Need a space heater for my reloading area

[Shmackey]

I moved into a new place last March and wasted no time dedicating the large one-car garage to reloading (and a photo studio). Previously, my reloading area was in a heated part of the house.

It's only October, and I'm finding it less than pleasant to work in the garage when it's 35 degrees outside (early morning). I would imagine it will be much worse in a few months. So I'm looking for a space heater that can warm up at least half of a garage that's about 12x28x12. The only ones I've used are meant for smaller spaces. Any suggestions? Availability from Amazon is a plus, and it would be great if the space heater had a compartment for about 800 loose primers and four pounds of mixed powder.*

Thanks!

*Ha. I slay me.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

My garage is the same size.... I heat it with a propane radiant heater that hangs on the wall. I use a 100 pound tank.

 

[NeuseRvrRat]

is the garage insulated?

 

[Certaindeaf]

If you go the combustion route, be careful of carbon monoxide poisoning/death.. it either has to catalyze, the exhaust/combustion gasses be vented/evacuated or the whole garage have sufficient airflow to be safe. Have a carbon monoxide alarm if you go old school.

I'd be tempted to use a small wood burning stove if possible.. be safe.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Yeah, I forgot to mention mine is vent-free.

 

[Cosmoline]

That's SHORTS weather!

For the shed at forty below I used to use one of the "R2D2" style kerosene heaters. Those suckers REALLY crank out the BTU's and will absolutely keep a mere 10 above or 0 at bay. But they're also cranking out monoxide so you do need to be careful about ventilation. Crack a garage door and get a monoxide monitor if you go that route.

If you use a propane heater get a proper one like the Mister Heaters. Don't go with a mere camp heater as they are not for continuous output over time. My Coleman decided it wanted to be a flame thrower and nearly burned me out. I like the Mister Heater heater/cooker in particular. You can flip it on its back and set a pot on it for hot water--not a bad thing if you're working with smoke poles.

But realistically a small electric heater with a fan plus some insulated carharts should be more than enough even for lower 48'ers. Most of the trick is just acclimation and keeping your feet warm. I have a pair of old boiled wool felt boots from Norway that are cozy even at subzero temps, without socks.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I also have one of those round kero heaters I used before I went propane....Problem with them is they now expensive to fuel.

 

[45lcshooter]

Id say if your going to keep the garage a reloading spot and photo studio. put a wall up where the garage door is and insulate. but if your still keeping the garage as a garage, i would probally say a propane heater, almost like a camp heater. I think Coleman made them, i think they were called Wildcat or something like that, just put a regulator on, or fab one for a 20lb tank or larger.

 

[blarby]

If you have no venting, fuel based heating is out.

Your poor wife will find you face down in a pile of beautiful ammunition- out for the long sleep.

I would recommend what has been stated above- sectioning off your reloading portion, and insulating it.

Even if you cant, theres something I used in my garage days that is amazingly simple, and can be placed anywhere there is a light bulb socket :

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Repti...066934&sr=8-1&keywords=infrared+heater+socket

You can work up to whatever wattage you want, and they are directional heat.

I had one of those 6-lamp direction/lamp torchlights with these in it, and it was a wall of friggin heat baby ! If you mounted them overhead, it would be raining heat on you.

These have the added benefit of having no exposed red heat- so your combustion possibilities are very limited. One of those space heaters with elements and fans works good- until you spill powder near it, it sucks 1/3 # of it up, and you have a very short duration one shot flamethrower.

Oh, and that will kill your heater pretty good too, btw. Believe me, it can happen......... just please believe me.

 

[KansasSasquatch]

I don't have personal experience with this one http://www.amazon.com/Lifesmart-Com...4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1350067872&sr=1-4 but I would check it out if I were in your situation. Your garage is roughly 336 sq ft going by your measurements but without being properly insulated and having a high ceiling you'd want to get something that is rated for at least double that. Plus this one has a remote that could come in handy if you want to get the garage pre-warmed before you go out. Crack the door and hit the button, wait 15 minutes. Also has timer setting that could be useful. I definitely wouldn't want anykind of fossil fuel burning heater near my reloading bench.

