Cheap oil furnace?

[Fallon]

We are 3 months in to settling into our new (1978) house, 5 acres & shop/barn.

My shop use to be just a tin barn that got extended years ago. The more shop half has 4"? foam panels on the roof & walls. Not well sealed at all, but a lot better than nothing.

Given I'm in Colorado & it's snowing for the 2nd time this year, I'm thinking about trying to heat things a bit so I don't freeze when out there tinkering. It will only get run an evening or 2 during the winter, so efficiency won't pay off compared to getting a cheap unit & not having to get another tank for something else.

I will be getting a diesel tank for my tractor here shortly, probably 250 gallons or so. My intent (not yet full blown plan) is to try & track down a cheap used oil furnace & run off the same tank to save on logistics. As heating oil is the same thing as off-road diesel in most instances, this shouldn't be an issue.

My problem is finding a cheap oil furnace here in Colorado. I've been scouring Craigslist & finding a decent number of propane or LPG units for under 300, but no oil.

If I can't find something soon I'm liable to just pick up a kerosene or propane torpedo heater for this winter to get by.

Any thoughts on where to dig up a cheap but functional oil furnace? Any flaws in my logistics plan?

 

[brewchief]

Call around to local HVAC guys, we don't save much unless we have a use for it so it's not uncommon for us to throw away some decent equipment from time to time, trying to sell stuff can be a PITA but we might set something aside if we know we have a buyer for it.

 

[mygarageone]

Unless , you are willing to have that oil furnace serviced regularly , I would get a L.P unit , they are plentiful and need much less attention and you could run it off 100 # cylinders if you had too.
A used oil furnace will not most likely just fire up and be ok , it will need a new nozzle , combustion air adjustment , combustion chamber inspection . Most oil furnaces that are removed are either on there last leg or heat exchanger has issues. Oil furnaces require special equipment to test the combustion eff and stack temp , smoke test. I wouldn't fire up an oil furnace with out doing a inspection and combustion , smoke set up

 

[Sureshot]

Used oil furnaces are popular here for shop use. They come from people switching to NG. I have one ready to go but you are too far away.

 

[Fallon]

Ya, there just don't seem to be any oil furnaces here in CO. Probably looking at a propane one & a separate tank I guess.

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[mygarageone]

When I lived and worked in Colo , We did a brand new Maintance garage for Copper Mtn. Ski Resort There was no one in the area that had ever installed or serviced oil at all.
That didn't stop my boss from messing with the dang unit heaters 25ft in the air and the water boiler 10 ft in the air. I never heard so much cussing in my life. Seems like every time he went to fire up a unit it would explode and that's scary at the 25ft level. I had to laugh , he would come down off the scaffolding just black with soot all over him.
They finally hired an out of state firm to come in and set up all the equipment

 

[Jackfre]

The only thing you will save on is logistics. Oil is the most "politically" $ensitive fuel there is. A 275 gal (standard size) gal oil tank in CO won't get you through the season and on a cost per btu you are upside down day one.

 

[mygarageone]

Ya, there just don't seem to be any oil furnaces here in CO. Probably looking at a propane one & a separate tank I guess.

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The thing is they will set the tank and install the lines for a small charge and the tank is free as long as you buy the gas. But it may be some what different in Colo. So really all you;'ll pay for is the installation of the line and regulator and the gas that you have them put in the tank.
You have few if any problems with an L.P furnace than a fuel oil. If your fuel oil tank is not keep full you have condensation build up and then it will jell in the filter and then you have a big mess , The water will eventually get into the pump and nozzle .
Oil and water that jells looks just like lard.

Stay Away From Fuel Oil

 

[jvitez]

The cheapest thing for you to try: buy a big honkin' diesel torpedo heater. Yes you'll get fumes, but if your garage is poorly sealed you should be OK and you can use you're diesel tank.

Much less smelly would be a propane "top hat" or torpedo heater. It again should be OK in a leaky garage for infrequent use. If you really want a proper setup you'll have to button up your garage nice and tight with lots of insulation, then look at all the other permanent options, but of course that's a lot of $.

If it's just intermittent heat for tinkering, a portable heater is probably all you need.