I assume they went further than 100 feet from the main line ? Cuz that's when they tag ya with the electric hook up....or if they have to go another pole in from where the first pole is...if that makes any sense. IE: no cost from the first pole, which mine is, but if I built back in another 15 acres, I'd be paying up the wahzoo. I have 33 acres of woods, and burning wood is a preferred method, of which I have the electric boiler set up to switch to an outside wood boiler when I decide to go that way. But 36x44 is not big enough to justify the wood, IMO. 2 buildings or more, now that's a different story. I'm not discouraging to not go that way, I'm just saying $600 isn't a bad trade off. Now, if you have a Bobcat, or tractor, disregard...go wood! I don't own one, yet, and my work schedule prevents me from being home much during the day, so having the benefit of electric "automation" is nice.

The Red dog is similar to the Bull Dawg, I believe. They are pretty nice. I just fear propane and fuel oil are only gonna continue to rise in price.

 

I run a huge dehumidifier in my current garage all summer. It's worth the extra pennies of electricity consumed.

As for the electric heater, the one I'm considering is a Fahrenheat 7500 watt (25,600 btu) model. They also make a 5000 watt model, is this the one you have Ax? All I ask is 50 degrees when it's around 0 outside. If this don't do the trick, then I may still go the water heater/baseboard route. The idea is it takes less "work" to stay above freezing all the time, as opposed to starting from whatever temp it is outside. The possibilities out there sure make your head spin.

 

Years ago I heavily investigated active solar panel heating systems, and decided they weren't really very practical. They require a heavy commitment in manpower to "manage" the system since there isn't a cost effective way to automate it. The only way to throttle the system is to cover or uncover the panels They need to be covered in the summer to keep from cooking yourself. The time you need the heat the most, is exactly when they are not effective i.e. stormy overcast days and at night.
Where you are located is much like here, the actual heating days are few, so the costs of the panels would not be effective compared to the cost to heat by other means such as a propane fired salamander heater. It would be much more cost effective IMHO to insulate your building to produce a thermal cocoon to moderate the temp swings then suppliment the heating and cooling needs. Spray foam insulation 5-6" thick on the inside of the roof and insulating the walls would have a short payback period. A good sized gable end fan at one end with low place intakes (windows ?) on the North side on a timer to run from midnight until just after dawn in the summer would cool the mass of the building so it could ride through the day without getting too hot. You have the advantage there of low humidity as well, so a soaker hose run the length of the building on each side of the ridge trickling water over the roof would make a pretty good solar AC unit.

 

I'm actually using the 13,500 BTU portable one. I made a bracket to hang it high on the wall above the truck so the heat would circulate. It was just meant to be a temp fix until I insulate and finish the upstairs then it will be replaced with a heat pump. My downstairs is well insulated with small thermopane windows, insulated double wall steel door. The walls have 3 1/2" FG batts covered with 1/2" OSB. The heater thermostat is set to turn on at 50* and is able to maintain that temp so far. We did not have any severe or extended cold snaps last winter tho, nor do we have much wind to blow the heat out. The prediction is that we will have another mild and dry winter this year (La Nina).
The real key is as much insulation as possible and sealed as tightly as possible. Insulation is far cheaper than heating or cooling.

 

i got an idea . invite a bunch of us over to stand around and bench race and shoot the sh-- . were all so full of hot air we oughtta be able to heat that place up in no time !!!!!!

 

This could work, as long as we outnumber the cold frosties.

 

If we outnumber the cold frosties I don't want to be there!

 

AX, I believe there is a compromise angle where I may lose some potential early Fall / late Spring heating but guarantee to avoid summer cooking. The type of system I am considering has the panels nearly vertical and a simple damper shuts it down when not needed.

Insulating is only cost effective if I wanted to keep it warm or cool all the time, and I don't. As it is now, a 1200 watt electric heater and a 1500 wattr radiant electric heater make it comfortable in about an hour.

 

Radiant floor heating is the way to go. If you are building new, spend the extra dough and go that way. You wont be sorry.

