# How do you heat your shop ?



## purpleknif (Jan 29, 2014)

Just curious, how does everyone heat their shop? I use a kerosun heater with a 3' x 3' piece of 3/16" aluminum sitting on top. Works real well until the weather gets real cold then the floor just gets too cold to work. Got "anti fatigue mats but they don't help much.


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## dreeves (Jan 29, 2014)

I use a 2 burner propane heater to knock the chill off.

Dave


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## lennardhme (Jan 29, 2014)

In the winter I crank up the old wood stove - keeps the place cosy.
Right now its 42c & workshop time is limited to about 30 min. before I need a break. Been bloody hot this summer.
Leonard


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## MachineTom (Jan 29, 2014)

I use a Fujitsui Heat Pump 24k BTU at 0°F. 16 x 30 shop 6" walls and 12" in the ceiling of insulation. 70-72 all winter, 80 in the summer. Very cheap to run when its in the 40's more expensive at 0° F. This is not a normal winter for us in south Jersey.


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## stevehuckss396 (Jan 29, 2014)

The garage has a standard furnas just like the one in the house.


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## Walltoddj (Jan 29, 2014)

I just got a heater set up in my shop it's 125000 btu on propane, now understand the whole shop is 35"x51" with 15" ceiling the problem I'm finding is it takes a long time to heat all that darn steel. The metal shop and the wood shop are 24"x17" in the back half the front is a 12000# two post car lift. At this point it's so cold here I don't spend a lot of time out there but Ive' set it at 55F to take off the chill and see if it stops the machines from sweating. I've found that if I close the metal shops doors it seems to stay about 60F which isn't to bad to work in. Before this I had a 10000 Btu kerosine blaster or we call them a salamander.

Todd


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## cfellows (Jan 29, 2014)

I have a 5000 watt, 220v electric heater, like one of these,







that I use when the temperature drops below about 40 outside. It's basically a cube, about 12" on a side.  It's been in the 20's that past few days and the heater will bring my garage up to around 60 in under an hour. Costs about 50 cents an hour to run it, probably no worse than my garage air conditioner in the summer. It's pretty simple, looks like an electric stove burner mounted vertically with a fan blowing across it.

Chuck


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## cwelkie (Jan 29, 2014)

Spoiled rotten ... in-floor radiant heat. Best thing I did for the shop - other than (maybe) including a toilet and laundry sink


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## barnesrickw (Jan 29, 2014)

Basement shop.


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## Art K (Jan 29, 2014)

I use an electric 900 W baseboard heater it is usually set at medium. Monday when I went out in the shop it was 56oF the coldest I've seen it usually hovers in the mid - upper 60s. Maybe I should have turned it up...nahhh. The temps are supposed to be rising It was 19 when I left work today, heat wave.
Art


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## Wizard69 (Jan 29, 2014)

All I have at the moment is a basement shop, it isn't bad down there as I've been doing a lot of remodeling with a heavy focus on insulation.    However this winter has been brutal with high winds and extreme cold, talk about the best laid plans!   In any event the furnace has run constantly and it has literally been warmer in the cellar than the rest of the house  &#128563;.   So to stay warm I have to spend time in the shop.  

The bad part here is that in a very real way my tool budget, which isn't much to begins with, is going up the chimney.  So hopefully the cold spell will moderate soon otherwise this will be a skip year for tool purchases.


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## mikbul (Jan 29, 2014)

Hanging Berco electric space heater with four different wattages to chose from, I wired it for next to lowest and heats fine and is quiet. Built in t- stat. Bought it from Global Industrial.


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## gunna (Jan 30, 2014)

No one from Oz seems to want to comment about this, so here goes. For probably 95% of us there is fully automatic solar heating. When I came home this afternoon, on a pleasant 32C day, it was 45C in the shed. I bet our friends in Adelaide can top that by a great deal!

Ian.


