I have been heating a three car garage/shop with a 24K BTU kerosene heater
for years but it demands attention and discipline.

1) Heater is always kept away from work (ie. Heater is usually in bay 1
while work is done in bay 3, some assembly in 2.
2) Heater is cleaned regularly and kept clean.
3) Fuel and flammable materials are kept completely away from heater
4) Any time finishing is done with flammable substances, the heater is
turned off.
5) I keep the shop cleaner during the winter (sawdust, etc) when using the
heater.

I do supplement the kero heater with a small quartz heater that puts out a
surprising amout of heat.

I have a permanent shop building in the plans and I hope to heat it with a
recycled forced air furnace. I have done this before in a shop and it works
well and is fairly economical. My previous installation was raised off of
the shop floor about 1-1/2 feet which put the firebox about 3-4 feet off of
the floor. These used units are available through salvage building material
dealers or heating contractors. I paid $25 for my down-draft unit and just
let it blow out on the floor of my small shop. My cousin did a similar
thing with an updraft unit that he uses to heat a 1,200 sq ft shop. He put
a simple two-directional plenum on top and it does great - think he paid
about $100 for his. He used a similar lift to get the machine up off of his
floor.


"Dave Rathnow" wrote in message
news:OZ3Xc.55635$X12.38428@edtnps84...

With winter immanent, I'm looking at putting some heating in my shop
so I can work and not freeze. I've heard people say that any
kind of open flame heating is dangerous because it could ignite saw
dust--I've heard others say this is rubbish.

Could people share their opinions and advice? Is an open
flame heater dangerous? What type of heating do you use?
Any recommendations to heat my shop: it's about 20x20
with a 12 foot ceiling.

Thanks,
Dave.