# small shed heat



## coonripper (Jan 8, 2009)

I have a small shed at the back of my property. Im looking for a way to heat this building without electricity. I want to keep quail in it so keeping it above freezing is all im concerned with. It is insulated and tight as far as draft free. Night time temps in Iowa get cold so im concerned about night time temps.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Small, ventless propane heater would be the easiest.


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## goto10 (Oct 5, 2009)

If it is south facing, those solar soda can heaters may be ideal but it would only heat during the day unless maybe you passed some of the heated air into a large container with water which would be heated up and emit the heat during the night, perhaps keeping it above freezing.

I actually keep quail in a pen right out in the open. They are coturnix and they have rubbermaid containers as their 4 sided shelter in the pen. They do just fine in the winter. I just have to switch out their waterer, to a full one I keep in my house, every morning cause it freezes.


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## SolarGary (Sep 8, 2005)

Hi,
Here are some solar ideas to think about -- maybe combine.

You could build a small version of this very simple air heating collector onto/into the south wall:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SpaceHeating/solar_barn_project.htm

The nice thing about this collector is that it theromsyphons and does not require a fan or electricity or controls. The little poly flaps keep it from cooling the shed at night. Its quite an efficient heater.

The area where the hot air comes out gets quite warm, and you could put some water containers (2 liter pop bottles?) in that area -- these would retain some heat over the night. You can control (somewhat) the rate at which the bottles radiate heat to the shed by putting a layer of aluminum foil under part or all of them.

You might be able to work this solar stock heating tank design into something that could keep the edge off the temperature in the shed:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WaterHeating/SolarHorseTank/SolarHorseTank.htm

The tank part provides some thermal mass so, its won't cool as rapidly at night. It would be nice if some way could be worked out to add more collector to the design, but a combination of the air heating collectors above and the solar stock tank might do it.

None of this will be effective if you get several cold and cloudy days in a row, so some form of backup is a must if the area must stay above freezing.

Gary


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## coonripper (Jan 8, 2009)

Thanks for all the advice, excellent ideas


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## PD-Riverman (May 24, 2007)

I use one of these http://cgi.ebay.com/Coleman-SportCa...395?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e5884c0b to keep my building from freezing. I adapted it to a 20lb bottle and I turn it on when needed. I also have a 100gal metal water tank inside that is hooked to a coil over a 55 gal barrel wood heater on the outside inside a make-shift block house. Twice a day(morning and evening)On really cold days I build a fire in the heater that will burn good for about a hour and pump the water through the coil with a small pump(1gpm). I let it run about 1 hour and the water will get hot enough you can not hold your hand in it. My building is a older 8x20 camper and I keep the temp usually around 70 +or- 10 degree's. When the tempature is going to be in the teen's I will light a second heater like above also hooked to a 20lb bottle. I just use the second heater during the really cold nights. A 20lb bottle will last about 15 days average more or less. Being this set-up does not have a thermostat to control the temp, it takes a little time to learn how to keep the temp close to that 70degree goal. Works good for me.


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

You might look at Gary's http://www.builditsolar.com/index.htm site for a solar heated ice shanty for some ideas. I couldn't find it.

One thing I would be concerned about with solar is regulating the temp on warm days. You don't want to prematurely bake the quail. It would have to be something that is automatic so it works when you are not around. Something simple like the automatic openers they use on greenhouse vents might work to vent out excess heat.


Good luck

WWW


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## SolarGary (Sep 8, 2005)

wy_white_wolf said:


> You might look at Gary's http://www.builditsolar.com/index.htm site for a solar heated ice shanty for some ideas. I couldn't find it.
> 
> One thing I would be concerned about with solar is regulating the temp on warm days. You don't want to prematurely bake the quail. It would have to be something that is automatic so it works when you are not around. Something simple like the automatic openers they use on greenhouse vents might work to vent out excess heat.
> 
> ...



The solar ice shack is here:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SpaceHeating/SolarIceShack/SolarIceShack.htm
That's a good thought -- very simple.

Maybe look to what greenhouses do for ventilation to prevent overheating.

On mine, I just close the vents off for the summer -- the vertical collectors are somewhat self regulating as the sun is high in the summer and the collectors produce about 2.5 times less heat with the high summer sun -- but still best to just shut them off. Warm fall days could be an overheating problem as the sun is lower and the collectors more efficient.

Gary


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## coonripper (Jan 8, 2009)

goto10 said:


> If it is south facing, those solar soda can heaters may be ideal but it would only heat during the day unless maybe you passed some of the heated air into a large container with water which would be heated up and emit the heat during the night, perhaps keeping it above freezing.
> 
> I actually keep quail in a pen right out in the open. They are coturnix and they have rubbermaid containers as their 4 sided shelter in the pen. They do just fine in the winter. I just have to switch out their waterer, to a full one I keep in my house, every morning cause it freezes.


I would love to see your setup. any chance i could get pics?


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## coonripper (Jan 8, 2009)

I like the ice house idea...


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