Waste oil heater?

[Repsolracer22]

ok everyone. winter is coming. my new 40x60 that was just built is going to be coolllllld in the MD winter fast approaching. All my little toys are going to freeze and hate me. Gotta get crackin on a solution

Obviously I know that waste oil heaters only make sense if you have a shop that does lots of oil changes and you get the oil for "free". so since I have that situation, help me decide ....

The building is not insulated yet, but will be. I have a motorcycle service business and car repair shop, so i have access to plenty of used oil. the waste oil heaters i have narrowed it down to are 'clean burn' and 'lanair'. I like lanair because they are a little cheaper, have a 0% financing thing, and they have a **** 215gal tank that has a top that the heater sits on (see pic). 150,000BTU is definitely good for 2400sq ft. (12ft ceiling)

anyone have these in their shop currently? got any reviews? I really like lanair setup as shown in pic. any other brands out there that have a setup like that?

i dont have natural gas at my place, but can obviously get propane delivery. but it seems like both propane heaters and waste oil heaters burn about 1gal per hr ..... but propane fluctuates in price and is currently $4/gal. oil is free to me. the waste oil heater is an initial investment of $5000. Propane heaters prob cost about $1000-$1500?

 

[jeepinerdeep]

Just something to think about regardless of model.....waste oil heater companies will tell you outright it is not to be used without a backup heat source, generally meaning they don't tolerate starts below 50 deg without some paintence and fiddling. The fuel is free but if I don't let mine run, it's a bear to start at 14 degrees, I mean like 40 mins of preheat cycles. Don't know if you considered that point.

I got my waste oil furnace for free, fixed it up a little and I still doubt the trouble is worth it. If you aren't in that shop every day, you might want to think on that propane option some more. Lot's of messing with it to run it, needs heavy cleaning, and you've got that used oil everywhere......

 

[jeepinerdeep]

Also forgot, good resource here......http://www.westbrosinc.com/

 

[Repsolracer22]

thanks for advice. no, i definitely wont be in this shop everyday. this is a 40x60x12 i built at my house as a garage for all my ****. basically motorcycles, 4wheelers, etc. but i dont want to "only" have the heater on when im in there because i feel like all my stuff will freeze otherwise. Ive got probably 10-12 vehicles in there at all times. Diesel tractor, motorcycles, 4wheelers, my canam sideXside w/plow, etc etc etc. batteries die, and stuff is just nasty cold. so i figured the waste oil heater would be a good solution and have it turn on at 48deg or so throughout the winter. and then when im in there, maybe turn it up to 65.

 

[Zedexseven]

There is no such thing as free heat, all of these companies try to sell you on that. On top of the purchase price, you can bank on about $500-1000 and about 20 hours per season if you are going to maintain and service it yourself and about $1500-$2500 per year if you are having it serviced. I installed and serviced Clean Burn heaters for about a year, I pulled out a lot of other, cheaper brands to install clean burns, they do seem to set the standard. Any oil furnace will burn a lot of oil, I had one in my own 50x30 shop, I spent 1/2 my time looking for oil. It's amazing how fast you can go through a 55 gallon drum of oil.

The biggest factor in any waste oil furnace is the burner, Clean Burn seems to have that part figured out. I've installed their burners on various other brands of heaters and they turned a crappy heater into a reliable unit.



I would calculate my costs over a 10 year period, using a 2750 Clean burn, you'll end up at about $10000 installed, factor $1000 per year in maintenance and you're at $20000 over a 10 year period. Figure out what gas or electric will cost you per year.

The only way I would recommend one is if you had more oil than you knew what to do with and this was your way of getting rid of it. In big industrial shops, it's a fantastic option.

I now have a smaller shop that I heat with electric, if I had the opportunity to get a new clean burn furnace for free....I would sell it and put the money towards monthly bills. I would not want to deal with the frequent maintenance, oil collection and mess that used oil creates.

