Best Way To Heat New Shop?

Best way to heat new shop?
New shop almost done, trying to deside on best way to heat. 1200sq ft, well insulated with 2x6 construction, topline windows and doors, so should heat resonable. Going to be 55deg all the time, then warmer when using it.

options are forced air oil, forced air propane, forced air electric,selfcontained propane(bulldog I think it was called?) or radiant propane. No natural gas available. Of course every place I phone for info,says"this is the way to go!!!" Kind of thinking radiant, as its probably the quietest?? I don't want to listen to a fan roaring, plus not stuck on having a bunch of ugly(shop fully finished and painted) ductwork. Whats probably cheapest to run?

Cheapest to run depends on fuel prices. In my area oil is the cheapest route. LP and natural gas are expensive to run.

But that said. LP and natural are much cleaner and healthier for the environment. Almost every bit of the fuel is burnt leaving mostly condesation behind.

If your installing this yourself and you want quick and simple forced hot air, mobile home furnaces can be gotten fairly cheap compared to standard house furnaces. All you do is set it up on a couple blocks so the heated air can spill out the bottom. Vent the exhaust pipe out, hook the thermostat to TT on the burner motor, run a fuel line from your tank to the burner motor, put a standard extension cord male end on the 110v side and plug it in to any ordinery outlet. Just check the amperage draw for the proper breaker. Most of these have built in safty, like burner Fire-o-matics and cad cells so you dont have to worry about dealing with those.

Yeah I guess I'll have to find out fuel prices...........still hard to compare it though, as even when you have the prices, who do you compare it?

The difference between propane prices can be staggering

Yeah, going to price it at eveywhere I can around here.

if you go forced air,mobile home furnaces are cheap.new coleman 90,000 btu 90% are $750 from local guy delivery to you door 25 bucks.but to you I would say delivery would be much more :D .

Another thing to consider is dust. With radiant heat you will find the air will become stagnant in a well sealed & insulated shop. An auto dealer's service department gets the air exchanged frequently due to some technician's "live in a Barn" attitude of leaving the doors open. The forced air choice will provide filtered air and some much needed circulation without creating hot spots near the ceiling and upper walls which create paint shadows around the cold wall and roof studs. Based on BTU output Vs dollar value over the long term, oil fired high efficiency systems seem to be a good value at present. In my shop I am going dual forced air using a volcano furnace which is oil or wood fired. The only down side of this system is electronically varying the day / night temperatures when burning wood. No one in the industry will commit to giving you a valid comparison of heating costs due to the volatility (sorry for the pun) of the crude cost per barrel from OPEC (organized pilferage of every cent). The real trick here is to insulate adequately and install a heat recovering air exchanger with whichever system you choose.

Good Luck !!!

Unless your in the shop all the time radiant takes too long to get warm. The guys I know that did it ened up with some other kind of quick heat. I have a few buds that heat there hanger/shops with approved waste oil reburners and use there old motor oil or whatever they can get dirt cheap.

Originally posted by Thumbdoctor@Aug 10 2004, 06:47 PM
Another thing to consider is dust. With radiant heat you will find the air will become stagnant in a well sealed & insulated shop. An auto dealer's service department gets the air exchanged frequently due to some technician's "live in a Barn" attitude of leaving the doors open. The forced air choice will provide filtered air and some much needed circulation without creating hot spots near the ceiling and upper walls which create paint shadows around the cold wall and roof studs. Based on BTU output Vs dollar value over the long term, oil fired high efficiency systems seem to be a good value at present. In my shop I am going dual forced air using a volcano furnace which is oil or wood fired. The only down side of this system is electronically varying the day / night temperatures when burning wood. No one in the industry will commit to giving you a valid comparison of heating costs due to the volatility (sorry for the pun) of the crude cost per barrel from OPEC (organized pilferage of every cent). The real trick here is to insulate adequately and install a heat recovering air exchanger with whichever system you choose.

Good Luck !!!
Hmmmmm, never though of the stale air part. Was thinking radiant was better as it would warm the floor more, and probably melt the ice better on the sleds.Great...........now I'm more unsure!!! LOL

propane radiant tube heater since you plan on keeoing it at 55 all the time. put in some prop fans at the highest level and call it a day. works best for shp applications. However, i dont know the height of your shop. If it is less then ten feet forget radiant as you will end up with a burnt head all the time.

One other supporting argument for an air exchanger is the fact that you may be installing some sort of exhaust extraction system to hook up to toys. If the shop is air tight, the exhaust will not exit very well and your furnace draft will suffer. The same theory applies for high CFM compressors which usually live longer when installed inside a heated area. Just my $0.02 worth.

Ps. I am making plans to build a 28 X 40' shop (not garage as popular assumption will hold). It will have a garage door for convenience only.

Thanks guys. Its 12ft walls , and I allredy have 2 big ceiling fans.

22.5 or 45 degree deflection on back wall and it will heat even with the doors open. This why forced air is not the best. I should know its my business,

Thanks