Shop heater

[Rich]

I thought i saw a thread on this topic in the past, but a search turned up nothing. In fact it was amusing to see how "heater" was returned as "cheater" and "theater". But anyway, My shop was being heated by an obsolete kerosene stove which has now all but quit (too bad, b/c I just had my oil tank refilled), so I'm looking for ideas on how others are heating their shops. Anyone have something they like? (economical, sufficient heat).
Thanks,
Rich

[bobbin]

There is no water to barn we built in '07 (well insulated).  So it's heated with an oil-fired furnace on the ground floor, the hot air delivered through a trunk and branch duct system and controlled with a programmable thermostat.  I can allow the temp. to drop to 40-45 overnight in the coldest months and it will automatically come on at a preset time, raising the temperature to a more comfortable level when I wish to begin working.  But the best addition was a nice wood stove.  It's efficient, clean burning and while the oil keeps the building from becoming a refrigerator one morning fire will bring the space up to comfy level and maintain it for hours.  It is easily possible to heat the space with the stove alone, too.  This year I plan to really monitor the amount of oil required to heat the space and how much wood is required to raise the temperature to "cozy" (I predict about 1-1 1/2 cord). 

[CreativeCanvas]

Yo Rich, think I'd go with one of them ceramic honey comb heaters that sit atop an LP tank. Look kinda like a big sunflower? Lemme tell ya those things can crank out some BTUs.

[gene]

I have  a heater like this. It's a spot heater and I'm moving it around a lot depending on where I'm sitting or standing. My shop is never warm and toasty but it is OK.

http://www.dinodirect.com/electric-heater-far-infrared-800w.html

In the summer I hang it from the ceiling and tell folks I have satelite. (just kidding)

I have been thinking of getting an oiled filled electric heater and putting it on a timer so it kicks on before I get to my studio. I may do that this winter.

gene

[CreativeCanvas]

Quartz and/or oil filled heaters are okay I spose. Have both. BUT they do put a hurtin' on yer electric meter. Gas gives ya a lot more bang for the buck.

In the early days we used a big cast iron skillet over an LP stove ...? Radiated heat like a sob.

[Mike8560]

N an emerge on e in new Hampshire when my burner vuit for good I  heated my house with a keroseen heater about 2' tall round 11/2' diameter keep the house warn about  505 at night when it was like 20s outside

[kodydog]

Rich your in DC right? Best to listen to our Yankee brothers and sisters. I have an electric quarts heater mounted to the ceiling. Takes about 30 mins to heat the cutting and sewing room up. But I only need to use it about a dozen times a year.

[JuneC]

Soooooo glad I don't have to worry about this stuff.  However, when it's 95 F and 95% humidity, your sweat glands better be in working order.   ;)

June

[daveich]

I heat my whole house with a toyo stove #1 fuel. and up here in alaska it gets down to -60 they have a smaller one to. they are automatic. and if you are like me to lazy to cut wood the are the cheaps way up here most pl;ace can not get gas. don

[SHHR]

I found a one year old gas furnace on the freecycle website. Some guy had it installed in his house then added on a large addition, so he put in another unit to carry the whole house. It's a Trane high efficiency unit. I did have to build a filter box for it to set on and install ductwork and a vent. Oh, I did have to convert it from natural gas to L.P. too. It works great even on the coldest days and not too bad on gas either. No matter what you choose be careful if you have open flames or pilot lights. If you get to spraying any adhesives, solvent based materials, or even real dusty situations, they can get dangerous real quick.
Kyle

[Rich]

Thanks for the responses, Gene, I have one of those parabolic dish thingy's and it's great when you're staying in one place working. I'd like to investigate the others mentioned here, but the ceiling mounted electric quartz heater won't work for me since I have low ceilings. I looked online for that Toyostove and it seems like it may be similar to a portable kerosene heater I used to use that sat on the  floor (mounted on it's own tank) That really did put out some nice heat, but since it was portable, it was not hooked up to a flue and would cause fumes, especially after being shut down (that also meant I couldn't keep it on a low setting at night). Someone mentioned a wood stove. Does anyone have any experience with a pellet stove?
Thanks,
Rich

