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-   -   How do you heat your hangar? (https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=144516)

caapt 12-01-2016 05:51 PM

How do you heat your hangar?
 
Winter is coming. I want to use a propane heater, but am concerned about Carbon Monoxide. I am renting a T hangar and would like to work through the winter (north Texas)

guccidude1 12-01-2016 05:55 PM

How do you heat your hangar?
 
Just installed a 125 btu Reznor propane heater in my hangar at RTS. Dan from Reno

bt3vex 12-01-2016 06:01 PM

I use 2 propane 60,000 btu propane heaters, like this one. They work good, I have to use big propane bottles since the hangar does not have gas piped to it. Not the best but it works, i have never worried about CO issues. Been doing it for 4 years.


http://www.bjs.com/dyna-glo-60000-bt...84saAiNS8P8HAQ

JonJay 12-01-2016 06:22 PM

Many years ago I was in a large T when I started my build. I purchased two electric Quartz IR heaters. They worked well but you had to be working in their range as the air temp is not affected. I bundled up and they made the work tolerable even when hangar temps where near freezing. Not cheap to run though.
Today, I have an electric furnace in my shop/storage hangar but it eats you out of house and home if you use it a lot.
I have a ductless split heat pump system at the home hangar designed to keep the hangar at 60 deg.. It stays on full time and is very economical in our Pacific NW climate. It also cools in summer. May not be so good in other climates.
It has the extra benefit of a dehumidifier as well.

rockwoodrv9 12-01-2016 06:30 PM

I have a T hangar in Caldwell Idaho. It isn't as cold as many places, but still cold. I installed a propane ceiling hung heater last year and it does a great job heating everything above 8' high! I had to install a ceiling fan. It takes an hour or two to heat from 35 to 60.

If I want quick heat or local heat when I am using epoxy, I use a heater like this.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Dyna-Glo-20...Heater/3458948

It will heat the entire hangar up in about 30 minutes. The problem is I have to keep re-filling the tank. I have one of the 4' high tanks and it lasts a couple weeks.

The biggest issue I had was the air leaks on the sides of the roll up door. I ended up using 2" thick foam insulation on the entire door and then taking some old fire hose and using it for weatherstripping on the sides. That made a huge difference.

Even after sealing the doors, I don't think there is any way to keep a T hangar air tight enough to worry about fumes. As long as you keep the heater adjusted and in good condition, you can't even smell it.

flyboy1963 12-01-2016 06:36 PM

more advice ....
 
So I'm not a hangar owner, but worse, borrow them from time to time, for annuals, etc.

Lots of good advice on the forum over the years....basically if you are working at your bench, you can tent it, and heat the air inside pretty easily.

propane gives off almost zero CO, ( think forklifts in warehouses) when proper combustion is occurring.
as others have noted, radiant heat is king....electric or gas heats a radiating emitter, ( the red glow) and the waves travel until they strike a surface, such as your butt, tools, wing of the plane, the wall, floor etc....and that surface absorbs, and reflects some part of the energy.
The air stays relatively cool, and doesn't just head for the 20' ceiling in the hangar, where it's warmth is lost to the cold roof!

crabandy 12-01-2016 07:47 PM

I used a 10 X 10 canopy with sides and a couple of 110V electric heaters and some carpet scraps over the concrete, after an hour I'm in a Tshirt with OAT's in the 20's.







Weasel 12-01-2016 07:49 PM

About 15 KW worth of this

Sure! it makes the meter spin but virtually no maintenance and cost less per BTU than I can make it work out with all other fuels that are readily available. I even considered waste oil for free, wood, coal, solar, Heat pump. Almost any maintenance at all costs more than you can save across 10 years with other forms of fuel.

Just happen to have one of these



in the side of the shop to blow air across the electric strips ;)

catmandu 12-01-2016 08:05 PM

I used a torpedo heater like bt3vex suggested my first year of ownership when I NEEDED to do a lot to the plane in the winter. I used the 300,000 BTU version, bought on craigslist. It made my head feel funny after a day of work. And I spent a lot on propane, 20 lbs at a time.

This coming winter I need to do three relatively major things, and I will probably go with the tent method suggested by crabandy, either by buying just such a setup or building one with PVC and plastic. Electric is included in my hangar rent, and I already have a milk house heater setup to pre-heat the engine that will work in the tent.

Jesse 12-01-2016 08:40 PM

How do I heat my hangar? By building it in Florida. You should see how effective the heating is in June-August. :D


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