I am in the process of converting a 30′ x36′ garage/barn into a woodworking shop. The structure is full dimension 2×6 with a poured concrete floor. I will insulate and dry wall the walls. There is a full upstairs that I would use for storage, office, etc. What type of heat/system would you use – I live in western Massachusetts –
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I would (did in my own house) do radiant tubing in the slab to a hot water heater which would have enough hot output to keep the garage warm down to -20F once you hve it insulated.
Too late for that now (unless you want to do another concrete pour). So I would put in a direct-vent heater such as Toyo or Monitor's. Available for propane, natural gas and fuel oil, it would heat the downstairs pretty well and, if you have good air circulation, would heat the upstairs quite well. The slab tends to stay pretty cool unless you have a pretty big fan to stir up the low-laying cold air.
The advantage of these small direct-vent units is that they don't take much floor space and they require no plumbing or wiring beyond run fuel to them and plugging them in the wall.
Hi Dave - thanks for the input - I have considered direct vent propance heaters, do you think there is any danger from air born dust? I also have considered pellet stoves - pellets cost less than propane but propane is quick. Alaska - such a great place, I was there back in 1080, Juneau, Skagway, White Horse - a friedn of mine is going to Anchoridge Thursday to buy a plane. Any specific models of heaters you can recommend would be great - Tom Kress
You might want to look at using a infra gas heater. Detroit Radiant is one brand, if I remeber correctly.
Workshop dust is not normally a safetly problem. But finishes can be. Some of them are sealed combustion with extra air intakes. They are used a lot in garages and aircraft hangers.
One can always imagine a dangerous scenerio, but a properly installed direct-vent heater is about as safe as you can get. You can't get a back-draft of carbon monoxide leaden exhaust because of vent fans or due to wind-induced pressures. And flammable fumes (painting, gasoline spill, etc) and dust can't get to the flame because all the air for the flame comes in a separate pipe from outside and all the combustion products get vented outside with no addition of room air. So unlike a conventional water heater or furnace, there is no path from room air to/from combustion air.
Regarding Makes and Models: I'd suggest you work with what is available locally since you'll want to have local service and parts available. For matter, I'd suggest you shop for a highly recommendation service person rather than for the stove itself. Than ask the service person what they would recommend and have found to reliable and easily serviceable.
Electric or gas-fired radiant heaters have the advantage of being quick acting but they are clearly possible ignition source. Since they are located pretty high, they are less likely to ignite propane or gasoline fumes which hug the floor. Airborne fine powders can definitely catch fire and/or explode although it does take a fairly dense dust cloud to propogate a flame front. About 0.003 pounds of dust per cubic foot is a risk although twice (0.006 pounds per cubic foot) will make a bigger bang. That would be 52 pounds of fine sawdust uniformly distributed throughout the volume of your garage. And that is a LOT of dust.
What kind of airplane? Maybe I know the owner. I'm meeting with a bunch of pilot buddies in EAA tomorrow.
David Thomas Overlooking Cook Inlet in Kenai, Alaska
Some time ago I was impressed by a NG radiant system. It was in an automotive workshop. It has a piece of 4" cast iron drain pipe drawing air in from outdoors, a burner and another cast pipe about 30' long that is suspended at about 10' above the floor as a radiator.
It seemed to work well.
4LORN1: I've seen that kind of set-up as well. In the arctic entry/foyer of a Fred Meyers Store. Does seem to work pretty well. Didn't look cheap though. Partly because it has some pretty big pieces. But also because they don't sell a million of them each year.David Thomas Overlooking Cook Inlet in Kenai, Alaska
The one I saw had a burner unit that was only about 18"square. The pipes appeared to be common cast iron sewer pipes, complete with markings, and were hung with steel pipe hangers on all-thread rods. The burner (blower?) unit had a circuit, looked like 12/2 MC (20A) and a flexible gas line run to it. I remember this because I was thinking that this would work for a shed/shop I was planning. Unfortunately even though I vowed to remember it I can't remember the manufacturers name.
OK. I did a Google search on " gas fired radiant heating". This series of units look similar to what I saw.
http://www.reverberray.com/products/des.html
This is on the low end of their line. I don't know about prices or availability. I assume that there are other manufacturers.
Edit: After looking at the above site I see that those "cast iron sewer pipes" may be far more exotic. Possibly titanium. Sure didn't look high tech to me.
Edited 5/19/2002 11:07:52 PM ET by 4LORN1