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Best Electric Heater??

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BakonBittz

Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2012
Messages
12
Location
Cleveland Ohio
Time for some heat upgrades to the shop! I'm excited, but don't want to waste money, so I come here for your expertise! Thank you in advance

Building is 30'x32' with 10' ceilings, mildly insulated. Unfortunately my only options are Electric (120v or 240v) or Kero. Northeast Ohio weather and electric around 10 cents a kWh for reference.

I ran the 250,000 btu kerosene heater last winter and it was....not cheap. I try to keep the building around 45-50* when I'm not out there to keep all the chemicals and paints happy. Realistically I'll let the heater run until its 70* when I'm out working once or twice a week. I was hoping to use an electric to keep the frost out and supplement with the kerosene heater when I'm out working/if I need some real heat.

I was looking at something like this:

https://www.menards.com/main/heating-cooling/heaters/electric-garage-heaters/king-electric-heavy-duty-digital-electronic-garage-heater-15-000w/kb2415-1-b2-eco/p-1461692447509.htm

Will 15,000 watts (~50,000 btu) be enough for 960 sq ft? Am I doing too much? Is there anything more cost efficient you can think of? Thank you again for the wealth of information!
 
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mrjohnsmitt

Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2018
Messages
8
Location
LA
You won't be happy with the electric bills or with the heat blowing down on you , but a very good short term retrofit solution and those electric heaters can always stay in place as a back up when you get a better soultion.
 
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Stuart in MN

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 8, 2005
Messages
23,088
Location
Minneapolis
You need to do some sort of heat loss calculation to determine what size heater you need, just going by guess may get you one that's not big enough or bigger than is required. People will point out electric heat is expensive but you already know that. The cost of operation also depends on the usage; like you said, turn down the heater when you're not working in the garage. You said the building is mildly insulated - adding more insulation (as well as making sure the building is sealed well, with no leaks around doors, windows, etc.) will help. Also, putting on a sweater and not running it all the way up to 70 degrees will save some money, too. ;) As for efficiency, watts are watts. Any electric heater of a given kilowatt size is going to cost the same to operate.
 
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Buckaroo5

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 18, 2012
Messages
822
Location
Central Ohio
I just installed that same model (King Electric Eco2) also purchased from Menard's but the small, 5000 Watt size. Installed in my attached three car garage here in Central Ohio. Also put R-19 insulation in the ceiling and replaced the bottom seals on the doors which are insulated. I was considering the 10,000 Watt unit but two 5's were the same price as a 10 so decided to wait and see how the single unit maintains temp this winter. Ran the wire for the second unit during this install to make things a little easier next time. The remote control thermostat and the two-stage heating are nice features.

I have been using a 24,000 BTU kerosene convection heater the past several winters. The electric unit heats up the space much more quickly and I also plan to supplement with the kerosene unit when really cold if needed. Only run the heat when I'm out there working.

Buckaroo
 
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Pruittx2

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 30, 2018
Messages
98
Location
Points to middle of right palm, Michigan
I put this in 2 yrs ago. 28x48x10 and I tarped off 1/4 of it, so approx 12x18,, foam sprayed walls 2in thick, is all the insulation I have.

shopping.jpg

it's a 7500 watt unit, and does 27500btu's.

If you stand under it it's hot, But takes HOURS to get the area warm enough for me to get much done. I'm @ $.12kwh it runs a couple bucks an hr to run.

I'm in the process of putting a Big Maxx 80k propane unit in! I'll be uninstalling the elec unit and putting it on CL soon.
 
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nsula_country

Well-known member
Joined
May 23, 2013
Messages
1,534
Location
Northwestern Louisiana
BakonBittz said:
Time for some heat upgrades to the shop! I'm excited, but don't want to waste money, so I come here for your expertise! Thank you in advance

Building is 30'x32' with 10' ceilings, mildly insulated. Unfortunately my only options are Electric (120v or 240v) or Kero. Northeast Ohio weather and electric around 10 cents a kWh for reference.

I ran the 250,000 btu kerosene heater last winter and it was....not cheap. I try to keep the building around 45-50* when I'm not out there to keep all the chemicals and paints happy. Realistically I'll let the heater run until its 70* when I'm out working once or twice a week. I was hoping to use an electric to keep the frost out and supplement with the kerosene heater when I'm out working/if I need some real heat.

I was looking at something like this:

https://www.menards.com/main/heating-cooling/heaters/electric-garage-heaters/king-electric-heavy-duty-digital-electronic-garage-heater-15-000w/kb2415-1-b2-eco/p-1461692447509.htm

Will 15,000 watts (~50,000 btu) be enough for 960 sq ft? Am I doing too much? Is there anything more cost efficient you can think of? Thank you again for the wealth of information!
Click to expand...

