infared shop heater

[tbob]

anyone have any experience with ceiling mount electric heaters?electric cost is not a proplem as i power my shop with a big diesel genset anyway.been using propane but it is pretty costly,figgure i have to run genset anyway so i may as well use the extra power for heat.

 

[rustyj14]

I live in Western PA. I worked in an auto body shop that was heated by infra-red heaters. I was never cold in winter, could work in shirt sleeves! The ceilings were at least 12 foot high. I didn't hear what it cost for the power to operate the heaters, but we were warm. And when we had to open the over-head doors, the heat recovered quickly!
I wish i had them in my home garage!

 

[mike321]

They are inefficient. They can be hard on paint if you have larger equipment and park them directly under them. The higher your heat out put has to be to obtain your shop temp the more inefficient it is.

 

[joe from ne]

I have Propane Radiant heat and love it. My ceilings are 18ft hight. Keeps building at 62 degrees all winter and costs me about 1600.00. I heat 4500 Sq floor ft. Friend has Electric Radiant heat and his is same but the cost of Electric is cheaper over year. The heater is twice as much money to buy though.

 

[markct]

i have a single 110 volt unit hanging in the ceiling of my welding lean to on the front of our shop. its just an uninsulated 8ft by 12 ft 3 sided building with a tarp i pull across the open side to keep some wind out. it still has a open 3 ft doorway to walk thru. it cant realy be closed up tight anyhow cause welding and air arcing make too much smoke and dust anyhow, but with the heater hanging above the front of the workbench it keeps me somewhat warm and makes my fingers workable even when its only 10 degrees out. it certainly doesnt heat the whole place warm but brings it up to a tollerable temp. im sure with an insulated building and bigger heaters the effects would be better. they are a bit expensive however my 4 ft 1300 watt unit was about 140 bucks

 

[Handyman]

Heres a thought, get yourself another radiator similar in size to the one on your genset mount it inside your shop and run the coolant from your genset into your shop and through that radiator. Set it up so you can switch your coolant to either inside or outside depending on your heating needs. If you are running that genset anyhow there is no reson not to reclaim that otherwise wasted heat.

 

[RayP(MI)]

Law of thermodynamics - every time you change energy form, yheere is a loss... Propane to rotation to electric to heat? Lots of energy loss there!

 

[rustred]

yes the infared heaters work good. and recover good when doors are opened. not like floor heat, that is the most useless thing i have worked in. slow recovery, and its like your on a stove top. and hard on the feet.thats one type of heat i would never put in my shop!

 

[KIDbob]

I have electric radiant heat in my shop. They work very good. Some things I learned. The glass covered elements that glow red work good but the bare metal does not. You need variable control not just on and off. If you are going to bring in something cold, do it ahead of time to let it warm up.