I want Heat in my Garage!

[PatrickW]

Today is May 1st, and we had snow flurries today where I live. Summer isn't too far off, but then it's back into the cold darkness of winter again.

Last winter, the garage at my previous home was never above freezing (snow never melted off my cars until spring). We just moved to a new house, with a 3 car garage. I've got insulation, dry wall, and a ceiling in my new garage.

This time around, I want to be able to work on the cars in the winter. What are some practical and inexpensive options for heating?

Anybody use those "torpedo" heaters? Do they stink? Can I use them "indoors"?

Ideas?

Thanks,

- Patrick

[bmwpower]

I would recommend a propane heater. They're about $100 for the small portable size. I used one while building my house and my new garage. Connect your propane tank from your gas grill or get another tank and hook it up. Need a cord to connect to the blower fan, too. Puts out decent heat and lasts a good while. Doesn't stink quite as bad as kerosene, but just as noisy.

[sprackydoo]

I heat my 2-car garage with a propane heater (with 2 heating elements) run it full blast for 1/2 hour then turn one off and the other on low. One tank will last you 1 engine swap :rocker:

[ZRWON]

I installed a Reznor propane hanging ceiling mount 30,000 btu unit for my 850 sq ft shop with 10' ceilings. Modine makes a similar unit and I'm sure there are other brands readily available. This size is very adaquate for our tempuratures here on Whidbey Island, WA. I keep the shop @40 degrees minimum year around and turn it up to 55 when I work there. My installation included a simple thermostat, the heater unit, piping to the 200 gal propane storage tank out side and the exhaust vent. Total cost at time during shop construction was almost $600 from my shop builder. It has worked perfectly for over 10 years and is very convenient to use with no smell or excess noise. I'm glad I spent the $$ for a seperate built in complete shop heating system .

[SANDOVAL]

I picked up their Natural Gas Garage Heater which is on clearence for $150 (was $250) They also have a propane version if you do not have nor want to bring in Natural gas.

"Reclaim your garage this winter


This Delonghi Safeheat Garage Heater produces rapid, even heat with 13,660 BTUs that warm up to 450 square feet. Wall mountable, safe, and efficient. Includes easy-access natural gas cylinder tap, adjustable thermostat, and oxygen monitoring system.

Natural gas heater may require professional insulation.

17"L x 4"W x 28-3/4"H."

http://www.frontgate.com/fg/pdp.jsp?prod_oid=3836551&showarrow=y&search=y&cursor=5



http://a1011.g.akamai.net/7/1011/6062/14064bd6cf635a/www.frontgate.com/images/prod/zoom/11351-V-Z.jpg

[Matt Harwood]

Since my garage is detached, and I don't have natural gas out there (short of running another line), I went with electric. I don't like propane because of the bottle refills required. I know it's more expensive than gas or propane, but from an installation standpoint, electric couldn't be beat. I bought a 220V heater from Northern Tool that has an adjustable thermostat for about $220. I keep the garage at about 45 degrees when I'm not out there, just warm enough to melt the snow off of my wife's car. When I'm working, it gets the work area up to 60 degrees in about 15 minutes. I'm very pleased with it, and the impact on my electric bill was no greater than, say, the welder or the compressor.

Here's a photo of it installed above the rafters in my garage, aiming down into the work area. Since that's where I work, that's where I concentrated the heat, but the garage stays pretty evenly warm after it's warmed up.

http://www.harwoodperformance.bizland.com/1941buick/Loft_1.jpg

It's a little messy because I had just insulated and had to move a lot of stuff around up in the rafters.

[bmwpower]

Wouldn't it be better if the heater was in the work area as opposed to in the attic? Or is it too big or ?

[Matt Harwood]

Wouldn't it be better if the heater was in the work area as opposed to in the attic? Or is it too big or ?

