Mr. Heater: Anyone using this for shop heating?

I use 2 X 100 Watt Halogen lights - it keeps the shop a toasty 58 degrees or more - the perfect turning temp!

But, hey I am in the southern US and cold here is not as cold as it is in other parts!

Ray

I have look at the unit. I can not establish that it uses 110 volts for forced air heating. These units when equipped with a fan are working very good. Construction workers are using them in the winter for temporary heat. Its safer to have someone present when you used these heaters and make sure the area is well vented. Some people do not like the smell. They are not intended for continual heat 24 hours a day seven day per week. My garage is 20' X 24' X

12' ceiling. It is not insulated and the ceiling is not done. To heat this area locate in Eastern Canada during the winter I would require two of these units. If the units is not equipped with forced air using 110 volts the performance is not as good. If you must work in your un-insulated garage during the winter in Eastern Canada the best alternative is to use two 220 volts 18"x18"x18" box forced air heaters designed for construction usage. They cost about $50.00 - $60.00 each. On the construction sites kerosene heaters are not used as much as before. The later type is more popular and much safer. Kerosene heaters are used when no electricity is available. When you want to work in your garage you just turn these 220 volts on 15 minutes before you go in and the temperature is acceptable for general work. One factor to consider is to look at the kerosene price in your area. Over here we can buy it in bulk directly at the pump. If you have to buy it in pre-packed container the price is much more. Storing large amount of kerosene may be a problem.

> > Leif

I have one similar unit and I stop using it. Like you have said, the fumes and the ventilation. Plus I do not like to store large amount of kerosene. At time, the price in bulk is fair but the pre-parked containers are costing way too much money for the Btu produced.

Look at the customer reviews on amazon.com. I happened upon it just after I saw your post. Gets 2 stars out of 5. Not sure why, as I didn't read the reviews.

LD

Don't forget when using unvented heaters all the fuel becomes water vapor in your shop and when you turn off the heat that water vapor will condense some where in your shop.

I have a similiar one to do the initial heating in the shop. Once warm, i burn wood to maintain the temp. and the heater just kicks on occasionally. (maybe a little more than occasionally today, as our high was only 14 degrees!) Mine is a Reddy Heater brand and will run on kero, diesel, fuel oil or jet fuel. So far, i've run it on kero and diesel, and found the diesel less fumey as kero. What I like best about it is it has a built in thermostat, so you can set it and forget it. It's this one:

and, as with all of these type of heaters, the blower is somewhat noisey and it'll give off some fumes (mine's not bad), but it'll heat the shop up in a hurry hope this helps --dave

How big a shop are you heating, Dave? Is it fully insulated?