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## rodw (Jan 30, 2014)

gunna said:


> No one from Oz seems to want to comment about this, so here goes. For probably 95% of us there is fully automatic solar heating. When I came home this afternoon, on a pleasant 32C day, it was 45C in the shed. I bet our friends in Adelaide can top that by a great deal!
> 
> Ian.



Hmm, funny you say that. I recently purchased one of these to upgrade my heating capability in my shed

http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/F026#

It hit 48 degrees C here the other day at 5:00 pm OUTSIDE my shed!


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## Herbiev (Jan 30, 2014)

You're dead right Ian. 40 tomorrow 42 Sat and 43 Sunday. About 10 degrees hotter again in a tin shed.


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## Generatorgus (Jan 30, 2014)

Hot air trailer furnace(oil fired), set at 50 degrees, in the morning kick it up to 70 and light my old Sears wood stove, them turn the furnace back to 50 and enjoy the comfort of the fire.  Usually spend about $100/$150 on oil and chain saw gas on the wood.


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## kvom (Jan 30, 2014)

In-floor radiant heat


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## dalem9 (Jan 30, 2014)

An old motel heater run on natural gas. kept at about 60 . But my feet are cold all the time . Dale


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## robcas631 (Jan 30, 2014)

It's next to me! ;D Utility Tech electric radiator.  It's mobil and works well. 

http://www.lowes.com/pd_167509-4716...L=?Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=


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## ausdier (Jan 31, 2014)

I draw your attention to post #3
http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/f16/furnace-22493/


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## Draw-Tech (Jan 31, 2014)

I solved it, I moved to Florida.

Draw-Tech


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## chucketn (Jan 31, 2014)

Draw-Tech said:


> I solved it, I moved to Florida.
> 
> Draw-Tech


 
...and 40° is your new Zero...

Chuck


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## RonGinger (Jan 31, 2014)

I just this week installed a Rennai hot air furnace. Its wall mounted and fueled by a propane tank outside the shop. When I built the house I put radiant everywhere, but when it came to the shop I was just so sick of stringing PEX pipe I could not face another thousand feet or so. I installed a baseboard heat loop, but it never was adequate, and was really wasting heat. The boiler is as far from the shop as possible.

So after 3 day experience I like the Rennai, but of course I have no guess yet as to fuel consumption.


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## BaronJ (Jan 31, 2014)

Walltoddj said:


> I just got a heater set up in my shop it's 125000 btu on propane, now understand the whole shop is 35"x51" with 15" ceiling the problem I'm finding is it takes a long time to heat all that darn steel. The metal shop and the wood shop are 24"x17" in the back half the front is a 12000# two post car lift. At this point it's so cold here I don't spend a lot of time out there but Ive' set it at 55F to take off the chill and see if it stops the machines from sweating. I've found that if I close the metal shops doors it seems to stay about 60F which isn't to bad to work in. Before this I had a 10000 Btu kerosine blaster or we call them a salamander.
> 
> Todd


Hey Todd,
How ever do you manage with a fifteen inch high ceiling...


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## pkastagehand (Jan 31, 2014)

but I have a 90 something percent efficient furnace so not much waste heat is leaked into the basement; no ducts venting to the basement; high walls made of old stone and weak mortar letting in drafts likely.  All adds up to pretty darn cold down there when it is hovering near zero (-17.7 C),  which it has been doing a lot of this winter.  

So, I have recently moved my shop to a smaller room with a door (same basement) in the hopes of getting some heat in there but haven't figured out how.  I tapped the plenum on the furnace with a 3 inch duct, but with all the others at 6" that one doesn't do much; air, like electricity takes the path of least resistance I guess.  I would have to chop a hole through a brick wall to get a 6 incher through and that idea doesn't thrill me somehow.  One thought was a small fan on the 3" duct to help pull some more of that heated air through when the main furnace fan starts.

I do have a 1500W electric heater with a fan which will bring up the temperature while I'm down there but not instantly with all that cold iron and concrete and stone absorbing heat.

