Best heater for shop

[magic]

I'm finally going to break down and get a heater. The shop has vents in the roof. I realize I will only get warm by standing in front of the burner.

Do those propane powered heaters, that attach directly to the tank work better then the separate units that are tubes?

[thewoodcrafter]

The tank mounted heaters are infrared. They don't heat the air, they only heat anything in front of it.
The tube or torpedo heaters are the way to heat a space. But mine will suck down a big tank in about 4 days.

[ken_rychlik]

They make a new style that is about 6 feet tall, has a bonnet on top and heats an area very well. It comes at a price though, because a 20 pound bottle will only last one day. A friend of mine has two of them he uses for parties. They have them at the Depot.

I have had the tube heaters in kerosine, and they work good, but will drive you out of the shop with fumes and they are loud.

Mostly I burn scrap wood in a ben franklin wood stove, but I use one of the over the bottle ones to get me along till the wood heater catches up. The good thing about the over the bottle unit, is I can throw it in a cabinet during the summer and it's not in the way.

With burning wood you have to be carefull of fires, but a little common sense goes a long way.


Kenneth

[myxpykalix]

My shop is 16x24 fairly small and i have a Reddyheater that is on wheels it looks like the back of a F-15 fighter jet and even on the coldest days with no insulation in the walls i am working in there in a T shirt at 55 degrees in about 5-6 minutes. It has a thermostat and uses different fuel types. I like mine, i paid about $200.00 at Big Lots for mine and it was over $400.00 at Lowes for same one. It isn't any louder then most other tools you use in the shop.

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[coach]

I had a heater that ran on a propane tank in my 24 x 24 2 story garage / shop in New Hampshire. I turned it on in the morning and ran back in the house for an hour. I was turning it down in a couple hours. I was really happy with it. I had it on a 100 gal propane tank.

[gc3]

...well it never gets below 45 here, we keep the shop windows open 90% of the year. I might finally install an AC unit in the bot room this summer...

Happy New Year, Feliz Ano Nuevo!


Gene Crain
www.plantasymaderas.com
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[magic]

Jack

My shop, not including the office is 100 x 20 would the same heater you're using work for me? keep in mind that I have 6 vents in the ceiling. (which I should make doors for).

Thanks

[bleeth]

Magic: Get a steel drum and a furnace door for it. Line the bottom with fire bricks. Run the exhaust tube up through the roof or up and out the wall. Save your scrap all summer and burn it in the winter. A 20" box fan hung above it will blow the warm air through your shop. Kept a shop in Seattle with similar square footage so warm you could be down to a t-shirt in 20 minutes.

Gas firing puts out a lot of moisture as well as being a bit chancy when heavy dust is in the air. Besides, why pay to dump your scrap when you can use it?

[dlcw]

When I was in Ohio I used a wall mounted ventless propane heater. You can get these with or without a fan to blow warm out. I set up a 100 gallon propane tank outside and ran black pipe into the shop. The tank would last most of the winter. The shop was about 3500 sq.ft and insulated and the heater would keep the shop at about 65 degrees without working up a sweat. With this model you don't have to worry about putting in a vent and it won't cause you to pass out from carbon monoxide poisoning. I got it through Northern Tools.

In my current shop (3200 sq ft) I have radiant floor heating and it keeps it toasty warm, even when it's 15 below zero outside. Also, it doesn't blow any dust around.

Don
www.dlwoodworks.com

[erniek]

I have a wall mounted ventless natural gas heater. I think it's 30,000 BTU heating 1200 sq ft. Works well but takes a while to get it up to temp. Also puts out a lot of moisture. I usually run a de-humdifier if I don't have the paint room fan going.