Yeah, that would probably be better. Below where the heater is mounted is open, so it's basically above a rafter, but aimed down into the work area (there's no floor in the attic in this area). Unfortunately, my garage only has 7-foot ceilings, so mounting it below the rafter would mean someone, probably me, would hit his head on it all the time. I really tried to find a good place, and this was the best solution. It still works pretty well and I don't have any complaints. The biggest factor is insulation so that the heat you are making stays inside. Insulating my garage made a HUGE difference.

If you have the room, mount it on the wall or ceiling hanging down. My point was that this is an inexpensive, effective alternative to gas heat that, despite the less than ideal location in my garage, works pretty well.

[ranger_dood]

I got a big ole woodburner for our detached garage :). The garage is block wall, with absolutely no insulation and an open ceiling to the roof. It'll be interesting to see how efficient it is come wintertime.

[BetterDays]

I have a Mr Heater Tank Top Heater (3 elements)
Keeps the garage around 65-70 on low, after I heat it on high.

Tanks last 8-12 hours, depending on outside temp.

I keep two tanks, so that I have a spare when it runs out at 1AM and I am not done working...

Also, very portable and no electric needed (camping, etc.)

I highly recommend them.

[Jay H 237]

I use a kerosene torpedo heater. It's a 40,000 BTU Reddy heater that cost me $160. I only use the refined kerosene in it (no heating oil or diesel although it will run on it) to keep the smell down. I have a well insulated 2 car garage and anytime I run it I open one of the garage doors several inches for fresh air. It has no problem warming up the garage and after a half hour or so I turn it off, close the door and it stays warm in there for a few hours.

Matt hit the nail on the head with insulation being the biggest factor. My garage is insulated and drywalled with a steel insulated man door and both garage doors are insulated vinyl doors. Also when I was painting the garage, while the outlet and switch covers were off, I caulked the boxes to the drywall to help eliminate drafts. Every little bit counts, especially when you're in a colder climate.

[Quick GN]

I put a Modine Hot Dawg natural gas heater in my garage, just got it installed late last fall and it is the best money I have ever spent. I have a wall mounted termostat that I keep at 22 all the time, After looking at last years gas bill compared to this year I figure it only cost about $60 a month to run.

[Roadster]

I put a Modine Hot Dawg natural gas heater in my garage, just got it installed late last fall...

Ditto here. It's an excellent heater for a garage.

[bmwpower]

What's the BTU output on Modine?

[Rex Ruby]

I installed a regular gas forced air heater. Located it in the garage attic and ran ducts with the flex ducting. Works great. Originally had a kero torpedo, it was stinky and noisy.

[Roadster]

What's the BTU output on Modine?

Mine's 60,000 Btu/hr, since it's heating a 3-bay garage, but they come in several sizes:

HD30 - 30,000 Btu/hr
HD45 - 45,000 Btu/hr
HD60 - 60,000 Btu/hr
HD75 - 75,000 Btu/hr

http://hot-dawg.modine.com/unleash.php?expand_index=0

[ironroad 9c1]

i just picked one of these up today from tractor supply company for 255 bucks ..lol box was priced wrong or something ,becuase they had a display unit that was $441.00 bucks ..lol for 175k btu's ..lol
http://www.mrheater.com/productdetail.asp?id=692&cid=148

[RARE-ASC]

I did the blow heater for a while and was over that they are a pain in the :tantrum2: i finished the plumming i needed to keep temp stable so I did a 4 ton central heat and air heat pump system with 9 vents :drool: heats and cools the 1600 square foot area well

[ZRWON]

