Pellet Stove - Shop/Garage 40x60

[GrumpyDaddy]

Hello, I need some expert advice/opinions/experience for putting a pellet stove in my Shop that is 40x60. I have read about the plusses (pour and go, easy for the wife, etc) and minuses (not as many btu's, a little more maintenance) but still not sure if it will work for me.

I am looking to add heat to the shop so I can work on my junk/creations/masterpieces/whatever is broke that day. Doesn't need to be 90 degrees. 50-60 would be fine. Something to knock the chill off.

I live in Kansas. Shed is 40x60 with OSB for the ceiling and walls. I haven't filled the walls and ceiling with cellouse yet, will hopefully soon. Just having the OSB up has made a big difference.

Am I am crazy from the cold or just that way normally? I don't have much access to wood as I would have to buy it. Other option which I am hoping to avoid would be Propane. Thanks again and stay warm!!

Steve

 

[timswi]

I have a pretty big Quadrafire in my gameroom/media room. Apx 1100 sqft. This is fully insulated. It still runs quite a bit to go from 64 deg to 72 deg.

A pellet stove might work to some degree, but you will go through an obscene amount of pellets..Propane might be a better deal in the long run...I have the same problem in my 30x48 garage, and have the same decisions to make..Currently I heat it when I'm in there with a 165000 torpedo that looks and sounds like a jet engine. Drinks as much kero too.

 

[Dmace]

When we first got our pellet stove 4 years ago, pellets were about $175/ton. Now they are upwards around $300/ton.

Oil and propane didn't go up nearly as fast as pellets. I used to use mine to help with heating and to cut down oil use in my 2500 sq.ft. house but now it's cheaper to use more oil. I only use the pellet stove when we have company over and I want that nice warm look and smell of wood burning. With the pellet stove on high or near high, it goes through one 40lb bag of pellets a day so you would be refilling it almost every day to heat that large of an area.

For a garage space like yours, I would go with a monitor heater like a Rinnai or something along those lines.

 

[wv cabin]

try using a kerosene torpedo heater they work great for large areas

 

[bjr]

I second the torpedo heater. quick set, just plug it in and hit the start button. Stoves are time consuming to set up with all the piping and that expense. With the torpedo, be careful and don't set something on fire. I had a guy painting a truck for me that just about created a disaster with heavy paint mist and the torpedo going full blast. bjr

 

[Mike Costello]

I have a 30X60 metal shop building that is insulated. I use a torpedo kero/diesel heater that works nicely to heat up the shop. Being portable, I can move it around to get the best heat output. Overall, it's fairly economical to run using diesel fuel--just a bit of a smell upon startup and somewhat detectable when running, but way cheaper than kerosene.
Insulating your building will help alot in getting the temp up and keeping it there too. I can get my shop comfortable (50-60 degrees) in about 20 minutes. Downside, it's a bit noisy when running...but then (upside) I can't hear the phone when my wife cranks up the "honeydew" list! A shame! Mike.

 

[nybirdman]

Forget the pellet stove.........I can't recommend the topedo(kerosene ) either,the fumes will kill you.......they are fast but in a closed area;the noise and fumes are not fun......I tried a propane topedo for a while ,quick heat but the fumes from that weren't fun either.I finaly put in an over-head propane
unit heater with a fan and thermasat........quick,controlable heat,some of the garages around here use waste oil heaters...but they are quite exspensive.

 

[charlz]

I have pellets in the house and a wood stove in the shop.

Pellet stove is essentially 'low, steady heat' this is fine for a house you want to maintain as heated 24x7. For a shop environment where you just want to knock the chill of for a few hours or the day 'high, quick heat' the way to go. Torpedo heaters, propane furnance or overhead heater, wood stove are the way to go.

You are going to have to pay for fuel one way or the other so I don't know that I would rule wood out.

 

[20 20]

When we first got our pellet stove 4 years ago, pellets were about $175/ton. Now they are upwards around $300/ton.

Oil and propane didn't go up nearly as fast as pellets. I used to use mine to help with heating and to cut down oil use in my 2500 sq.ft. house but now it's cheaper to use more oil. I only use the pellet stove when we have company over and I want that nice warm look and smell of wood burning. With the pellet stove on high or near high, it goes through one 40lb bag of pellets a day so you would be refilling it almost every day to heat that large of an area.

For a garage space like yours, I would go with a monitor heater like a Rinnai or something along those lines.

I bag of pellets average cost $6.00= $6.00 a day to heat. Oil $2.50 gal how many gal a day do you use? I'll bet it cost more to run the oil furnace then the pellt stove? When we where in a trailer{junker to get us through till we could build} we went at about $6,000 a winter to heat. We went with a pellet stove and payed $1,000{pellets 250 a ton} per winter, same trailer. Saved 6 X's in heat by going with pellet stove. Our new house has a wood furnace, main source of heat. Then I installed a pellet furnace and a very small pellet stove. I run these if it is going to be below zero at night or if for some reason can't tend with a fire. My total heating bill for a winter including gas for cutting wood, tractor, pellets etc.... will be below $1,500, probably closer to $1,000. If I were to go with oil I'd be spending well over $5 to $7 thousand per winter.



GrumpyDaddy, I would go with a salamander type heater for that amount of space. it will heat up quick, I use one and feel it works great{mine is oil fired}

 

[jbos333]

FWIW, a good friend of mine has a 30 x 40 shop, insulated fairly well. He has tried wood stove, pellet stove (x2), hanging heater (propane), and radiant tube heater. This is in Upstate NY, so gets fairly cold from Nov-Apr.

He uses shop for autobody work and mechanical work. Generally needs to be 65-70 F for the body stuff. His latest combo which I think he's gonna keep is this: pellet stove in corner, generally keeps it going on lowest setting, will keep shop at 50 deg or so in coldest part of winter. Also has one radiant tube about 25-30 ft. down center of shop (propane). When he's got bodywork/paint to do, he cranks up pellet stove and radiant heater to give things a kick in the arse. Don't know the btu of his pellet stove, but I don't think, even on high, it will heatup his shop sufficiently to do the bodywork in winter temps.

Also, I see your shop is twice the size of his. Any chance you could wall off say, 1/2 of yours, super insulate it, then only heat that portion?