Heaters ......

Rob Keeble

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12,633
Location
GTA Ontario Canada
Ok before i go out and pull the trigger on a temp heater for my shop i thought i best seek council and advise here to make sure i aint waisting my money.

I have business needs that dictate i get some bits of plywood cut and i got to get into the garage to do it. Right now its out of the question given the cold here and the zero insulation in the part of the garage where my TS is.

I was thinking there is a unit at the HD that is around $150 works on propane with forced air like a rocket. Can hook it up to my 20lb propane bottles stand it at the small side door and aim it into the shop. Its about 40 000 BTUs and i figure that should raise the temp some in a single car garage thats got a single house size door width extra width to it.

Looked at rental but only a few uses will pay for this unit.

There is plenty ventilation since the eves are not even sealed.

Note i aint gonna run this forever its just for getting through the days i need to do something out there during this winter.

Have my old radiant tube heater but dont have the height to even jury rig it up for a temp solution even if i had it modified to use propane temp.

Dont want to run electric with the generator till the generator is enclosed.

Recognise the carbon monoxide issue but there is going to be loads of ventilation as i wont even close the door.

Anyone have any advice to offer in this department or alternatives.
 
Should be fine with what sounds like adequate ventilation. I'd suggest keeping it up on a stand about 18" above the floor just in case any flammables get spilled accidentally to keep any fumes away that may settle on the floor.
 
I've been around those things on job sites before, we called them Tiger Torches, yes they heat but man are they NOISY, drive you nuts in no time flat, I'd hate to have to work around one for any length of time unless I had to.
 
Rob, My first shop situation used one of those for heat, my mentor and I would stop and get a large cappuccino each, and light that sucker up... by the time we were done with the coffee, most of the frost would be off of the tools. As Stu mentions, they're extremely loud. Just my .02c but since ventilation isn't a problem I'd go with a Kerosene heater... much quieter. In fact I'm probably going to pick up a new one for my shop next week... no sense in doing so sooner, as the arctic blast is still upon us here in Syracuse right now.
 
Rob, My first shop situation used one of those for heat, my mentor and I would stop and get a large cappuccino each, and light that sucker up... by the time we were done with the coffee, most of the frost would be off of the tools. As Stu mentions, they're extremely loud. Just my .02c but since ventilation isn't a problem I'd go with a Kerosene heater... much quieter. In fact I'm probably going to pick up a new one for my shop next week... no sense in doing so sooner, as the arctic blast is still upon us here in Syracuse right now.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/redsto...kerosene-convection-heater-23-000-btu-3070559 is what I'm looking at, 23,000 BTU output (more than adequate for my space) for under $100 US.
 
My dad has one of these It works very well and if your shop is insulated, you can turn it one for a bit, warm things up and then turn it off. Also, don't statnd to close to it with a winter parka on...DAMHIKT! :doh:
 
rob, i would go with what jeff suggested,, years ago, i used one for heat in the old house.. and since then have used them for spot heating and am looking to find another for the finish room after my latest escapade with to cool to dry finish proper..
 
We got one of the burners like Jeff showed for our show season this coming year.... we sat on Market Square in only 40 degree temps and nearly froze from the wind, so I got a heater to keep LOML from getting so cold... but for my shop, I think I would like the Kerosene heater Ned showed... my shop is not insulated, not well sealed and in temps like today, it's as cold inside as outside... I have an electric oil radiator, but it won't heat the shop enough that I can work today. I'm just glad we rarely get really cold weather here.
 
We got one of the burners like Jeff showed for our show season this coming year.... we sat on Market Square in only 40 degree temps and nearly froze from the wind, so I got a heater to keep LOML from getting so cold... but for my shop, I think I would like the Kerosene heater Ned showed... my shop is not insulated, not well sealed and in temps like today, it's as cold inside as outside... I have an electric oil radiator, but it won't heat the shop enough that I can work today. I'm just glad we rarely get really cold weather here.

hey chuck, why would you rather have keroseen heater in shop rather than the propane one???
 
I've been around those things on job sites before, we called them Tiger Torches, yes they heat but man are they NOISY, drive you nuts in no time flat, I'd hate to have to work around one for any length of time unless I had to.

We call them Salamanders and I agree with Stu, they are so noisy that you will not want one on while you are out there. They will heat the space up fast, but I still would prefer a kerosene heater or the type shown by Jeff. I like my kerosene unit.
 
I've got one of the kerosene heaters like Neds. My Garage is just barely better than the outdoors as it's got open vents at the peak, and soffit vents all the way around.

I have turned it on when it is 20 out there and in a couple of hours it can get up to around 50. Not the fastest heater, but it does an ok job and it is quiet.

Kerosene is 4.00$ a gallon here. I just picked up 20 gallons the other day. Don't buy the kerosene at the hardware store. It's almost 2x the price.
 
The one Jeff suggested should work very well.

I have a similar one - but made for natural gas - wall mounted in my shop, and it keeps thing a very comfortable 65° in even the coldest weather. I have a 'kick-back' thermostat on mine, so it's 65° during the day, and goes back to 50° at night. I figure it costs me about $25~30 per month to keep the shop warm.

BTW, these radiant units make virtually no noise at all - unlike the salamander units that sound like jet engines.
 
what about one of these? LINK
I've got one of those in white in the Dungeon, it works, but not great. You need to leave it on all the time for it to really heat up the room. In the winter, my Dungeon will get down to 10C, with the heater on it will, in about 4 hours, get up to about 16C more than warm enough, but the Dungeon is well insulated being underground and all, I do not thing this kind of oil radiator heater would do much for Rob, need more BTUs
 
Don't know the size of yourshop, but before I was able to insulated my shop (1200sf) I got two kerosine heaters, one of the bullet ones and one of the upright ones. I would start with the big one for a half hour and then just use the small upright near where I was working. I had plenty of ventilation (ridge vent, soffit vents). I did pick up a carbon dixocide detector just to be safe.

Once the building was fully insulated, a small electric heater was all I needed, except with gets down in the teens, then I will run the upright kerosine heater for a half hour to bring the temp up so I can work in short sleeve shirts in the winter. Even with the building pretty air tight, I have never had the CO2 detector go off.

Rob
 
Here is what I heat my shop with. I think it's about 30,000 btu'sand thermostaticly controlled with a small built in fan that comes on to help circulate the heat. I will put it on setting 2 on the knob and heats my shop just fine to 65+ degrees when its 30 degrees out.
3-07-09%20006.JPG
 
Rob i have one similar to the one Jeff linked to,also one like Alan has. I use the one Jeff linked to on my job site. Been using it alot lately. It works great IMHO.Warmes up the 16x28 ft addition up real nice. I had to get down to a short sleeve shirt to day, turned to low. No insulation, open soffit, open ridge. the other one like Alan's will go in my shop and hang on the wall. need to get rid of that elec one i have now.
 
rob i have one like alans in my old shop area but it is the open flame type not the ceramic style,, it worked great and if i have more cold temp problem in the finish room i will be getting one like it for in there.. they heat great, and a fair amount of folks use them for home heat around here.....
 
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