I put a Modine Hot Dawg natural gas heater in my garage, just got it installed late last fall and it is the best money I have ever spent. I have a wall mounted termostat that I keep at 22 all the time, After looking at last years gas bill compared to this year I figure it only cost about $60 a month to run.
I agree with the other comments about Modine's Hotdawg. Northern tool seemed to have best price when we were looking for one for our son-in-law. Installation is easy. An even better buy according to my furnace guy is to find a used REZNOR. He says a junk REZNOR will outlast any similar heater manufactured/sold today. Many have been replaced by users wanting to upgrade their public buildings with a more modern heat unit. My REZNOR is about 40 years old, and repair parts are easy to find. It has few parts and most generic parts can be retrofitted to make them work. Mine was free when an old cafe had a new modern unit installed in 1994. Heats my 3 bay shop fine and has only required about $180 in parts since installation in '94 including conversion to propane...here's a picture
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v346/zrwon/shop8.jpg

[bmwpower]

I agree with the other comments about Modine's Hotdawg. Northern tool seemed to have best price when we were looking for one for our son-in-law. Installation is easy. An even better buy according to my furnace guy is to find a used REZNOR. He says a junk REZNOR will outlast any similar heater manufactured/sold today. Many have been replaced by users wanting to upgrade their public buildings with a more modern heat unit. My REZNOR is about 40 years old, and repair parts are easy to find. It has few parts and most generic parts can be retrofitted to make them work. Mine was free when an old cafe had a new modern unit installed in 1994. Heats my 3 bay shop fine and has only required about $180 in parts since installation in '94 including conversion to propane...here's a picture
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v346/zrwon/shop8.jpg

Reznor as in Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails... it's gotta be good (seriously)

[LSWHO]

How much was it to run the gas line to the garage ? I have an attached 2.5 car garage that I would like to install the Modine or hot dawg.

[neblinc]

At this years copper prices, you will not get a good answer unless they used pipe.

Randy

[Willy Victor]

I use a torpedo heater in my pole building, the fumes aren't too bad. Walls and ceiling are insulated with 6in. batts with vapor barrier. Does anyone have a condensation problem when heating a detached building. Tried to post a pic of the barn but no luck. I swear I have to retrain myself every time I want to load a pic.

Willy

[PatrickW]

Today is May 1st, and we had snow flurries
Just to follow up on what I ended up doing, for the benefit of others who may be reading this.

Turned out that the previous owner of my house put up sheet rock, but didn't insulate. So I put in a layer of R38 plus a layer of R19 above the roof, and I blew in cellulose between the wall studs behind the sheetrock.

I had a mechanical engineer run some HVAC numbers, and he determined that the best way to go was with a 10 kilowatt electric heater on an interuptible circuit, which is what I did.

Haven't run the heater yet, other than to test it, but the garage is now the most "temperature stable" part of my entire house (I have remote thermometers in various locations that all read to a central unit).

It's amazing how much heat a couple of hot engine blocks give off when my wife & I come home from work and park in our insulated garage.

- Patrick

[mrl05]

Just to follow up on what I ended up doing, for the benefit of others who may be reading this.

Turned out that the previous owner of my house put up sheet rock, but didn't insulate. So I put in a layer of R38 plus a layer of R19 above the roof, and I blew in cellulose between the wall studs behind the sheetrock.

I had a mechanical engineer run some HVAC numbers, and he determined that the best way to go was with a 10 kilowatt electric heater on an interuptible circuit, which is what I did.

Haven't run the heater yet, other than to test it, but the garage is now the most "temperature stable" part of my entire house (I have remote thermometers in various locations that all read to a central unit).

It's amazing how much heat a couple of hot engine blocks give off when my wife & I come home from work and park in our insulated garage.

- Patrick

Patrick,

You may find that you'll rarely need the heater due to the insulation. The insulation does wonders for holding on to that heat from the engine block in the winter. It can easily add a good 5*+ to the garage temp. In Maryland, my climate is not quite as cold as yours, but my garage maintained at least 59* all winter long. This is even on single digit and teen temp days. Somehow, having heat from the rooms that are adjacent to the garage seem to help out too. It was great to see snow just melt off the cars once we pulled them into the garage. I bought a propane gas heater (like Sandoval's) last December anticipating the need for it, but never took it out of the box due to the mild temps the insulation managed to keep. With those temps, I can get by with a simple space heater to knock the chill off. I didn't know that insulation worked that well. This is my first garage and I insulated it thanks to advice here - couldn't be happier.

