For years I have been using a 250k BTU Diesel torpedo heater, Well recent Diesel prices increases have once again forced me to try once again to find a cheaper way to heat my un insulated 40 x 60.

This time I have found a supplement not a cure yet as my shop still needs insulation but I did find something that helps at least supplement my current use of diesel.

I was over at a friends shop recently he has used every thing as well, Diesel Propane oil wood, Now he is using Wood pellets. In an Out door gravity fed stove from Tractor supply burning about one bag of pellets per day.

I was so impressed I went to try to find one from Tractor supply myself but they were sold out of same model even on the internet, so I bought a Nice used one off of Craigslist that has an auto feeder deal and built in fan to blow air into the burn box.
The one I bought which in my opinion is nicer but it does not produce as much heat as his does. All the same I am still blown away at how much heat this thing puts out with such a small fire box. (about the size of a coffee cup!)
And it burns super clean with no smoke no smell.
Its not enough heat my whole shop or to stop using my Diesel torpedo heater on super cold days but it has knocked down the use of the Torpedo heater in half easily. Two of these pellet stoves MIGHT be enough if my shop was insulated.

The Pellet stove is using about half a bag of pellets per day and a full bag in 24 hrs. at $7 a bag that aint bad compared to my Diesel heater burning 6 gallons at $4.50 a gallon per day. Needless to say its cut down on my Diesel use. I was looking at a Propane Torpedo heater BUT its the same thing they are expensive to run as Propane aint much cheaper than Diesel these days.

I am still looking for a company I can buy coal from even out of state would still be better option in my opinion.

I have also been looking at Solar heater designs on YouTube several look promising BUT like today its really cold and windy AND Overcast so that wouldn't help much in my opinion.

My Problem still lays with I have to invest heavily in Insulating my shop at current heating costs It will pay for it self in a short time frame So that what I will be doing this year.

Dennis, the East coast of Australia is vaguely analogous to the West coast of the USA. Coastal plain with a range of mountains running parallel to the coast and then slopes and plains inland of the ranges. Where I live is actually quite similar to where you are, inland at around 35S (compared to your 36N) and at an elevation of 800-900m. Temperature ranges are quite similar too. Gets below freezing in winter but days are bearable, albeit cold, in the low to mid teens Celsius/high 50's F. Summers similar to yours too with highs in the high 30'sC/high 90'sF. Generally relatively dry.

I'm hoping to start building a new workshop in the next few months and obviously giving a lot of thought to making it at least tolerably comfortable. Size will be 8m x 14m (26' x 46') so a bit smaller than yours but all steel frame and cladding will mean insulation will be a must.

I'm going with a plastic, foil backed insulation (like bubble wrap) directly under the metal sheeting. Already have this in a smaller shed now and it is remarkably effective, especially at keeping the heat out in summer. We don't generally build with an inner cladding like ply or OSB as is common over there, so plan is then to use fibreglass batts in the space behind the internal lining which will be Gyprock (drywall) mostly, although the booth will have 50mm insulated panel walls. It won't be cheap either, but you don't get another chance to do it once the internal walls are done so I'm just going to have to accept the cost, knowing that I'll appreciate it later. Our house is brick veneer on pylons with insulated floor and ceilings. It stays comfortable most of the time, only needing a boost from evaporative cooling on the hottest days and we have gas and electric heating for winter. We don't use the gas heating much these days - just way too expensive to run.

But, how do I keep the workshop comfortable? Wood heaters, even the super efficient ones are banned for new installations while gas is crazy expensive. Split system heat pumps are overkill. I've been accused of producing lots of hot air, but not enough to heat a workshop.

So, given that we'll probably replace the evaporative cooling in the house with a bigger unit when we build a planned extension, the current one will do fine in the shop. That leaves heating and I've been looking, very seriously, at waste oil heaters. I know plenty of mechanics who all have waste oil tanks, so the fuel itself would be free - just that I'd have to pump it out into 200l drums in a trailer and then into a storage tank. Heating oil used to be the fuel of choice around here years ago so there are heating oil tanks to be had for a song. The heaters themselves are about $1500 to buy new but there are any number of home made designs which seem to be fairly efficient. The ones I've looked at on Youtube seem to be more than capable of heating a shop your size, so mine won't be a problem.