 

[Repsolracer22]

There is no such thing as free heat, on top of the purchase price, you can bank on about $500-1000 and about 2o hours per season if you are going to maintain and service it yourself and about $1500-$2500 per year if you are having it serviced. I installed and serviced Clean Burn heaters for about a year, I pulled out a lot of other, cheaper brands to install clean burns, they do seem to set the standard. Any oil furnace will burn a lot of oil, I had one in my own 50x30 shop, I spent 1/2 my time looking for oil. It's amazing how fast you can go through a 55 gallon drum oil oil.

I would calculate my costs over a 10 year period, using a 2750 Clean burn, you'll end up at about $10000 installed, factor $1000 per year in maintenance and you're at $20000 over a 10 year period. Figure out what gas or electric will cost you per year.

The only way I would recommend one is if you had more oil than you knew what to do with and this was your way of getting rid of it. In big industrial shops, it's a fantastic option.

I now have a smaller shop that I heat with electric, if I had the opportunity to get a new clean burn furnace for free....I would sell it and put the money towards monthly bills. I would not want to deal with the frequent maintenance, oil collection and mess that used oil creates.

understood. well, here's my situation;

i do have more waste oil then i know what to do with. i end up selling it every month to the oil co at $1/gal. I dont have natural gas, but I have 100A electricity run to the building and I can get propane (buy/rent tank) and have the propane delivered.

what I really want is a solution to keep the shop from dropping below say 45 deg or so ... even when Im not in there. If I only get a solution to heat the shop when Im inside of it, then all my stuff is freezing cold all other times. Diesel tractor doesn't want to start, and batteries die, etc etc etc. Plus, I just ran water to the building, so it at least has to stay above freezing for that too. Id like a solution that I can have a thermostat and keep the building at 45deg or so when Im not in there, and then I can turn up to 65 or so when Im hanging out in there


and the waste oil heater i was proposing to get is the 140,000-150,000BTU unit. $1000/yr in maintenence??? really? wtf is that all about? I assumed changing some filters but $1000/yr or more? What for? The thing will only be in use for like 3 months out of the year

 

[Zedexseven]

understood. well, here's my situation;

i do have more waste oil then i know what to do with. i end up selling it every month to the oil co at $1/gal. I dont have natural gas, but I have 100A electricity run to the building and I can get propane (buy/rent tank) and have the propane delivered.

what I really want is a solution to keep the shop from dropping below say 45 deg or so ... even when Im not in there. If I only get a solution to heat the shop when Im inside of it, then all my stuff is freezing cold all other times. Diesel tractor doesn't want to start, and batteries die, etc etc etc. Plus, I just ran water to the building, so it at least has to stay above freezing for that too. Id like a solution that I can have a thermostat and keep the building at 45deg or so when Im not in there, and then I can turn up to 65 or so when Im hanging out in there


and the waste oil heater i was proposing to get is the 140,000-150,000BTU unit. $1000/yr in maintenence??? really? wtf is that all about? I assumed changing some filters but $1000/yr or more? What for? The thing will only be in use for like 3 months out of the year

No one tells you about the maintenance part....Filters at least once per season, relays, sensors, heat deflection plates, chimney parts, throw in burner service which needs to be done every 2nd year and costs about $600.

How much waste oil do you produce in a year?

 

[jeepinerdeep]

No one tells you about the maintenance part....Filters at least once per season, relays, sensors, heat deflection plates, chimney parts, throw in burner service which needs to be done every 2nd year and costs about $600.

How much waste oil do you produce in a year?

All good points- I spent a GRAND in chimney materials alone.
Yeah, I spent about 150 bucks in filters and parts. Ran it about only 80 hours.

 

[Repsolracer22]

No one tells you about the maintenance part....Filters at least once per season, relays, sensors, heat deflection plates, chimney parts, throw in burner service which needs to be done every 2nd year and costs about $600.

How much waste oil do you produce in a year?

in the auto shop we have 2 3000 gallon tanks that supply 3 clean burn 250kBTU heaters. and they are running a lot in cold weather and kept at 70deg. And we have left over oil and we sell it back to oil co.

