HELLO

I have a pole barn 50'X30' with 10' walls and it is geting cold
it is insulated.
Was thinking of a propane shop heater but don't know how big or what kind I need only need to heat when I work in it.
And if any one has a garage they work in 40 hour a week or so what it cost to heat a month give size of your garage.
THANK YOU!
COLD

 

you might want to start your own thread, you'll get alot more replies / views

 

Welcome....to FTE "COLD"...

 

Do you have a concrete floor? If not, get one with radiant heat. If you have a concrete floor and don't want to demo it for radiant heat, partition your storage area from the work area so you'll have less to heat.

 

A really accurate estimate really needs more data, but here's what Manual J gives for your shop after I threw in some guesses

Assume: 30x50x10 average construction; not too drafty but not as tight as a house
Concrete slab on grade floor no insulation under slab
R11 insulation in walls, R19 in ceiling
One 16x8 foot garage door in wall, well sealed
No other doors or windows
Location: Sidney Nebraska
Interior temp: 70 degrees

The ASHRAE 97.5 Percentile design temp for Sidney is -2 (F)

Under these conditions the building will lose 45000 BTU per hour. This means you need a heater that can put out this much heat continuously. If you want the building to warm up from dead cold in a reasonable amount of time, you'll need some overcapacity. I would say 75000 BTU per hour would not be too oversized for this application.

If you don't HAVE to be out there when it is that cold, and you don't HAVE to hold the building at 70, your needs are less.

Let's refigure for an outside temp of 10 (F) and an inside temp of 65. This comes to 34000 BTU per hour. A 50000 BTU per hour heater might be satisfactory.

As for operating cost, it depends on temperature. You use more in cold months. Let's assume you want to heat the shop 6 hours per day, every day. (This might be equivalent to 4 hours of steady state, plus the cost the heat the building up). Or the equivalent of about 40 hours per week.

Nebraska runs around 6700 heating degree days annually. Your shop uses 625 BTU per degree-hour. So your heating usage would be 6700 * 24 * 6/24 * 625 = 25 million BTUs annually.

If we assume an 80 percent efficient oil furnace, then 25 million BTU would require that you burn 223 gallons of heating oil. If heating oil costs $2.00 per gallon, you are looking at $450 per year, or about $100 per month during the cold months of winter.

 

One thing you may want to consider is that cold tools are hard to work with. Gloves help but a big wrench can really suck the heat out of your fingers.

-Just my 2¢

 

WOW! That is a really complete answer and no doubt accurate as well. FOR FREE!!!!

Note to Cold and all users; To support FTE costs $15/yr. Do you have any idea what it would cost to have a HVAC contractor come over and give you the same estimate????

FTE is such a deal. Sign up and suport.

And thanks to FeFarms for throwing all that data around. I am continually amazed at the info in this site!

 

Hmmmm, That was very informative for sure. Have NO idea what he said? HA HA HA j/k. Would think that a couple of "propane heaters" from the Home Depot would do you just fine ...... but hey what do I know, I live in sunny So. California. I have a standard garage with 10' added to the back of the garage. I am currently looking for a space heater my self as the winter might bring some 50 - 30 degree nights(rare)!! And being that I work during the day and only have the nights for my "garage activities" I will be getting a small space heater. Good luck

 

God Bless you, may you never know what it is like to try and warm up a shop from -10* F, or watch your tools rust from condensation or like Torque1st said, use a wrench that feels like a block of ice in your hand!

 

i heat my house, and my home, i mean shop with nothing but wood. best heat around. you know the saying wood heats you twice when youre cutting it and when you are burning it

 

forced hot air wood furnace in the garage makes it nice and toasty

 

one variable not mentioned,but wondered about isthis a workshop,or garage.reason to ask is open flame home depot heater,and possibility of gasoline,spray can fumes,can equal a big unwanted boom.trust me on experience of a friend,luckily he wasn't in it when she went,but what a mess.always insist on a outside air supplied heating system for a garage type situation.

just my .02