Heating help !!

[DaveReg]

In the process of getting permits for my 24 x 50 pole building and I am looking for some ideas on the best way to heat it.

To start I live on the eastern shore of maryland and the nighttime temperature during the winter months is typically below freezing. I plan on insulating and installing walls/celings within the building. In addition I will putting a wall up inside the building that will create 2 seperate rooms in the building. The shop/garage will be 24x23 and the gameroom/mancave will be 24x27. This building will have no everyday use. It will be used in the evenings and weekends only. I also plan on installing a small bathroom in the shop area. My inital thought was to get a propane vent free heater for each room and a small electric basebard heater for the bathroom ( keep temp around 40 on the thermostat).

In reading the posts here it doesn't sound like my plan is very common with other garage heating systems. This is my first garage so I have no prior experience with this. Also not looking to spend over $800.00 ( if that is possible ).

Thank you for your help.

 

[Dave Carney]

Man don't put a ventless in a pole barn! I wouldn't put one anywhere but for sure not in a metal building, even if it's insulated. One 75k hot dawg would heat you fine, with the option to vent through the wall.

 

[Phuckin' Jim]

Propane is going to be costly, I would think.
As odd as it might sound, a big-*** wood stove might fit the bill. I don't mean one of those barrel type stoves, but more like this:
http://pacificenergy.net/product_summit_classic.php

That would look good, and warm up the man-cave in a hurry!.... Then maybe a propane or electric unit-heater forthe garage.
Alternatively, you could leave insulation out of the partition wall, and some of the "man-cave" heat will make it's way into the garage.
Definitely keep a baseboard in the bathroom to prevent freezing.
Total cost will be more than $800, but you should save $$$ in the long run.

 

[krooser]

Vent free heaters can cause moisture problems....

Since you are dividing the space into two seperate rooms how about a residential NG furnace ducted into each room?

Your choice of electric to maintain warmth in the bathroom will work good... I've been there and was happy with the result.

 

[Shocker]

I don't know about the cost of propane vs. wood. Unless you get the wood for free.

I worked it out here in WA State, and propane was a better choice. Cheaper, no storage issues, and it doesn't take 3 or 4 hours to heat up the building.

And I have a large woodstove in excellent shape to use and I still bought a Mr. Heater in 45k BTU for my 24x32.

 

[DaveReg]

Man don't put a ventless in a pole barn! I wouldn't put one anywhere but for sure not in a metal building, even if it's insulated. One 75k hot dawg would heat you fine, with the option to vent through the wall.

I am very new to this...Just to make sure I am understanding correctly. I can buy one 75k hot dawg and heat both rooms even with the wall up. If this is the case would I run duct from the heater to the 2nd room ?

 

[DaveReg]

Man don't put a ventless in a pole barn! I wouldn't put one anywhere but for sure not in a metal building, even if it's insulated. One 75k hot dawg would heat you fine, with the option to vent through the wall.

What are the negative factors associated with the ventless propane heaters? I have absolutely no prior experience with this. For example Northern Tool carries the following model and it received good reviews on the website :

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200332747_200332747

 

[walrus]

What are the negative factors associated with the ventless propane heaters? I have absolutely no prior experience with this. For example Northern Tool carries the following model and it received good reviews on the website :

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200332747_200332747

Moisture, propane burning(because of its chemical composition) puts a ton of water into the room if its not vented. A very bad idea in a cold climate

 

[DaveReg]

Moisture, propane burning(because of its chemical composition) puts a ton of water into the room if its not vented. A very bad idea in a cold climate

Thanks Walrus great explanation !! Any suggestions on what would work for my building ? It is a 24x50 pole building with 2 seperate rooms - garage is 24x23 and the game room is 24x27. Earlier in the post a few mention the wood stove. I really did not want to mess with all that is associated with burning wood.

