Shop/Garage Heater suggestions please

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JeffisOld

JeffisOld

Old, Ugly and generally Disagreeable!
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Have 14 ft ceilings in a 24 X 36 foot shop (864 sqft - 12,000 cuft).

Being in NC the wx is not extreme but getting cold enough that this old man requires some heat source. I have a metal building, concrete floors and a couple of skylights.
Dottie1.jpg


I want electric with a fan because I will not use it a whole lot, but I will need it. I believe a 7,500 to 10,000 watt 220v can forced heater will work I believe. Because of the tall ceilings I need too mount it high as I hope to put in a lift.

If you have ideas or suggestions that have worked for you, or problems, please advise!

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I know you said electric, but in a shop like that an overhead radiant tube heater running off propane/NG would probably give you a much more comfy environment.

They tend to heat everything in the room as opposed to heating the air.
 
A small electric furnace. Most efficient.
I run a small shop heater to keep it from freezing but its a real pos.
I run a pellet stove during the day,burns 20 lbs in 8 hrs.
For me, it works.
Found a 5000 watt ceiling mount heater today, going to look for one tomorrow.i have an 8000 watt industrial heater,but its a little much for my limited power available.
 
10KW is not a lot of heat, especially for a leaky building without much insulation? You are talking "about" 3400 BTU per KW, so 10KW is about 34000. Without knowing how cold it gets, how fast you want it to warm up, the condition of the building, etc, that might not be "much" but of course it WILL take the chill off

Something that is/ was popular around here was to find an old electric furnace from a heating changeout/ upgrade. There's not much to them, heating elements, a few controls, and a blower. The "standard" common heating element is either 2500W or 5000W or about 20A at 240V If you got one with at least two elements, that would do it, or you could buy a larger one and leave more than two disconnected

The other thing is, get ahold of your utility and compare the cost of electric to "what else" you might consider, LPG? Oil? Many places with expensive electric, LPG can beat that cost some.
 
I am sure you're correct Bad Sport but Natural Gas is unavailable and it'll cost a bunch to get an LNG tank in here. I have seen decent electric units for <$400 too. Wiring is cheap!

If I used it more I would make the investment.
 
Whatever heater you choose, put in ceiling fans to push the warm sit back down to circulate and even out the temp. Otherwise it will just rise and heat the ceiling.
 
Your building is similar to mine. I have thought about heat, but it would be futile without insulation. Unless you insulate your building, you will be fighting a losing battle, IMO.
 
When the building was put up it was so called "insulated" with what appears to be a bubble wrap like product. White on the inside and silver on the outside.

Not sure of its minimal R value!
 
Ddaddy said:
Whatever heater you choose, put in ceiling fans to push the warm sit back down to circulate and even out the temp. Otherwise it will just rise and heat the ceiling.
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X2 on the above. My shop is in SW Washington, winter temps are not severe but rarely warm. Highs in the 40's-50's, lows in the 30's most of the time but it can get a bunch colder at times. It is 30x40 with a 10' wide built-in room down the long wall making the actual floor space in the shop 20x40 with 13' walls with an 18' peak. I had it fully insulated, which is the best money I've spent so far to make it comfortable. I added a pair of 60" fans from Home Depot to push the warm air down. All it takes to keep the place shirt-sleeve warm in any normal weather is a single 30000-60000 BTU propane heater. If it gets really cold I will add another propane heater. My shop has an open ridge cap and leaks air like a sieve at the sliding door. Still, warm and cozy with the above mods.
 
JeffisOld said:
When the building was put up it was so called "insulated" with what appears to be a bubble wrap like product. White on the inside and silver on the outside.

Not sure of its minimal R value!
Click to expand...

That's better than nothin I am sure!
 
The electric furnace in my house is 10 kw. You know its a little light on -40 days...
A heater you can move around to take the chill off where you are working may be all you need.
Warm tools are nice.

Someone put a self adhesive oil pan heater on the underside of his steel workbench to help with cold tools.

