Lets talk Shop Heat

Getting closer to the end of the project finishing the new Weld shop. 28' x 40' x 10' Ceilings. Block foundation. Ceiling is insulated with R19.

How do you guys heat your Shops? I have it narrowed down to a coal stove in the corner, or a ceiling mount Propane heater.

We burn coal in the house with a stoker, and I thought about buying an identical stove for the shop. Can get a used stove for about $500 plus the cost of a chimney (Masonry or SS)

Propane heater is $850 + plus the cost of a 120 gal tank.


I think using coal would be cheaper yearly.


Thoughts? You tell me. THANKS.

For me it would be a matter of how much you will use the shop. Propane is handy, flick of a switch or on a thermostat and you have instant heat. I have no knowledge with burning coal here in Wisconsin but I do burn a lot of hardwood in my shop/garage. That is a nice heat but I can't hold a fire overnight with the wood stove I have so there are times when that does not work so well.
I went with a triple wall pipe in lieu of a masonry chimney.

Zim

Which setup would be the driest heat?

Coal hands down. Propane puts plenty of moisture into the air.

You are not going to heat your shed as you do your house. Have a Hot Dawg hot air (propane) in one building and a kerosene torpedo heater in the fur shed. I prefer the propane because it is less maintenance on the ceiling and out of the way. But the Torpedo heater with a thermostat is pretty economical to run and heats things up pretty fast. I normally do not run the torpedo when I am not in their working on fur. Ideal temperature in a fur shed is between 50 to 55 degrees. A key thing you should do if you choose a propane heater is to remember to turn it on once a month so the valve in the heater does not stick shut on you. I used coal for years in the house got tired of dealing with the coal ash in later years.

I believe I want to keep the shop at a constant temp. 50 degrees when I'm not working and a little warmer when I am working. I think a coal stove would keep it much warmer than 50* at all times.

We removed the wood stove from the house. We have some timber on the property but not enough to supply a stove. Seasoned wood is 170-200 cord and coal is $188-200 delivered in the bin.

I should have been a little more clear in my original post. The new shop is a weld shop,

I'd go with a vented gas wall furnace on a thermostat. Get you fur to close to the wood/coal stove & the hair will slip.

I would say then if you want-need a constant temp propane is the obvious choice.

Zim

For me dry is better.

Be nice if you could do both. Easy for us to spend your money though.

I thought your coal price was absurd then realized that's probably stoker coal.
Was 80T here last year for house coal, I got nat gas this year.
Still burn though, been doing that all my life, wood is trained to find me lol.

Propane heaters that vent outside and have sealed forced air heat exchangers shouldn't put any moisture inside the building. It's the same as a propane furnace in your house just not as efficient.

That is not what he asked about and some times we ask a question when we know the answer.

Propane Radiant Tube Heater is my suggestion.

I have floor heat in my weld shop. Heated by an outside wood boiler. You can buy outside furnaces that burn coal, and If I was closer to coal, that would have been what I put in. Since you probably already have your pad poured, you could go with baseboard heaters with the same system. I love my floor heat, you can open an overhead door, and close it, and it feels just as warm in there as it did! Great heat source!

There's a vehicle mechanic shop I know of that uses a furnace that burns used motor oil. They have an overhead duct system and a large fan / blower.
Don't know how it works exactly but with the number of oil changes they do, they can heat their shop all winter with the old oil.
I would imagine it works the same way that a heating oil furnace does.

Maybe something to consider if you could get a supply of used oil from another business.

Propane , Cheap, Easy (no ashes ) Heat when you are there. Problem with any stove is if you only want to work for a few minutes is by the time you get the stove going you may be done. No going to the building and build a fire then come back to work .....
PLUS no sulphur smell from coal smoke.

I have a 30 by 30 building with 10 foot ceilings. Insulated with r-13 in walls r-19 ceiling. I have aventless wall mounted 30,000 btu propane heater . 2 ceiling fans mounted on each side Don't turn the heat on unless below 40. The heater I have has an internal thermostat and kicks on and off. Once the building is warm if I don't go in or out much it hardly kicks on. The ceiling fans are the best money you can spend. Great for the summer too. This past summer I put a thru the wall heat pump in it. Air cond in the 90 degree heat. Plus in the winter set the heat unit on 50 then use propane if I'm in there working . Building stays comfortable and because of insulation it stays warm and/or cool

I would let the stove burn all winter. The stokers are easy. Dump coal in the hopper, and empty the ash once a day. You don't have to shake them down.

The heat unit is 22,000 btu and will heat the build by itself but I just use the heat side to keep it from getting so cold at night. Propane is main heat

If you don't mind the time to maintain the coal stove, then that's what I would go with, being your using coal for the house too.

Electric in our area and probably in your area too, is cheaper to heat with then propane.

Keith

I run my Hot Dawg off Natural Gas, with orifice an change it will run on LP. I really like it for several reasons, clean, consistent temp, low maintenance and the reclaim is very quick ( meaning- if you open an overhead garage door) the temp returns to normal rapidly.

electric or propane boiler and floor heat... only way to go

For the guys that are running the ceiling mounted propane heaters. On average how many gallons of propane are you burning a year.

