Gas heater choices for workshop

[MarkLeininger]

I built a workshop this year and would like to put in some kind of heat. I've used a kerosun heater but it isn't quite enough capacity and doesn't circulate the air. So I'm thinking some kind of natural gas device. Has anyone used any of these permanently installed but unvented heaters? How dangerous is it to use a regular type heater with an open gas flame in a shop where there's sawdust? I know they make heaters that have separate combustion chambers with the intake piped outdoors, but I don't know if I need to get that fancy. I need about 20,000 btu. I could probably go electric, but I don't want radiant heat, I need to blow the air around to heat up the whole room. Any suggestions welcome, I'm still in the head scratching phase.

 

[bczoom]

Mark,

Just to help us understand your needs.
How big is your shop?
Are you planning on just heating when your there or are you going to keep 50 or so when not there?
How warm do you want it while in your shop?
What kind of $ were you planning on spending?

I know it's a "heated debate" (pun intended /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif) about types of heat in a workshop that has combustable materials (either petroleum or dust) so you should get all kinds of answers.

 

[thcri]

Mark,

I would go with a Reznor type unit heater. You can get them from 25,000 btu's and on up. Another system if you have not poured your floor yet is radiant. I realise you want to blow the air around to heat the whole room but if you put the tubes in the floor you won't need to blow any air around. My garage has it and I can keep my garage at 50 deg and still work out there in a T shirt due to the warm air rising over you.


As far as using anything without a vent I would not recomend it. I don't care if the manufacture says you can use it. They still give off carbon monoxide. Many times the brochure says no need for venting but when you open up the instructions it says to use in a well vented area. Don't take your chances in it.

murph

 

[Henro]

I use a wall furnace in my basement workshop. The basement is above ground on two sides...with a lot of windows.

Anyway, it is a direct vent type, where the combustion air is pulled from the outside, and the exhause gasses also are expelled outside (naturally).

so you don't draw any inside air for combustion and the effeciency is not too bad...

All in all I guess I would say I have been satisfied with this kind of setup for years...we also use the same type furnaces to heat the house...Yep...our central heating is really central...no ductwork...open floor plan helps I suppose.

Worth a look anyway...

 

[Glenn9643]

You should look at a wall-mounted gas infrared heater. I've had one for several years and been very satisfied. Mine is 30K btu I think, with five "grates". There is no "flame", but the grates glow orange and radiate the heat to warm objects in the room. Absolutely no smell or fumes that I've experienced with flame type heaters. They are advertised to be 99% efficient and I've found that they use very little gas. The only downside to this type heater is that they can't be converted from one gas to another (natural to propane, etc.) if your needs ever change as traditional heaters can. They are available with thermostat controls but I'm not sure of blowers.

 

[dltimmons]

Mark,

I installed one of the ventless wall heaters in my workshop at a previous home, about 5 years ago. It worked great as far as heating the area. But------, it stinks.

This heater was natural gas, about 60,000 btu, no elect. fan,
just radiant. It did have a sort of temp control on it, but not a true thermostat.

I had to leave one of the windows open about 4" to provide enough fresh air for combustion. During combustion these heaters create a lot of water vapor. This shows up in the room as condensation on the walls and windows, the colder it is outside, the worse the condensation.

Also as I mentioned above, even thou they are 99% efficient, they still stink. The room smells musty and after working for a couple of hours in there, I ended up with a headache.

You are a lot better off to go with a vented unit. Either direct vent, intake and exhaust, or just conventional vent, where the exhaust is vented. Much cleaner, no condensation, or odor.

Keep in mind that if you ever have any sovents, oil-based paint, varnish, or gasoline, (anything which will give off flamable fumes), you want the heater mounted at least 4 or more feet above the floor.

Be careful with sawdust also, in the correct concentration of fine sawdust to air, it becomes explosive, just like grain dust.

I currently use a Reznor Unit heater, mounted to the ceiling in one corner of my garage. It cost about $300.00 when I bought it, has electronic ignition, and will raise the temp in my 25' X 28' insulated finished garage, 20 degrees in about 20 minutes. A little noisy when the fan is running but works great and hasn't been too expensive to run. I keep the garage at 45 degrees all winter and only turn it up when I need to be in there working.

Just my experiance with the new ventless wonder heaters, wont buy another one.

DT

 

[bczoom]

I wasn't going to make any recommendations until we heard back from Mark on his requirements but I agree 100% with those that recommend the Reznor heaters. That's what I use and it's worked flawlessly for years.
I agree with DT about it being inexpensive to run and how quickly it'll heat an area. As for fan noise, yea, it's there but it can also be used without the heat which is handy in the summer.
Brian

 

[sherpa]

I have a garage that heat with a woodstove. When its real cold or I want quick heat I have a 80,000 BTU propane unvented heater I bought from Northern Tool for about $100.00. I use this propane heater to warm up the 1,000 sq ft building while the wood stove is heating up. It only takes the propane heater about 15 mins to get it to 70 degrees inside when its about 25 outside. No fumes, very clean and uses hardly any fuel. You can hook it up to a 20 pound or 100 pound propane cylinder.
Sherpa

 

[MarkLeininger]

Thanks for all the thoughts. Very busy at work so just had the time to check back in. My shop "proper" is 20x24 and is insulated, but is attached to a 2 car garage via an interior overhead door that I can open when working on large projects, the cars, etc. So my primary purpose is to heat the shop, but I want to be able to generate enough heat to survive if I have to open that overhead door into the garage. I don't leave the heat on unless I'm in there, and I prefer it to be 60-70 degrees or I get too hot when I'm working.

Thanks for the info on the ventless heaters. Didn't think about the moisture or odor problem either, so that eliminates one choice.

Never heard of reznor before but it looks like a good product. I need to look more closely at how they handle the combustion air. If they don't preheat it, the burners are going to have to be stainless or something to avoid damage from condensation.

I thought about radiant heat when I poured the floor, but I only had so much time to do things after work and had to get the thing done. My experience with floor radiant in a slab is that there's a long heat up cycle, which isn't what I want. I tend to walk into the shop and want to do something starting now for the next hour. So I think an area heater fits my needs better.

thanks again for all the help

 

[NIXON]

Mark Reznor makes a good unit as was mentioned previously . Moline also makes a similar heater called the Hot Dawg . Ive got one of those . It's 30k input 24k output .
It keep the garage (24X28) warm . Mind You it's not going to bring the temp of the garage up fast as it's small for the size of the garage . But they do make several different sized units . I went with the smallest they offer as I generally kept the garage at 50 degrees in the winter . John