in AK. It had a wall mounted controller. Worked very well. Natural gas was dirt cheap when we lived in Anchorage. Electricity cost was over the moon.

Here in WA I have a propane powered salamander heater for my shop. I bring the shop up to 70F and then shut it off if I'm going to be doing anything that might create dust ( sanding ).

 

[Sigarms]

these were all torn out of Idaho state maintenance buildings with multiple 16' tall roll up doors. they had too many complaints of not maintaining heat during winters. they ripped them out years ago, and installed the separate hanging units. i kinda wish i kept a section of one of them for my own shop though.

I mentioned the roll up doors can be tricky

That said, think about this... Garage is heating to 55F with a unit heater. 16' roll up door is opened and it's 15F outside and windy. We all know what is going to happen to the inside temp when that garage door is opened.

Close the garage door, you might have a 35F indoor temp in the conditioned space. With a conventional 80% unit heater, you will now have a decent run time to bring the temperature back up to set point. However, with radiant heating, if properly laid out and sized correctly, once that roll up door is closed, you're back to feeling the heat instantaneously.

Radiant tube heaters are more expensive than conventional unit heaters (and can be more labor to install), but they will save you more on the fuel usage, and if laid out properly, feels much nicer than forced air. The added reality is if the tube heating isn't laid out to where people are going to be, no one will feel the heat (this is where size and hanging height of tube heater comes into play).

That said, unit heaters are less expensive and more "forgiving" per making a mistake if that makes sense. Just oversize it LOL

 

[mikester]

The radiant tube heaters work well but have lower energy efficiency making them more costly to operate.

I have one one these in my similar sized shop 18' to the eaves

Schwank | Radiant Tube Heaters

Schwank radiant tube heaters provide comfort and high efficiency suitable for warehouse heating, distribution centers, and manufacturing applications.

www.schwankgroup.com

One 60K BTU heater will let me work in a T-shirt at -20oC or -4oF outside.

The nice thing about these radiant tube heaters is that they heat the stuff in the space vs trying to heat large volumes of air in a leaky building.

 

[dodge man]

I’d get one of those hanging furnaces also. I have one in my shop, but it’s also smaller, 28’x30’. The advantage is the heat things up pretty quickly. If your like me you’ll keep it pretty cool, say about 45 degrees and just warm it up when your working out there. A couple of ceiling fans would help.

 

[LouNY]

The ideal combination would be the infrared heaters that will heat the objects more then the air. That allows for much nicer working on metal items when it's cold out.
One problem with them is that you can't work in shirt sleeves if there is much of air change from doors being opened to move equipment in and out.
A forced air heater if over sized will bring the temperature up faster and recover much faster with doors being opened frequently.
Once a concrete floor gets cold it will not warm up. Radiant heat in a floor is fantastic but again it does not have a high and fast recovery of air temps.

The infrared radiant heaters over work benches or stationary equipment would be an excellent heat when combined with an conventional air heater. The furnace could take care of initial warmups, and door openings withe the infrared making for a comfortable work bench.

 

[BackRoad]

Mr. Sixdogs, what are the details for the insulation? Interested for my own planning purposes.

 

[Sigarms]

The radiant tube heaters work well but have lower energy efficiency making them more costly to operate.

If you don't mind, please provide information per your statement making tube heaters more costly to operate.

This is no different than a homeowner thinking that a 20 SEER2 split heat pump would save them more money vs a lower SEER2 system when connecting that new HVAC system to 30 year old existing duct work vs a 14.3 SEER2 system with brand new duct work and duct tested.

 

[Quaffer]

Check out rigid foam for insulation instead of the traditional roll type. Metal building installers (high end) are switching to that. Individual (large) pieces glue directly onto the interior metal wall surface.

 

[gstrom99]

Once you get the BTU sized, I'd suggest one of these. Installed in my barn/shop in a corner and love it.

Hot Dawg™ Garage Heater

Garages and workshops, light commercial or industrial heating solution. Modine garage heaters offer a solution for your heating needs.

www.modinehvac.com