 

[Repsolracer22]

so my assumption at the house garage ... is that the 150kBTU heater will go through 5 gal of oil per day TOPS. it shouldnt even use that much especially if its mostly kept at 45-50deg. But lets just say 5gal/day. for 3 months straight, that's 450gal of oil. I have that no problem.

 

[Repsolracer22]

I spent a GRAND in chimney materials alone.
Yeah, I spent about 150 bucks in filters and parts. Ran it about only 80 hours.

how is that even possible to spend $1000 on chimney materials? An entire new chimney kit is less then $1000.

I just talked to Lanair guy. He said there's 3 filters. They are all WASHABLE. They don't get replaced unless you damage it. He said there's some ash that gets accumulated over time that you have to remove/vacuum. But other then that there's no crazy maintenance.

Obviously i'm skeptical and don't fully trust salesmen as a whole. But it sounds legit. He said if you are using some synthetic but mostly conventional, you can get an upgraded "metering pump" for $200 that will adjust automatically for different oils. so no babysitting and manually adjusting for different viscosities.

 

[Repsolracer22]

No one tells you about the maintenance part....Filters at least once per season, relays, sensors, heat deflection plates, chimney parts, throw in burner service which needs to be done every 2nd year and costs about $600.

How much waste oil do you produce in a year?

whats involved in a "burner service"? and what chimney parts are you talking about?

 

[Zedexseven]

how is that even possible to spend $1000 on chimney materials? An entire new chimney kit is less then $1000.

I just talked to Lanair guy. He said there's 3 filters. They are all WASHABLE. They don't get replaced unless you damage it. He said there's some ash that gets accumulated over time that you have to remove/vacuum. But other then that there's no crazy maintenance.

Obviously i'm skeptical and don't fully trust salesmen as a whole. But it sounds legit. He said if you are using some synthetic but mostly conventional, you can get an upgraded "metering pump" for $200 that will adjust automatically for different oils. so no babysitting and manually adjusting for different viscosities.

Because the the acidity of the exhaust, the chimneys take a beating, they may look OK on the outside but are rotted away on the inside. Ask your salesman about the burner rebuild, if he tells you it's not required/easy/cheap, he's full of ****. They need to be serviced at least every 2nd year.

With a metering pump you will not need to adjust the oil pressure based on what's in the tank, you may still need to adjust the air pressure depending on how it's set up. I would prefer to have both air and oil adjustable, if it's set up with a metered pump and compressor, your flame is going to fluctuate based on how it's burning. If I'm able to adjust both air and oil, I can compensate for lower/higher quality burn,
not to mention that how well your building is sealed will affect how it burns. In some situations a "draftier" building may burn better than a tight building, these things **** a lot of air, they need to get it from somewhere.

 

[Zedexseven]

whats involved in a "burner service"? and what chimney parts are you talking about?

Burner service means cleaning the manifold, oil passage ways, replacing all wearable parts. Think of a carburetor that has 100's of gallons of used sludge going through it, stuff will get plugged and dirty. Some on the oil passageways are about 1/8" in diameter, they can get plugged very easy.

I'm talking about the entire Chimney.

If You don't believe my annual cost numbers, make your own, break it down on cost of unit and maintenance costs over how ever long you choose.

You'd be crazy to factor any less than $500 per year for maintenance and that's if you're doing it yourself. But....if you're doing it yourself factor the cost of equipment you'll need, you will need a good vacuum, some kind of commercial type, not any old shop vac will do, the ash is so fine it will burn the motor of a regular shop vac in minutes. Make sure you have proper protective clothing and mask, that dust is brutal!

 

[Shop Specialties]

There is no such thing as free heat, all of these companies try to sell you on that. On top of the purchase price, you can bank on about $500-1000 and about 20 hours per season if you are going to maintain and service it yourself and about $1500-$2500 per year if you are having it serviced. I installed and serviced Clean Burn heaters for about a year, I pulled out a lot of other, cheaper brands to install clean burns, they do seem to set the standard. Any oil furnace will burn a lot of oil, I had one in my own 50x30 shop, I spent 1/2 my time looking for oil. It's amazing how fast you can go through a 55 gallon drum of oil.