[mike802]

I have a pellet stove and it works great as long as you have power, loose power and you loose your heat.  Mine has to be cleaned about every three weeks and it can burn pellets, or corn.  The corn will attract mice, but moisture can ruin your wood pellets, corn makes a much finer ash than wood and is a little more difficult to clean.  I also have an oil fired hot air furnace in the shop, I like it because I can turn the thermostat down real low at night and just turn it up to where I want it in the morning and in a couple of hours the whole shop is warm, but fuel oil is expensive and I do not have water in the shop, so no frozen pipes to worry about. 

I was never really warm until I installed a wood stove, wood heat is real nice and it just warms you and the environment like no other heat, the trick is to have good dry wood, cut, or buy a year ahead and keep it covered.  I have a soft spot for antique wood stoves, I am not a big fan of the new air tight wood stoves because they make a lot of creosote,  excess creosote is created by a slow burning, low heat fire.  Creosote is the main cause of chimney fires, so your chimney should be cleaned at least once a year and your stove pipe cleaned regularly, how ofter will depend on your stove and draft.  I have heard the new EPA approved wood stoves suck, they hardly burn at all, but I have no first hand experience with them.  The nice think about wood is if you loose power you can stay warm and still cook a meal, If the world falls apart and no one is available to deliver fuel, you can gather wood and survive, it's a good feeling to be independent.

[Rich]

Thanks Mike for the detailed reply, I do appreciate it!
The wood stove alternative might not be practical for me as I'd like something that doesn't require much attention. I have enough to do w/o adding another cleaning chore.
As for survival, I can see that philosophy working at home, but if things got that bad, it's unlikely there would be enough customers wanting reupholstery for me to even be in my shop :o
Rich

[bobbin]

I would like to correct a few misconceptions about the new, EPA, clean-burning stoves.  I know from whence I speak because I own 2 of them!
1.)  There is no such thing as an "air tight" stove; without oxygen there can be no combustion.  
2.)  Creosote is formed when improperly seasoned ("green") wood is burned.  Green wood has trouble achieving optimal burn temperatures because most of the wood's energy is wasted burning the water out of it!  The resultant low temperature, smouldering releases gases and moisture which combine to coat the inside of flues with sticky, greasy creosote.  Burning seasoned firewood with a low moisture content still produces some residue but it is usually dry and is easily cleaned from the flue walls.  
3.)  Firewood should be seasoned at least one year after it's split.  If you burn red oak or red maple (trees that will happily grow in wet sites) you had best plan on a 2 yr. cure rotation (we are on a year and half rotation here).  
4.)  New wood stoves receive a bad rep. because people fail to read and follow the directions.  They continue to think that burning green wood is OK, usually because they don't have their acts together enough to get on the seasoned wood program.  Buy your green wood, split and stack it a year before you buy your new, EPA stove and keep ahead of the wood!
5.)  I own 2 catalytic stoves (they have a really crummy rep. in the the realm of uninformed people).  One is now 20 yrs. old and we were so impressed by its performance we opted to buy another when it was time buy a stove for my shop.  Key to success and satisfaction? burn seasoned wood!  We clean out flues every 3 yrs., the flashlight and mirror show minimal residue on the flues.  Burning seasoned wood allows good, hot fires with complete combustion and that reduces creostote formation to virtually nil.  
6.)  I, too, love the antique stoves.  But they're not efficient in any sense of the word.  We have learned a lot about complete combustion and particulate emissions in 100 yrs. and new stoves blow them out of the water when it comes to performance and efficiency.  You burn a lot less wood, get more heat, and add less particulate pollution to the atmosphere.  

Check out www.hearth.com.  Fabulous site, full of information, another excellent site is www.woodstove.com.  

[byhammerandhand]

I briefly looked at those external woodburners.  They sort of look like a metal garden shed.  What I was able to tell was that they produce a lot of smoke because the fire is usually dampened down to a smolder.   Traveling around through northern Michigan, I can see where that was the case as there were a bunch of them.  I certainly would not want one in my neighbors' back yard.