How do you heat your shop? (restaurant, legal, garage)

[oregonwoodsmoke]

In the shop just sold, the only heat was a propane salamander, used only when the family mechanic was working on the cars.

When I had a well pump, that had a heat lamp on a thermostat.

The new house is on the gas mains, so there will be a ceiling mounted gas furnace set to keep the temp just above freezing. We have a really good woodstove and 3 acres of forest desperately in need of thinning, so there will be a woodstove when warmer temperatures are wanted in the shop.

Because heat rises and the shop is really tall, I want a good ceiling fan in the shop to circulate the heat.

The family mechanic hasn't thought about hot weather. I guess I should mention that. Maybe he would want a heat pump with AC instead of a gas heater.

[SelwaySasquatch]

Don't really need to heat the whole building,
so I partitioned off an 8'x14' area in the
back which I insulated walls and ceiling.
Portable propane heater heats it up
fast and doesn't cost much to run.
I just crack the window for fresh air intake.
Cozy place to tinker with stuff, drink
beer, and watch some football games.

[mistyriver]

Originally Posted by Cnynrat

We have a 35x35 shop with a concrete floor. The primary heat is one of those ceiling mounted propane heaters. We also have a full bath in the shop, which is where the pressure tank for our well sits. The
bathroom is heated with a small wall mounted electric heater.

Generally, I leave the electric heater on its lowest setting all winter. The propane heater is usually off unless I am working in there. The shop heats up nicely in 15-20 minutes unless it's bitterly cold. The primary use is as a woodworking shop, so sometimes if I'm working on putting finish on a project and want my materials at a decent temperature I'll leave the heat on full time.

There is also a wood stove in the shop. You might check with your homeowners insurance about their policy on wood stoves in unoccupied buildings. State Farm will not insure them. The risk they are concerned about is the potential mix of an open fire with combustibles.

Radiant floor heating would be a real luxury (we have it in our house), but it would be costly for a secondary building.

Dave

We have a pellet stove in our shop and it's covered by our policy with State Farm. We checked before adding it.

[Pooks1976]

We use a mini split system, because we also needed AC in the summer.

[Cnynrat]

Originally Posted by mistyriver

We have a pellet stove in our shop and it's covered by our policy with State Farm. We checked before adding it.

In 2013 they would not cover my shop with a wood stove. They wouldn't even let me leave that building off the policy, which I would have been willing to do.

Dave

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Outta_Here

The shop in our new house has a ceiling mounted propane heater. I plan to replace that with a catalytic heater.

A ceiling mounted unit only heats the area above it (heat rises). ....

Last I checked (Code and insurance)

Any area / space storing / housing autos / potential for fumes running along the floor... heaters MUST be ceiling mounted (or above 5', due to open flame as per Gas)

[Outta_Here]

The cat will be mounted in the same place the ceiling mounted heater is now. Hanging from the roof joists.

We did the same thing in the warehouse. Cat was mounted at the same height as the previous heater.

You may be thinking of the small cats on top of a small propane tank.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Outta_Here

The cat will be mounted in the same place the ceiling mounted heater is now. Hanging from the roof joists.

We did the same thing in the warehouse. Cat was mounted at the same height as the previous heater.

....

Good to hear and advise (you never know who is reading), and the subject drifted to heating office / and heat rising... not everyone is cautious that fumes drift along the floor... till they find an ignition source... pilot light.

be safe, don’t burn down you treasures! An ID Natural Hot spring is a Great ‘safe’ heat source, for a shop

[nobodysbusiness]

What great ideas!

Would those outdoor restaurant heaters that they now sell at Costco be helpful, or is the area they heat too small?

I have a large shop, so just curious.

[Meemur]

Originally Posted by mistyriver

Pellet stove

Me, too. The pellets store just fine in the off-season and that's safer and cheaper than kerosene or propane heatings.