Art & Inspiration Winter is coming. . . Got heat?

Excellent choice!!!!!

 

It gets freaking cold and windy on the hill I live at in Baltimore. Unfortunately because I'm cheap and my garage has high ceilings and zero insulation, I just roll this guy around with an extension chord. I can feel the warmth radiating from it now....mmmmmmmmmmtoasty

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I have a big 2 door Lopi wood burner

 

Seriously ?, you know I do run cars inside a garage for tune-up, warm-up. The damned thing would always be going off.

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Clunker, how would one go about purchasing the scratch and dent ones? Seems like a good alternative for my newly built garage? Just call and ask?



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Last Saturday it was 60+ degrees out and I finally finished insulating and sheet-rocking the garage ceiling. I also mounted my snow tires on my DD. Sunday it snowed 4" and was 29 degrees and hasn't risen much since, talk about good timing.

I have a 2-bay with a 24,000 BTU direct vent wall mount propane unit and a 24 gallon (not pound) tank outside. I ordered a "frost sentry" digital thermostat that has a 35 degree low limit (compared to most at 50 degrees) that's getting delivered today. Finally will have a garage heated for an entire season!

My single bay has a 220V electric blower unit, it gets the job done, but the ceiling isn't insulated so that bay gets heat only as as-needed basis.

 

Last fall I built my own outdoor furnace. I also engineered a system to burn the wood gas that is produced as the wood burns. We had a mild winter last year but it worked so good. In this photo the furnace is not quite finished.
This furnace replaced an outside wood fired hot water heating system that I built and used when I was still painting a lot. The forced air system is easier to design, build, and operate.

John

 

Would you mind giving some more detail on that system. I dig it.

CO detector, you bet. Does it go off when running a car in the garage, yup, does too much grinding/sanding dust in the air make it go off, yes. Still worth it!

 

3rd winter in my new shop and my Hot Dawg heater is keeping it warm and toasty on not a lot of propane. I keep it at around 70 during the day and back it off to 50 at night. I'm 72 and hate the cold.

 

Exactly. Call, ask about "Woodshop Series", scratched and dented for your garage. tell them what the space is like. 110v or 220v. They are really helpful and explain it all. They aren't salesmen, they are engineers so they are actually helpful. I will swear by these things, honestly.

 

yes , i know running a car will set it off.....but with all the unvented heating systems guys are using i think it's a good idea anyway. my garage heater is properly vented and i still have one. my daily driver pickup sets in the driveway , hot rods in the garage nice and warm

the CO detector went off in my house last Saturday due to a malfunctioning burner...it was 178 PPM. right now it reads 0 PPM. i'm glad i have them installed

 

installed one of these, I'm not out there much in the winter, but if I turn it on when I get home from work, in an hour or so I can work in a sweatshirt comfortably in temps down to 10 degrees F
The floor stays cold though... garage is 25 by 20 or so mostly insulated

 

FYI, if you only turn your garage heat on when you are out there working the cement slab will never warm up. The trick it to maintain a temp, say 50, when not out there. That will keep the slab warmer.

 

I'm picking up one that plugs in with battery backup and a display soon. It shows the levels.

I actually built a passive solar convection heater last year and it was enough to keep the edge off in there with about 3.5 hrs of direct sunlight per day. I kept water bottles placed around the shop as canaries and they never froze, whereas the prior year, freezing was common in there.

 

patmanta......same ones i have

56shoebox.....i agree , i heat my garage full time all winter long to about 45, then turn it up to work

 

I also keep a few water bottles as canaries. Last year in a serious cold snap I saw a water bottle was not frozen. Mystified, I picked it up and it instantly froze before my eyes, turning to grey slush and then solid within a few minutes. Seems that the crystallization process needed a jump start.

 

I use a Different type of Heating Source I call up a Couple of Women
I know & they Stand around for awhile telling there Stories
and the Temp Rises.!

Just my 3.5 cents
or when the Cows
Come Home.!

 

OJ.Sorry for your loss.Bruce.

 

Clunker 1 question.HOW DID YOU GET THAT CADDY IN THERE?????? LOL.Bruce.

 

Boy these units must be a lot different than the ones I've had experience with.
They really sound like they are effective.

I've seen a set of similar to these installed into a block building public restroom.
Two in each side. They hung from the ceiling and were about 2x4 feet in size.
They didn't work well at all. Couldn't keep the building warm. I literally had to lay my hand on them to even feel if they were on.
Sorry don't know the manufacturer off hand.
I like the idea of these. Glad you came across a set that works well.

 

36-3windowI have so many air leaks in my shop I don't have to worry about carbon monoxide.LOL.Bruce.

 

WOWEbbsspeed, sounds like you have a REAL nice set up!!!!Bruce.

 

Lou, looks like it passed with flying color there .LOL Bruce.

 

I made a couple of post on the garage journal last year as I built the furnace. There is a comment or two and some pictures on the thread http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=315353

John

 

I have one of those 55 gal barrel wood burners in my garage. Strategically place tarps to block in my work are help a lot.

 

How big is your garage? Also, do you heat yours full time?
I have a buddy with a garage only marginally bigger than my new one. He said he only sees about a $20-$30 increase each month heating his with a 220v space heater.
My garage is 15x25 and this is the first winter I'll be heating it with a 220v 4,000 watt space heater. We'll see how it goes.

 

I divided my 40x48 shop in half with an 8 foot ceiling and a mezzanine above it. The work area is 2 rooms, the dirty room is 24x24 with three electric wall heaters and the clean room is 14x24 with baseboards. Everyone cringes when I say I have electric heat, but with the rooms being relatively small and well insulated, its not too bad price wise. I only heat the room that I am working in at the time.
I have a propane unit heater for the tall side, I seldom work over there, so it has yet to be installed.
I installed a forced air propane furnace in my dad's shop 8 years ago. It was really good at stirring up dust while you were painting something, but easier to maintain an even heat compared to the wood stove he used for years.

Dave

 

Everyone else's garage heating systems:

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My garage heating system:

screen shot pc

 

3 1/2 ton heat pump keeps the 1350 sq. ft. garage cool in summer and warm in winter. It's one of the luxuries that I allow myself in my old age!

 

This is pretty handy for figuring out what you're going to need for heating in the shop:
http://www.calculator.net/btu-calculator.html

So's this:
http://www.rapidtables.com/convert/power/Watt_to_BTU.htm

That said, you'd be amazed how far a little insulation goes in a shop. Mine had NONE the first year and it was unusable all winter. Once I insulated about half the ceiling however, the difference was DRASTIC. I've still gotta finish up the rest but I've also installed a couple cast off replacement windows, which make a huge difference from the old single panes.

I'm also getting some insulated subfloor panels to put over the slab in my work area to keep my feet off the slab a bit more than just the fatigue mats. They're about $7 each from Home Despot:
DRIcore 1 in. x 2 ft. x 2 ft. Aspen Insulated Panel