Efficent tempature to keep Garage heater set at?

[JOE.G]

Hi, I am I have a 2 Story Shop with a 80K Big Maxx Propane heater that is a bit overkill but at the time it seemed right, anyway it works great and I have since I installed it in 2014 I have kept the heat set at 45 Deg when not out there and then bumped it to what ever I felt like while working out there.

My question is should I leave it at 45 or would 50 or 55 be better? I am not out there working everyday sometimes its 5 days a week others times only once a week. The heater does not have any problems bring the shop into the 70s in short order if I would like but it seems like it cools off fast and the heater has to kick back on, I assum this is because the concrete is cool ( I have 4 Ft of Concrete walls on 3 sides of the shop because I am built into a bank).

I have radiant but have not hooked it up yet and I have a Propnae fireplace up stairs in the man cave if I want to heat just that. Thanks

 

[yeldogt]

An oversized heater is always going to cycle more often .... how you use it is just going to be how happy you are at different temps .. try them?

A big max heater is heating the air -- it takes time to transfer that heat to all the objects in a given space. The air comes up to temp quickly -- and the heater shuts off.

My space is full of stuff ... even 50 is too cold for me ... I don't want to work with cold tools etc.

 

[finn]

The lower your set point is when the building is unoccupied, the less heat loss to the outside. Setting the thermostat higher will increase cycling, as stated, as the concrete and contents will absorb btu’s as they heat up, but that thermal energy is radiated back into the room as you set the thermostat back down for the night.

Keeping the room at a constant, higher temperature always uses more energy. That’s how heat transfer works: laws of thermodynamics at work.

Constant temperature will be more comfortable, though, especially when you have a large heat sink.

 

[Showkey]

Then there’s the controversy over the the furnace manufacturers stating in the manuals:

DO NOT SET thermostat below 50-55* .........low intake air temps cause excessive corrosion on the heat exchanger and exhaust venting.

Certainly a over sized heater ( short run times) and low set temp might be a bad combo ?

Controversial because some say it’s not a problem????

I set mine at 55* estimate heating a 1000 sqft in the coldest months on NG is less than a $1.00 per day. Setting lower might save 10% ??????

 

[nsula_country]

My Emerson Sensi goes down to 50*. I have been maitaining 55*-60*.

CT

 

[u3b3rg33k]

Then there’s the controversy over the the furnace manufacturers stating in the manuals:

DO NOT SET thermostat below 50-55* .........low intake air temps cause excessive corrosion on the heat exchanger and exhaust venting.

Certainly a over sized heater ( short run times) and low set temp might be a bad combo ?

Controversial because some say it’s not a problem????

I set mine at 55* estimate heating a 1000 sqft in the coldest months on NG is less than a $1.00 per day. Setting lower might save 10% ??????

My take on that given what I've seen is they're more concerned about freezing up the secondary HX than causing corrosion - at least on a condensing unit. One could always install a "bypass" vent to dump a little heat back into the intake. sized appropriately it wouldn't hurt efficiency but would address the effective low return temp issues. (for furnace style setups not hawt dawg/ traditional hanging units)

 

[yeldogt]

Then there’s the controversy over the the furnace manufacturers stating in the manuals:

DO NOT SET thermostat below 50-55* .........low intake air temps cause excessive corrosion on the heat exchanger and exhaust venting.

Certainly a over sized heater ( short run times) and low set temp might be a bad combo ?

Controversial because some say it’s not a problem????

I set mine at 55* estimate heating a 1000 sqft in the coldest months on NG is less than a $1.00 per day. Setting lower might save 10% ??????

The SS heat exchangers can run a bit lower -- but still the same problem. When you have a heater running in a cold space ... that cold air coming into and across the heat exchanger lowers the flue gasses. The water in the combustion gasses condense inside the exchanger.

People say it's OK -- because you can't see it. Also some of the old heaters will still run with a hole in the exchanger .. so CO is being introduced into the space.

With proper insulation and sizing ... it's not expensive to heat a garage to 65.

 

[JOE.G]

If I ever had to replace it I would probably drop down to a 50 K unit. I don't have any complaints with this one and it was not meant to be my main, it was suppose to be for the quick heat and my Radiant was going to be my constant.

My Honeywell Digital stat goes down to 45 Deg, and that is where I have kept it while not out there for the last 5 years. I was just wasn't sure if keeping it at 50 or 55 would keep concrete warmer and the rest of the items.

 

[American Locomotive]

I mean yes, keeping it at 55 degrees would keep the floor and everything else inside the shop warmer. But it'd also consume more fuel.

Your choice, really.

 

[Bert_]

Oversized heater is half the problem. It would be a lot more comfortable if the heater had to run for a good hour to raise the temperature 10-15 degrees.

You would have warm air blowing for longer and it would give the walls and stuff time to warm up without the heater shutting off right away.

45-50* constant and raise to 60* occasionally would be a good combo for me. 60* is a good working temperature with a sweatshirt. Anything higher is to warm. If you're moving a lot then 50* is pretty comfortable.

 

[JOE.G]

Yeah I tend to raise it from 45 to 60 or 65 if I am working and if we are going out there to just hang around Ill raise it to 70 or so. I have added two ceiling fans downstairs adn I have 3 smaller up stairs. I used to shut the upstairs down in the winter but I now leave it as a year round man cave and I added its own heat up there this year.

 

[Chetter]

I've found that I set mine at 48* when I'm not out there and turn it up to near 60* and after much trial and error, I've found that combo works best without using much propane at all. As one poster said, by keeping the temp down it will not run nearly as much to maintain the temp, that's what I experimented with.

 

[TractorJeff]

I've found that I set mine at 48* when I'm not out there and turn it up to near 60* and after much trial and error, I've found that combo works best without using much propane at all. As one poster said, by keeping the temp down it will not run nearly as much to maintain the temp, that's what I experimented with.

Mine holds right around 46/48 when I am not out there and it seems to work fine?