how can I heat My 2 bay without insulation?

[brett3xx]

Well I know I need some insulation, but Im a poor college student! lol. I do alot of mechanic work out of my shop and really need some heat. My shop is about a 25x25 with no insulation and meatal roof. Ive been using a 110 torpedo heater, and while it does heat the shop well, The fumes are horrible. I have a 3 brick heater, but it doesnt do much once it gets below 50 degrees or so. I considered a propane heater, but I propane is expensive and not sure I can afford to keep it running. I have 220 and 110 outlets as well. Thanks for any ideas!

 

[brett3xx]

I have considered adding some clear roof panels to help warm the shop during the day. Any ideas how effective this would be?

 

[trythis]

No free lunch here. You gotta either pay for insulation or pay for heat that can overcome it.
I have no insulation in my shop and I opted for the overhead tube heater. They make propane and natural gas versions, electric too, but you are throwing maney away with electric heat. They are radiant, and don't heat the air, which in our case is not staying in our buildings. They heat the stuff inside, so even if you open the door it doesnt suddenly get ridiculously cold. You dont seem to have very high ceilings, so you would want to go for a residential model that only needs 10 feet. You still gotta buy it and they run $800 or so.

Or build a wood stove from a barrel stove kit, they take up floor space and you have to chop wood, and they take time to heat up.

Installing either requires an exhaust vent.

 

[PassnThru]

There are kerosene additives that will reduce the smell when burned. You might want to check into that. Otherwise, large space without insulation equals torpedo heater. Not many ways around that.

 

[babzog]

Could probably find a cheap or free woodstove and chimney on freecycle (yahoo groups, check for ones nr your area), kijiji or craigslist. Buy some wood, get some scraps from the lumber yard and carpenters in the area, check local sawmills for slabs (they love to get rid of those - might let you walk away with all you want for free).

 

[padronanniversary]

how about a waste oil heater since u probably have access to that ? Just fab a heat exchanger, and you should be good to go

 

[Boyd Who]

I ran a 240V 5kw electric heater in my 20x22 shop before I had insulation. It would keep the space at about 50F even when it was below 0, which was more than comfortable for working in.

 

[brett3xx]

Thanks for all the ideas. I dont mind running my torpedo heater some, but would like to be able to only run it occasionaly. I have been considering a wood burning stove if I could find one for a desent price, I dont deal with that much oil in my shop, I mainly install lift kits, and do fab work, so the oil buring heater is out.

Boyd who, what type of heater was that you ran, any links where I might could check it out? Thanks

 

[Ford12508]

I think your best bet is to use the torpedo for now, and save a little money here and there and insulate it over a few months time. If you dont insulate it, it will cost more with propane/electricity/kerosene, or you could spend the money on insulation, your shop would heat up quicker, stay warmer longer, and you won't have to deal with the smells.

Your best bet would just be to insulate the roof at this point, metal roofs are the worst for keeping heat in.

 

[reddog289]

It looks like the studs are covered, But alot of the heat could be headed toward the ceiling or lack of one. My nephew used plastic sheeting on his walls and the underside of his trusses. He said it helped, He too uses a bullit heater.Which I plan to drag mine to my home shop from my Uncles to use while insulating my 1 car part of the garage which has no heat nor duct work.
I bought my house cause it had a heated garage, Well 2 and one half is. I did some insulation work in my compressor closet and seemed to misplace my thermostat.I too have heating issues for now. BEST OF LUCK IN YOUR PROJECT.

 

[sixball]

Torpedo is your best bet. As far as fumes go, are you venting it? You need to crack the man door afew inches. Check your adjustment instructions on your torpedo, they shouldn't be giving off heavy fumes all the time, mine smells at startup and shutdown, but thats about it, and I keep the man door craked. I also run diesel in mine, and personally I think it smells less than kero.

My garage is alittle bigger than yours, but it's insulated (not that great at that) and my 70,000 BTU radiant torpedo burns me out of there.