At this stage it looks like the best solution for me. Maybe worth a look?

I was shopping for Insulation the other day at my Local Home depot store I just couldn't be-leave the Prices of Insulation these days, I have looked at the Sheet type like Bubble rap like you describe but the stuff is still expensive for what your actually getting you know? Then the prices of sheet rock OMG! it was $16 a sheet for 4x12 sheets if you bought over 20 sheets I only need a 100 sheets or so Ouch! I remember $4 a sheet!

One of my problems is my shop has, is that its a Pole barn style walls built from 6x6 vertical beams spaced every 10 feet or so 12 feet hi to the ceiling.
Getting the walls done will require some sort of frame work built into them to hold any thing like sheet rock.
I found 4x8 sheets of Aluminum foil backed Poly foam sheets 1/2 thick for $10 a sheet that would probably work well for me price wise as it would cover the walls and insulate at the same time BUT I still have to make some sort of frame work to hold it up on the walls.

Not sure what I will do yet

When I built my pole barn, I priced out doing a framework, sheet rock and regular insulation. But I finally welt with a spray on coating. Saved a lot of time, at least, if not money. I don't know how much it's increased since 1999, but it might be worth looking into. The guy did the roof, walls, doors, everything. 10K. 40 x 60 with 19 ft. max, ceiling. I also seals up any cracks or holes. BUT, if you are doing any welding or grinding, you need to cover the foam with a latex paint, so it doesn't degrade. I rented an airless sprayer, and did it all in a day.

Hey Chop

My neighbor whole exterior of his shop is spayed with that stuff.
That shop stays nice and cool in summer months. Really is good stuff.

I looked into it a while back as it was my preferred method I wanted to go with.
Their are two Businesses that offer it out here. One gave me a quote for the two different types of foam that they sell one came in at $27k and the other stuff wasn't much cheaper in the $18-20 range. I couldn't believe how expensive it was needless to say I passed on that.

Doright wrote:For years I have been using a 250k BTU Diesel torpedo heater, Well recent Diesel prices increases have once again forced me to try once again to find a cheaper way to heat my un insulated 40 x 60.

I have worked as an insulator in the past, and I think the spray foam route is going to be by far the simplest. If they sprayed 1" on all the steel, it would make a massive difference. But it would still be expensive to keep heated 24/7. Problem is heat leaking out the slab. I assume the slab isn't insulated?

Another option is more labor, but might be cheaper. Frame between the posts and do "dense pack" cellulose insulation. This packs the insulation into the wall, dense enough that it can't settle. This is very good insulation value, and condensation shouldn't be an issue since the insulation is in direct contact with the steel.

Or you could a combination of the two? Frame it out and use a limited amount of spray foam to seal? Or a 1" layer plus framing plus dense pack cellulose (or fiberglass). Lots of options. Unfortunately there really isn't a "cheap" option.

I have a small stick built garage. I built scissor trusses into the rafters so I could removed the very low loft, completely replaced the front wall, sheet rocked and dense packed the walls. I keep it heated all winter with an electric heater. I'm in Minnesota, and today it is 8F. I had a pellet stove; it wasn't very good. It was a hassle, and it wasn't cheap. It took nearly a day to heat up the shop on the weekend. Now I keep it warm 60-65F 24/7, which is a huge improvement. It is a little more expensive than the pellet stove was, but closer than I was expecting. And having a shop that is always warm is a huge benefit for a lot of reasons!

In my area with the cold you often see people stick frame and insulation a portion of the shop like 20x30.Flat 2x12 laminated roof beams creating storage above.Barn doors going to the rest of the shop.Much cheaper to heat when its -20c outside.