Now that our roof is finally done on the barn, I can start finishing out my tackroom!
I have a huge hot water heater that I would like to use to run radiant floor heating… is this doable?
Or am I better off with a space heater?
How do you heat your tackroom?
Mine will be 14x14 and well insulated, tile floor. It gets cold here at times but nothing too horrible, about 28F in winter at its lowest so far…
I can use either gas or electric 
I would say a portable electric heater should be way cheaper and simplest to manage, no colder you will be getting.
We have a mini split, so heat and air conditioning, it’s not cheap though. I boarded at a barn that had radiant heat in the tack room and aisle, it was very nice can’t tell you about cost etc, it kept things above freezing but not really warm.
Baseboard heater • works nicely • inexpensive • efficient • SAFE !
Portable electric is what my husband said, but they scare me with danger of fire. Plus high cost of electric in this area… will look into baseboard heaters
oil filled electric baseboard heater
I installed a 220v 6 ft baseboard in a room about the same size that is reasonably well insulated. It gets pretty chilly around here. Just went through a week+ of single digits. 220v baseboard heaters are more efficient and cost less to operate than the 120 units. You can install a programmable wall thermostat if you want. Which can save a fair bit on running cost. We use a small window AC that works well in our hot, humid summer months.
Tag your post. This subject comes up from time to time and has been well covered. Tags make it easy for others search topics.
I second a radiant oil type heater either portable or baseboard…much safer and efficient than electric coil…w/ a thermostats and properly wired/outlet pretty safe and little change of fire due to contact…
I have a split unit in my tackroom and usually use it for AC and humidity control and not much for heat. I use a space heater most of the time. The one I have has a function that keeps it the room at 45 which is just warm enough for the pipes not to freeze, and I can crank it up more if I want. I think it depends on how warm you want it and how much time you’ll be spending in there. I like the option of AC and dehumidifier with the split unit.
We too have a mini split in ours, but it is servicing a tack room, break room, bathroom and feedroom.
For just one room and not that cold, a portable heather should be enough for heat.
Oil filled free standing electric heater. It is low risk for fire. We get COLD here, down to -35C, but my tackroom (16’ X 16’) is kept above freezing temperatures on the lowest setting. It is well insulated. When spring shows up, I just turn it off, and remove it from the center of the tack room.
My tack room is 11x11, VERY well insulated with concrete floor, insulated door and 1 window. The ceiling is also 11’ high… A simple oil filled radiant heater, on the lowest setting (750w, level 1) keeps the room 70* or warmer when the outside temps are above 20*. When it dips below 20* outside, I bump the heater up to “medium” (1000w, level 1) and it keeps the room at 70*. The ONLY time I have needed the 1500w, level 6 setting was when I needed to warm up freshly born goat kids that were soaking wet on a windy 0* day. The tack room maintained 88* overnight that night!
I can blow the heater clean each fall before I use it with my force-air dryer. I never smell burnt dust/hair when I start it. I love that I can roll it out of the way when I don’t need it, and if it does quit working, it is $70 to replace vs. service calls and $$$ parts for a in-floor, in-wall or mini-split system.
THIS!
I heated a below-grade (basement-level) 16X16 bathroom with tiled floor & tile 2/3 up the walls with an oil-filled radiator.
It not only kept the space toasty, but doubled as a towel-warmer.
I can’t have baseboard, I have tack trunks and the like lining the walls. My tack rooms is insulated. I use one of the space heaters, bought new (this one is on year 2 but put away in summer and stored in box). I put a wire puppy playpen around my so the cats don’t know it over (it has auto turn off when tipped).
Thanks for all the replies, maybe I will stick with the oil filled radiator… will look into the baseboard as well. Not sure how much room I will have for baseboard because there will be lots of cabinets and trunks lining the walls…
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