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gotohatteras · 11-01-2007, 09:28 AM

Mechanic friend of mine has a furnace in his shop that burns the old motor oil he removes on oil changes, and it has ductwork with large fan to circulate it around shop.

**Stefrobrts** · 11-01-2007, 10:12 AM

Thanks for all the great advice! Clearly there's a lot of options, we'll be doing a bit more research before we settle on anything.

Catson4, those are some great ideas. We just worked with a local HVAC company to get our heatpump replaced, I think we'll talk to them and see if they have any used stuff that might do the trick for the shop.

bkahler · 11-01-2007, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stefrobrts

Thanks for all the great advice! Clearly there's a lot of options, we'll be doing a bit more research before we settle on anything.

Catson4, those are some great ideas. We just worked with a local HVAC company to get our heatpump replaced, I think we'll talk to them and see if they have any used stuff that might do the trick for the shop.

Stefrobrts,

For our 36 x 80 shop I installed one used ($150) electric house furnace. Its installed overhead towards the end where I do most of my work. Here in Arkansas winter temps seldom drop below 30 degrees for long. Normal temps are in the low 30s to mid 40s. Typically the shop will stay in the mid 40s or higher during the day and high 30s at night. I can go down to the shop in the early evening and turn the heat on and within a half hour or so I'm comfortable enough to take my light jacket off and work in shirt sleeves. Used electric furnaces are fairly cheap, easy to install and if you get one that has cooling coils installed then you can buy a used condenser and have A/C for summer months.

May not be the best approach but probably one of the cheapest to implement and not all that costly to operate if you only use it during the periods you're in the shop.

Oh yeah, our shop is a metal pole building with insulation which is typical of most metal pole building construction.

Works for me anyway

Brad

safari57 · 11-01-2007, 11:28 AM

What ever you buy, if you do get a used one, make sure you have it checked out before installing it, Stef.

That said, my buddy just bought an over head, gas unit, for his 50 x 60 x 12 shop for $100 at a govt' surplus auction. It was brand new, installed, then they realized it was too small for the area it was to heat so it was taken back down and put in a box and sat around for a while. (our government using our tax dollars judiciously).

I only heat the actual area I'm working around so a combo of my small electric catalytic heater and the two halogen work lights keep me quite warm. We don't get quite as cold as you do, but it does get darned cool. I can work in comfort in and around the trailer using this method. I'm only heating while I'm working, be it on the Airstream or the car.

Barry