Check out a rocket mass heater, not to be confused with a rocket stove.

I'll bet it's too late to put a hydronic system in your floor.

Whichever you choose I would increase the insulation levels in the ceiling to R30 if you have the space. Especially with 10 foot ceilings

there's this stuff called wood.

Old School 2x8s. Already have the steel ceiling installed. With that being said, half of the second floor will be finished and insulated.

A steel ceiling ??? Is that due to fire hazard ??

Correct. Corrugated Steel panels. Like those used for siding on barns/outbuildings.

Got it !! Thanks !!

That also makes me wonder about condensation. I'd go with the driest heat you can in that case

Here is what is in mine. The propane heater is a hearthrite 30,000 btu cost me 287 bucks installed. It kicks off and on just like any heat with a thermostat. The air unit is a mini heat pump with heat coils. It is 22,000 btu got it at Lowes 499 bucks. I set the air/ heat on 50 and leave it in the winter and turn on the propane heater when I go in and I'm there every day . Some warm days I don't need it at all. The air conditioner cools the building in 90 degree heat easy. But I have a ceiling fan over both work stations so air is not used much .
As for propane usage I have a 120 lb cylinder set beside the building and Has gotten 3 winters out of one tank so far. Of course we have more milder temps than you guys up north.

OK why do all my pics post sideways. They are straight in the preview and the source I a getting them from !!!!

Translation metal roof.....

Did you put a moister barrier under the metal? If not you are in for a messy time if you put ANY kind of heat in it. The metal will sweat from the cold temps outside and it will look like it has rained in side......

White and jbyrd have it right. You absolutely have to have a vapor barrier between the steel and heated areas. Otherwise it will "rain" in the shop.

My own new shop is in the final stages. I put a steel roof on it. I was aware of the condensation issues so I installed 1/2" CDX plywood underlayment with 30lb felt over it and the steel roofing panels over that. No "sweat!"

I built my own trusses with 2 x 6 rafters and 2 x 4 girders, got R21 between the rafters with baffles against the underside of the roof sheathing.

If you don't have any type of vapor barrier, put one in. Something as simple as 6 or 8 mil poly stapled to the bottom of the rafters or girders would be effective in keeping the heated air off the cold steel.

I believe he is using the steel for the interior.

Had to re-read thread, had trapping shed in mind.

Radiant heat tubing in the slab could be easily be heated with an electric water heater as you only want the water temp about 110 degrees, you'll spend more on the trim & anti-freeze than the water heater but you'll have a toasty warm shop fairly cheap for around $1000.using new parts, if you do the work yourself.

Radiant Tube propane heater....have one in the work shop. 100x 55x 14 ceilings. No issues keeping it warm and can just turn on half of it if needed and leave the other half set at 45. Very effective and efficient.

I plan to put some type of moisture barrier upstairs under the metal roof, possibly that double bubble Insulation. The Shop has an entire second floor above it. The steel ceiling is BELOW the 2x8 floor joists for the second floor.

I have white steel for walls and ceiling. Insulated under roof with thin styrofoam and plastic and very heavy fiberglass bats on top of ceiling, 2'' pink styroam and 4'' fiberglass in 6in walls between metal both sides. It was my intention to run heat in from 300 tank stove from other shop which joins, but saw how easy it heats with just a propane heater I just never have done it. I work mostly in just one area sitting or standing. Plus I work when I want and if its zero I just dont work. Metal ceiling is easy to clean(vaccum sucks about every thing out and dosent go to ceiling) I dont weld a bunch mostly just grind 6 or 8 hrs a day when I work. All white steel inside makes lighting great.
Having moisture barrier under your floor is about as important as roof , when the floor sweats the rest sweats. My heat doesnt get past the ceiling to the roof. With a big door thats open alot your humidity will change with the weather some.
If you get cold wear more clothes or work harder , lol. My biggest problem in cold or wet weather has been when I get too hot my facemask fogs up and I cant see. If I'm just the right temp I dont fog. A welding helmit thats not tight wont fog as bad. If I get the building temp high enough to get moisture down then have to do a job like drilling so I'm not moving around so much or start pulling off clothes.

Another thought is when I was in my big building I used silver tarps and made me a room around my wood tank stove. Kept the heat in and the dust out of the rest of the building. Didnt have the best airvac in those days. In exteme cold if you can hang sometrhing up on half your building it takes alot less if your buying propane. If wood its just more work.

Best of what I said is white ceiling helps lighting and as you get older it matters.

I missed that but see it now.

If you are going to the effort to install a vapor barrier, it needs to be as completely sealed as possible. Use some 8 mil poly and seal the overlaps and perimeter with Tremco....better known as black death. It's a hassle but definitely worth it.

read up on how and where to make those overlaps and how to deal with inside corners. The main benefit is keeping your insulation dry.

Are you welding under a hood or what kind of exhaust system are you using?