Looking for a small heater

[cj7jeep81]

I am in the process of finishing off a machine room at the back of my shop. Room is roughly 15.5'x39'x9' ceiling. It has R19 in the interior wall and ceiling, and R19+2" of insulation on the exterior walls (all my exterior walls and ceiling currently have 2" of insulation).

I would like to put in a small heater for this room, and would prefer vented LP, as electric heat just seems so much more expensive (but maybe I'm wrong). I'm not looking to make it super warm, main goal is to keep it warm enough to not have to worry about rust and knock the chill off.

I am also planning on putting in an office/gunsmithing room above it (roughly 16'x15'), and it will be insulated similarly. Ideally, I'd like to somehow use the same heater for both, but not sure how realistic it is.

I might get a big hanging gas heater for the rest of the shop, but not decided on that. Just not sure what to use in these smaller, well insulated areas.

 

[cj7jeep81]

So after saying that, Google is showing that electric might be cheaper. I was just fairly against it as our house is electric heat (air to air heat pump), and the bill gets pretty stupid in the winter. One thing I read said that if you paid $2.40 a gallon for propane, and had an 85% efficient furnace, it would be a bit cheaper to use electric, if you cost is $0.10 per kw/hr or less. Have to double check my electric bill, but I'm pretty sure it is. Plus, I just paid $2.80 a gallon for propane.

That, coupled with the fact that a sufficiently sized electric heater is quite a bit cheaper than a gas heater with vent kit, makes payback even worse.

Edit-checked my last bill, and looks like its about $0.11 per kw/hr. So not sure propane would be worth it, considering the extra cost to install, and the hassle of getting tanks filled (I have 100lb tanks).

 

[Bretny]

With that long and skinny of a room you may want to use two heaters.

 

[cj7jeep81]

With that long and skinny of a room you may want to use two heaters.

Yeah, I was wondering about that. Might get 2, and put in opposite corners pointing at each other.

 

[Bretny]

Thise electric heaters are quite affordable and you can hang them on a bracket so you can aim them and not take up floor space.

 

[cj7jeep81]

Thinking about something like 2 of these. Need to do more research, as Menard's has 3 of these at the same wattage, but ranging in price from $70 to $230 each.

https://www.menards.com/main/heatin...73-c-6328.htm?tid=-8253048907516182123&ipos=2

 

[larry_g]

https://king-electric.com/product/model-kbp/

I'm on my second year with the above heater in my machine area, 12x36' with less insulation than you have and I'm perfectly happy with it. The thermostat will control into the 40*f range and hold the room 60-65*f. It would go higher but that is a comfortable temp for me. I also have a regular 10" fan running at the other end of the room to keep air circulating and all seems to heat evenly. The Pic-a-watt feature is a series of separate heater cartridges that you can change individually and only wire in what you need for use. Me i'm running them all. Also understand this is running in a climate where it is mostly above freezing all the time and outside temps are in the 35-50*f range. If your in subfreezing area or what higher room temps then you might need more wattage.

Our local big box store had this on the shelf. https://www.lowes.com/pd/King-20-484-BTU-Electric-Space-Heater/3120547

lg
no neat sig line

 

[LaneRover]

Not sure if pipes are an issue in this new area but you could get a gas heater and an electric one. My in-laws built an apartment above a garage I own in the next town and they have a heat pump for heating and cooling. My plan is to put in a propane heater that needs no external electricity to run as a 'just in case'. We have had ice storms that have knocked out power for a few days here and I like having the back up. My 2 cents.

 

[mikec35]

https://king-electric.com/product/model-kbp/

I'm on my second year with the above heater in my machine area, 12x36' with less insulation than you have and I'm perfectly happy with it. The thermostat will control into the 40*f range and hold the room 60-65*f. It would go higher but that is a comfortable temp for me. I also have a regular 10" fan running at the other end of the room to keep air circulating and all seems to heat evenly. The Pic-a-watt feature is a series of separate heater cartridges that you can change individually and only wire in what you need for use. Me i'm running them all. Also understand this is running in a climate where it is mostly above freezing all the time and outside temps are in the 35-50*f range. If your in subfreezing area or what higher room temps then you might need more wattage.

Our local big box store had this on the shelf. https://www.lowes.com/pd/King-20-484-BTU-Electric-Space-Heater/3120547

lg
no neat sig line

How often do you run the heater and have you figured out how much extra it adds to your electric bill? I know rates and usage differ but it would be nice to get a figure for someone that uses an electric heater like the average home mechanic might use it.

 

[larry_g]

How often do you run the heater and have you figured out how much extra it adds to your electric bill? I know rates and usage differ but it would be nice to get a figure for someone that uses an electric heater like the average home mechanic might use it.

I don't know the cost to run. Just like my eight liter pickup, I don't know the cost to run it either. Some things ya just don't need to know.

That said it runs for weeks at a time at low temp more for keeping the machines and tooling from rusting than my comfort. I'm retired so probably spend more time in the shop than a weekend warrior. I find that working in the shop with overalls and a sweat shirt comfortable. I'm not one that sports the latest fashion of shorts, t shirt, and flip flops. When I'm out there it doesn't kick on often once temp is up, maybe once an hour for 5 minutes.

 

[Bretny]

I don't know the cost to run. Just like my eight liter pickup, I don't know the cost to run it either. Some things ya just don't need to know.

That said it runs for weeks at a time at low temp more for keeping the machines and tooling from rusting than my comfort. I'm retired so probably spend more time in the shop than a weekend warrior. I find that working in the shop with overalls and a sweat shirt comfortable. I'm not one that sports the latest fashion of shorts, t shirt, and flip flops. When I'm out there it doesn't kick on often once temp is up, maybe once an hour for 5 minutes.

I like that. Some people try to justify pre buying there MPG by spending more on a diesel truck.

 

[cj7jeep81]

This is what I found online, which made me reconsider electric. I just paid $2.80 per gallon for propane (I'm sure it will be cheaper in the spring), and pay about $0.11 per kwh for electricity. So for me, its about a wash. However, the electric heaters are cheaper, no need to buy vent kits (which are expensive), and much easier to pay an electric bill vs filling up the 100lb tanks.

Propane contains 91,547 Btu per gallon. A typical furnace will convert about 85% of that to heat, which means that 1 gallon of propane provides about as much heat as 23 kilowatt-hours of electricity. If propane costs $2.40, then electric resistance heat is cheaper if grid electricity costs 10 cents per KWH or less.