Heat for quansit hut shop...
- Thread starter Steve Plucker
- Start date
Steve Plucker
BANNED
Thanks but no thanks Scott...This is God's country...nearest neighbor is 1 mile...nearest town is 30 miles...where the deer and elk roam...and the fishing is great...and no one to bug me...Pluck
Model T Monte
Senior Member
Steve, The local body shop is a large block building on the towns main street with a flat roof from the era in which it was built. I`m guessing 40x150'. He uses radiant heat in it, and it stays toasty all winter even tho it`s not insulated. As to the operation costs I don`t have the foggyist but it is good enuf to paint and cure paint in. Just my 2cents. Monte
Deluxe Delivery Don
Senior Member
Ya Steve,The only ones that bug you are your Barn Friends. That's Fordbarn Friends and Thats if you let us.
Craig Lewis
Well-known member
I run my auto glass business from a 1200 sq/ft cement block building on Vancouver Island. When I first opened in 1992 there was a big old propane heater hanging from the ceiling which would be blowing warm air within a few minutes of hitting the switch each morning.
....I liked it!
I think the best thing about these heaters is the big powerfull fan which forces a relatively small amount of heat down to where you need it, and circulates it evenly thoughout the entire workspace(granted it's aimed correctly)
Unfortunately this heater was old & worn out so after a few too many repair bills the landlord agreed to install a new unit and we somehow selected a sunray propane overhead radiant unit.
.....I don't like it at all.....
Our winters here are foggy and rainy, damp and cold. Usually only 2 or 3 weeks total of snow on the ground, but plenty damp and cold. Naturally these cement buildings are cold and damp also and the radiant heater just seems to aggrivate the dampness. The radiant heats "objects" below the hood and it seems to be bringing dampness out of the cement floor and never really gives one a warm dry feeling. It takes over an hour at full throttle to really warm the place.....and then suddenly it's TOO hot. As well, working below the radiant seems to give me headaches. I switched it to natural gas a few years back (when the lines came up the highway) which dropped the cost maybe 20% from propane but the characteristics stayed the same.
Bottom line for me is Air Circulation....you need plenty of air movement to feel dry and warm, heat is a plus, but circulation is far more important....then you can get by with less heat and feel better!
I can't wait to get back to a ceiling mounted furnace and planning on that change real soon.
Woodstoves of course are a good source of dry heat, although you might need some fans in such a large shop and keeping it stoked can be a full time job on it's own consuming hours of precious shop time, hauling, chopping, lighting, loading & cleaning.
....I liked it!
I think the best thing about these heaters is the big powerfull fan which forces a relatively small amount of heat down to where you need it, and circulates it evenly thoughout the entire workspace(granted it's aimed correctly)
Unfortunately this heater was old & worn out so after a few too many repair bills the landlord agreed to install a new unit and we somehow selected a sunray propane overhead radiant unit.
.....I don't like it at all.....
Our winters here are foggy and rainy, damp and cold. Usually only 2 or 3 weeks total of snow on the ground, but plenty damp and cold. Naturally these cement buildings are cold and damp also and the radiant heater just seems to aggrivate the dampness. The radiant heats "objects" below the hood and it seems to be bringing dampness out of the cement floor and never really gives one a warm dry feeling. It takes over an hour at full throttle to really warm the place.....and then suddenly it's TOO hot. As well, working below the radiant seems to give me headaches. I switched it to natural gas a few years back (when the lines came up the highway) which dropped the cost maybe 20% from propane but the characteristics stayed the same.
Bottom line for me is Air Circulation....you need plenty of air movement to feel dry and warm, heat is a plus, but circulation is far more important....then you can get by with less heat and feel better!
I can't wait to get back to a ceiling mounted furnace and planning on that change real soon.
Woodstoves of course are a good source of dry heat, although you might need some fans in such a large shop and keeping it stoked can be a full time job on it's own consuming hours of precious shop time, hauling, chopping, lighting, loading & cleaning.
dean from bozeman
Well-known member
If Steve's is like the ones pictured the roof is close to circular. Therefore a 40' wide hut would have a radius of 20'. I would expect that the ceilings height would be close to that number.
I like the partitioning off concept. The colder side could still be kept above freezing. The overhead natural or propane gas radiant heating systems are efficient but since the heat rises it would be wise to install some ceiling destratification fans to get the heat down where you need it.
Jim Brierley
Well-known member
Wow! What a response! I like the converted oil drums idea, or a smudge pot, I live in So Cal citrus area so what do I know? If you use wood or oil, make the smoke stack long and meander it thru the shop to get all the heat out of it. Enclosing just the work area makes sense.