The biggest factor in any waste oil furnace is the burner, Clean Burn seems to have that part figured out. I've installed their burners on various other brands of heaters and they turned a crappy heater into a reliable unit.



I would calculate my costs over a 10 year period, using a 2750 Clean burn, you'll end up at about $10000 installed, factor $1000 per year in maintenance and you're at $20000 over a 10 year period. Figure out what gas or electric will cost you per year.

The only way I would recommend one is if you had more oil than you knew what to do with and this was your way of getting rid of it. In big industrial shops, it's a fantastic option.

I now have a smaller shop that I heat with electric, if I had the opportunity to get a new clean burn furnace for free....I would sell it and put the money towards monthly bills. I would not want to deal with the frequent maintenance, oil collection and mess that used oil creates.

I am a Clean burn dist and your numbers are way off.

 

[Shop Specialties]

First thing you should do is contact your local Clean Burn dist and have him come over and talk to you in person. I am pretty sure your local dist is Eco Heating 866-888-1103.

Make sure and ask about current promotions and possible used rebuilt heaters.

 

[Shop Specialties]

If you are only going to burn approximately 500 gallons a year then you would only have to clean ash once a year and it only takes a couple of hours if that. A regular shop vac works but you need to use the correct filter.
It comes with stainless steel washable filters that never need replaced, when the filter gauge pulls 10" of vacuum, take 15 minutes and clean the filters.
Clean Burn recommends burner rebuilds with service kit every year but you can easily go 2-3 years. The key is to turn the power off to the unit when the heating season is over.
I have stovepipe that is 20 years old with zero issues. You might have to replace some of the single wall pipe inside every so many years but nothing major. Buy the correct/quality pipe the first time and it will last many years.

I have been doing nothing but waste oil heater sales AND service for 23 years here in Montana. Please feel free to ask away with any questions you might have as I am here to help you.

 

[trackwelder]

I run a Cleanburn furnace and might spend $50 a year on filters. My setup has a cleanable lenz filter at the oil j pump and a large heating oil filter out off the pump. When spring time comes the unit and stack get the shop vac treatment and the preheater block, nozzle, and lines get flushed.

 

[Shop Specialties]

I run a Cleanburn furnace and might spend $50 a year on filters. My setup has a cleanable lenz filter at the oil j pump and a large heating oil filter out off the pump. When spring time comes the unit and stack get the shop vac treatment and the preheater block, nozzle, and lines get flushed.

A pressure side filter is not required since nothing will get by the Lenz to plug a nozzle. I have only a couple of customers with pressure side filters but 98% only have the Lenz filters.

Flushing the block with diesel at the end of the season is a good idea if you are starting with a new heater.

 

[930dreamer]

With no building insulation, whatever heating you choose will most likely run non stop.

 

[Zedexseven]

I am a Clean burn dist and your numbers are way off.

How so? I may be off on the unit prices but maintenance and repair costs are certainly in the ball park.

 

[Shop Specialties]

How so? I may be off on the unit prices but maintenance and repair costs are certainly in the ball park.

Not even close unless you were stroking the customer, I do not charge anywhere near the numbers you are throwing around. If a customer does his own cleanings it is free and service kits for burner rebuilds are only $ 150+/- and those are only needed every 2-3 years or possibly longer.

With tax credits and not having to purchase propane, natural gas, fuel oil, etc my customers see a 100% ROI in 1 winter and 2 winters on the long end.

 

[Streetbu]

The Ford dealership I used to work at bought a Cleanburn a year before I left. 350k btu IIRC, paid for itself COMPLETELY in 2 months compared to what our natural gas bill normally was. It is serviced twice a year, costs about $400 TOTAL. Had to have it fixed once after I quit, bill was $700. It was installed 8 years ago. Best decision ever, Turned down to 60 degree's at night and the weekends, 70 during the week.

 

[Jay W]

How so? I may be off on the unit prices but maintenance and repair costs are certainly in the ball park.

You have been around the wrong brand of heaters then.

