Hangar heater Recommendation

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Larry Korona

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Any recommendations on a portable heater (electric or gas) for keeping my hangar warm enough during the winter months so I can do maintenance work without freezing ? Standard sized hangar that fits a C172, not insulated but solid enough to keep the winds out.
 
Propane/infrared seem effective and have low CO output!

Sectioning off with tarps helps more than I would have thought.

Consider building a “ dock” that can be moved over the engine.

Looks like a clubhouse and can be heated with a small electric heater.
 
Radiant heaters heat the body and not the air. They can work ok if you are mostly working on one spot or can easily move it around.

Since the hangar is not insulated, trying to warm up the entire space may not be practical.

If you have an adequate electrical service and can add hanging radiant heaters then you could conceivably cover most of your work space. Otherwise portable radiant heaters may be your best option. Some are available with propane for a power source if power is an issue.
 
Magman said:
Propane/infrared seem effective and have low CO output!

Sectioning off with tarps helps more than I would have thought.

Consider building a “ dock” that can be moved over the engine.

Looks like a clubhouse and can be heated with a small electric heater.
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Thanks for the reply, yup I'm worried about the CO levels with heaters that burn kerosene, propane is better for CO generation, good to know.
 
Lndwarrior said:
Radiant heaters heat the body and not the air. They can work ok if you are mostly working on one spot or can easily move it around.

Since the hangar is not insulated, trying to warm up the entire space may not be practical.

If you have an adequate electrical service and can add hanging radiant heaters then you could conceivably cover most of your work space. Otherwise portable radiant heaters may be your best option. Some are available with propane for a power source if power is an issue.
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Got electric so power is not a problem. Any recommendations for specific radiant heaters? Yup just want to heat up one spot can section off that space as needed. Mostly will be working within the cabin area, planning on upgrading my panel.
 
What’s the electrical service rated? My hangar electric is on a 15A breaker. If yours is similar, you won’t have enough juice to heat that much space electrically. Propane might be the most practical solution.
 
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Larry Korona said:
Any recommendations on a portable heater (electric or gas) for keeping my hangar warm enough during the winter months so I can do maintenance work without freezing ?
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Is this a private hangar or public hangar? In my experience there tended to be restrictions on the public side how you heated the space. But there are options depending on those restrictions if any.
 
Bell206 said:
Is this a private hangar or public hangar? In my experience there tended to be restrictions on the public side how you heated the space. But there are options depending on those restrictions if any.
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Private hangar, within a row of hangars, completely separated from each other by the walls. Not aware of any restrictions, lease doesn't have anything against heaters. However I don't want to burn it down and I don't want to get CO poisoning
 
Where are you? What are the temps you are dealing with? That will make a huge difference in what you want. Elect will be expensive to run. Propane will heat larger areas. We use them on construction projects all the time. Reasonably efficient and low fumes.

I tried building a room out of PVC and 8mil plastic so I could heat it easier. I ended up scraping it because I was going in and out of it so much without a good door I couldnt keep it much warmer than the rest of the hangar. It was in Idaho and the temps were between 10-15 degrees F.

If you just need to go from 30 to 60 or so, a propane heater will heat the entire hangar and make it reasonably comfortable.
 
Larry Korona said:
Private hangar, within a row of hangars, completely separated from each other by the walls. Not aware of any restrictions, lease doesn't have anything against heaters. However I don't want to burn it down and I don't want to get CO poisoning
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Depending on the hangar electricals, I had a 220v commercial space heater that would keep a hangar that size manageable for most mx work. Couple that with a decent floor fan pointed to the ceiling and it kept the warm air circulated. If the electrical can't handle the load, like most, I used a small kerosene (JP4) forced air heater with the fan and the hangar door cracked open. If you want to go 1st class invest in a used Herman Nelson heater and stick the output hose through the hangar door... you'd swear it was summertime. At the same time if brutally cold or outside you can use a Herman Nelson and adapt a number of 2 inch SCAT tubes at the output side and run them up the leg opening of your insulated coveralls. If done right, the warm air would circulate throughout the coveralls and exhaust out the arm openings and you could work with no gloves on. Ahhh, the good old days....:rolleyes:
 
rockwoodrv9a said:
Where are you? What are the temps you are dealing with? That will make a huge difference in what you want. Elect will be expensive to run. Propane will heat larger areas. We use them on construction projects all the time. Reasonably efficient and low fumes.

I tried building a room out of PVC and 8mil plastic so I could heat it easier. I ended up scraping it because I was going in and out of it so much without a good door I couldnt keep it much warmer than the rest of the hangar. It was in Idaho and the temps were between 10-15 degrees F.

If you just need to go from 30 to 60 or so, a propane heater will heat the entire hangar and make it reasonably comfortable.
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I'm in Tulsa Oklahoma, winters are cold, but not insane. Temperatures can get down into the teens overnight and only get up to about the twenty's or thirty's.
 
Small 120V electric heaters help if you are working in one spot and can set it so that it blows on your hands. Otherwise worthless in a big uninsulated space.