Sixball

 

[brett3xx]

Well last winter I ran a 110k btu torpedo heater and it did a great job with the door vented. well it started acting up so I bought a new 70kbtu torpedo last week, I open the door about 10" or so and place the heater tail under the door. It does make a difference, but it has to run constantly, with the 110 it would run and then cut off after it got the shop warm, it would just kick itself on and off. Im thinking I have more fumes with the 70 because it has to run constintly trying to heat the shop. I may take it back and exchange it for a bigger one, just hate to spend the extra money.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Years ago, when I borrowed my SIL's garage, I stapled plastic to the bottom of the trusses. While it may not be the prettiest thing but it did help a bunch.

 

[Boyd Who]

Thanks for all the ideas. I dont mind running my torpedo heater some, but would like to be able to only run it occasionaly. I have been considering a wood burning stove if I could find one for a desent price, I dont deal with that much oil in my shop, I mainly install lift kits, and do fab work, so the oil buring heater is out.

Boyd who, what type of heater was that you ran, any links where I might could check it out? Thanks

It's a Dimplex portable construction heater, 240V, 4800 watts. They cost less than $100 at most hardware stores. Up here they won't pass code if used as a permanent heating source, but they work fine and I know a ton of people who use them to heat their garages. I'll probably get a permanent electric heater eventually to mount up on the wall, but for now this beast really cranks out the heat.

 

[Shott8283]

There are kerosene additives that will reduce the smell when burned. You might want to check into that. Otherwise, large space without insulation equals torpedo heater. Not many ways around that.

can you use those additives in a forced air kerosene heater? i thought they were only for the barrel type heaters with the wicks in them

 

[blazsawgras]

i have a garage about the same size i heat mine with a reddy heater 110,000 btu more heater than i need for that size building but i wired in a thermostat. that heater works well been using it about 15 years now but i have less smell with diesel fuel.

 

[SgtRauksauff]

our 24x24 garage is in the same boat. We insulated one corner when I put in an air compressor, and we just got done putting in an insulated dor. The door itself has made a gigantic noticable difference immediately. We have a hommade 33-year-old barrel stove, that gets things to a useable temperature. When we bought the insulated door, we also bought a few sheets of 1" thick polystyrene insulation, and a box of fender washers. We're going to tack the insulation onto the bottom of the rafters with drywall screws and the washers. Since most of the heat goes up to the un-useable area in the peak, and out the edges of the rafters, this will keep the heat in the used area, and make for a nice comfortable working area, as well as reducing the wood consumption.

I do have a 215k BTU torpedo heater, that I use with K1 kerosene if I'm going to only be in there for a short time and not go through the trouble of starting/tending a fire. The cleaner burning K1 kerosene has been harder to find the last couple of years, and getting kind of pricey.

I'm currently toying with the idea of one of those Heat Extractors. My uncle had one years ago in his house, and it worked great.

 

[Kevin54]

For what it is, I would go with a woodburner. Wood will be your cheapest route as far as fuel expense. You can get woodburners from free to a couple of hundred. Just do a search on Craigslist and you should turn up quite a few.

Just a quick search in my local CL turned up a few

http://limaohio.craigslist.org/for/2054321983.html

http://richmondin.craigslist.org/grd/2053389706.html

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/grd/2047116882.html

http://columbus.craigslist.org/hsh/2094575473.html

http://columbus.craigslist.org/for/2050048429.html

 

[PaulR]

Yes, try to position the heater so the non-business end is hanging half way out the door to the outside, or build a pipe-hole or some type of vent so it can grab the fresh cold air and burn it. Your fumes will be cut in half.

 

[hidollartoys]

You can wire a baseboard heater thermostat to cycle the turbo heaters as long as they incorporate auto spark ignition. I have made "extension" cords with an inline thermostat that hung on the wall for this purpose.

 

[EdT]

If you do decide to do some kind of insulation you may want to consider having it done. I was surprised on my project that I can have the insulation done by a big, licensed firm for less than I can buy the materials for a the local big box. So, that was a no-brainer. Now if I can just finish up the wiring, I'll have it done. The same is not true of sheetrock so, unfortunatly, I'll be doing that myself.

 

[FordToughF250]

Just wondering, how cold does it get where you are?