Replies

1. 
   ABenker | Mar 13, 2003 06:57pm | #1

   I have a hanging natural gas fired heater that works great in Minnesota. I can heat it up to a comfortable working temp in about 45 minutes when the temps are zero. Mine is fairly large, I got it out of a building demo I think it is around 60,000 BTU or so. I pay special attention to keep the furnace dust free since there is a flame on mine that is open. If I were going with something new I would look at a sealed heater that uses outside air for combustion.

   Aaron

2. 
   user-218654 | Mar 13, 2003 08:45pm | #2

   We used to have a kennel for our dogs in New Brunswick that was basically a chipboard-sheathed shed - no insulation at all.  We could keep that shed heated close to (normal inside) room temperature with nothing more elaborate than four heat lamp spotlights - one in each corner.  Toasty-warm and no worries about fumes or fuel.

3. 
   SCFrankland | Mar 14, 2003 02:58am | #3

   I have a cold concrete workshop that I heat with a quartz radiant heater.  It heats the items in the shop so they are warm to the touch.  I find that after a hour or so it is warm enough to work in my t-shirt.  The heater I have I bought at Lee Valley.

   http://www.leevalley.com/gifts/page.asp?page=44590&category=4,104,45473&abspage=1&ccurrency=1&SID=

   Scott C. Frankland

   Was the Newfoundland Wood Worker now the Nova Scotia Wood Worker.

1. 
   alias | Mar 14, 2003 04:45am | #4

   i've got the same heater , it does an ok job in my tall drafty shop in my long island shop. the best price for me around here is at loews for 20.00 bucks less.

1. 
   SCFrankland | Mar 15, 2003 02:22pm | #5

   Costco also sells them for less but they never had any in stock when I wanted one.  My shop has a 9' ceiling that is tight and holds the heat good.  In a older shop I had I would close off unused areas with 15mil plastic and also cover the roof.  It made a big difference when trying to heat a -20 Cel. workshop.Scott C. Frankland

   Was the Newfoundland Wood Worker now the Nova Scotia Wood Worker.

2. 
   chillywilly | Mar 17, 2003 04:44pm | #6

   Thanks for the advice.  Do you find you electric bills are much higher with these heaters?

   Also, do you have to deicate an outlet to each heater due to the 12.5 amp draw?

1. 
   SCFrankland | Mar 17, 2003 11:32pm | #7

   No I have several lines in the shop and it is plugged into one that does not have much on it.  All I have on that line is the heater, bench light and a radio.

   As for the power bill I have not noticed that much but the wife pays the bills so I would have to check with her.Scott C. Frankland

   Was the Newfoundland Wood Worker now the Nova Scotia Wood Worker.

1. 
   chillywilly | Mar 17, 2003 11:42pm | #8

   Thanks for the advice.  I trust anyone from Nova Scotia/Newfoundland/Canada when it comes to heating a cold shop!

   I'm "down south" in Connecticut!!!

1. 
   Jeff | Mar 18, 2003 02:08am | #9

   Hi every one.

   I'm adding on to my shop this summer.

   I was thinking of one of the Radiant heaters from Lee Valley.

   Any idea how safe this is with spray finishes.

   Jeff

4. 
   nannie4annie | Mar 18, 2003 02:45am | #10

   Do you have Natural Gas available to use ? I used a NG heater that is wall mounted and vented to the outside . With this type there is no open flame to the inside of the room. I keep my on all winter at 60 degrees. It adds about $5.00 to my overall gas bill per month. 16 x 21 garage with concrete floor.

5. 
   mbmmd | Mar 18, 2003 04:43am | #11

   Ron

   Up here in the White Mtns of NH, it has been esp cold this winter, with Temps down to 37 below (before factoring in wind chill).  Look into Monitor heaters, they run on either K 1 kerosene (preferred) or LP gas.  The combustion chamber is sealed and it exhausts as well as gets air for combustion from outside.  The only downside i see is the need to keep it fairly free of sawdust, an accumulation of which would create an overheat sensor to automatically shut the unit down.  No big problem, just dust off the unit and its grill and it will start back up.  The units are incredibly efficient as well.

   Best of luck

   Mark

6. 
   Laxton | Oct 31, 2007 10:12pm | #12

   Hi there, Read your message and thought I could tell you how a Brit in Denmark keeps his workshop HOT !! I have allso a workshop in a detached garage and have installed a wood burner in the corner, it is a closed fire, so no direct danger from the flames, its really great, come home from work (Am a carpenter !!) then start the fire, one hour later its lovely and warm, its great. Weekends are the best, 20 deg for the less active jobs, then a bit cooler if it gets physical.. Anyway a wood burner is great, allso keeps the shop tidy from ofcuts !! Hope you find a heat source...

