Brrr. Time to get the shop heat working

[pritch]

We got a few inches of snow the other day, so I guess it's time to get the heaters working. I have several options. When I need instant gratification, I have one of those ceramic units that just mount to the top of a propane tank and burns. But when I anticipate working out in the shop for an extended amount of time, I have this set-up:

A propane water heater with a circulating pump, filled with glycol


Connected to these:


I thought it would work better than it does, propane just don't deliver the heat like natural gas would, but my total cost into this is zero, since I scavenged all the parts from buildings I have remodeled. A 5 gallon bottle of propane will run it for about 36 hours, and it will raise the temp inside the shop to about 60 on even the coldest days. I have a passive-solar system, too. I have about 1100 square feet of south facing black shingles, so my attic heats up quick. I have an exhaust fan mounted in my ceiling at the low side and 2 smoke dampers at the high side and the whole scene hooked up to a line voltage controller so that when the air in the attic hits 70 degrees, the fan kicks on and the dampers open and it blows all that all that warm air down into the shop. This works really well after about February when the sun gets a little higher in the sky. It usually kicks on about 10 in the morning and runs 'till about 2 in the afternoon. Same as the other, total cost to me has been zero for all the parts.





When both of these are running, it is down right comfortable out in the shop!