110v Electric Garage Heater ?

[427HISS]

I've been burnt by my propane heater a few times, so I'm looking for a ceiling mount 110 volt electric heater. I don't really have the space in out basement electrical box for a 240 volt direct hard wire. I have a single stall garage. Are these very expansive on the electric bill ? I've been looking at this one. What's your thoughts and advise for other heaters ? Please post links ! Thank you.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Electric...,tools,90&ref=nb_sb_noss&tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I think the max your going to get is 1500 watts, which "might" take the chill off. I once defrosted a mobile home that a water line burst while empty in -30C weather. Running 2 x 1500Watt heaters for a month cost me about C$600.00 at less than .10 kWh.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Edit not working...
Temperature was above zero when I did this.

 

[Firebrick43]

You could just not touch the propane heater?

 

[micromind]

A 120 volt heater will most likely be 1500 watts max. This is roughly 5,000 BTU.

 

[mm08822]

On a dedicated 20Amp circuit, the max you can run is 1920w, about 6000BTU.

Every hour you run it at max output is 2 Kwhr. What is your cost per kwhr?

How about moving the existing heater and/or adding a distant metal grate?

Edit: fixed typos.

 

[mike93lx]

On a dedicated 20Amp circuit, the max you can run is 1920w, about 6000w.

Every hour you run it at max output is 6 Kwhr. What is your cost per kwhr?

How about moving the existing heater and/or adding a distant metal grate?

6k btu. And 2kwh would be the consumption for an hour

 

[427HISS]

Ouch, I may have to stick with my propane heater.
This is a newer style. Mine has a metal shroud surrounding the two heaters. That shroud gets hotter than hell and will burn you when you touch it. Will this type do the same ?

 

[WisJim]

I've been burnt by my propane heater a few times, so I'm looking for a ceiling mount 110 volt electric heater. I don't really have the space in out basement electrical box for a 240 volt direct hard wire. I have a single stall garage. Are these very expansive on the electric bill ? I've been looking at this one. What's your thoughts and advise for other heaters ? Please post links ! Thank you.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Electric+110+volt+Garage+Heater&i=tools&crid=2X1ISWED4HHIU&sprefix=electric+110+volt+garage+heater,tools,90&ref=nb_sb_noss&tag=atomicindus08-20

All of the heaters in the link are 240 volt except one or two small radiant heaters. As others have mentioned, maximum on a "regular" 120 volt circuit will be 15 amps or 1500 watts continuous. I can heat my shop space with what is called a milk house heater which is 1500 watt output and usually $20 to $40 depending on where you buy one. I have a couple of them and one will heat my garage but takes awhile to warm it up when it is really cold out. BUT--my space is very well insulated and sealed, with spray foam insulation, and is very easy to heat. The OP doesn't mention his location or the quality of construction and insulation that he is dealing with, and that is an important consideration.. (I'm in NW Wisconsin where it gets cold in the winter.)
I figure that one 1500 watt heater costs me about 25 cents an hour to run (our electric is about 15 cents a kwhr) so if it is running half the time, 12 hours a day, that is $3 a day. If we are heating my wife's upstairs weaving shop space in the garage/shop, using these heaters, I run 2 of them and might spend $5 to as much as $10 heating it for a day or two. Her weaving group sometimes uses the space for an afternoon get together, and they want to be warm.

 

[mike93lx]

Ouch, I may have to stick with my propane heater.
This is a newer style. Mine has a metal shroud surrounding the two heaters. That shroud gets hotter than hell and will burn you when you touch it. Will this type do the same ?

It has metal around the element. Yes, it will burn you if you touch it.

 

[427HISS]

All of the heaters in the link are 240 volt except one or two small radiant heaters. As others have mentioned, maximum on a "regular" 120 volt circuit will be 15 amps or 1500 watts continuous. I can heat my shop space with what is called a milk house heater which is 1500 watt output and usually $20 to $40 depending on where you buy one. I have a couple of them and one will heat my garage but takes awhile to warm it up when it is really cold out. BUT--my space is very well insulated and sealed, with spray foam insulation, and is very easy to heat. The OP doesn't mention his location or the quality of construction and insulation that he is dealing with, and that is an important consideration.. (I'm in NW Wisconsin where it gets cold in the winter.)
I figure that one 1500 watt heater costs me about 25 cents an hour to run (our electric is about 15 cents a kwhr) so if it is running half the time, 12 hours a day, that is $3 a day. If we are heating my wife's upstairs weaving shop space in the garage/shop, using these heaters, I run 2 of them and might spend $5 to as much as $10 heating it for a day or two. Her weaving group sometimes uses the space for an afternoon get together, and they want to be warm.

What heaters do you have ?

 

[WisJim]

What heaters do you have ?

I have 1500 watt milk house heaters. Similar to this from Menards:

https://www.menards.com/main/heating-cooling/heaters/space-heaters/lifesmart-reg-milkhouse-1-500w-utility-heater/bns-15dm3/p-1642874272164869-c-5617.htm

But insulation and sealing are important.

