Technical Anyone use those heaters that go on propane tanks?

I’m wondering what BTU you have used and about how long the tank will last. I’ve got a few extra BBQ gas sized tanks.

As it’s cooling down now I plan to make a trip to HF and get the 30k BTU unit because you can run it at 30k or 15k BTU. I’m going this way because it’s fairly potable to move from area to area.

 

Are you referring to one of these? I tried it once and never used it again. HRP



I used a kerosene heater in my shop for years, I just felt like it was safer. HRP

 

You mean what they call "Sunflower Heaters"? They're great for ice fishing shacks, but a little small for a shop. They will do in a pinch, though. What they call "Construction Heaters" are better, but more expensive.

You have to be careful with both types, though. I used a 100,000 BTU construction heater in my shop while I was getting it ready. I wasn't careful and worked to close to it for too long and ended up in the hospital for a skin graft and other unpleasant things.

If you have a welder outlet, try one of these :

 

Ki

Kinda the same thing I saw at HF. I can’t link on my phone. What didn’t you like about it?

I have a turbo heater, that I run off diesel. Issue is it’s danged loud. And when not paying attention and it runs out, I have to open the doors to get the fume out.

 

240 isn’t the issue. I’m not looking for direct heat, like a camp fire. The one shop I have is smallish about 24x20. Holds the heat from a converted fireplace insert I put in years ago, but wood is a pia. Plus takes about an hour or so to warm the place up when the fire is lit.
I’m not looking to wear a tshirt and shorts when it’s in the 40’s, all I want to do is take the chill out
I know. The 40’s is tank top weather for many

The reason I want it movable is I can start off with it in the work area, then move it away as needed.

All that said I’m just wondering about the run time of them, I’ve been around them and the heat was fine, but never asked how long they lasted.

 

There's an awful lot of people having their gas furnaces replaced because of an attempt to save money on a newer , more efficient model or because someone told them its " time" to change. Check with a local heating contractor , many furnaces are 95%+ even though they're 30 years old , many times they're free ,the HVAC doesn't have to pay someone to haul them away. Pretty hard to get the efficiency& safety any cheaper . Mine is a 96% gfa that is 20 years old , I put it in 9 years ago to replace another used one I got 20 years out of ,both were free for the hauling !

 

That type has to be used in a vented area, you'll kill yourself in a sealed up space. I have used that type many years ago in a garage with door cracked open for snowmobile repairs, running wide open #20 bottle lasts maybe 2/3 hours. NOT a safe heating system IMO. Buy a ceiling or wall vent unit 250/500 $ and lease or purchase a large propane tank, save a life, yours. Insulation is your friend.

 

maybe it was you I had haul off a gas heater I had. Lol. At the time I hadn’t run a natural gas line anywhere close to the shop. A few years ago I got tired of washing up in cold water, so dug out and put in a septic tank, small shower, etc. the gas line runs right past where I would want it now


Kinda like how I build things. Think of “now” and not “later”

 

I get it. Living area gas type heaters have vents to atmosphere. Makes sense. Thanks

 

They also put a fair amount of moisture into the air, not good for tools.

 

I use the single head one like in the photo outdoors at swap meets and in the truck camper during the day with the back opened up. I have laid it done and cooked on it in a emergency.
Don't know how safe that was. It did not just drink the fuel.

 

I have a single head and a 2 head version. I have a 2 car garage with fill insulation. It doesnt get it hot, but it keeps it comfortable. I have a celing fan/air filtration system that keeps air moving, circulates the heat pretty well. Not optimal, but hell, it works

 

I have three of these. They don't keep the shop heated, but keep the area I'm working in warm. I know, Florida isn't that cold but my blood is zero weight.

 

I put an electric furnace from a mobile home in my shop it will cook you out. Shop is highly insulated though. I turn it on get it to 55 degrees and I’m fine. I bought it 15 years ago used for 75 bucks.

 

these are only good if you are staying in one place for a long time. I used one when I was doing ebay and all my ebay stuff was in the cold shop. mostly sitting in a chair at the computer or boxing stuff. it does not really heat the room up. good for about 5 feet of heat.

 

Not the question you asked but hopefully this might help? My dad has a garage that feels 20 degrees colder than it is outside all the time. Garage is about 60’x20’ and this thing keeps it toasty. He bought it at a second hand sale at the local church.