Other than that I would consider adding some good insulation to the garage and running some duct from my HVAC system to the garage. But there's a lot of variables that go into whether or not that is a good solution.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Anything you can plug into an outlet is a max of 1500 watts, which is about 5200 btu...That is too little for a garage.

 

[jmorris]

I threw one together for my shop that has the fire outside in a 55 gallon drum inside a 3' diameter 5' long section of 1/2" pipe. A fan blows air around the outside of the drum and into the shop.

No flame in the shop, no smoke or smell just hot air. Depends on how you have the damper set but I have measured output temps at 180 degrees at 380 CFM.

 

[cfullgraf]

Yes, without some insulation, you will need lots of btu's.

If you have or can add a 220v socket, there are various electric heaters available for the farm and agriculture industry that work well. I got one for my shop that is about 12-15" in diameter with a forced air fan. Much more effective than the 1500w space heaters available at Wally World.

There are a variety of other heaters that are available.

Agri-Supply and FarmTek (or something like that) are a couple sources.

Also, I just learned about the ClimateRight portable HVAC units. Neat little units although limited in size.

http://www.climaterightair.com

 

[Otto]

Bought one of these at Costco...it does the job. Cost about 10 cents an hour in electricity to run.

 

[Krogen]

If you have forced air, is there any chance your furnace or its ductwork is in or near the garage? Could be a simple solution

 

[jcwit]

If you have no venting, fuel based heating is out.

Your poor wife will find you face down in a pile of beautiful ammunition- out for the long sleep.

Not in my 30 plus years of experience.

I have used unvented kerosene radiant heaters for supplemental heat both in my shop and house for 30 years. No problem with carbon monoxide gas and yes I do have CO detectors in both areas that they are used in.

 

[Nanook]

Vent-free heaters are available, in both propane and natural gas. I used one in my garage before I put in a Modine Hot Dawg with B vent piping to the outside.

The vent-free worked very well, the model I have has an optional fan which I bought and installed. It kept a 2 car garage positively toasty while I insulated the garage and built my reloading bench.

The Modine is much nicer, and it fits 1/2" from the ceiling so it's out of the way. The one drawback for the vent-free heaters is they do add some moisture to the air in the garage.

But in Chicago area winters, they do the job.

 

[Hondo 60]

Sorry, but my life is worth way too much to me to be cheap.
I guess I learned that from my ex-father-in-law.

When he wanted to work in the garage in winter he had his garage plumbed for natural gas.
& had a heating & AC company install a small furnace.

Ya, it cost him a few bucks, but there's no CO or CO2 worries.

If the place is a rental unit, talk to the landlord.
I once rented a place that had no gas in the kitchen.
Well my stove was gas, so he paid to have the gas piped in.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

A propane, natural gas, or kerosene heater working properly, used correctly, and backed up by a carbon monoxide detector is safe.

 

[jcwit]

Correct! As is casting lead.

 

[Pacsd]

One thing you have to be carefull about is air movement around your scale. I know wood burners are a PITA but I've seen some in guys garages that will run you out with a fan above and behind it to push the warm air down.

 

[dagger dog]

jmorris,

Good looking rig, "necessity is the mother of invention", and I bet all the materials were at hand.

I thought of moving my auxillary wood burner outside, it's in my basement (cellar). The only advantage of it being there is the radiant heat warms the floor. The drawback of it being there is the constant clean up and moving the fuel
(24" logs) twice.

 

[JLDickmon]

I also have one of those round kero heaters I used before I went propane....Problem with them is they now expensive to fuel.

Use dyed diesel fuel in it.
Now that it's ultra-low sulfur, it doesn't burn your eyes..

Usually about a buck a gallon less than kero, and it's the same fuel.

Diesel, kero, and JP8 are all made from the same stock. The only differences are the anti-microbials and the dye.

 

[dagger dog]

#2 diesel "home heating oil" goes for the same price as automotive diesel minus the road tax, it is dyed red so it can be identified as such,it is only to be used for heating or farm use.


I don't know of any place you can buy it by the gallon, I have to buy a minium of 150 gallons.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Trouble is according to the manufacturer of the Dynaglo heater, the burn time for 1.9 gallons is 8 to 12 hours....Not real cost effective of heat, IMO.