 

[427HISS]

I have 1500 watt milk house heaters. Similar to this from Menards:

https://www.menards.com/main/heating-cooling/heaters/space-heaters/lifesmart-reg-milkhouse-1-500w-utility-heater/bns-15dm3/p-1642874272164869-c-5617.htm

But insulation and sealing are important.

My single garage is very well insulated and so the winter temps never go under 40 degrees. How many of your heaters would I need ?

 

[kbeefy]

My single garage is very well insulated and so the winter temps never go under 40 degrees. How many of your heaters would I need ?

Start with 2 and see how it goes.

If your winter low is 40 it shouldn't take much to keep it warm.

 

[micromind]

Ouch, I may have to stick with my propane heater.
This is a newer style. Mine has a metal shroud surrounding the two heaters. That shroud gets hotter than hell and will burn you when you touch it. Will this type do the same ?

Just about every part of these heaters are very hot.

these heater are not meant to warm up the air but rather to warm up anything they're aimed at.

 

[WisJim]

I have found the milk house heaters at garage sales for $10 or so, so I have a few around, but seldom use more than one. Start with one and see how it does, add a second if needed. You can only use one on a circuit, though, without possibly tripping the breaker.
Our winters often get to 20 below (F) and occasionally colder. If it's minus 40 out, though, I usually don't try to get the shop up to 65F.

 

[Snapped-off]

I've got a small propane torpedo heater for mine until I run a gas line out there. 480ft², it doesn't take long to make it comfortable. I mostly used it last winter when I was putting up insulation.

I don't think I'd bother with a 120v heater.

 

[DGersic]

My single garage is very well insulated and so the winter temps never go under 40 degrees. How many of your heaters would I need ?

I have a somewhat insulated one car garage, and two “milk house” heaters that will raise 40F to about 65F eventually. It’s enough to take the chill off, but that big slab of concrete is still cold.

 

[cannuck]

If you have only one 120v circuit available stick with a 15A breaker as most likely 14ga wiring now - unless you are running a new wire to garage and then 20A breaker with 12ga wire will allow you 2400 watts @ 120V. If you are decently insulated and sealed that much will knock the sharp edge off at 40F. If you want to work in there you might be able to re-arrange your breaker panel using 1/2 height breakers to allow a new 240v circuit to be added. Those profane IR heaters scare the living **** out of me - ESPECIALLY on attached garage .

 

[mike93lx]

If you have only one 120v circuit available stick with a 15A breaker as most likely 14ga wiring now - unless you are running a new wire to garage and then 20A breaker with 12ga wire will allow you 2400 watts @ 120V. If you are decently insulated and sealed that much will knock the sharp edge off at 40F. If you want to work in there you might be able to re-arrange your breaker panel using 1/2 height breakers to allow a new 240v circuit to be added. Those profane IR heaters scare the living **** out of me - ESPECIALLY on attached garage .

2400w is going to exceed the continuous rating of the circuit. Needs to be derated to 80%.

That said, I don't know how many 2kw 120v heaters are even available considering 20a plugs are uncommon. I don't think I have seen greater than 1500w

I have a 5.5kw 240v heater that worked pretty well for my garage in MA. 120v didn't do enough to matter when it was really cold out

 

[PWC Repair]

I would have thought after being burned the first time that you would quit touching it????

 

[mike93lx]

I would have thought after being burned the first time that you would quit touching it????

 

[cannuck]

2400w is going to exceed the continuous rating of the circuit. Needs to be derated to 80%.

That said, I don't know how many 2kw 120v heaters are even available considering 20a plugs are uncommon. I don't think I have seen greater than 1500w

I have a 5.5kw 240v heater that worked pretty well for my garage in MA. 120v didn't do enough to matter when it was really cold out

Thanks for that. As you might know I am the purely mechanical guy and 90% of electrical stuff I work with is from 138KV AC to 460KV DC so a different set of rules (and I only get to follow them, not interpret).

 

[mikedodge]

If you're going to run more then one milk house heater you're going to need more then one circuit.

For just a single stall garage any force flow electric heater will do. Get a portable one, they're cheap and you can move it around to where you need it the most.

 

[reader2580]

I sure hope you have a CO detector with that style of heater. My friend lit up one of those heaters in a space with a bunch of us sleeping. We likely would be dead without the CO detector I installed waking us up.

My father has an electric heater in a small shop. He rarely turns it on because it costs as much to heat the tiny shop as to heat the entire house with gas.

 

[dcg9381]

Ouch, I may have to stick with my propane heater.
This is a newer style. Mine has a metal shroud surrounding the two heaters. That shroud gets hotter than hell and will burn you when you touch it. Will this type do the same ?

I use these. (Mr. Heater). You can have them sit on the stand or mount them on the wall. They're great. I have both 20k and 30k units. They have built in oxygen protection. I've used them to 100% heat up the house as well as the shop. They do incur moisture, but it's way better than freezing.

