Heating your shop

[rjwoelk]

I have been scratching my head how to heat my shop.
Wood stove.
Pros .got lots of wood
Cons. Fire hazard insurance is very high.
            Needs to be stoked

Natural gas.
Cheep
Cons need to pipe it i  big bucks to get it to the shop
           Got that monthly bill wether used or not.

Out door boiler.
Not home most of the time to stoke it. Need antifreez to keep it from freezing

What about infloor heating
Had a fine furniture maker say it raised heck with his lumber.

[ButchC]

Assuming a part time shop not a full time workplace?
I have been heating a workshop for  45 years and can tell you that trying to heat one part time is difficult and doesn't save a guy much if anything over just keeping it warm, of course that depends on how often you heat it up,most every day in my case.  Everything made of metal is cold, the floor is cold and you cant get it warm for a few hours after work and it takes half a day on Saturday to get it warm. Everything metal sweats from heating up and cooling down and thus it  rusts. In the end it costs you almost as much as keeping it warm all the time,, as long as it insulated a bit and air tight.  My insurer is very wood heat friendly but a wood stove in a work shop is a no-no and very expensive if you demand it.
I had natural gas forced air heat in my former shop which was not where we lived. I picked up a late model hi efficiency furnace for cheap on craigs list. I ran it part time and then switched to full time and my gas bill went up by less than $50 a month. That shop was a highly insulated 24x60x10.
We have owned an OWB for 10 years and took it with us when we moved. An OWB would be my last choice for part time heating period, they just are not designed for that kind of service. My runs all the time and  I considered running it to the 36x45 shop and installing an air handler as the building already existed. But everything a person needs to install all that ends up being quite a bit of money even if he already owns the stove,let alone buying the OWB also.
I know this is a firewood forum but A buddy said I should check out waste oil, I had heard horror story's about them but checked them out anyway. Before I did I checked out the availability of waste oil by running an ad on CL and was inundated with responses. Bought my unit from an Amish outfit called Central Ohio Heaters.  They rebuild used units and modify them to their specs for 30- 50% of new cost. Other than periodic cleaning mine has run without troubles for this being 3rd winter. I burn about 500 gallons of oil per year and have had zero difficulty getting all the oil I need, half of it delivered to my door. 

Just something to consider, good luck.

[E Yoder]

Are you heating just the shop or is your home nearby where you could heat it also? If so then an outdoor boiler might work.
I'd definitely not do an indoor stove due to fire hazard.

[rjwoelk]

Yes i have looked at the clean burn used oil burner and i am leaning in that direction. The trucking company i work for have them and like them. I do have access to all the oil i would need. They have a forced air unit as well as boiler type. The present shop would be fine with forced air. In a few years we will be converting a hay shed to a shop and theni will go infloor heat and connect the house to it as well.
Those heaters are not cheep. 8000 for a 140000 btu unit but the oil is free. Just need to arrange holding containers to several local farmers and good to go.

[Grizzly]

I really recommend heating the floor. Not as a source of heat for the building but to make walking and working on it more comfortable. My son always tells customers to run constant heat through floors but at low temps and then use forced air to actually heat the space. Easily done if you use a boiler but difficult any other way. If you have access to used oil I'd probably suggest a boiler using that fuel and if possible enough btu's so that you can hook up the house at some point as well. We're feeding a wood boiler now and that chore is worse than dairy cows!

[gasman1075]

I have been in the heating business in upstate NY and Mass since 1980 and have done just about all heating types at one time or another. Hot air, hot water, radiant infrared hanging heaters and in floor radiant. When I retire and build my shop it will be in floor radiant powered by a mid efficiency LP gas fired boiler. 2nd floor heated by baseboard and shop by in floor. Near the big door and over my work bench I will install a tube heaters for instant heat. That is my plan anyways .....the good LORD willing.

[Crusarius]

I am right there with you gasman. but I will probably just do the electric instead of the gas since all the locations I want to live or have lived do not have gas.

[gasman1075]

Out near the Finger Lakes ? Of course you can have gas...the best kind domestically produced propane ! 

[1countryboy]

Which came first?   The chicken or the egg?   Heating with wood is work.  There is a price on everything.   Do you have free gas?  Do you have unlimited forest acres?   In my case i heat a huge old farmhouse and a shop (heated floor).  Both are insulated to the max........but its still an 1800's farm house.   I have the equipment, but no extra help.  Lots of dead ash, lots of white oak tops and time in jan/feb.  Walking into a shop that does not sweat and my feet are warm.   Weigh all the pro s and con s.   Write them down and then add $$$.

That will give you the options to choose from and go.