For a little more cost, I'd go another route.

Residential Upflow Electric furnace. They come in 3 cabinet sizes. 17", 20", and 24". The heat strip is field installed. They are as small as <10kw to 30kw. 15kw=51180 btu. 20kw=68240 btu and requires about 100A @ 240vac.

Build a return plenum out of 2x4 and plywood. Mount the furnace. Use a prefab 2'-4' supply plenum. From here you can run snaplock ductwork or, use some large 4-way registers to "throw" the air in the center of the building.

An air handler will move much more air than a hanging heater. Also you can filter the air! Shops are dusty. I would install 2 filter grills. Not so much as for lowering the return pressure, but for increased filtering of the air. Use plain furnace filters, 2" thick preferably.

If Heat Pump is what you desire (more $$$$) go with a traditional split. Mini Splits filtration *****... Tiny filters that cannot handle dust from sweeping the floor, doing woodwork, ect.

Good luck!

CT
 
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HoosierBuddy

Well-known member
Joined
May 9, 2006
Messages
2,920
Location
Southern Indiana
Just to consider absolute worst case...at 10 cents/kwh, if it runs flat out it will cost 15 cents and hour to run or $3.60 day. If it can't catch up in (say) January in Cleveland in a large building which you call "mildly insulated" that's only $108 for the month.

I mean...not cheap....but not horrible...I guess.

Natural Gas or propane would be more expensive to install, but likely cheaper to operate. Natural Gas certainly would be.

Phil
 
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nsula_country

Well-known member
Joined
May 23, 2013
Messages
1,534
Location
Northwestern Louisiana
HoosierBuddy said:
Just to consider absolute worst case...at 10 cents/kwh, if it runs flat out it will cost 15 cents and hour to run or $3.60 day. If it can't catch up in (say) January in Cleveland in a large building which you call "mildly insulated" that's only $108 for the month.

I mean...not cheap....but not horrible...I guess.

Natural Gas or propane would be more expensive to install, but likely cheaper to operate. Natural Gas certainly would be.

Phil
Click to expand...

Exactly... Us with out NG service and high cost LPG options, electric is the only option. It's not as expensive as some that have NG or cheap LPG lead us to believe...

Many will say that wood or waste oil, which both have high labor are cheap to obtain. End game, hign cost. My labor is $100/hr min... How much wood can you chop, or oil can you gather and filter for $100?

FYI... We have a fireplace. In the house. We like a fire for football games. I provide the wood. But not to heat a shop all winter. Not to heat house all winter. We have 2 heat pumps. 3.5 ton and 2.5 ton. When it gets below 20ish* or wife cranks on tstat, or defrost mode kicks in... The resistive heat kicks in... Sometimes.

I'd love to have an unlimited pipe of NG to be at every building we own. At the price of NG, who wouldn't?

Electric is no cost unless it is being used. I like it!! I use it!!! I pay for what I use!! Cheaper than LPG here. We have 2, 27kw tankless electric water heaters and a 320A service. Even after 10-20 years, still cheaper than 30k to get NG to the house.

Hence, 5T heat pump with 20kw heat strip will be installed in shop by January.

CT
 
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Blazinzuk

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 13, 2016
Messages
637
Location
Afton Wy
My well insulated shop has not frozen yet. I only have a small 1500 watt heater going in there now. I have a waste oil heater but I will buy a 5000 watt electric heater as a backup. It has stayed in the mid 30s in my shop even with outside temps in the low single digits. This is in a 30x40
 
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mrjohnsmitt

Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2018
Messages
8
Location
LA
Blazinzuk said:
My well insulated shop has not frozen yet. I only have a small 1500 watt heater going in there now. I have a waste oil heater but I will buy a 5000 watt electric heater as a backup. It has stayed in the mid 30s in my shop even with outside temps in the low single digits. This is in a 30x40
Click to expand...
Insulation is pretty much always better than no insulation. It will stay warmer in the winter, and cooler in the summer.
 
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Stuart in MN

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Joined
Sep 8, 2005
Messages
23,088
Location
Minneapolis
Remember that f it runs continuously that's a worst case scenario. Assuming the heater is sized correctly, the building has good insulation, and it's not -100 degrees out ;) it will cycle on and off so the real world cost will be something less. Also, in this case he will be turning it way down most of the time, and only turning it up a couple times a week.
 
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