Heater size and type for large building

[ajkustra]

I have a steel building 30x50x18h at the peak. There is about 4" of fiberglass insulation on the inside of the entire building, one insulated man door and one 14x14 uninsulated garage door. I only use the building for building/maintaing sprint cars and storing other toys. I only need to heat it on the weekends and an occasional evening. The only utility I have access to is electric, so its that or propane or kero. I have been using an ancient 1975 Master 500k btu torpedo. This heater worked great and very fast, until it recently broke. I think it may be unrepairable due to parts availability. Do I fix it or invest in a propane one. Ive seen 300k propane torpedos cheap but how long will a 100lb tank last me going from 20 degrees to 50 or 60 degrees? Thanks for any advice

 

[nehog]

I use a 200K (top hat) heater as needed, with a small electric heater that keeps things just above freezing when I'm not in there.

A tank lasts me about half the season, but I only use it perhaps one time a week. A ceiling fan helps greatly as the ceiling gets to about 80 degrees quickly and it is necessary to move that heat down to where I am.

I hope by next year I'll have a proper 75K unit installed with a good sized tank outdoors. I'll use a thermostat to keep it at just under 40 or so most of the time, and heat as needed. Probably continue to use the top hat to get a quick burst of heat when I first go in, but I'll see what consumption is on the 75K unit once it gets bought and installed, maybe it will be OK to keep the place warmer than I expect. Personally I'm happy with a working temp of 55 to 65 in the winter, sometimes I find 65 too hot as I usually work with a jacket on anyway.

 

[ajkustra]

ok so i should be good with whatever i find in the 200k and up range cheap. Good to find out that the tank will last me a while. What is a tophat? Is it a brand name or type of heater?

 

[Jackfre]

there are 92000 btu/gal in lp. Approx 21,500 btu/lb. Where you can run into problems is having to big a draw on to small a tank. It can freeze your regulator due to inadequate "wetted area". This will happen at lower temp or it can happen.

 

[nehog]

A tophat heater is a simple, unvented gas (propane) heater. They cost about $100, and need a 100 lb tank minimum (won't work on a BBQ grill tank!)

Very noisy. Dump a lot of moisture in the air. ***** the oxygen out of the air (so should have a window open). Can dump CO if you are not careful, but I've never measured any from mine (and I have two CO alarms, one with a display).

As I mentioned, if you leave it on for background heat, a 75K will probably work just fine, assuming a proper vented gas heater with a good thermostat.

 

[6768rogues]

I have two heated garages. One is 36 by 48 (natural gas) and the other is 40 by 60 (propane). Both buildings are insulated with insulated doors but no insulation in the floors. Both have 100K BTU hanging heaters, the first a Reznor and the second I forgot, but not a Reznor. Both buildings heat well and are kept at about 45 degrees all the time. Both will come up to comfortable temperatures easily. Last night the temperature outside went down to about -9F and the heaters cycled on and off and kept the buildings warm. You are south of me, so you should have an easier time keeping your building warm.

 

[ajkustra]

ok so i have narrowed it down. I can't put anything permanent in because its not my building and i dont have natural gas or outdoor room for a huge oil/propane tank. I only need it warm while im there so no need for a constantly cycling heater. I think ill use a 300k propane torpedo with a 100lb tank. This should work somewhat as well as the 500k kerosene i have now(i guess dont really have it cause its broke). The big one worked great, i only ran it about 15min of every hour. Will a 100lb tank support the 300k? Im going to use the kind they sell at lowes, so i guess it only holds 80lbs?

 

[nehog]

I fill my 100 lb tank about every two months, but a lot depends on how much I use it! I'm running on about a 1/4 tank right now, and have to go out and work in a few minutes. I'll probably get the tank refilled next week.

The only PITA on these tanks is that they are heavy when filled, so you have to work to get them out of the truck (careful, the blasted things want to roll off the tailgate when taking 'em out!). When empty they are easy to load up however.

If having an uninterrupted supply of heat is important, I'd suggest two 100 lb tanks! One goes empty, you have the second one ready to go. It is very easy to see how much gas you have left in the tanks too--mine frost at the fuel level nicely, so I know how much is available after a few minutes of running the heater.