How to heat large room fast

I have previously posted about my non-insulated pool table room. Formerly an open garage, was enclosed decades ago. Made into a nice room with nice ceiling, indoor/outdoor carpet on floor, painted, fireplace installed, but no insulation. Stays hot in summer, cold in winter. In winter, it'll be, say, 39 to 49 degrees when I check it in the morning and we don't have real cold nights. It's 49 right now and outside temp is 35.

I am thinking of adding a vertical grate and/or a fireback for the fireplace but... does anyone have an opinion on a type of heater I could buy to help heat the room quicker? It takes way to long to heat it with the fireplace... An hour to hour and a half before it gets decently comfortable. The room is 20x20 ft.

Infrared heater, butane heater, kerosene heater, electric, those are come choices. I wonder what would work best? Whatever heater I would add would be in addition to building a fire.

I could put something near the pool table; I just want to be able to shoot pool sooner and be comfortable without adding clothes, lol.

 

We have an infrared propane panel heater in the shop. You can't really smell any fumes or feel any dampness the way you do with a non-ducted propane "fireplace" style insert.
If you are wearing dark clothing you can really feel the heat, despite the fact that the room is only around 50 degrees. Wearing black nitrile gloves anywear near the heater is an interesting experience.

 

Wood stove?

 

I doubt I would add a wood stove because there is already a fireplace in there but do you think a wood stove throws heat much more quickly? I guess it would. A wood stove also takes up precious floor space.

 

Could you vent the wood stove into the fireplace?

 

I have no idea but that will take up a lot of space. Plus, spending that much on a stove for this particular room isn't very appealing. As I said, I am thinking of adding vertical grate and/or a fireback to the fireplace. But those two don't kick in until a fire is going strongly.

I suppose I could get a diesel or kerosene shop heater, lol, but those things are LOUD, that won't work! Also, they are large. My gf has a propane heater that stands tall and somewhat skinny that might work but it takes up room, too. But... might could put it in the opposite corner from the fireplace, that is kind of out of the way.

 

Ok, the title of the thread says large room so I figured there would be space.

 

It is a large room but I need space for stools and tables, chairs for pool playing gatherings. The 4x8 pool table pretty much wipes out half or more of the 20x20 room. (Gotta have room to shoot all shots.)

EDIT: Hmmm... if I were to put a wood stove in the fireplace, kind of 'replace' the fireplace with a stove, OR install an insert, do you think it would heat the room faster or does it take a good while until a strong fire is burning?

 

Heat the room faster? I’m not familiar with the climate in Louisiana. But I would think a wood stove would be quicker than an infrared heater. We have a gas fireplace in a finished porch 16x20. It only gets used nights and weekends propane gets expensive fast.

 

I wouldn’t even consider diesel or Kero. The fuel is messy and the fumes are nasty. IMO

 

Gas insert would probably work.

 

I dunno about down there, but around here if you watch, a person can buy a decent used insert style stove for low money...IIRC I only gave $250 for my 6-7 YO Drolet 1400i...it was in good shape, needed only a fresh coat of paint to look new. Something like that would heat that room well...if you stuffed the firebox full, the room would probably lend itself well to a game of strip poker after an hour or so!
If starting from stone cold, it will take at least 20-30 minutes for the stove to start throwing any appreciable heat...

 

Didn't we go over this once already? Thought so.

We don't know what your venting configuration is for the fireplace. For that matter, we're assuming its a wood fireplace????

What kind of venting does it have? Masonry? What kind of fireplace? Traditional masonry? I see there is mention of an insert again, so lets say that you have a conventional chimney/fireplace setup. Drop a liner down the chimney (if you need to) and tie it into the insert that will probably end up protruding into the room .....a matter of inches.

As Warner stated, fumes from the kerosene/fuel oil from an inadvertent spill would be enough to prevent any pool playing in the room! And just how long would it take to heat up a room from the upper 40's? Shouldn't be long at all. A few years back (12) I remodeled the lcottage interior during the winter months. I remember one day when I arrived there, the indoor temp was -20f. With a wood stove and 1 1/2 hours later, I was working in short sleeve t-shirt! And just if you're wondering, the cottage size is 20 X 22. Very comparable, no?

Yawner, break out the Benjamin's and go with a wood stove! You'll find yourself out there relaxing and just enjoying the wood heat instead of playing pool! Heck, I'd bet that you would eventually insulate and refinish the inside and have a nice little cave when you're all done! For that matter, who ever heard of anyone sitting in front of a kerosene heater and watching the flames?

 

^ what he said!

 

Mr. Heater® Big Maxx Dual-Fuel Forced Air Garage Heater at Menards®

Helped install one of these in a 2 stall garage turned mancave a few years ago. Same joint has a wood stove that takes over when it gets up to temp.
Works sweet. Reasonable cost. Super easy install. Very quick heat. Ceiling mount to save floor space. Give it a look.

 

Uncle heats a large 30x40 16foot ceiling garage in Maine with a similar unit. It works well.

Yawner be sure to look into propane price when looking into heating with it.

 

If you don't want to take up floor space, get an insert. If you don't care about a little loss of floor space, get a wood stove and these will be your best answers.

 

I just realized that I never finished my original point above ^ ^ ^ (squirrel!)
What I was trying to get at is that you may be able to put a stove in for not much more than that fireback thing...and then that leak known as a masonry fireplace/chimney will be plugged! Will probably spend a little more until you buy a liner kit, but no reason to blow $2-300 on the fireback, when that $ could very well buy you a proper heater.

 

That's an interesting idea. I assume that these only take the place of the fireplace, that there isn't anything like this in combo with a fireplace, meaning one could use both. I can't envision how a combo could work. I guess if you put in a gas insert, it would be quick heat. I do have natural gas in the fireplace used as a firestarter. In general, I have not thus far been in favor of using nat gas instead of wood.

 

Another good idea!

BTW, I have a natural gas line in the fireplace. Only reason I mentioned propane is because of the propane, vertical, stand-up heater my gf has that would require no install, you just move it in. But it takes up floor space.

When you guys mention a wood stove, you are talking about a stove that sits in the room outside the fireplace? My fireplace is about 42w x28h x30d. Somebody (on this forum, maybe in this thread?) has a nice stove that sits in what looks to be a former fireplace and that's nice but I don't know if I have room for that. I assume that if I put anything in the fireplace, it would be a fireplace insert?

Sorry, I know almost nothing about this stuff; in general, the only thing people have here are fireplaces.