Heating my shed this winter

Billm0066

Bill
User
I built a 12x20 this year. Its not insulated but have drywall up. Walls are 8' and the ceiling pitches up to 12'. I have 2 20 amp circuits going to the shed but no 220. Im kind of leaning towards a propane heater I can fire up for a few minutes to warm things up and turn it off. However wont my dust collector pull out all the warm air from inside? Next year I might look into this https://www.amazon.com/MRCOOL-Ductl...d95d575b02d201&language=en_US#customerReviews

I can have my electrician run another 110 line to the shed if needed. I have a dedicated circuit in a junction box in my crawl space that was used for an old whirlpool tub. He could use that line to run the mini split I linked above. My question is for this winter is a propane heater my best option? Dyna-Glo Pro 60K BTU Forced Air Propane Portable Heater-RMC-FA60DGP - The Home Depot Like this?
 

JimD

Jim
Senior User
My similar sized shop is different because it is insulated walls and ceiling and is an attached garage. But I find a small electric heater to be sufficient to make it OK. Not totally warm but warm close to the heater which I put in my most frequent work area. I am OK as long as I know I can warm up by moving a few steps. Electric means I do not have to worry about fumes. But last winter when I used it I did not have the DC hooked up discharging outside. This winter I will see how much difference that makes. In the summer I just open the doors and turn on a fan so the outside discharge doesn't hurt anything.
 

blackhawk

Brad
Corporate Member
I've been using an old fashioned kerosene heater in my shop for 20 years. Actually, the same one for all that time. I've only had to replace the wick twice. The only time you ever have fumes is if you let it run out of kerosene while the wick is still burning.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
I built a 12x20 this year. Its not insulated but have drywall up.
Why didn't you insulate the shop during construction?

This is kind of like what you're thinking about I think. It's very similar to the torpedo heaters that run on kerosene. They're kind of noisy and I don't know if they produce fumes and carbon monoxide. The air in the shop will lose heat whether or not you run the DC.

 
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Gofor

Mark
Corporate Member
I use one of these in my 16 x 24 shed. Keeps it nice and toasty. I get about 8 hours of heat on one tank, and it warms it up quickly, with very little fume smell on start-up. I also use a battery CO detector when I am running it, but it has never shown a problem. If I am not mistaken, propane has a higher CO hazard than kerosene, and most LP heaters are not designed for closed indoor spaces. It also serves as my back-up heat source for the house for ice storm outages. Hardest part is finding K-1 kerosene (less fumes).

 
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rcarmac

Board of Directors, Secretary
Robert
Staff member
Corporate Member
I am in the same situation as you. I have looked at these mini splits several times but I don't know it can keep up with no insulation in the ceiling. I have 3 of these spread around my shop. They work great, but heat is really around the heater. So I tired to spread them out to cover the most area. But I do have cold spots as you get away from the heaters.

 

Tom from Clayton

tom
Corporate Member
I also use a kerosene heater in my two car garage/shop. I reduce the cold spots as much as possible by using a small circulating table fan aimed toward the ceiling.
 

Gofor

Mark
Corporate Member
I also use a kerosene heater in my two car garage/shop. I reduce the cold spots as much as possible by using a small circulating table fan aimed toward the ceiling.

I installed a cheap ceiling fan. It keeps the air circulated in both summer and winter.
 

sawman101

Bruce Swanson
Corporate Member
I had a 12x16' shop up north for my carbide sharpening business. It got down to the minus numbers often. I bought a wall mounted propane heater. These heaters are ventless and relatively economical. Mine had three heating elements. I also ended up with a 2 element heater I had used in another building, in the office. Using a 250 pound tank, I used that 3 panel heater for 3 years before a refill was needed. Here my shop is much larger and I currently burn firewood to heat the shop, and also dispose of the evidence of projects gone bad.
 

Billm0066

Bill
User
Your pouring money down the drain if you dont insuate

Cant insulate the ceiling with its current design so doing the walls is a waste. Also the extra cost and having to tear out sheetrock would be even more money. Its only getting heated while its in use which is maybe a couple hours a day.
 

zapdafish

New User
Steve
Does this mean it's carbon monoxide safe?

I've been using an old fashioned kerosene heater in my shop for 20 years. Actually, the same one for all that time. I've only had to replace the wick twice. The only time you ever have fumes is if you let it run out of kerosene while the wick is still burning.
 

Pop Golden

New User
Pop
I use a natural gas space heater (ventless). My house HVAC system is ducted through my shop. I get enough radiated heat from the ducts that I only use gas heater when it is really coal. Then only very low flame. I'm also lucky in that my house is situated in a direction that in spring & fall a breeze blows through the shop with both front garage & rear door open.

Pop
 

SteveHall

Steve
Corporate Member
You can inject spray foam insulation through small holes after the drywall is installed. Another solution is to install insulated nailbase on the roof, although that means re-shingling if shingles, but easier if sheet metal.

About 50% of energy is through the roof/ceiling, only 10% through each wall, and 10% through the ground. So if you can just insulate the ceiling, you'll double your comfort without adding any heat. Or half your gas/electrical costs. Plus, the deep ground temperature in Raleigh is something like 64°F, so the ground is not actually frozen in the winter with a shed over it. Even less so with an insulated roof.
 

medic

New User
john
2 years ago i installed a mini split in my shop ( 16 x 28 ) and last year it keept the shop toasty warm. my heating bill dropped by 40percent . i also installed a foam insulation board in the ceiling and that was the biggest improvement . i insulated my shop when it was built thinking it would keep the noise level down to keep the neighbors happy .before that I had a propane heater that I used. but that insulation and the mini t was the biggest improvement I that I have made . now i only fire up the propane heater when it s reallly cold out . also consider installing a ceiling fan to keep the warm air moving. look at the other posts as all have some good input and hopefully will help you
 

tijmt

Jared
User
I have a 16x24 shop and have been using this for the last 5 years. https://www.lowes.com/pd/LG-1000-sq...ter-208-Volt-18000-BTU-ENERGY-STAR/1000776714

You would need a window and to convert one of the 20amp circuits to 220, but it might be worth it to you. (The air conditioning also works well. I was going to do a mini-split, but can't justify it.)

The only thing that I added was a custom made baseboard heater thermostat so I could tell it to keep the shop at least 40 degrees to keep things from freezing. By default, the built in thermostat does not go down that low.
 

CrealBilly

New User
Jeff
I'm laughing actually about all this talk of heating your shop in the winter. I had a 16x32 non-insulated shop when I lived in NC. I heated it with a single milk house heater and i cant ever recall it being to cold to work in. My garage shop here in Illinois now that's a completely different animal, even being insulated I don't work in there unless in short spirts during the dead of winter.

 
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junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
I'm laughing actually about all this talk of heating your shop in the winter. I had a 16x32 non-insulated shop when I lived in NC. I heated it with a single milk house heater and i cant ever recall it being to cold to work in. My garage shop here in Illinois now that's a completely different animal.

Who the heck is this Crealbilly Guy? Good to hear from you Jeff, and welcome back
 

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