Torpedo heaters can make a big difference in temperature, but even propane can make CO with insufficient ventilation. In my old leaky garage, the CO alarm would go off after about 1/2 hour. In my shop, I would set it in the doorway so it drew fresh air from outside. In my hangar, which has 3/4 walls and is open to the whole hangar row up high, my A&P uses a kerosene torpedo heater - it helps quite a bit.

What I never tried was just having my car sit and idle inside the closed hangar.

In any case, if you are using a combustion heater, a CO alarm would make a lot of sense.
 
Heating with electric in these situations seldom is possible.
Larry Korona said:
Any recommendations on a portable heater (electric or gas) for keeping my hangar warm enough during the winter months so I can do maintenance work without freezing ? Standard sized hangar that fits a C172, not insulated but solid enough to keep the winds out.
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I use radiant LP gas fired and a 75-125K btu LP fired turbo style heaters.
The radiant/inferred is good for mild weather and the turbo heater for when it get's real cold. It also works excellent to warm the cock pit before I fly when I open the right side door. Get a turbo heater is my suggestion. Gas or kerosene is fine. If you get kero fired you can use jetA jet fuel in it. There is no cause for CO concern because there is air leaks everywhere in my hangar.

It takes 22000+35000+100,000 BTUs to heat my whole T hangar during the real cold weather and not very well. It is only used when I am there. Another thing that helps a lot is to point small fan up towards the ceiling that blows the heat down around the hangar.


Radiant works good for when the door is open.
 
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Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
That's what I originally thought about my old garage. But you do have a much larger volume.
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I know it is best to keep open flames off the floor of the garage for safety reasons. I don't have them on if I am doing anything with the fuel system for example. Don't have them on when working with contact cement is another example.

Years ago in my home 2 car garage I had a round kerosene heater running on the floor. I am young and dumb and crack open a AC line and let the freon leak out. I look up from under the hood and notice the top 24" of the garage was loaded with solid black smoke and filling up fast. I glace at the heater and it is pouring out the top like a smoke stack. I run out of the garage via the side door and started to feel sick. I thought the heater malfunctioned at first. Later I found out I was making "mustard gas" by mixing freon and open flame.
 
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rockwoodrv9a said:
Where are you? What are the temps you are dealing with? That will make a huge difference in what you want. Elect will be expensive to run. Propane will heat larger areas. We use them on construction projects all the time. Reasonably efficient and low fumes.

I tried building a room out of PVC and 8mil plastic so I could heat it easier. I ended up scraping it because I was going in and out of it so much without a good door I couldnt keep it much warmer than the rest of the hangar. It was in Idaho and the temps were between 10-15 degrees F.

If you just need to go from 30 to 60 or so, a propane heater will heat the entire hangar and make it reasonably comfortable.
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Plus a propane bullet heater can be used with some ducting to preheat an engine.

 
Pvc pipe and canvas painting drop clothes make nice cheap “tents” if you only need a small area. It can be popped back apart and everything rolled up for storing when not in use if you don’t glue the connectors. For electric I like the oil filled radiators (look kinda like old school steam radiators), they don’t heat up fast though. Chicken brooder lamps with a heat bulb also can make a huge difference on how it feels. If I had to heat the whole hanger I’d use a round kerosene heater (the kind with a wick and no fan).
 
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Our bodies have some ability to adapt. When I was in my 40s I “trained” my hands to able to function at below freezing temperatures without gloves for hours for hunting. Within reasonable temps, like 25F and above, I didn’t need gloves at all. Wet hands for waterfowl hunting just above freezing were no problem.

Not saying it’s worth it for an occasional visit to the hangar, but bundling up and keeping hand tools warm might be another possible trick.
 
When working in the cabin area even a hair dryer will make a difference.

Plus 200(?) lbs at 98.6.
 
Any fuel burning heater can make CO. So pick up a home CO alarm and plug it in.

Any fuel burning heater is making water vapor. That can and will condense on any cool surface, including inside your plane. The best heating system have separate combustion and heating sections, like a installed house heater.
 
Pinecone said:
Any fuel burning heater can make CO. So pick up a home CO alarm and plug it in.

Any fuel burning heater is making water vapor. That can and will condense on any cool surface, including inside your plane. The best heating system have separate combustion and heating sections, like a installed house heater.
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With enough make up air, a open flame radiant heater that runs full time on a thermostat will make it like a desert in your shop.
I have been heating 2 shops full time with radiant for over 30 years. They both have intake air vents and the humidity in the winter is very low, in 20% range. Both are very dry shops.
A shop that is heated part time will show some condensation on cold stuff. That will happen with any kind of heating. Keep it 50° or higher and you won't have that problem.
If you see the windows sweating when heating full time crack a door or window open and you will see it dry out. Which means you don't have enough make up/combustion air. A little intake air does not hurt efficiency


My hangar has so many air openings especially in the door a
that there is plenty of combustion air and CO will not be a problem.
This was in one of my shops, this day it was raining outside with near 100% humidity, look how dry it is inside. It was just above freezing outside and it is so dry and warm in the shop. Heated with a gas radiant heater mounted on the wall controlled by a thermostat.
07b7261f-ff62-4551-8b7a-d979466ed9cb.jpg
 
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Gary Ward said:
With enough make up air, a open flame radiant heater that runs full time on a thermostat will make it like a desert in your shop.
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Radiant hear systems I have seen exhaust the combustion air. Air intake, burning, long hot tube that goes out the wall or ceiling for exhaust.