A couple heated tailgates off of the ford trucks,the ones that keep tech’s hands from freezing when they push them into the shop.
That would heat your garage.....
 
Tooljunkie, I am sure you are a wonderful guy, but...

...if I see a -40 day,even a +10 day here in NC, I will probably take my own life!

Sorry, my wife and I are too old for that!:rofl:
 
I would work with what you feel is the best for you. I would go with an electric heater, put it on top of your loaf that you have. Run your duct work up high down the center, and feed it off where you think it needs to be. Ceiling fans are a plus, reverse the rotation during the hot months.

This is a picture what I did for my shop, a little more then 25,000 cu.ft. heated by a second-hand house gas furnace. I don't think a drop ceiling is necessary in your case. I had to go with either gas or electric, the electrons needed to heat this shop would be costly. My insurance would be double if I went with oil or wood, or anything that required, feeding the machine. There is nothing better then just walking to shop wall and just, turn up the thermostat.

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Lol.ya we get that cold. Coldest i can remember was around -53. I delivered firewood to a friend that ran out that day. Yup it was cold. My heat source.
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Just put a limiter on the firebox,auger stops at 250 degrees. It was getting hot in shop. 24x32 11 foot ceiling.
 
Lots of options for electric heat. If you're cheap like me, a used forced air furnace from a mobile home
might almost be free and could sit on you loft up there.
 
Tooljunkie said:
The electric furnace in my house is 10 kw. You know its a little light on -40 days...
...
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WOW!! Even here in the N end of Idaho, which has seen -15F, a typical house would have MUCH more than 10KW. At least double that for the typical modest "rancher" would be more typical
 
My understanding was house originally had an oil furnace,so the power supply /buried cable wont carry the load of a larger furnace. I spent 10 grand insulating and sealing up the house so its way better than it was when i bought the place.
My shop was a machine shed,two old wood sliding doors and no electricity. First winter was difficult.
 
13000-BTUGarage-Fan-Heater-1.jpg

This is what I have in my attached garage that measures 24'x26' with 10' ceilings. It is insulated with 2x6 walls and a 10' ceiling. It is 20amp, 220 volt so it is easy to wire in and cheap to buy. It will easily heat me right out of that garage, and If I had a ceiling fan, it would barely run to maintain a temperature.

Cley
 
We have a furnace that runs off natural gas in our garage. Picked it up on Craigslist for a couple hundererd. We furred our the walls with 2x4 and threw in r13. Then we hung a suspended ceiling with r19 above it. Here in Ohio it has gotten down into the single digits and never had an issue with anything freezing even without the heat on.

When I am going to be working in the shop I fire up the heat about a half hour before and set the thermostat at 60. I have spent many nights working under the dart in a t shirt with windchills below zero outside.
 
JeffisOld said:
Have 14 ft ceilings in a 24 X 36 foot shop (864 sqft - 12,000 cuft).

Being in NC the wx is not extreme but getting cold enough that this old man requires some heat source. I have a metal building, concrete floors and a couple of skylights.
View attachment 1715122341

I want electric with a fan because I will not use it a whole lot, but I will need it. I believe a 7,500 to 10,000 watt 220v can forced heater will work I believe. Because of the tall ceilings I need too mount it high as I hope to put in a lift.

If you have ideas or suggestions that have worked for you, or problems, please advise!

View attachment 1715122340
Click to expand...

Got any better pictures of the framing of the building? Looks to my like you have a standard metal building insulation with the wmpvr facing. Likely an r13 or r19.
 
I will get an image of that doogie, I will be pleasantly surprised if the R value is that high! I have insulated 8 and 10 foot doors that seal quite well


UPDATE-Due to my fat fingers I actually ordered the u it in post 18 by accident - 7500W model. I will keep it and install it in the next few days. I need to get wire/40A breaker/wire retainers.

Let ya know what happens!

ThAnk you all for your help!
 
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