[tp-otus]

PatrickW I see that you have went with a electric unit for your garage. Do you mind me asking you a couple of questions. What square footage garage you have, type of unit you have installed as well as what interuptible circuit means. Sorry for all of these questions. What you have done to your garage is what i am also looking to do for our garage. Our garage is also attached to the house and living in central pa. it will maintain 40 to 45 degrees during the colder parts of the winter with no other heat source. Thanks for your time

[Roadster]

Turned out that the previous owner of my house put up sheet rock, but didn't insulate. So I put in a layer of R38 plus a layer of R19 above the roof, and I blew in cellulose between the wall studs behind the sheetrock.

Do you mind describing specifically how this was done? Hole saw cut at top and bottom of each space between studs? What diameter? How did you seal the holes? Did you rent a blower, or hire someone to do it for you?

[PatrickW]

What square footage garage you have, type of unit you have installed as well as what interuptible circuit means.

My garage is a 3 car, attached unit. About 700 square feet.

The unit I installed is a 10Kw Ouellet unit. http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200316377_200316377

"Interuptible circuit" means that I bought a special meter that I run my electricity for my garage heater (and water heater, and A/C) through. The meter allows the power company to remotely shut it off during hours of "peak demand", in return for half price electiricity. I paid $100 for that meter, and I got a $100 rebate for it. Cool. Check with your local power company - I bet they have something similar.

[PatrickW]

Do you mind describing specifically how this was done? Hole saw cut at top and bottom of each space between studs? What diameter? How did you seal the holes? Did you rent a blower, or hire someone to do it for you?

I hole-cut the drywall between every two studs. In other words, I cut a 4" hole every 16" or so, on the inside of the garage, up near the ceiling. It was a dusty mess...

Then I rented a blower machine. Actually, they let me use it for free because I bought 12 bales of blow-in cellulose from them (Home Depot).

Blowing it in was a mess, at first, until I got the hang of it. I'd never done this before. The trick is to put the blower hose into the hole, and then pack around it real tight with wads of newspaper, then run the blower until the sound of the motor changes to a high pitch, at which point you shut it off and move to the next hole.

I did this alone, but having somebody to help would be nice.

To seal the holes, I bought a couple 4' by 8' sheets of drywall, and then cut them into 1 foot wide strips. Then I screwed these all along the ceiling, which plugged all the holes I'd drilled earlier. It's "even" all the way across the top of all the walls, so when I paint it, it'll look good.

Knowing what I know now (and what I've typed here), it would be easier to do the second time. Like I said, this is the first time I'd done anything like this, and it went ok.

I hope this helps you and anyone else who reads this.

- Patrick

[PatrickW]

You may find that you'll rarely need the heater due to the insulation. The insulation does wonders for holding on to that heat from the engine block in the winter.

I was *amazed* at how much heat gets "held in" just by simply insulating. The garage is the warmest "room" in my house now (unless I'm running the furnace, which we just turned on this week).

The real test will be in the dead of winter, when it's -20 below zero outside. I bet that heater will still come in handy... :)

Also, I bought a 2" thick 4' by 8' sheet of Extruded Polystyrene (the pink foam) and cut it into 6" wide strips, and used it to insulate around the garage doors.

Bottom line is that my garage is better insulated now than my house is. Now when the wife is mad and banishes me to the garage, it's no big deal... :bounce:


- Patrick

[Roadster]

Knowing what I know now (and what I've typed here), it would be easier to do the second time. Like I said, this is the first time I'd done anything like this, and it went ok.

I hope this helps you and anyone else who reads this.

- Patrick

Patrick, that's excellent. Just what I wanted to know. Thank you!

[tp-otus]

Thanks PatrickW for the reply. Electric seemed the way for me as well. I only use the garage a few times during the winter.