7. 
   Dustydon | Nov 01, 2007 03:54am | #13

   I have a 20' by 28 ' shop that is attached to my house that s fully insulated and I heat it with a small  direct vent natural gas furnace.  I installed a small ceiling fan near to the furnace that I leave running all the time so the warm air will move around the shop.

   I have a portion of the shop where I store my paints and varnishes so I need to keep the shop warm enough to keep them from freezing. I also have a number of different types of glue that do not work well if frozen.

   I use a programmable thermostat that tuns the temperature down to 45 degrees at night and then up to 70 degrees when I am working in the shop. 

   I am always warm and toasty when I need it and conserving costs when I am away.

   This system I like because it is all automatic and very reasonable operate and there is no open flame that could cause a dust explosion problem 

8. 
   wilderness1989 | Nov 01, 2007 05:54am | #14

   I had the Hot-Dawg HDS45 furnace installed in my 24'x24' garage work shop last winter and it works great for me.  The shop is insulated and sheet rocked, 2 walls are common with the house, and there is an 2 car insulated door on one wall.  This heater uses outside air for combustion so there is no shop air used in the heating at all the flame does not come in coltact with shop air at all.  It has a fan and is controlled by a wall thermostat.  The link too look at them is below.

   http://hot-dawg.modine.com/

1. 
   krewz | Nov 01, 2007 06:55am | #15

   This thread was started in March 2003. I don't think Chilly is too chilly anymore. LOLBill

1. 
   wilderness1989 | Nov 01, 2007 07:19am | #16

   No but somebody else might.....you read it.  ;-)

2. 
   Brewgonia | Nov 01, 2007 06:06pm | #17

   I have the Hot Dawg in my 30x24 shop. It is basically half of my steel-skin barn, concrete floors, 6" insulated walls (3 exterior, 1 partition) and ceiling. I made a point to seal all cracks. It works GREAT. I keep it at 50deg when not occupied, it warms quickly. I am located just south of Chicago in an open wind-blasted area. It runs on it's own propane tank and cost my approx. $200 last winter to operate.

1. 
   sawdustfactory | Nov 01, 2007 09:55pm | #18

   Brewgonia:Do you keep the heater at 50 degrees when you are not using your shop, and turn it up when you do use it? The reason I am asking is I'd like to heat my 24 x 24 insulated shop to 50 degrees or so throughout the winter, and turn it up as I need to. I'm located in southwestern Michigan. The previous owner installed a "vent free" propane heater that I am not too impressed with. Too much odor and moisture condensation.Thanks

1. 
   Brewgonia | Nov 01, 2007 10:11pm | #19

   That's exactly how I do it. It heats up in no time and with the heavy insulation retains a great deal of the heat.

1. 
   ripleylynn | Nov 02, 2007 01:54am | #20

   This will be the first winter I am in an insulated garage.  However, the insulation is only 4" thick and no more can be added (not my garage, won't be there past next summer).  My question is about my stains and glues.  Is there a way to keep them from freezing short of bringing them into the house?  The garage will only be heated when I'm working in there (day hours, I live in Southern Pennsylvania).  I vaguely remember being told that I could use a small refrigerator (unplugged) to keep things from freezing.  Is that true?  thanks.

   robin

2. 
   tinkerer2 | Nov 03, 2007 06:00am | #21

   ( - I could use a small refrigerator unplugged to keep things from freezing.) 

   Yes, that is true.  I grew up in a house that when we went to bed at night, the heat went off!  We were given a used refrigerator and many a time when we kids got up, the warmest place in the house was the refrigerator.  Oh, I hated getting up and try to light the stove in that cold, cold kitchen.  We heated one room while we were up.  I once put a thermometer in the bedroom to find it a minus 10° F.  I really think that if you have four inches of insulation and have it warm during the day it might not freeze anyway.  Incidentally, our house was uninsulated.  Or If you have a wooden box that will hold all your supplies with a forty watt light bulb that it would avoid freezing.  Monitoring is the key. 

   Edited 11/2/2007 11:03 pm ET by tinkerer2

3. 
   sawdustfactory | Nov 03, 2007 05:57pm | #22

   Good thought with the light bulb. The first house my wife and I had was in northern Michigan,and it had a shallow well pit. We lined the pit with blue board and kept a 100 watt light bulb lit the entire winter to keep the pump from freezing. Every few days I would trudge out to the well pit and make sure the bulb hadn't burned out.