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BSA Spokesperson
Shop Heat (or lack there of)
My shop is f***ing cold. What are ya'll using for heat this winter?
My building has Massachusetts' largest private solar panel array and thus our electricity is subsidized. Any recommendations for a 3phase/220 electric heater that can bring my 500 sq ft (15 ft ceiling) up to 65F?
Last edited by anthonymaietta; 01-17-2011 at 09:40 PM.
Administrator
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
up to 65F atmo?Originally Posted by anthonymaietta
sheesh man it's warmer in toby's sprinter atmo.
i use this - EX17 | Rinnai America
Grimpeur
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
Tony, its all that american steel you have laying around, get you some of those roll around oil radiators and leave them plugged in next to the biggest pieces and on all the time. It will heat up the machinery and keep it neutral in there. My shop is 740' with 12' ceilings and 2 10'x10' glass doors, one oil heater next to my lathe keeps it decent.
something like this; http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CCkQ8wIwAw#
Last edited by bellman; 01-17-2011 at 10:07 PM. Reason: extra commas and added link
BSA Spokesperson
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
Yeah man, I think you might me on to something. I'm going to look into that.
It was 37 when I got there Saturday morning for tele's fitting!
Administrator
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
is that why you wanted to come by today - because i have heat atmo?
BSA Spokesperson
Rolls with style
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
A sweater and my torch...
It was 28* standing next to the electric heater the other day. Doesn't make for fast work...
New place is smaller, and missing the cement pad. That''ll help!
Burnum Upus Quadricepus
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
I'm with Eric. I've got a k1 heater but between the cinder block walls, roll up door, and cement slab... I use it under a heavy steel plate table to create a... slightly tempered zone of semi comfort. Im working at half speed these days. - Chris
Jerseys Too Tight
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
You could likely get by with something in the 5000 Watt range depending on how leaky the space is and the number of exterior walls. The 15' ceilings suggest that you may want one with a blower or install a ceiling fan to push the warm air down.
No specific suggestions for a model. Do the google on northern tool.
Disclaimer: I'm an 'engineer' that used to design heating/cooling systems and my space is heated by a torpedo hooked to a portable propane tank.
Slide to the back
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
I worry about the little 1500 watt units as a potential fire hazard. I have two of the oil filled ones and think running them both helps because neither has to work as hard. My shop is little, but they keep it 50F 24/7, then I kick it up to 60 when I'm out working. I have a small insulated building with a low ceiling though. So I think tomorrow I'll put one of them under my inspection table so it warms up the cast iron.
Shut up legs
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
If you're building is insulated worth a shit, I'd say about 4500-5000 watts of power ought to do it. After that it's just how much you want to spend.
"It's better to not know so much than to know so many things that ain't so." -- Josh Billings, 1885
A man with any character at all must have enemies and places he is not welcome—in the end we are not only defined by our friends, but also those aligned against us.
Shut up legs
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
Don't do that. Your table should be at room temperature and if you try to artificially heat the table alone you're more likely to get temp differentials across it's mass. Without the heat the table will be at ambient room temp and that's exactly what you want regardless of what that room temp might be. You never want to have anything you're measuring with subjected to uneven heat or cold.
"It's better to not know so much than to know so many things that ain't so." -- Josh Billings, 1885
A man with any character at all must have enemies and places he is not welcome—in the end we are not only defined by our friends, but also those aligned against us.
Slide to the back
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
I can not do bench work in the cold and I love my pellet stove. Clean, quiet and cheap to run. I pay about $200 for an entire Montana winter.
Dave
Administrator
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
are you serious atmo?
Paceline
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
It's 19 degrees here right now, The shop should get up into the high 40's before long. Maybe even higher because of the foot of snow insulating the roof.
It's the concrete floor that eventually stops progress here. Brr.
Wade Barocsi
Cycle Design
Cheshire, CT
Rolls with style
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
We hit 30* below zero a couple weeks ago. Tony - this is when you may curse all that fine metal just a little bit, because if you do not keep it all to an ambient temp 24-7 then you will just run your heater constantly until you do. Just another COGS that may not immediately come to mind. I have to keep my shop at a constant 50*F all the time to keep just my measly tool collection up to temp & "crank" it to 65-70F while I'm working. I did my no heat years & I'm over it. I'm old. I'll see what model heater I have, it keeps 600sq ft real nice. - Garro.
EDIT: my heater is a "Cozy" but I can't find a model.....I'ts about 7'x1.5'x1.5'.
Last edited by steve garro; 01-18-2011 at 10:52 AM.
Steve Garro, Coconino Cycles.
Frames & Bicycles built to measure and Custom wheels
Hecho en Flagstaff, Arizona desde 2003
www.coconinocycles.com
www.coconinocycles.blogspot.com
Shut up legs
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
Garro understands the problem. My shops are basically big iron bricks and those big iron bricks take a long time to warm up and a long time to cool down. I have no problem keeping either shop in the mid 60's even when it's in the teen's outside and we're doing lots of air changes. We use about 30 feet of 230v electric baseboard heat (no forced air since they just gum up with coolant/oil mist). Of course the machines generate their fair share of heat too. My electric bill in the winter for the shop inclusive of all machine use, compressors, heat, hot water, etc. is between $400-600 a month.
"It's better to not know so much than to know so many things that ain't so." -- Josh Billings, 1885
A man with any character at all must have enemies and places he is not welcome—in the end we are not only defined by our friends, but also those aligned against us.
Sock Doping
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
I've got a propane direct vent similair to e-Richies, cept mines an older less fancy model.
Love the damn thing as it just works, something the Toyo I had previously didn't.
I'm heating 680 square feet with a 10 foot sidewall, turned down to low it keeps things in the 40's and then I turn it up an hour or two before I actually want to spend any quality time in the garage/shop.
R-21 walls, R-38 ceiling and a 16 foot double garage door that gets opened 4 times a day. Prior to our last fuel delivery I was running around a hundred a month to heat @3.55 +/- gallon. Spent significantly more this go round since we had a long spell of -20 to -30 last fueling.
I think this is my 3rd year on the Rinnia and I've had exactly zero issues.
My father heats his shop space with a pellet stove. Cost per BTU ($6 and change a bag here) is a bit lower but the PITA factor is higher. He's burning about a bag a day heating a smaller space to a higher temp then I hold my shop at.
Captain Elbow flicking
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
The shop I first learne in was wood heated. We stuck screwdrivers into the toilet flapers to not let things freeze up overnight. Like Steve G i like heat these days.
Andy Stewart
10%
Burnum Upus Quadricepus
Re: Shop Heat (or lack there of)
Interesting stuff....
It doesn't really pertain to the actual question because its not electric, but I heat my 500 sf with your typical 30,000 BTU natural gas wall mounted garage heater. At setting 2 out of 10 it keeps my shop at 75 deg here in frozen MN, as long as my exhaust fan is off. I have decent ceiling insulation, but 4" walls with 50 year old insulation, single pane windows, and a leaky 16' garage door. The only down side is that its an open flame unit and when I sweep the shop or blow dust off stuff, or etc, it gets in the heater and stinks the place up for a while. I would love to have a direct vent unit like Richard has, however, I am just not sure if 16,000 BTU would be enough for my set up......
Dave
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