Recommended low temp setting

[Ricktick]

Reading the posts about thermostat low settings had me wondering what those if you in northern climates use for a routine low setting in your garage/shop. I was surprised some of you wanted to be able to set a temp in the 30s or so. Two points I have been relying on:

1. a friend suggested a temp below 50 could results in sweating of tools when the heat is turned up to say 60 or more for working. Anything from wrenches to iron table saw tops could condense.
2. I think my heater (Beacon-Morris) recommended a min setting of 50 to assure the valves and switches functioned properly.

Not sure if these are valid issues, and I would certainly love to keep as little heat as practical in the garage when I'm not there. I also keep an old car and a motorcycle in there during the winter....so what do you guys suggest?

 

[Steevo]

I keep my shop thermostat at 52 degrees when un-occupied.

 

[Bronson]

50 degrees overnight. I am out there every day, all day, so I go out in the morning and bump it to 65, later on up to 70 with a ceiling fan running.

 

[paullie]

it depends how much you use the shop. i may be in the shop for a few days and then not go out for a few days. so for me, i crank up my gas furnace while the wood stove gets to heating up, after a while i shut the gas off and just use my wood and when i'm done i shutdown the wood stove

 

[theoldwizard1]

Below 50, it takes a looooong time to get up to a comfortable working temp (60-65).

If you have forced air and work at least 3-4 hours at a time, I would not worry about condensation.

 

[nehog]

My new Dayton heater (gas) says to keep a minimum temp of 50 degrees, or you risk condensation in the heat exchanger tubes. Once I get it installed, I'll probably set the thermostat to 50 and see how the fuel usage goes...

From experience I know I can relatively quickly heat it up from 50 to my desired 65 (my existing heater does that easily...)

 

[DaveL.]

53 degrees....75k Modine heats 1200 sq ft up pretty quickly.

 

[internetdude]

In my double attached garage here on the Prairies in Canada I keep my garage anywhere between 4 and 11 degrees Celcius. That's 39 to 51 Fahrenheit. I have one of those HotDawg style heaters hanging from the ceiling.

When I need to warm up the garage to do some work, I just crank up the heat an hour before I need to be out there and it's toasty!

 

[fatboy99]

I keep mine set to 55 when I'm not in the shop then set it to 65 when I'm out there.

The question i have been pondering dose setting the thermostat lower really save money?
When I turn my heater up it takes about 15 min to bring the temp up.
Would the heater run more if set to higher temp ?
Dose warmer escape faster than cooler?
Since warmer air is lighter right ? hotter the air the higher a hot air balloon will go.
In my shop I have a Bridgeport mill since I added it it seems like it is harder to keep the temp even with the 2000# heat sink. Would keeping the temp up all the time help keep the temp more even?
The shop is 24X30 with 8'9" tall ceiling It has good insulation in the ceiling and walls. Triple pane vinyl windows X5 there 18X24" the 9X7 overhead door is insulated but I,m unsure of the r value it has decent weather seal's also and the side door is an insulated steel door.
The heater is a Hamilton Home Products 35000 btu hanging heater
Sorry If I,m hijacking the thread these are just some thought's Ive had lately.

 

[Gary S]

It depends how much you use the shop. I use mine only intermittently, so I don't heat it full time. I let it drop below freezing when not in use, and turn on the heat only the days I'm going to be out there. It is much cheaper that way.
I don't have any condensation issues doing it this way simply because cold winter air cannot hold any significant amount of moisture. When that cold dry air is heated, it becomes even dryer, and there is no water to condense on tools and other metal parts.

 

[240sxguy]

I set my T-stat to 40. I also have a hot dawg type heater.

 

[Steevo]

When I started running my Mr Heater 75k in my shop after the insulation was done in the attic, the monthly gas bill is only about $10~12 more than the prior year without it.
Cheap freeze insurance for me.

 

[6768rogues]

42 when not using it, 55-ish when working on something, 70-ish when painting. I have several classic cars and lots of tools, never had a spot of rust on anything.

 

[Chetter]

Most of the time it is set for 50* when I am not in the garage but I have gone to 48* when it is really cold, say 0-teens. Tools stay dry and car stays dry as well.

 

[cowboyjosh]

I keep my Reznor at 60 pretty much all the time.