I have an Omni that I installed used. It costs about $5 in filters per year and about 2hrs in maintenance I can easily do myself. Mine starts in cold weather without a problem even if it hasn't run for a week.

 

[575cat]

You get what you pay for go REZNOR I have had my reznor 140 in my shop since 98 burn rate at 1 gal per hour on unit about 3k square foot building with no backup heat and keep it night and day @ 68 degrees about 850 gals a season and you know how cold it gets here in mn , I clean ash @ oil filters and gun once a year well over the 500 hr recomended cleanings with very minimal issue,s .Problem is now oil is getting harder to find with companies buying it for $$$ I am putting in a natural gas unit now for the future .

 

[404]

In case you would consider a DIY heater here is a pretty nice one. Has thermostat control, is drip feed so no oil pump. Does use a car emissions air pump.

Regards,
404

 

[strelnik]

understood. well, here's my situation;

i do have more waste oil then i know what to do with. i end up selling it every month to the oil co at $1/gal. I dont have natural gas, but I have 100A electricity run to the building and I can get propane (buy/rent tank) and have the propane delivered.

It's too bad you live as far away as you do, because I'd buy all your oil for Michigan.

I now have four waste oil purification units that are so good that they can purify oil for use in diesel engines.

A long time ago, I had put in bids with a Defense Dept seller and the other bidders either forgot or moved on, because I got the equipment for a reasonable price.

Two were previously used by the Air Force, the other two were bought but not used by the Navy. The Navy went to a bigger pump for their ships that would process more than than 1000 gallons/hour, while mine would do 900, if pushed.

These units filter down to 6 microns and then the stuff can be put in one of the Air Force units which have centrifuges and made clear, in fact they are called oil clarifiers.

I'm just bruinging this up because the purity of the oil helps decide if your heaters give off offensive odors that may further restrict yo, if you get a headache every time you turn them on.

I'm still looking for sources of waste oil, if you know of any. All suggestions welcome!

 

[930dreamer]

It's too bad you live as far away as you do, because I'd buy all your oil for Michigan.

I now have four waste oil purification units that are so good that they can purify oil for use in diesel engines.

A long time ago, I had put in bids with a Defense Dept seller and the other bidders either forgot or moved on, because I got the equipment for a reasonable price.

Two were previously used by the Air Force, the other two were bought but not used by the Navy. The Navy went to a bigger pump for their ships that would process more than than 1000 gallons/hour, while mine would do 900, if pushed.

These units filter down to 6 microns and then the stuff can be put in one of the Air Force units which have centrifuges and made clear, in fact they are called oil clarifiers.

I'm just bruinging this up because the purity of the oil helps decide if your heaters give off offensive odors that may further restrict yo, if you get a headache every time you turn them on.

I'm still looking for sources of waste oil, if you know of any. All suggestions welcome!

Can you post some video.

 

[tankd0g]

ok everyone. winter is coming. my new 40x60 that was just built is going to be coolllllld in the MD winter fast approaching. All my little toys are going to freeze and hate me. Gotta get crackin on a solution

Obviously I know that waste oil heaters only make sense if you have a shop that does lots of oil changes and you get the oil for "free". so since I have that situation, help me decide ....

The building is not insulated yet, but will be. I have a motorcycle service business and car repair shop, so i have access to plenty of used oil. the waste oil heaters i have narrowed it down to are 'clean burn' and 'lanair'. I like lanair because they are a little cheaper, have a 0% financing thing, and they have a **** 215gal tank that has a top that the heater sits on (see pic). 150,000BTU is definitely good for 2400sq ft. (12ft ceiling)

anyone have these in their shop currently? got any reviews? I really like lanair setup as shown in pic. any other brands out there that have a setup like that?

i dont have natural gas at my place, but can obviously get propane delivery. but it seems like both propane heaters and waste oil heaters burn about 1gal per hr ..... but propane fluctuates in price and is currently $4/gal. oil is free to me. the waste oil heater is an initial investment of $5000. Propane heaters prob cost about $1000-$1500?