 

When I had a nice two car garage instead of the one car I have now.

I used a propane salamander heater to get it hot, then had a 110v oil filled radiant heater.
If I kept the doors closed the place stayed nice and warm until I either turned the heater off for a day or opened the door.

I had one of those sunflower heaters, didn’t heat anything up and kinda scared me as I’m a clumsy **** and saw myself tripping over it and it falling on some oily rags or my face or something .

 

Took up too much space in the car.

 

: ) I just spit my drink all over my phone laughing at that one. I normally say the damned thing keeps getting in my way.

 

My buddy had an old electric furnace in his shop that heated it up pretty toasty. He had it over on the side of the two + car garage and on the times in cold weather we were working on something it kept his garage comfortable. It wasn't too big physically and may have been a Mobile home furnace. No duct work except a 90 at the top to push the air out rather than up.

 

I’ve got one of those sunflower heaters, I think it does a great job. Mine has 3 settings, we have used it in the house several times as supplemental heat when the temps would get down close to zero, it would run about 24 hours on a standard bbq sized tank. Actually, it gets too hot if the temps are closer to freezing, we have used it also when the propane company drug their feet and let us run out of gas for the main heaters. I carry it out to my carport occasionally when there is something that just has to be fixed like the wife’s vehicle, it’ll keep the area around it warm enough to make it more comfortable. Never had a problem with fumes, we run ceiling fans year round to move the air, and my old house has plenty of small air leaks. I wouldn’t want to use one around any flammable liquids like aerosol sprays or open gasoline containers or lines, but that is just common sense.

 

Works in my 2 car garage in Cali. Works on my patio when I smoke my cigar too.

 

The ones with the fan that you plug in work better, make noise will heat the space up. I could get around three good work sessions out of a bbq tank in a shanty town 10 x20 plastic covered shop in mid Mo winter.

 

I use one of thesehttps://www.ebay.com/itm/AZ-Patio-H...991148&hash=item595bc6578e:g:DjYAAOSw2PVfoEuU
Noisy as , but will warm up my small 2 car shop from near freezing to very toasty in an hour. Noisy as though . When warm i turn it off as i will get cooked.

 

Another option if you can find one is a catalytic heater....not a ceramic heater. A catalytic heater converts propane or natural gas to heat without a flame. We use them here in the oilfield industry where you can't have an open flame. (I still don't really understand how they work), but they are 100% efficient and don't produce carbon monoxide or a flame, they do however use oxygen so you still need to be careful to make sure there's some fresh air coming into the room at times. They're not very cheap unless you can find one being sold used from the oil patch. Catadyne is the brand I have for emergencies.

 

I have one in a 12X30 poorly insulated shop.... It runs under a 16 in. box fan.... It does a good job of taking off the chill on the lowest heat setting and gets too hot on the highest setting....

LynnW

 

Dad and I suffered through a bunch of winters using the double burner version of the heater. On nights the temperature dropped into the twenties it took a long time to get the garage up to a decent working temperature. Even with a well isolated garage, when the temperature was in the teens or lower it couldn't,t keep up.
We found using a oscillating fan helped quite a bit at warming the space evenly. When I worked under the car I could still see my breath hours after the rest of the garage was warm. Now we have a gas forced air furnace. Best garage investment ever!

 

A Friend of mine uses a tin garbage can with 2" holes drilled around the bottom sides, turned upside down over one of those yellow halogen work lights with a fan blowing across it. Works much better than I would've ever guessed. 2 of these in opposite corners keeps his garage(24'x30') workable all winter here in Mich.

Forgot to add that he sets the can on a couple bricks to raise it off the floor enough that it can draw in air at the bottom.

 

Ya a friend of mine used some kind of a propane heater on his 30+ ft. live aboard cabin boat...until a couple days ago.
He was on board sitting in the living area and heard a odd noise coming from his heater got up to investigate .
He said as he approached the unit, that was a marine grade propane heater, a large flame snaked its way right at him then he said he felt pressure, then all seemed quite and this is what was left when he woke up..his boat was ****tered all over the marina.,he was found on part of what was once the deck and his cat was dead..he suffered burns on his hands and light burns on his face ..
Other that he was very lucky to survive that one.

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