 

[Andamo]

When I first installed my Reznor I tried keeping the thermostat down below 50 when I wasn't out in the garage thinking I could save some money. But when I went out there to work and put the thermostat up to 65 it seemed to take a long time to get the area warmed up and the heater kept running often. But now I keep it at 50 and it seems to work better and quicker. I'm figuring that it takes a while to get all that mass inside the garage back up to 50, and higher, why not just keep it there. As far as savings, I don't know. All I know I'm comfortable quicker when I go out there.

 

[StaggeringGoat]

I like to keep it at 50...but my heater hasn't been working the last few weeks and it's been hovering in the low 40s in the shop. I've noticed a lot of surface rust lately, that wasn't a problem before the heater broke. At 68% humidity I want to run a dehumidifier but that won't work in the cold anyway...

 

[djjsr]

I keep it at 55 when I'm not there and that keeps the humidity at around 40%. I'll turn it up to 60 when I'm there.

 

[machine_punk]

When I was a volunteer fireman in a cold climate, I seem to remember they heated the fire truck bay to 50 degrees. Not sure how they picked that temperature, though.

 

[Identaltech]

Mine is set at 60 24/7
The first year I set it at 50 and the wife didnt say anything.
The next year 55 and still nothing.
So then I move to 60 and just leave it there.
Who knows now much it cost me but I am comfortable and that what counts

 

[Ricktick]

Thanks to everyone for some great replies. After a month or so if tinkering with the temp and working outside (although temps have been pretty mild so far this season on this side of the Cheddar Curtain). I initially set the base temp at 50 and warmed it up to 60 or 65 while working out there. It seems that the general temp came up pretty quickly, but there was more cycling during the first hour or so I was out there, and the tools and surfaces felt cold pretty much the whole time unless I was out there 4 or 5 hours. The past week or so I have been out there more regularly and left it at 60 and kicked it up to 65 when I started working. The ten degree difference is really noticeable on tools and surfaces (like cast iron table saw), and since I only kick it up a little when working there is minimal cycling of the heater. Haven't got enough bill history to get a sense for what the cost difference might be, but as fatboy99 suggests, I wonder if getting little more heat into things provides a benefit. Great question on whether hot air weeps out more easily/quickly than cooler air.

 

[fatboy99]

Ricktick I'm sure interested in what if any cost increase you might have? The first winter my heater was in I still had the huge windows in my shop there were three banks of them 3' tall 9' long aluminum frames with 1/4" thick single pain glass. I kept the shop 70 deg all the time even when it was below 0 out the frames were warm to the touch. I went thru 500 gallons of propane!!! the next summer I replaced them with the vinyl framed ones and filled the empty voids I discovered when the dry wall was removed. Since then Ive kept it at 55 when not out there and 65 when I'm working out there. With the price of propane I'm a little gun shy of trying the 70deg again to see the usage. I really need to get a natural gas line ran from the house to the shop defiantly would be cheaper.
I was hoping some of our HVAC tech's would weigh in on the heat loss difference between the lower temp setting compared to the higher if there is any.

 

[neutral]

i have floor heat with a 6 kw heater and i keep mine at 55-57 all the time. I'm comfortable in a t-shirt at those temps. I actually dont like it to get to 60. Unless i have someone with me who doesnt like it that cold 57 is just fine for me.

 

[geologist]

Ricktick I'm sure interested in what if any cost increase you might have? The first winter my heater was in I still had the huge windows in my shop there were three banks of them 3' tall 9' long aluminum frames with 1/4" thick single pain glass. I kept the shop 70 deg all the time even when it was below 0 out the frames were warm to the touch. I went thru 500 gallons of propane!!! the next summer I replaced them with the vinyl framed ones and filled the empty voids I discovered when the dry wall was removed. Since then Ive kept it at 55 when not out there and 65 when I'm working out there. With the price of propane I'm a little gun shy of trying the 70deg again to see the usage. I really need to get a natural gas line ran from the house to the shop defiantly would be cheaper.
I was hoping some of our HVAC tech's would weigh in on the heat loss difference between the lower temp setting compared to the higher if there is any.

I once rented a 2-story house built in 1902. The difference between an $800 gas bill (January 2007) and a $380 gas bill (February 2007) was 5 degrees. It was actually colder in February than in January.

 

[Wanna Ride]

Northern Illinois - 50 when I'm not in there, 60-62 degrees when I am.

 

[fatboy99]

Steven
I think that answers my question dose warmer air escape faster !!! Quite a difference in your bill. Id bet that house wasn't well insulated being that vintage. What was the high setting you had in January ?