Not like running a torpedo heater in the same space.
 
Pinecone said:
Radiant hear systems I have seen exhaust the combustion air. Air intake, burning, long hot tube that goes out the wall or ceiling for exhaust.

Not like running a torpedo heater in the same space.
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I don't care for infer red/radiant tube heaters, they use a lot of fuel and are pretty un comfortable to be around if not installed properly. Some of the heat goes out the exhaust.
I like these kind. I use larger models in 3 other shops, I just added one to a 3rd shop I recently setup. All the heat goes into the shop this way.

98a63095-39e9-4005-8586-766bec1e5c90.jpg

Cozy and quiet.
dbeac2c9-fb25-4b93-ab91-d2d361dc5e2c.jpg

.
 
This shop has a 40k hanging from the ceiling and does a good job in this 25x60' space. I heat it full time at 55°F. You can barely see it in this picture. They make for a easy installation.

IMG_5047.jpeg
 
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Step one is insulate the hangar. Metal walls are heat sinks and poorly sealed. Frame it out and add XPS foam or 'glass batting. The absolute best would be spray foam if you could (and have the cash).

Next is the door. Insulation may require a re-rigging as it can add significant weight.

Lastly and hardest is the concrete itself. A very large thermal mass. Even a layer of cardboard on top can help keep heat in.

Simplest would be what someone else mentioned... frame out a small hut and just heat that.
 
-1 on spray foam, I’ve seen the results a few years down the road and damage it has caused by trapping moisture. I’d +2 fiberglass batting that allows “breathable” airflow to the structural elements.
 
Flatiowa said:
-1 on spray foam, I’ve seen the results a few years down the road and damage it has caused by trapping moisture. I’d +2 fiberglass batting that allows “breathable” airflow to the structural elements.
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There’s appreciable difference between open and closed cell foam insulation.
 
I use this in my garage (standard 2-car size) and basement. I have CO detectors all over and have never set one off using standard diesel out of the local pumps. Makes a large space very warm very quickly. Very loud while it's running, though which is the only downside. Tank holds about 5 gallons. Lasts me most of the winter on one fill up.

https://www.mrheater.com/80-000-btu-forced-air-kerosene-heater.html

Edit: Not just any CO detectors, but the ones that actually display PPM. The display comes on anytime the CO levels rise above 30ppm and the alarm sounds as low as 70ppm. (50ppm is considered "Low Levels" by Kidde, the manufacturer) Never have I even seen the display come on. I make more CO in my garage by starting my car and driving out within a minute or two than a kerosene heater makes in hours of operation.
 
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Does mostly upgrading your panel translate to mostly working inside the cabin of the plane? Or am I overly optimistic?

I'd pull the seats, toss a ceramic heater into the cargo area and use the plane as the heated shop to the extent that I could.

All the other ideas are great, also. I just use the vehicle as the workspace when it's possible.
 
Just me, but I'd never run an un-vented heater for other than an emergency or temporary setup. CO is dangerous in low ppm quantities, as I understand it not just from the short term effects, and I'd expect any heater to make a tiny bit of CO. That said, I do have and love a gas stove, but it's putting out far less heat for much shorter periods of time.
 
A small tipswitch heater did a good job of preheating the skylane interior from -10f to about +50f in about 45minutes (supervised). But no one was going in and out so; Maybe the following if this is for an entire winter and plane will not move:

Get several 4x8 panels of that pink or green foam that is least 2"thick or more. Cover the floor, go just above wing (if high wing). But it up against the side you woyld not be entering from. Lrave open area on the access side. Tricky part is a door. And notching it around the windshield or cowling. Tape it up to no air leaks.

Then heat with as much 120ac electrical heat as you can. Maybe even make the ceiling thicker.
 
While y'all humblebrag about your hangar privilege, I was pretty proud of myself today. I have a heater that I use in the garage from time to time. Unlike my other propane accessories, it did not have a QCC1 quick disconnect, so I ordered one and a tube of rectorseal. Helpfully, the threads arrived pre-dinged, so I had to dress them a bit. Then, a bit of sealant, like frosting a cake. Et voilà! Convenience!
 
GeorgeC said:
While y'all humblebrag about your hangar privilege, I was pretty proud of myself today. I have a heater that I use in the garage from time to time. Unlike my other propane accessories, it did not have a QCC1 quick disconnect, so I ordered one and a tube of rectorseal. Helpfully, the threads arrived pre-dinged, so I had to dress them a bit. Then, a bit of sealant, like frosting a cake. Et voilà! Convenience!
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Just so you know, the new valves still have the internal left hand threads so you can use the old stuff with the newer QCII valves.
 
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