 

I took the propane furnace out of my travel trailer and mounted in my shop window. Then ran a copper line to a prpane tank with a old BBQ regolator on it. You do have to run it on 12 volts but a battery and charger work great. Only down side is my wife was not happy about takin her new trailer apart. O well

 

My garage is a 24x34 super insulated with a studio apartment above. I bought a used oil fired forced air furnace out of a 14 x 60 house trailer, set it up on a couple of cement blocks, and a little deflector, so the air flow could come out the bottom like it would go into the trailer heat ducts, and ran a tin double chimmey out the side wall. The oil companys areund here have a 100 gallon delivery minimum, so I hooked two 55 gallon drums together, and have a 3rd to transfer fuel from when need. This heater operates with a regular thermostat, it warms the shop very well, and with the heat blowing on the floor, it makes the concrete really warm when your working on the areas around the heater.

 

Well, I will have to put it on the back burner till next week. The weekend is here so I will have to wait till monday.

 

our power company doesnt do anything for free and thay had to put 2800 ft in the ground i was going to do it my self but u have to buy the wire from them at the same cost as thay charge to bury it pluse thay charge you for the transformer if you do it yourself my fil rmodels houses maybe i'll have him keep his eyes open for someone upgradeing there furnace does anyone in the north use electric to heat was wonder how much to run i did put 220 in the celing for it incase i went that way wow is that a long sentance

 

There are 3 basic ways to produce space heat directly from electricity: resistance element- a material that gets hot when electricity is passed thru it. This can be active, where the element produces enough heat that a fan blows the heat out into the room like with compact space heaters, or passive, where a lesser amount of heat is produced over a long period of time and uses convection to circulate the heat like radiant baseboards and floors.
2nd method is Infra red. A special element is used that radiates IR energy. When IR radiation hits a solid object it "excites" the atoms causing then to vibrate which produces heat. Air is not a solid it has fewer atoms to excite, so IR is said to heat objects not the air. This would seem like a good thing, but the disadvantage is that IR radiation travels in a straight line so it heats the first object it strikes on the side closest to the source and does not heat the other side or anything blocked or "shadowed" by that object, you cannot circulate IR heat. Typical IR devices are patio heaters and heat lamps.
3rd is by use of a heat pump. This is basically an air conditioner run in reverse. It absorbs heat from the environment then releases it thru a forced air radiator into the space. Even air well below freezing has some heat that can be extracted, but the efficiency of a heat pump falls off drastically the larger the difference in the environment temp and desired space temp. A heat pump is best used in climates that have smaller seasonal temp range. Heat pumps are usually combined with a central airconditioning system where the same compressor is used for both functions.
No matter which system is used the amount of heat produced per energy unit used is poor so it is typically the most expensive heating energy source.
The more expensive the heat source and the greater the heat load the more important insulation becomes. Insulation definitely has the best/quickest payback of anything you can do, and there are a number of different insulating materials that can be used besides the typical fiberglass batts, and most can be installed by the average DIYer. The cheapest thing you can do is to plug any and all heat leaks: uninsulated windows and doors, weather stripping, plugging any openings or around any penetrations. Even the smallest gap or hole can leak a tremendous amount of heat. Also separating any waste space from the heated portion of the building will reduce heating cost. If you have a truss roof framing install insulation and a solid ceiling below the trusses. If you have conventional roof framing also install a ceiling with a sealed attic access. If you have a ventilated roof absolutely install an airtight ceiling or membrane between the roof and the room. Even something as inexpensive and easy as installing 6 mil polyethylene sheet over the entire inside of the building will make a significant difference and reduce the deterioration of the building from condensation.

 

I guess I don't understand your question. Today I got my bill. Electric in-floor heat for Nov. about $95.00 ave. temp. at 29 F, set at 72 F. We just turned it down a couple degrees for Dec. We're trying to find the best spot, too. Anyway, I assume you live out in the country and have no neighbors close by...Which in turn that means going with the outside wood boiler won't make anyone complain. Problem there is, isn't the concrete already poured? I have a fuel oil furnace you can have from my trailer. But at $660 for 200 gallons that might last 2 weeks in a MN winter, I'd think of something else, lol.

Remember, even the best heater can't run efficiently without good insulation.