Safest way to heat a tack type room?

[aoxa]

I'm looking for the safest way to heat a brooder room we have planned in our new barn. It will be insulated (yes well ventilated, we have very specialized contractors on it!) but they don't normally build barns of this magnitude. They build houses.

They wanted me to ask around the chicken community. What type of heat would be suggested? No heat lamps please. I'm thinking forced air, but is that safe?

We need it heated to 55 in the winter so we can run our eco-glows. We will be keeping chicks in the room, as well as having our water access there.






The entire barn plan, but the room itself is detailed above. Sink moved due to contractor's suggestion.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Radiant floor heat would probably be safer than most anything since no flame is involved.
Forced air would be expensive for just one room

 

[aoxa]

Radiant floor heat would probably be safer than most anything since no flame is involved.
Forced air would be expensive for just one room

Expensive as in a lot of energy consumed, or the unit itself is expensive?

Radiant floor.. googling it comes up with something that seems very complicated, and expensive to install.

Mind explaining it in a bit more detail?

 

[res]

Our tack room is a little less than 12x12 and is very well insulated. It has a concrete floor, a large window, and an insulated steel door (with a window in it). The ceiling in it is 10', so that I can store items up high on shelves.

We have an oil-filled radiant heater in there during the winter. It is on it's lowest power setting (750w) and maintains the tack room at 75*. Utility bill cost... Not too sure. But I don't think it is too much. Of course, our average winter temp here near DC is probably much higher than yours is... ***Forgot to mention, it also has a dial thermostat - ranges from 1-6 - 1 being the lowest. So it is on lowest power setting, and between 1-2 on the thermostat dial. It has TONS of room to go higher and hotter.***

It does seem to heat the room very evenly - the only "hot" area is within inches of the heater. I have it set in the middle of the room, and am comfortable in every corner.

It might be an economical option for you. Cost to purchase was ~$40. Cost to operate is probably the same or less than a hard-wired electric or gas heating option.

 

[aoxa]

Our tack room is a little less than 12x12 and is very well insulated. It has a concrete floor, a large window, and an insulated steel door (with a window in it). The ceiling in it is 10', so that I can store items up high on shelves.

We have an oil-filled radiant heater in there during the winter. It is on it's lowest power setting (750w) and maintains the tack room at 75*. Utility bill cost... Not too sure. But I don't think it is too much. Of course, our average winter temp here near DC is probably much higher than yours is... ***Forgot to mention, it also has a dial thermostat - ranges from 1-6 - 1 being the lowest. So it is on lowest power setting, and between 1-2 on the thermostat dial. It has TONS of room to go higher and hotter.***

It does seem to heat the room very evenly - the only "hot" area is within inches of the heater. I have it set in the middle of the room, and am comfortable in every corner.

It might be an economical option for you. Cost to purchase was ~$40. Cost to operate is probably the same or less than a hard-wired electric or gas heating option.

Is it safe though? There will be dust in the room, as I am going to use it as my brooder room as well. So if dust sets on an oil filled radiant heater, will it ignite?

The reason I am so cautious is because we lost everything. I want to make everything as safe as possible.

WE have one of those oil filled radiant heaters already, so it would be very cost efficient. I just want it to be safe as well

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote: Unless you're heating the rest of the building, you'll need a whole forced air system, which isn't practical for just one room.

Radiant heat can be done with some tubing or even radiators or baseboard units, and a standard water heater supplies all the heat needed.
The tubing can also be put in walls instead of in the floor
http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/radiant-heating
Quote:

 

[aoxa]

Unless you're heating the rest of the building, you'll need a whole forced air system, which isn't practical for just one room.

Radiant heat can be done with some tubing or even radiators or baseboard units, and a standard water heater supplies all the heat needed.
The tubing can also be put in walls instead of in the floor
http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/radiant-heating

I did not mean forced air like I realize it sounded.

I am not sure what I am thinking about is called forced air now. I'll get back to you on what I really meant. There is no duct work involved.

 

[aoxa]

Okay so this is what I meant:

http://www.heateroutlet.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=9&idcategory=329#.UVoVCb8TuqQ

It describes it as useable in workshops and insulated garages up to 250 square feet. The tack/brooder room is either 12 x 12 or 10 x 12 (I can't remember offhand). It will have chicks in there, so dust is a given.


an Forced Electric Wall Heater


Qmark LFK 304 Electric Wall Heater (240 volts)
.• Designed for a large room, basement, insulated workshop, & similar areas
• A high-capacity, heavy-duty fan-forced wall heaters are designed for use almost anywhere in residential or commercial areas requiring electric fan forced wall heaters.
• Thermal overheat protector disconnects power in event of overheating due to accidental blockage..
• Top quality nickel-chrome element for instant heat.
• Built-in fan delay switch
• The louvered front cover / grill is of commercial grade steel
• All sheet metal parts, except the back box is phosphatized, then completely painted by a baked enamel painting process.
• UL Listed.
• 1 year limited Warranty on complete unit

 

[res]

The oil-filled heater in the tackroom is COVERED in dust. The concrete floor is new - put in Nov 2012 - and is still shedding lots of dust and fiberglass. The barn cats have a litterbox in there, and then there is all the dust/dirt/mud that gets tracked in on my boots, the saddle blankets, and the horse's winter blankets. I am constantly checking the thing to see if it is "hot" anywhere, and I haven't found any area yet....

We also have a Mitsubishi Electric Mr.Slim wall unit (both heat and a/c) in our downstairs master bedroom. Room dimension is approx. 15x20, and total area that the Mitsubishi is supposed to heat also includes the attached bath and closet - so approx. 500sf. The thing sucks. It is constantly mildewing in the summer, and blowing out chunks of mold. Even with routine professional service/cleaning. We actually shut it off this winter and put a space heater in here, because it could not keep the room/bath/closet at 72*. It was running constantly...

 

[res]

I was thinking last night... Another benefit of an oil-filled heater would be that you could unplug it and take it outdoors occasionally to be sprayed out with canned or compressed air. You could probably get most of the dust off that way. You wouldn't be able to do that with a wall heater....

When we chose a heater for the tackroom, our goal was one with no exposed heating elements. No wires that glowed red to produce heat. There is nothing on the oil heater that glows - I think the heating elements are enclosed in the oil compartment - much like a hot-water heater element.