Heating the Workshop

[Rockytime]

My workshop is small. 8'X14' 112 sq ft I have a radiant heater sitting on the floor. It is very ineffective.  Natural gas and propane are not an option. Also I cannot justify the cost of overhead infrared heating. I do have a separate 220v box in my shop. I'd like to know if any of you use a small 220v heater and what kind.

[jbrowning]

I just picked up two of these. I am in a 2 car garage and aim one from the overhead garage door and then the other one from the door that leads into the house. It has been keeping me warm the last couple of weeks. I still need a quilted flannel shirt to wear, but it is nice and comfortable right now.

Heater

[kmmcrafts]

I plan to add heat to my shop as well.. don't care if  I need to wear coat and gloves.. still but working in there below 30F isn't fun.. My shop is too big to heat the whole thing.. 24 x 32 with a 14 x 32 loft.. I've been considering building a small room which would be heated just to keep my saw in.. I eventually want to heat the whole lower part.. but still working to put insulation up.. upstairs is insulated with 4" Styrofoam sheets.. just haven't got to the lower section yet.. Maybe I should heat upstairs and heat it up there.. since its insulated LOL.. Not really wanting to block off a portion.. but not wanting to heat the whole thing yet either..

I was thinking of a ceiling hung shop heater.. or maybe a electric radiant heater.. but really haven't looked into it too much yet due to not enough $$ yet anyway, LOL 

[DME72]

for about $125 or so you can get a fan forced 1500 watt heater made by marley. i  just installed some at work. all you need is a dedicated  115 volt 20 amp circuit.they even have an adjustable t-stat on them.they work great for a small space.

[lawson56]

No I have a small 110v.It works ok,my little shop is just 10x12.

[Rockytime]

1 hour ago, jbrowning said:

I just picked up two of these. I am in a 2 car garage and aim one from the overhead garage door and then the other one from the door that leads into the house. It has been keeping me warm the last couple of weeks. I still need a quilted flannel shirt to wear, but it is nice and comfortable right now.

Heater

I have the same milk house heater. Problem is it has to be turned on for an hour before I go into the shop. Most of the time I am only in the shop for an hour or two. I have the 220v handy and such a heater will heat much faster at half the cost. I've looked at several in the internet but am wondering if anyone has experience with one before I jump in and buy one.

• Quote

 

[Rockytime]

33 minutes ago, lawson56 said:

No I have a small 110v.It works ok,my little shop is just 10x12.

I envy you guys with your big shops. Yours is 120 sqf mine is only 112 sqf. 

[DME72]

marley also makes wall heaters in 208/230 volt.

[Sparkey]

I am looking to get a larger heater for my shop. I have seen a few ceiling mount garage heaters 220 volt 5,000 watt for around $80. My shop is 12 by 24 and that should heat it fine

[spirithorse]

Hi, Rocky,

I know you said propane and natural gas are NOT an option but, you failed to say why so,
I thought I'd show you one option that is cheap and should work well enough to heat your shop.

It is propane but, it can use the small cylinders like gas barbecue grills use or use a 100 lb cylinder.
Here is a link from HarborFreight but, you can find them locally in big box stores or hardware stores.

https://www.harborfreight.com/15000-btu-tank-top-propane-heater-63073.html

I do not personally like kerosene but, there are a lot of kerosene heaters that would work well also.
The forced air kerosene heaters like some of my friends use to work on their cars seem to be much
more efficient and, once the area is heated, you can turn it off and the area shouldn't lose heat too rapidly.

Good luck and God Bless! Spirithorse

 

[kmmcrafts]

13 minutes ago, spirithorse said:

Hi, Rocky,

I know you said propane and natural gas are NOT an option but, you failed to say why so,
I thought I'd show you one option that is cheap and should work well enough to heat your shop.

It is propane but, it can use the small cylinders like gas barbecue grills use or use a 100 lb cylinder.
Here is a link from HarborFreight but, you can find them locally in big box stores or hardware stores.

https://www.harborfreight.com/15000-btu-tank-top-propane-heater-63073.html

I do not personally like kerosene but, there are a lot of kerosene heaters that would work well also.
The forced air kerosene heaters like some of my friends use to work on their cars seem to be much
more efficient and, once the area is heated, you can turn it off and the area shouldn't lose heat too rapidly.

Good luck and God Bless! Spirithorse

 

That's what I use.. I have a 30# cylinder and aim the heater toward me.. (the 20# cylinders are okay but work more on my feet that on me, LOL).. about 3ft away from me and usually run it on either low or Med.. Now.. this don't heat my shop.. just me, LOL but.. I think it would do really well if I had a small shop that was well insulated.. My loft is insulated but my shop hasn't been yet and my shop it big.. to big for one of these to heat even if it was insulated.. 

