Trying to decide on heat, any thoughts???????

[car-nut]

Some of you may have been following allong with the build of my new garage/shop in my back yard. If not then check out the "MAN TOWN" postings in the garage gallery.

For this winter the shop will just be storage. I have not had the extra money to wire, insulate and sheetrock the garage as well as plumb for the compresor. But by spring I will be ready to get to work. For this winter I will have five cars parked in there.

Anyway, I am wondering what you guys and gals might be doing for heat or what your thoughts may be for what I am doing.

option #1-- I was given an oil burning hot air furnace that is about twenty years old. it came out of a friends garage, when he moved it had to come out. It comes with all the duct work. I will need to get a tank.
The biggest down side that I can see is the loss of floor space.

option #2--- I have a bunch of friends that have the Hot Dawg from Modine. Everyone seems to love it. As a plus there is no loss of floor space.
Biggest down side is the out of pocket co$t.

option #3--- I have been looking into K1 kero heater from Monitor. I have afrind that LOVES his. their web site states that they have an almost 90% efficiancy rating. My friend only goes through one 275 tank of kero a winter. The downsides are a much higher upfront cost and a much smaller amount of floor space as compared to the oil heater.

I will tell you that I do work on hot rods doing body work and some painting. This is not a full time thing. just some nights and weekends. Probably only painting every other weekend.

I am not as much worried about the up front cost as I would be the long term savings of a particular type of heat may save me.

And for the record I live in Connecticut.


So, what are your thoughts and experiances?

 

[Winmon]

Not that this will be much of a help to you, but I went with a Mr. Heater Bigg Maxx propane heater. I was planning on going with the Modine Hot Dawg, but I found that there were several people here that are using the Bigg Maxx that are very happy with them. From what I have read, the Hot Dawg and Bigg Maxx are suppose to be pretty comparable, but the Mr Heater Bigg Maxx is quite a bit cheaper. They both are about 80% efficient. The cheapest price I found on the Mr Heater was at Northern. They will also match someone else's price if you do find it cheaper somewhere else. Here's a lnk to the one I went with:

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200316365_200316365

I went with the big BTU unit, but they also have smaller versions as well.

Mine is going to be installed Monday so I can not give you anymore info on it yet. Can't wait to have heat in there!!

 

[RonBou]

I have a Hot Dawg....had it for 3 winters and am happy with it. As you said, it takes no floor space and heats quickly. It is a bit loud when it cycles, but you get used to it.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

I assume the kerosene unit is a non-vented heater of some sort? If so...strike that one. If you try to paint around it, the fumes are going to put you on your knees.

The 20 year old fuel oil furnace is going to be roughly 60% efficient. Fuel oil costs how much? $1.70ish per gallon? Besides buying a tank, you're going to have to pay some one to fill it. By the time you buy the tank and a couple hundred gallons of fuel oil, you're going to be out some serious cash for something I couldn't recommend and evidently you don't want.

What's that leave? The hot dawgs? Yeah, I could see that being a good way to go. That would especially be a good solution if natural gas is a choice for you. This year it is about 50% cheaper than propane (at least it is around here).


If natural isn't a choice, you want to heat the thing 24 X 7, I think you might want to consider one of those damn heat pumps. Those 13 seer+ units are pricey, but they make cheap heat. It's "cold" heat and a lot of people complain about the comfort provided, but you could live with that easily for a garage. It'd also cool it for you in the summer. It'd be SERIOUS cash though. You might have to wait until your funds recover.

Good luck!

Phil

 

[thefairlaneman]

I use a small vented K1 oil heater. It will use about 3 to 5 gallons a day if I want it real warm . When Im not doing a project I just turn it off ,we dont have many real cold days here in charlotte nc. I have played with the idea of an outside furnace where I could burn about anything in it and vent heat into my garage with a forsed air fan, It would solve the issue of having flamables to close to a fire.

 

[astroracer]

If you are going to be doing body work and painting on a regular basis you will want to keep the shop heated at all times. Even if it is only 50 or 60 degrees. Trying to bring sheet metal and all of the equipment up to working temp is going to be a real problem. Especially with condensation. If you have access to natural gas I would recommend a small forced air gas furnace or one of the propane units if NG is not an option.
I ran into a lot of problems with my lathes and machine tools when I was using a kerosene torpedo heater. It would bring the workspace up to temp quickly but it was also causing a lot of condensation on the cold equipment. This lead to a lot of surface rust. I finally put in a small F/A gas furnace and the condensation stopped. I keep the shop at about 50 degrees when I am not out there and it comes up to temp quickly (with no condensation) when I go out to work.
Mark

 

[car-nut]

Thanks for all the responces.

Just to be clear, the Monitor k1 heater is a vented heater much like the Hot dawg is. It is not a torpedo. The biggest diff is one is free standing and one mounts to the ceiling.
I really don't think the oil is my best option even though the up front is cheaper.
I am planning to have the heater on 24/7 in the winter months. Just turned very low when I am not in the shop.

 

[steve392]

Another option you did not mention would be a radiant tube heater. More expensive than the other options, but a very good way to heat. I have a ReverberRay unit in my shop and am very satisfied..

Do a search in this board for "radiant tube heater" and you'll find lots of posts regarding this type of heater.

Hope this helps,

Steve

 

[RonBou]

am planning to have the heater on 24/7 in the winter months. Just turned very low when I am not in the shop.

I had my Hot Dawg installed by a local propane dealer. The technician who installed it recomended that I keep the heat at 55 degrees round the clock because any lower would use more propane getting it up to "working temp" when it is kept too low, than keeping it at 55 and raising the temp when you use the garage. I rarely put it up past 60/65 degrees when I am working in there. Long sleeve shirt or sweatshirt is fine for hanging out and when working I usually strip to t shirt ad am comfortable. I am in CT also. I normally fill the tank twice during the winter...and if I have to fill it a third time I don't use much before I shut it down in the spring. I hope this makes sense too you. If you want more details feel free to email me for my cell phone number. Take the NOSPAM out of my email address.

[email protected],

 

[Hawk231]

I had my Hot Dawg installed by a local propane dealer. The technician who installed it recomended that I keep the heat at 55 degrees round the clock because any lower would use more propane getting it up to "working temp" when it is kept too low, than keeping it at 55 and raising the temp when you use the garage. I rarely put it up past 60/65 degrees when I am working in there. Long sleeve shirt or sweatshirt is fine for hanging out and when working I usually strip to t shirt ad am comfortable. I am in CT also. I normally fill the tank twice during the winter...and if I have to fill it a third time I don't use much before I shut it down in the spring. I hope this makes sense too you. If you want more details feel free to email me for my cell phone number. Take the NOSPAM out of my email address.

[email protected],

RonBou,

What's the sqft of your garage and how big is the tank your heater runs off of? Oh yeah, and how many BTU is the heater?

Thanks

 

[RonBou]

576 sq ft - 100 gallon tank - 60,000 BTU's (a little oversized as the recomendation for a 24x24 garage is 40,000)