Sources of heat - what to do?

[FISH4BUGS]

My significant other has moved her massage practice home. The former man cave (the small shed between the barn and the house) has been insulated, sheet rocked, new doors and windows, rewired and it is actually a pretty nice massage area.
The man cave was relocated to the horse stall in the barn. The horse stall I am sure has not been used to house horses for a hundred years. However, the barn is still a barn.
I am repurposing the sliding former shed door, rewiring and putting in LOTS of light, and an exhaust fan, and will probably insulate it and tighten it up as well as I can. The bench is in, reloading and casting is getting up and running, and I am slowly getting back into business.
What kind of heat can I use (NOT electric, thank you) that I can use WITHOUT venting except for an exhaust fan? I had a small 11,000 BTU Hurricane propane heater that I used before but that is not enough to heat this area.
I have small propane tanks and would like to use that if I can.
I would like to find something that I can use WITHOUT venting (except for the exhaust fan) and without killing myself with CO.
Suggestions?

[rancher1913]

might look into the gas fired infrared heaters that run overhead, they heat the things in the area and not the air, or look into a infloor heat system that uses a gas fired wall mount boiler.

[OutHuntn84]

The Mr. Buddy heaters gets up around 12,500 BTUs and have CO shut offs. You can get an accessory hose to hook it to a small bbq propane tank. I use one in a thinly insulated stock trailer I sleep in at deer camp every year and stay nice and toasty.

[Kraschenbirn]

I've had a wall-mount ventless gas heater in my 'workshop' (12'x24') for something over twenty years. Shop was built on a slab at the back of my detached (unheated) garage and is well-insulated...ceiling and walls...and heater has kept space 'comfortable' even through coldest stretches of our flatland winters. To minimize gas usage, my practice has been to keep heater turned down 'low' during heating season and turn up a half hour or so before I plan to start working.

https://www.farmandfleet.com/product...ee-heater.html

Bill

[Geezer in NH]

Need new chimney and a wood heater IMHO.

Your SO should have figured it out before moving her business.

Her land or yours for a real opinion that is needed to make a true answer.

Please not being offensive to you but real life question.

[Jake McCracken]

I use one of these to heat my 12x20 uninsulated shed in the winter (when I just have to work on the truck or something else that just cant wait for warm weather) . It gets it warm quick and keeps it warm. It says it does 1000 square feet... 40k BTU and goes for $70 - $80. Has multiple settings and mounts on the propane tank.

I've also used it to heat the sleeping / radio operating space for a ham radio event, ran 24/7 all weekend and we never felt any ill effects.

Edit to add... the link is for home depot, but I got mine up at walmart (same exact one) on clearance pretty cheap.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dyna-Glo...60DG/203534107

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

[Petrol & Powder]

The blue flame, wall mounted (or free standing) heaters are great. I have a small 10,000 BTU unit that has worked for years. It is clean burning, requires no electricity, silent and was a good value. You can get similar heaters in larger sizes. For a dedicated shop I would mount the heaters and plumb them in for the convenience of use.

I purchased mine from Tractor Supply or Northern Tools (can't remember, too long ago) but it has proven to be worth its weight in gold on many occasions.

Now, if you can tolerate a different fuel in your supply chain a kerosene heater will also work. They are stand alone, require no wiring, put out a lot of heat for their size and are very reliable.

The burn time for my 10,000 BTU propane heater and a 20# propane tank (a standard grill type tank) is about 35 hours on a lower setting.

Those two unvented types of heaters (kerosene and blue flame propane) will probably offer you the best options to heat the air in your shop quickly. The infrared style heaters will heat objects quickly (and those objects will in turn heat the air around them) but that style of heating is a bit too uneven for me. It feels great when you receive the direct heat but it is downright cold if you are not exposed the radiant heat. It is like a fireplace, the side of you facing the fire is warm but your other side of you is cold.

[georgerkahn]

In a region where minus twenty Fahrenheit is not a rarity in winter, I have an off-grid Wilderness Travel Trailer as my camp. Bion, I have two plus sources of heat. First, when it's really cold, I fire an infrared heater which sits upon a bar-be-que sized propane tank. That warms two rooms amazingly quick, and I then ignite a Big Buddy heater, which is piped from the 30lb propane tank at RV's front. After but a very few minutes, I can turn off the tank-top heaterAttachment 249432Attachment 249433
Two things I really like with my "system" is the propane tank heater gets the ~240 square foot trailer real comfy in what seems like hardly any time; and, I rarely need to have the Buddy heater much higher than medium -- even in bitter cold -- to keep warm. And, having two separate heaters, I reckon the odds of running out of propane of both at same time is slim. The good is both purportedly have oxygen sensors, but I *NEVER* EVER run them without both at least one window open a few inches AND having two working CO detectors. The only "bad" is the burning propane increases the humidity in the room. The "plus" I mentioned is also having three Aladdin kerosene lights -- which also kick out an impressive number of Btu's in heat...
If I had to do it "over" -- I'd do exactly what I have now.
geo

[Handloader109]

I've a mr. buddy (small model) and used it a few times to heat garage. I didn't like it as it still ate up the O2 in the room and I would get a headache. I myself would get me a wood stove.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[NyFirefighter357]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dyna-Glo-...xoCAQsQAvD_BwE

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pr...er-30-000-btus

https://www.tractorsupply.com/Compar...3F%24456%24%3B

[FISH4BUGS]

Need new chimney and a wood heater IMHO.
Your SO should have figured it out before moving her business.
Her land or yours for a real opinion that is needed to make a true answer.
Please not being offensive to you but real life question.