Paul


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## mikbul (Jan 31, 2014)

pkastagehand said:


> but I have a 90 something percent efficient furnace so not much waste heat is leaked into the basement; no ducts venting to the basement; high walls made of old stone and weak mortar letting in drafts likely. All adds up to pretty darn cold down there when it is hovering near zero (-17.7 C), which it has been doing a lot of this winter.
> 
> So, I have recently moved my shop to a smaller room with a door (same basement) in the hopes of getting some heat in there but haven't figured out how. I tapped the plenum on the furnace with a 3 inch duct, but with all the others at 6" that one doesn't do much; air, like electricity takes the path of least resistance I guess. I would have to chop a hole through a brick wall to get a 6 incher through and that idea doesn't thrill me somehow. One thought was a small fan on the 3" duct to help pull some more of that heated air through when the main furnace fan starts.
> 
> ...


 
Paul,
If you take that 3" off the top of the supply plenum you'll get way more air flow. 

HVAC Tech
Generator Tech


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## Walltoddj (Jan 31, 2014)

BaronJ said:


> Hey Todd,
> How ever do you manage with a fifteen inch high ceiling...



OPPS!

That's what I get for using the Ipad, pain in the butt auto corrects every thing I at times I miss it. How about 35' x 51' x 15' high with another 24' x 35' to park cars out of the sun. Bad part is it's still not big enough!!!

Todd


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## Longboy (Jan 31, 2014)

.....I usually swear alot and finally throw something across the room.:rant:


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## pkastagehand (Feb 3, 2014)

mikbul said:


> Paul,
> If you take that 3" off the top of the supply plenum you'll get way more air flow.
> 
> HVAC Tech
> Generator Tech



It is pulling from right up at the top but on a side panel.   If you mean literally the top, I don't think I can get there.  Low basement ceiling.  I may remove a bit of brick and put a six incher through if I get back to it.  Been busy with other stuff lately.

Paul (not from Oz)


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## BillP (Feb 3, 2014)

I use an natural gas fired radiant heater (similar to what you would find in a hockey rink). Does an outstanding job, as it warms everything in the shop.


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## farmerbill13 (Feb 8, 2014)

In floor radiant heat using a Takagi Jr tankless water heater fueled by propane. Leave the thermostat set at 55 and you can work in there with a t shirt on all day long.Shop is 32 x 40 with 10'-6" ceiling.Just wish I had the time to work in it all day long.


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## neptune769 (Jul 5, 2014)

I don't, nature does it for me. Here is Southeast Texas the winters are "usually" mild. The problem for me is the Heat in the summer. My shop isn't insulated and I haven't installed the window a/c in the wall yet. So it is in the 90s for most of the summer. 

Dennis L.


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## ConductorX (Jul 14, 2014)

Heating really isn't a huge problem in Louisiana.  I have a small propane heater that knocks off the chill.  In the summer the heat kills.  Today at 6am it is 80F with 90% humidity.  The high today is expected to reach 95F.  For cooling I am planning for an 8000 BTU AC unit.  For now I have a home made solution.  A 25" fan with fifty feet of 3/8" copper tubing.  I circulate ice water through the tubing with a fountain pump.  It really keeps the shop cool.






Thanks,
"G"


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## neptune769 (Jul 14, 2014)

ConductorX That is a cool idea. no pun intended.


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## Art K (Jul 14, 2014)

ConductorX,
That sounds familiar when I was a kid my dad used to hook up the garden hose to an old car radiator, the outlet end to the downspout drain and run a fan behind it. Was probably 20 degrees F cooler than outside the garage. We didn't live in town I might add.
Art


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## barnesrickw (Jul 15, 2014)

ConductorX said:


> Heating really isn't a huge problem in Louisiana.  I have a small propane heater that knocks off the chill.  In the summer the heat kills.  Today at 6am it is 80F with 90% humidity.  The high today is expected to reach 95F.  For cooling I am planning for an 8000 BTU AC unit.  For now I have a home made solution.  A 25" fan with fifty feet of 3/8" copper tubing.  I circulate ice water through the tubing with a fountain pump.  It really keeps the shop cool.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




That is awesome.  


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