Anyone ever built a insulated portable wall? I don't want to close off my area for the nice breeze that blows though in the warmer months.. but would like a temporary wall that I could just heat a very small area.. maybe 6 or 8 ft square or so.. Maybe I could buy those styrofoam sheets and tape them together for a temporary wall? I'd like some tips if anyone had anything to offer.. maybe some ideas would also work for others.. so they could heat a small area around their saw etc.. 

Edited January 3, 2018 by kmmcrafts

[crupiea]

1- move dining room furniture into work shop.

2- Move work shop into dining room.

 

 

[Lucky2]

Rocky, is there no way you could use wood heat? That's what I use, it's a great heat source. The only drawback to using wood, is waiting for the shop to warm up initially. I burn mostly scrap wood, I never bought any wood to burn in over five years. With a couple of blow downs in the yard and scraps, I have plenty of wood to burn. And if I had to buy firewood I would buy it without thinking twice about it. It is a just an extra expense, related to my woodworking. And I don't mind an expense, that allows me to do woodworking to make money off of.

Len

[amazingkevin]

I ran the small HF propane heater in my ford focus To keep from freezing a few years back on refillable small bottles around the quart size.I refilled them with the adapter HF sold from a big tank.The windows were down a bit  so i survived!

[Rockytime]

3 hours ago, spirithorse said:

Hi, Rocky,

I know you said propane and natural gas are NOT an option but, you failed to say why so,
I thought I'd show you one option that is cheap and should work well enough to heat your shop.

It is propane but, it can use the small cylinders like gas barbecue grills use or use a 100 lb cylinder.
Here is a link from HarborFreight but, you can find them locally in big box stores or hardware stores.

https://www.harborfreight.com/15000-btu-tank-top-propane-heater-63073.html

I do not personally like kerosene but, there are a lot of kerosene heaters that would work well also.
The forced air kerosene heaters like some of my friends use to work on their cars seem to be much
more efficient and, once the area is heated, you can turn it off and the area shouldn't lose heat too rapidly.

Good luck and God Bless! Spirithorse

 

I cannot pipe gas to my shop because of much difficulty going from one end of the house to the other end where the garage is. Too much of a concrete barrier. I do have and use a propane heater that uses the small canisters of which I still have a couple. They heat very well but I have gone through too many small bottles. They do not last long.

[Rockytime]

1 hour ago, crupiea said:

1- move dining room furniture into work shop.

2- Move work shop into dining room.

 

 

Please, I may be old but I want to live a little longer. 

[Rockytime]

Thanks for the many suggestions. I could use a wood stove but it would require moving all my equipment out side except for a chair to sit in front of the fire with. I'm going to google the Marley stove. Thanks again.

Kindest Regards, Les

[OCtoolguy]

7 hours ago, Rockytime said:

I envy you guys with your big shops. Yours is 120 sqf mine is only 112 sqf. 

mine is only 117 sq. ft. but the problem I have is the aluminum awning that runs the length of our driveway is also the roof of my shop so it has a lot of draft to it. I'm going to do some sealing of all the draft points and then I'm also going to insulate the walls and panel over them. I'm in a very moderate temperature area but since I got old, I can't stand to be cold. Or too hot in the summer time. I guess I'm just a wimp.

Ray

 

[fordamir]

I HAVE USED A HARBOR FREIGHT ITEM NUMBER  63073 TANK TOP PROPANE HEATER FOR ABOUT THE LAST 5 YEARS IN MY 10' X 14' SHOP. IT HAS WORKED REAL WELL FOR ME, HOWEVER,  I LIVE IN THE PIEDMONT AREA OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND IT PROBABLY DOESN'T GET AS COLD HERE A WHERE Y'ALL LIVE.  I THINK IT WILL RUN ABOUT 10 HOURS ON A 20# CYLINDER OF PROPANE.  i FILL MINE ABOUT EVERY TWO YEARS. USUALLY I TURN  IT ON AND LET IT RUN TIL IT GETS GOOD AND HOT IN THERE THE TURN OFF FOR A WHILE AND WHEN IT GETS COOL TO WHERE I WANT TO WARM IT  UP, CRANK IT UP AGAIN.  DO WISH IT HAD A THERMOSTAT BUT FOR $39.95 LESS 20% THAT MIGHT BE ASKING RIGHT MUCH OF HARBOR FREIGHT. I AM VERY CAUTIOUS WITH IT HAVE A CO2 MONITER  AND CRACK A WINDOW PER INSTRUCTIONS.

