I really appreciate the info. Obviously I have a lot to consider. As far as your setup it looks great, exactly what I am looking for. Something somewhat compact but gives instant heat as well as radiant heat after the burn. That’s a great setup. I assume you just kinda pieced it together rather than build from plans. Matt’s plans were at the top of my list and you make a good point about the fiber. I’m sure I could source the rest of the materials rather inexpensively to help keep the cost down. As with most of us I don’t want to loose valuable ship space but the low running cost of this style heater is worth the trade off.

Thomas,
Thanks for the info. I do have one ceiling fan and plan to add another to create air flow and to better distribute the heat. I’ve spoke with matt and while he thinks his beater would work in my stituation it’s quite a bit more expensive to build compared to a barrel style setup. Just with the 3 pieces of fiberboard alone I’m already at 350+  so I was considering alternatives but I very much like to work from direct plans. I have too many things going on to completely invest in another hobby which is why I’m more then happy to lay for plans I unfortunately it doesn’t seem that there are many plans out there that don’t consist of a giant cob bench.

Any other input? Where is the best resource for step by step plans and material list?

Daniel,
Thanks for the reply. Your setup sounds like exactly what I am looking for. I agree batch box seems like the way to go for me and your temps are exactly what I am looking for. I would also be burning a lot of line 1x material as I have a lot of scraps of it.
Do you have pics of your build or a link to a how to of your build?

Ok I have a pole barn about 900 sq ft 12 foot ceilings and 2 full size garage doors. Walls and ceilings are insulated. The garage doors are not yet insulated but will be by next winter. I currently heat my shop with a 220v electric heater and supplement that when needed with a propane torpedo heater. Obviously my main reason for considering a RMH is the current cost I am spending on heating my shop. I use my shop 6-7 days a week for 8-12 hours a day. I live in NEPA so we do get some cold days/nights. I have and am still considering a few heating options them being coal/pellet stove and a ceiling  mounted gas heater but the RMHs intrigue me and would be an awesome way recycle all of my scrap wood cutoffs. The biggest thing I can’t figure out is the style I want to go with. I am going to upload a few pictures of my shop and the room I have to build the heater. This corner seems like it would work well especially for the walker style heater as it is more vertical then horizontal.  I am also going to include the 2 styles I am considering. Right now I am really leaning towards the walker stoves build but am also considering the barrel build but I worry about the longevity of the barrels.

I also would like to know if these builds would heat the shop sufficiently? I don’t need it to be 70 but a constant 55+ would be ideal. I’d really appreciate any thoughts or input.