 

[walrus]

Thanks Walrus great explanation !! Any suggestions on what would work for my building ? It is a 24x50 pole building with 2 seperate rooms - garage is 24x23 and the game room is 24x27. Earlier in the post a few mention the wood stove. I really did not want to mess with all that is associated with burning wood.

I'm not a heating guy, a vented propane heater would work. They aren't much more that a ventless. Hot air furnace with ducts where you want the heat might work?

A big factor is how much insulation in the building and how tight

 

[Dragster Racer]

You really need to know what your plans are for both rooms. Do you want to heat one without heating the other? How is it insulated?
I think the baseboard is a fine idea for the bathroom.
A regular furnace, even used, would work well if ducted to the garage also. I would also stay away from ventless. I know they sell them all the time, but carbon monoxide and moisture will not be your friend. Do it right and stay withsomething with a vent.
You could to a hanging hot daug in the garage part, but would still need to do something in the game room. A couple decent sized electric heaters could also do the trick. I think my first choice would be the used furnace from a heating contractor,ducted to the garage also. You could get to your price point going that direction.

 

[Andamo]

Stay away from the unvented heaters. I don't care what they say, I can smell mine if I leave the garage for a while and come back out into it. This past winter I spent maybe 6 hours in the garage with it running and the following day I didn't feel right. I'm not saying it was the heater, but like I said, it gives off a smell. I keep a CO2 monitor in the garage and it never registered any amounts of CO2 present.
And as others have commented, there is a lot of moisture created by the burning process that goes right into the garage and this is with natural gas too. Mine is coming out soon and another heat source is going in.

 

[DaveReg]

You really need to know what your plans are for both rooms. Do you want to heat one without heating the other? How is it insulated?
I think the baseboard is a fine idea for the bathroom.
A regular furnace, even used, would work well if ducted to the garage also. I would also stay away from ventless. I know they sell them all the time, but carbon monoxide and moisture will not be your friend. Do it right and stay withsomething with a vent.
You could to a hanging hot daug in the garage part, but would still need to do something in the game room. A couple decent sized electric heaters could also do the trick. I think my first choice would be the used furnace from a heating contractor,ducted to the garage also. You could get to your price point going that direction.[/QUOTE

My plans are to heat both rooms. Both rooms with also be fully insulated. I am set on getting a hot dawg for the garage but I just can not decide what to do for the game room.

 

[BPJOOP93]

I agree with not using a ventless, not good. electric baseboard in bathroom good. if you get a home furnace do NOT get a high efficency unit. if it vents with PVC do NOT use it. they collect water in the burners or something like that and the burners will freeze and break leaving you with not even half the btu your supposed to have. go with a non HE unit and it will work great. i got my "new" furnace used from a dealer here in my town for free. its 9 years old 100thousand btu and heats my 24x36x10 ft garage really quick and no more expensive than my old 60thousand HE unit, and a lot faster. hope this helps.

 

[DaveReg]

Since I will not be heating the entire building while it is not use I thought about putting a Hot Dawg 45k in both the garage and game room. Would anyone not recommend not putting a hot dawg in the game room ? In the game room it is important to have the less amount of moisture in the air as possible due to the fact I plan on decorating the walls with autographed sports memoribilia. Would anyone recommend I go with electric heat in there ? Or perhaps both rooms with electric heat ?

I recently received a quote from a local heating service on heat installation in this building. The compnay recommened a Hot Dawg 45k in the garage and a Rinnai RHFE-100FA 36,500 BTU in the game room. When I received the quote back it was $4,000.00 for the heaters and installation, still had to purchase the propane. Unfortunatley I did not want to spend this kind of money on a heating system. I allowed $1,000-$1,500 in the budget for heat.

Looks like I am back to the drawing board for heating options.

 

[PurdueSD]

You can pick up 2 of the 45K BTU units from northern tool for like 700 bucks. Installation is straight forward. Doing it yourself is the only way you are going to come in on budget. Thats what i would do...