We had one for years, I don't recall the band, it was very high maintenance just due to the filtering requirements and required shop air to run. the model we had used a preheater and we had to cut the oil 50/50 with bunker C or it wouldn't run reliably because of all the water and brake fluid that would get mixed in with oil change oil. As long as you have a back up it can save you a ton of money if oyu don't mind putting some work into it.

 

[Shop Specialties]

Your oil tank should have a drain and keep your pick up screen off the bottom. All the bad stuff settles to the bottom of the tank.

I have a customer that burns approximately 15,000 gallons a Winter with zero issues of filter plugging. We only clean the filters once a year and they are maybe 25% dirty. All the oil goes into a 6,000 gallon tank first so all the bad stuff can settle to the bottom. Then the oil is pumped to the burn tank.

It is the simple little things that make it easy and clean.

 

[404]

A commercially made drip feed heater from Germany.

KROLL KOZY WASTE OIL HEATER

Anyone know of a US distributor?

Seems lowish maintenance.

Regards,
404

 

[404]

Found a user manual for the Kroll Kozy

www.kroll-heaters.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Kozy-Manual-2014.pdf

 

[Shop Specialties]

A commercially made drip feed heater from Germany.

KROLL KOZY WASTE OIL HEATER

Anyone know of a US distributor?

Seems lowish maintenance.

Regards,
404

Lowish maintenance ? Those are high maintenance compared to the heaters made here in America. Oil stored in the heater, start it with kerosene, clean it everyday, etc. There are much better options available.

 

[404]

Lowish maintenance ? Those are high maintenance compared to the heaters made here in America. Oil stored in the heater, start it with kerosene, clean it everyday, etc. There are much better options available.

Well you have a good point. I should have said inexpensive maintenance. Not damaged by contaminants in the oil. Very simple technology to repair.

Starting with kerosene means no high voltage ignition system.

Cleaning it every day makes it a small job often instead of a big job rarely.

I clean and tune my #2 heating fuel oil fired boiler (with a Bacharach kit for CO2, draft over fire, and smoke) change the nozzle, clean the insulators, sharpen and set the electrodes, clean the air head etc. etc. and think I would rather chip out a cast iron pan on a Kozy once a day.

Regards,
404

 

[Charles (in GA)]

It's too bad you live as far away as you do, because I'd buy all your oil for Michigan.

I now have four waste oil purification units that are so good that they can purify oil for use in diesel engines.

A long time ago, I had put in bids with a Defense Dept seller and the other bidders either forgot or moved on, because I got the equipment for a reasonable price.

Two were previously used by the Air Force, the other two were bought but not used by the Navy. The Navy went to a bigger pump for their ships that would process more than than 1000 gallons/hour, while mine would do 900, if pushed.

These units filter down to 6 microns and then the stuff can be put in one of the Air Force units which have centrifuges and made clear, in fact they are called oil clarifiers.

I'm just bruinging this up because the purity of the oil helps decide if your heaters give off offensive odors that may further restrict yo, if you get a headache every time you turn them on.

I'm still looking for sources of waste oil, if you know of any. All suggestions welcome!

The heaters being discussed have flue pipe and chimney and exhaust outside above the roof. I get a whiff of the exhaust on startup sometimes if the wind is blowing right and I walk outside, but other than that, the air inside the building is as clean as if you were heating with any other heat source.

Charles

 

[Charles (in GA)]

My install thread for my Lanair MX200 waste/used oil heater.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=86184

Winters of '11-'12 and '12-'13 were so mild that I barely used it. Winter of '13-'14 was, as everyone knows, a very harsh winter. I got a lot of use from the heater, worked great.

I need to vac it out, haven't had the chance yet this year. Tank is almost full, and still having co-workers bring their oil to me. I'll top the tank and then fill a 55 gal drum for extra.

Would love to be able to centrifuge the oil (simplecentrifuge.com) but don't want to spend the money. I know the heater would burn cleaner, and the tank would not sludge up either, but............

Charles

 

[Charles (in GA)]

how is that even possible to spend $1000 on chimney materials? An entire new chimney kit is less then $1000.