Well the key to a long lasting relationship is COMPROMISE.
We bought the house together, and we are partners in life.
If I wanted to pay the entire freight, she could have retired, but we share our household costs proportional to our income.
It is neither her land/house nor mine...it is OURS.
I hear what you say but life is not a one way street.
Been there and done that with my former spouse's way or the highway...I chose the highway.....never again.
Some day when she is too old to continue her massage practice, we will have a nice room added to our living space.
Not sure a wood stove is what I need in this space.

[Brokenbear]

Well I'm sure you are trying to get by with the least out lay as far as equipment and I suspect the years left for her career may be on the short end by the way you have described ..However I urge you to think through a a few thoughts

First is safety.. as if I understand what you are saying you will be inviting the public into your building ..public is dumb as cow pies .. which means whatever you settle into as to equipment/method has to be bullet proof as far as the public coming into contact with it ..not to mention the liability should heaven forbid an accident occur
..Next is cost of operation which will be high with everything talked about as far as 20lb propane fire heaters or oil ...
..Not to mention that those small tanks will run you ragged changing tanks, filling tanks, transporting tanks n cans

Not what you wanted to hear I'm sure ..but the cheapest heat ..easiest heat ..would be a small external wood burning furnace to heat that puppy ..if you expect to get 5 or so years of commercial use/need from your project.. your small outside wood furnace will be near paid for with a bonus of having great heat thereafter as well as having a system you load once ..possibly twice daily with never facing middle of the night propane tank exhaustion

Good Luck
Bear

[Petrol & Powder]

Bear, I think you misunderstood what he needs to heat. The OP is looking for a heat source for the reloading/casting area, not his wife's business.

And an outdoor woodstove, radiators, plumbing, etc., would probably NOT break even in 5 years.

[FISH4BUGS]

Bear, I think you misunderstood what he needs to heat. The OP is looking for a heat source for the reloading/casting area, not his wife's business.
And an outdoor woodstove, radiators, plumbing, etc., would probably NOT break even in 5 years.

P&P: you are correct. She has electric heat. That was a no brainer. My space has very different needs. I need a lot of heat on demand and no heat most of the time.
I LIKE the wall mounted systems - very good idea.
I will investigate those further.
Thanks to all for your ideas.

[smithnframe]

Why not move the massage table/room to the barn?

[Wayne Smith]

Why not move the massage table/room to the barn?

Cause that decision was made long ago and he's asking for help in dealing with his current needs.

[10x]

Consider a high efficiency overhead propane heater that requires minimum venting.
If you are putting in an exhaust fan, you have the skill to put in a vent.
I went to a medium efficiency natural gas heater in my workshop about ten years ago. Venting was incredibly simple
Cost was low, and you have almost instant heat when you want to use it.

The overhead unit (50,000 btu forced air) that I used uses 3" galvanized pipe to vent.

[dverna]

I believe the ventless wall mounted propane heaters will put water vapor into the space. When you leave and shut the heater down, that vapor will condense and you may have more rust issues than normal.

I would go with electric heat but I can do my own wiring. It may be more costly to operate but no water vapor produced. Operating cost difference may not be significant for something that is not heated year round.

Adding insulation can get expensive. Worth doing if you spend a lot of time there but might be cheaper to use more fuel for the 10-12 hours a week you are using the space.

BTW, mice will look for a place to stay warm and comfy. Sealing the space can get difficult as the little critters do not need much of a gap to get in. Add traps (bucket trap with RV anitfreeze is good).

[jonp]

If 11,000 btu's are not enough get.a 30,000btu propane wall mount. I bought one off eBay for about $100. I put them in every room and zone heat. Much cheaper to heat only the room your in than the entire thing

[10x]

I believe the ventless wall mounted propane heaters will put water vapor into the space. When you leave and shut the heater down, that vapor will condense and you may have more rust issues than normal.

I would go with electric heat but I can do my own wiring. It may be more costly to operate but no water vapor produced. Operating cost difference may not be significant for something that is not heated year round.

Adding insulation can get expensive. Worth doing if you spend a lot of time there but might be cheaper to use more fuel for the 10-12 hours a week you are using the space.

Insulation, air barriers and vapour barriers cut the cost of heating significantly at -35F