(06-13-2017, 10:17 AM)chips ahoy Wrote: I would love to have warmer winters,but couldn't handle the Texas summers.Just proves,ya can't have everything.
 


Mel

(06-12-2017, 12:29 PM)Phil S. Wrote: Thanks for the replies gents!  

Fred - I wish LP was an option.  There is a gas dealer here, but installation might be a problem.  I need to find out how big a tank would necessary.  Access to my place for a bigger truck like one for gas delivery is sketchy and not reliable during the winter (1/2 mile steep driveway with snow and ice).  I'd be looking at one delivery in the autumn to last the winter.  I'm too geezerly to move say a 100# cylinder out to my place by myself.  Would also need to get an estimate on installation cost and running a gas line from where a vehicle can get to, about 120' from the house.

Mel - that Steffes heater looks really interesting.  I checked their web site and the downside is their nearest dealer is in Whitehorse, a 4 hour ferry ride, a 130 mile drive north of Skagway and crossing an international border.  Not that that will stop me, but it sounds like this is a dealer installed piece of equipment.  I'll check with them and see if a DIY approach is possible.

Daddo - My house is built on pilings and my shop is under it.  I replaced the skirting with 2X4 walls, T-111 sheathing, vapor barrier, fiberglass insulation and sheet rock and added a floor instead of the dirt that was there.  There might be a bit I could do with some weather stripping, but I don't think I can gain much more efficiency.

fishbh4 - I looked at Dayton heaters.  They do make a 7.5 kw one.  It looks identical to the Fahrenheat heater I was looking at except for the Dayton sticker on the front and a 3X higher price tag.  They could both be made in the same Chinese factory.

Splinter puller - Our neighborhood just had new transformers installed by the local utility and new service run to each house.  The electrician working on that recommended against base board heaters for the shop.  I think he was looking at the difficulty of installation versus a suspended forced air heater, like the Fahrenheat.

Paul - I'm in SE Alaska.  I looked into heat pumps, but I think the weather here is too cold for them to be workable.  It's not as cold as it is inland, but temps in the teens aren't unusual.  Coldest I've seen here is about -5°.  I'm a bit leery of a heat source that works the worst when you need it the most.

Thanks again guys.  My head scratching continues.