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Shop heat question

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Jim

12-11-2001 13:56:45




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Is there an easy calculation to determine how many BTU's are required to heat my garage to a certain temperature? Also, is there a way to calculate how long an electric heater would have to run to generate those BTU'S. I have a garage/workshop that I heat with wood when I am in there, but would like to have enough heat to keep paint, etc from freezing. Also occasionally need to keep it warm enough for my doggies if I go away for a few days. Seems like an oil furnace,tank etc is an overkill for what I need, and an electric heater would be less expensive, cleaner and easier. But I want to know how much it is going to cost to run. Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Jim

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bill b va

12-11-2001 19:44:18




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 Re: Shop heat question in reply to Jim, 12-11-2001 13:56:45  

throw the paint away or store it in your basement or other warm place . if freezing will ruin the paint it probably is water based and is not a fire hazard .in my opionion to keep a small amount of paint warm all winter in a seperate storage area to prevent freezing is foolish. stay away from LP gas heating as the $$$ per BTU is the worst of all and the equipment is expensive . i was able to find a used hot air oil furnace that i use in my shop without duct work .

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mphc

12-11-2001 18:10:33




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 Re: Shop heat question in reply to Jim, 12-11-2001 13:56:45  
Good question, not many people value the science behind proper hvac. I have the R J program that calculates this for me , much easier than the long hand version. Any rural electric coop can do this also , many specifics are involved like r values , local weather desired indoor dry bulb temp. If I had a print direct facing of structure and current kwh price sizing is no problem . Also location of nearest airport for weather situations. Good luck .

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big fred

12-11-2001 17:09:41




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 Re: Shop heat question in reply to Jim, 12-11-2001 13:56:45  
What you are looking for involves some rather lengthy and tedious number crunching, but for someone with the right background it's not difficult. If you have a son, nephew or etc that's studying engineering, you might ask him to help you figure it out. You need to supply info like how cold outside, how warm do you want it inside, R-values of walls, ceiling, doors, windows, area of doors and windows, wind conditions, and whether there is a attic space and any ventilation, including cracks around doors, and whether the slab is insulated. Then it's a simple heat transfer problem thru parallel surfaces. For reference, I can keep my 18x20 shop with R13 and no windows, two people doors at 60 when it's about 30 outside with just a 1300 watt space heater. Heats it up in about 2-3 hours.

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VaTom

12-11-2001 19:22:30




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 Re: Re: Shop heat question in reply to big fred, 12-11-2001 17:09:41  
An old copy of "Other Homes and Garbage" will walk you through the numbers. It includes degree-day tables for most of the US. Also R values for most building materials. I used it to calculate how close I could get to totally supplying my heat needs with a recycled active solar system for our next house, including heating the indoor pool. This is a good app for a computer program but it's not complicated. Also helps you decide what materials you might want to use. But in the end, the electric blanket for the pooches makes the most sense.

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Mac

12-11-2001 16:51:19




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 Re: Shop heat question in reply to Jim, 12-11-2001 13:56:45  
Jim: The easy way would be contact your utilites service. Tell them what you want to do. Saves a lot of hassle. I did this. Ended up with an overhead electric heater/fan, thermostat controled unit.. If I am not in the shop, I just use it to keep materials from freezing, 40 degrees or so.. If I work out there I can keep it at 65 degrees easy, plenty warm to work in. I have a small 24X26 garage and only heat the workshop side. Building is well insulated tho.
As far as cost I cant quote the exact amount it costs but it is reasonable enough for this poor boy. My son uses baseboard heaters. Does a good job. But would not advise any sawing or anything that creates a lot of dust, around the baseboard type.

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john nelson

12-11-2001 16:41:05




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 Re: Shop heat question in reply to Jim, 12-11-2001 13:56:45  
ninh is right, and LPG is about 92,000 BTU per gallon. And an 100 watt electric light bulb in an enclosed room produces about 312 BTUs, if that helps any. Thanks for waking my brain up, i hadn't thought of that in years.



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john nelson

12-11-2001 16:48:30




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 Re: Re: Shop heat question in reply to john nelson, 12-11-2001 16:41:05  
I forgot to mention, the resistance to the heat escaping to the outdoors, insulation, a tight insulated building takes very little heat, but a unsinsulated sheet iorn building would take a large heater. If you use any type of hydrocarbon fuel, you need ventilation. Air for the fuel and to exaust the deadly funmes.



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T_Bone

12-11-2001 14:08:53




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 Re: Shop heat question in reply to Jim, 12-11-2001 13:56:45  
Hi Jim,

Your asking for several figures that requires seveal different formulas and my brain can't do this right now, bad pain day, so if you'll e-mail me I'll give the formulas when I can then post them here when were done.

Or maybe someone else can post them!

T_Bone



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Ninh Hoa

12-11-2001 15:20:32




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 Re: Re: Shop heat question in reply to T_Bone, 12-11-2001 14:08:53  
It's been awhile, so don't hesitate to correct me if I'm wrong.

One kilowatt hour = 3414 Btus

At 32 degrees Farenheit, one pound of air has a volume of 12.4 cubic feet. While the volume will change at higher temps, for practicle purposes we can use that figure.

The specific heat of air, at constant pressure, is 0.240 Btus/pound.

So what you do is figure the volume of your shop. Take that number and divide it by 12.4 and your answer will be so many pounds of air.

Take the pounds of air that results from above and multiply it by the temp rise you want.

Take that number and multiply it by 0.240 and you have the required Btu's to do the job. Course, that's at 100% efficency, which no building is.

From memory, I think a gallon of fuel oil has a heat value of 140,000 Btus.

Hope that's of some help.

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T_Bone With Online BTU Calculator :)

12-12-2001 00:03:04




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 Re: Re: Re: Shop heat question in reply to Ninh Hoa, 12-11-2001 15:20:32  
Now this saves us both alot of time and effort.

Ain't puters wonderful :)

Although this is just a basic calculator it will give a ball park figure for a temperory heating est. but I wouldn't use it for anything critical as it seams to oversize a bit.

Also I would like to know why you would choose electric water heating when you have that great wood stove sitting just ready to make hotwater!
Add a underground storage tank(earth made), add a circulation pump, air exchange coil, equal instant shop heat

electric heating is one of the most inefficent and costly ways of heating water, about 3 times as much!

T_Bon

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PCC-AL

12-11-2001 16:16:25




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 Re: Re: Re: Shop heat question in reply to Ninh Hoa, 12-11-2001 15:20:32  
THE H--- YOU SAY. Before I would attempt to figure all that, I'd either give the dogs away or buy them an electric blanket. Anyway, good luck.



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