The Lanair kit is turnkey, comes with a chimney system. I only had to add one section of flue pipe.

Add up a complete chimney and flue pipe system. A good Selkirk or Dura-Vent system can easily run $1000 to $1500 depending on your needs.

http://www.northlineexpress.com/chimney-pipe-stove-pipe.html

Obviously i'm skeptical and don't fully trust salesmen as a whole. But it sounds legit. He said if you are using some synthetic but mostly conventional, you can get an upgraded "metering pump" for $200 that will adjust automatically for different oils. so no babysitting and manually adjusting for different viscosities.

I bought the metering pump. It apparently works well. Never experienced the regulator and the standard pump, but from reading the manual, I can see where it would be more work to keep adjusted. As far as synthetic oil, its difficult to NOT get synthetic oil now days. Most of the oil people give me is synthetic, and I have NO problems with it burning in the heater.

We had one for years, I don't recall the band, it was very high maintenance just due to the filtering requirements and required shop air to run. the model we had used a preheater and we had to cut the oil 50/50 with bunker C or it wouldn't run reliably because of all the water and brake fluid that would get mixed in with oil change oil. As long as you have a back up it can save you a ton of money if oyu don't mind putting some work into it.

You have to have a plan in place to keep antifreeze, solvents, brake fluid, and other "un-burnables" from getting in your oil. Might take some cold employees to prove to them that your decree to separate the stuff and not mix it is not just idle talk.

As far as shop air, the air flow is rather low on most heaters. Mine is specified at 2 cfm at 15 psi. I'm not so sure it uses that. I have a typical 80 gal tank compressor, two stage (175 psi tank pressure) and a 7½ hp motor, and it will run every 15 to 17 mins for long enough to top off the tank, about 45 secs, when the heater is running continuous (thats about three minutes an hour). At .18 cents a kwh for power, that is less than ten cents per hour for power to run the compressor. (33 amps x 240 v = 7,920 watts, or roughly 8kw divided by 60 min in an hour = 133.3 watts per min x 3 min = 400 watts in the hour. .4kw x .18 cents per kwh = .072 cents per hour to operate the compressor). Small onboard compressors will consume the same (roughly) amount of power to create the same amount of compressed air, as will large shop compressors. However, since they run continuous while the heater is running, and produce some air excess to the needs of the heater, they probably cost more to operate.

I like lanair because they are a little cheaper, have a 0% financing thing, and they have a **** 215gal tank that has a top that the heater sits on (see pic). 150,000BTU is definitely good for 2400sq ft. (12ft ceiling)

Virtually every one of the used/waste oil fueled heater manufacturers make a "workbench" fuel tank with a fill box or drain board, and supports to mount a heater on. The heaters also have threaded fittings in the top for mounting from threaded rod or unistrut, with the fuel tank elsewhere.

Charles

 

[Shop Specialties]

This past month I got a customer some stovepipe that wanted to install it themselves. Free stovepipe is not high end quality pipe, it is free for a reason.

8" high wind directional stainless steel cap
4' Selkirk Ultra Temp stainless inside/out
Selkirk RSP - roof support package 18" ultra temp with wings
Selkirk DSAC - dripless stovepipe adapter with coupler - stainless steel
15' single wall 24 gauge pipe
8" adjustable elbow and Tee
#9 Dektite rubber boot
Tube of sealant

Total cost was $ 750.00

 

[Charles (in GA)]

The OP probably has become fed up with the discussion and left. His last log on was, time wise, between posts #14 and #15, he hasn't been back since. At least not when he was logged in.

Charles

 

[JPrato]

Insulation and sealing of doors is your best bet for keeping the shop above freezing even if the heat is off. My new 32x45x16 pole barn in upstate NY has R-21 in the walls, R-40 in the ceiling, R-7 under the slab and R-12 commercial overhead doors double sealed. I use an overhead 50k BTU propane radiant heater to warm it up when I'm there. The 50k heater is a little small for the size of the shop. It takes about an hour to bring it up from the 38 degrees it stays at unheated to the 55 degrees I like to work in.