[Woodmaster1]

I have a bigmaxx natural gas heater it cost me around $120 annually to heat the garage at 70 degrees during northern Indiana winters. I purchased a 5000watt electric heater from rural king for a backup when the gas furnace sometimes doesn't work because of a plugged vacuum switch. I heat a 990 square foot garage with no problems. The detached garage is very well insulated R19 in walls and R30 in ceiling. The bigmaxx 50k btu cost under 400 and a case of beer to the son inlaw to run the gas line and the electric backup with a fan cost $78 at rural king.

Edited January 3, 2018 by Woodmaster1

[tonylumps]

I was using a propane torpedo heater 60.000 to 80.000 works great but to much noise .would run it for 10 min. Than shut it off for half hour That was  a pain.Then I remembered I had a brand new Kerosene heater stored in the box for 20 years It is a 23000 btu  Corona .Do not use the propane anymore.This thing is clean burning and very safe and cheaper than propane 

[Doug]

Fort Lauderdale, Florida  cold?

Huntington Beach, Ca cold?

Give me a break guys!

[RangerJay]

I've had a workshop of some kind all of my married life.  With the exception of some short-lived experiments in the basement all the others have been outbuildings that have had to deal with Canadian winters.

There are a few things I've kinda come to believe:

- focusing your need for a comfortable "bubble" of heat around your bench or main workstation is the main goal - if you achieve that the rest of the workshop will probably be just fine for the shorter stints away.  

- A small baseboard or oil-filled radiator type heater under the bench and against the wall sets up a nice air circulation around the bench.  An additional ceramic type heater on the floor and blowing warm air across the front of the bench (and your legs) can become important as the winter temperatures deepen. 

- insulation in the workshop is really important - this is a big deal - my first workshop was a larger aluminum backyard utility shed (10X14??) insulated with one inch styrofoam and heated with a single 1500 watt plug-in baseboard type heater.  This set-up worked well for me over 2 winters (course - I was younger then .......)

- if you are sitting at a scrollsaw a small foot rest to get your feet off of the cold floor goes a real long way to keeping your feet and legs comfortable.

- firing your heaters up an hour or so ahead of your work period gets the bench and your tools warmed up.

My current shop is well insulated with a ceiling mounted propane furnace - but I still use an oil-filled radiator type heater under the scrollsaw bench on the coldest days - it makes a heck of a difference. 

 

Jay

[kmmcrafts]

2 hours ago, Doug said:

Fort Lauderdale, Florida  cold?

Huntington Beach, Ca cold?

Give me a break guys!

LOL, Sometimes I think the same thing when I see that... but the truth is.. people do adjust to the climate they are in after being in that type of climate for a few years.. so I believe they do get quite cold feeling... to them.. Same principal as we northerners will complain about the cold in the late fall early winter when temps might be 30 -40 out and bundle all up with heavy coats boots etc etc.. but after mid late winter early spring when we get a 30-40 degree day we are out there in just a jacket and tennis shoes thinking about how nice it is outside..  

I remember complaining to the wife about how cold it was last fall at 35-40 even 45.. I just came in from working out in the shop  for two hours to warm up.. setting here right now looking at my thermometer.. it's 18F... which by the way is the warmest day we've had in at least 2 weeks.. I'd love to get one of those 30 -40 days again so i can get caught up on my orders.. I'm sure it wouldn't feel so bad after these single digit temps we've been having..  

[OCtoolguy]

17 hours ago, spirithorse said:

Hi, Rocky,

I know you said propane and natural gas are NOT an option but, you failed to say why so,
I thought I'd show you one option that is cheap and should work well enough to heat your shop.

It is propane but, it can use the small cylinders like gas barbecue grills use or use a 100 lb cylinder.
Here is a link from HarborFreight but, you can find them locally in big box stores or hardware stores.

https://www.harborfreight.com/15000-btu-tank-top-propane-heater-63073.html

I do not personally like kerosene but, there are a lot of kerosene heaters that would work well also.
The forced air kerosene heaters like some of my friends use to work on their cars seem to be much
more efficient and, once the area is heated, you can turn it off and the area shouldn't lose heat too rapidly.

Good luck and God Bless! Spirithorse

 

Back when I had a 3 car garage, I bought a similar one as this from Home Depot and paid twice that much. It worked really well but as I have stated, I lived in a moderate setting where it never got down to freezing temps. But, I feel that if it had, this heater would have been adequate and in a smaller setting might just run you out after a  while.

Ray