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Barn heater
I want to heat a 30' x 40' insulated barn in west central New Hampshire (walls are R19, ceiling R30). I use the barn two or three evenings and a weekend afternoon each week. I have a 115,000 BTU kerosene forced air portable heater (odors and CO are issues). My neighbor, who is a seasoned old timer (think "Pepperidge Farm Man" , suggests a 220 volt electric heater for convenience and lack of odors. I am concerned about cost to operate it. What are the pros and cons of electric versus propane? What size will I need to keep the barn at 50 degrees? What should I expect to spend per season for fuel or electricity?
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Barn heater
here , you go you know your parimiters better than we do!!
Dean
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Barn heater
Cap'n, why not just get some local sheet-metal shop to make you up a manifold and heat exchanger for the kerosene heater you already have?
It doesn't have to be perfect or pretty, just enough to enclose and trap most of the CO & smell and send it back outside.
Best of luck.
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Barn heater
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[color=goldenrod]GET THE BASICS HERE.[/color]
[url]http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?s=&postid=410243#post410243[/url]
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>I want to heat a 30' x 40' insulated barn
Captain B
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I plan on heating and cooling my 30x52 with an outdoor unit that has a forced air furnace and air conditioning all in one unit.
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Barn heater
I would consider approx 50btu output per square foot with an 8' to 10'ceiling height. Unit heaters work well but don't get enough heat to the floor area. Down flow furnaces work well if you block them up and let the warm air wash the floor..
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Barn heater
A cheap cieling fan or two increaces the effectiveness of a unit heater dramatically. It worked wonders in my 28x36 garage with a 10' cieling. I only have a 48,000 btu furnace which, along with the fan, keeps it comfortable all winter on minimal fuel (natural gas).
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Barn heater
An old salvaged furnace blower assembly works well also.
Make a vertical plywood duct down the wall furthest from the heat source. Set the fan assembly on top, it's easier to push air than pull it, blowing down the chute. Keep the fan as close to the ceiling as possible. Leave an opening at the bottom facing out into the room.
A friend did this and put a surplus A/C thermostat on top next to the blower, when the heat at the ceiling reaches a certain temp the blower comes on all by itself, when it cools down it goes back off.
He also put a trap door that opens to the outside and one to close off the interior vent. In the summer he flips it on in the evening and it draws all the hot air out over night and cools the shop off, in the morning when he goes out there to work it's nice and cool. The shop is insulated so it takes most of the day to warm back up again.
Best of luck.
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Barn heater
I insulated my barn last winter. I think it is now mostly heated my mouse farts. I use a kerosene heater to supplement the flatulants.
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Barn heater
The 115,000 btu heaters you mentioned don't burn as efficiently or clean as the 23,500 btu wick type kerosene heaters.
I use 3 of them in the basement of my house to occasionally suppliment my woodstove on really cold days or for a fast warm up in the mornings when we get up. They burn very cleanly and only make odors or smoke on shut down and a bit on first start up.
I would suggest trying this type of heater in your barn. 4 or 5 of them should keep it toasty warm. They last about 4 hours with the wick turned all the way down and about 2 turned all the way up. You can buy them for about $99 at Walmart.
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Beagle, stop feeding the mice those Johnsonville brots...
The doors of my shop face almsot due south, probably south south-west. The doors are 12' x 12' wood and painted chocolate brown. Even with the furnace off I get enough heat gain on a sunny day to raise the inside temperature by 20 degrees above the outside readings.
Best of luck.
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Gas Generator Weather Protecti
09-23-2004, 21:00 
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