 

[finn]

I used a milk house heater for years in an insulated, then an insulated garage. They don’t put out enough heat to warm the air, let alone the slab at temperatures in the low twenties to sub zero,mbut might help some at temperatures above freezing.

I eventually ran a gas line through the crawl space and bought a through the wall NG heater.

I think the op should look at those blue flame heaters, even understanding they are unvented and will generate a lot of moisture.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

I just despise electrical resistance heat because of the cost to operate (typically 5X natural gas or 2X to 3X propane).

We get a lot of posts on this forum that boil down to "How can I heat this on the cheap. I don't want to spend much on equipment and I don't want to spend much on energy."

There are no good answers for that for most people. To do it right you end up spending a lot on both the right equipment and the energy to run that equipment.

To the OP....you're going to be limited to 1500 Watts to use that kind of heater. It won't catch up so it's going to run 100% of the time. If you leave it on, it's going to run about $8.64 per day to operate (at 12 cents/kwh). Just don't leave it on for a month, because that becomes $260 for 30 days. If you have 2 circuits, you can run 2 of them and double your heat output and cost.

 

[reader2580]

I have a 10,000 watt 240 volt electric heater. If you want to see your electric meter spin fast just fire that puppy up. It costs about $1.25 an hour to use when running flat out. $30 a day if it never stops running.

It is just about worthless in my uninsulated 26x30 garage since it is below 32 degrees for much of the winter. Yes, if I actually wanted to heat my garage regularly I would insulate the garage. I got this heater fairly cheap for very occasional winter use of my garage. I didn't realize how much heat it really takes to heat an uninsulated space like my garage.

I can't stand the smell of unvented propane or kerosene heaters so I didn't want to go that route.

 

[DGersic]

There are no good answers for that for most people. To do it right you end up spending a lot on both the right equipment and the energy to run that equipment.

Agreed. I don’t use mine regularly. They only come out when I really need to do something time consuming in the garage when it’s not all that cold out. It’s cheaper and faster to just layer up.

 

[Skellyii]

Have you thought about installing a mini-split? 120v mini-splits are typically more efficient and put out more BTUs than an electrical resistance heater.

 

[theoldwizard1]

My Dad had a place "up north" in Michigan. BIG, uninsulated garage/workshop. He had a wood burner in the center.

I asked him why he did not use the workshop more in winter. "Because my front side is freezing and my backside is burning !"

 

[ipgenie]

Have you thought about installing a mini-split? 120v mini-splits are typically more efficient and put out more BTUs than an electrical resistance heater.

I've got two 120V Senville mini splits, one in what was my home office (now a nursery) and one that I just installed in my new office out in the shop. They are currently $665 on Amazon

https://a.co/d/1hS7VJC

I installed them and had someone with gauges, nitrogen and a vacuum pump help me pressure test and evacuate the lines. This is what I would do for a small one car well insulated/sealed garage.

Last January was my highest use month for the one in my office space and it consumed 394kWh ($11.54). Leaving it on in your garage will for sure use more electricity, but way less than a resistance heater. It may be slow to warm up a cold garage, but I bet it'll be faster than your bottle top heaters. It'll also be a lot safer and you can turn it on remotely a couple of hours before you will be working out there.

The electric heater in my 12x36 workshop out in the big shop is like the one you posted a picture of and typically used 50 cents per day to keep the room at 40 degrees last winter so paint and stuff doesn't freeze. I have a surplus of solar so in my case it's cheaper to run the electric to keep it above freezing and then fire up the propane heater when I need to warm up the room.

 

[Bert_]

My single garage is very well insulated and so the winter temps never go under 40 degrees. How many of your heaters would I need ?

"Never goes under 40 degrees"

I'd go with none. Why do you even need a heater? I never fire up the heat in my garage until it's below freezing inside.

 

[mike93lx]

"Never goes under 40 degrees"

I'd go with none. Why do you even need a heater? I never fire up the heat in my garage until it's below freezing inside.

I like my workspace comfortable. You don't?

 

[Shiftless]

Last January was my highest use month for the one in my office space and it consumed 394kWh ($11.54).

Are your electricity rates really that low? Three cents per kilowatt hour? I pay 15 times as much for the same thing.

 

[Wrench97]

I have a 240v version of one of those claimed 3000w I have it mounted to the rafter pointing away from the front door aimed at the bench area.....it makes my head hot if I'm standing at the bench and that's about it, 25x30 unattached uninsulated cinderblock construction.
I originally had 3 240v units mounted on the walls when I bought the place used them one weekend to paint a car in December turned on Friday night, turned off for the 2 hrs I was actually painting and turned back on Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning, electric bill was $175 higher that month(Garage has it's own meter) in 1985 dollars. Never used them again, added the rafter unit I got for free about 10 years ago and used it twice cause it really doesn't do a lot. If I need head that bad I have a 100k torpedo I use ULSD diesel in that works well if you can put up with the noise.

 

[Bert_]

I like my workspace comfortable. You don't?

40* once in a while is uncomfortable?

 

[PCustoms]

40* once in a while is uncomfortable?

If I'm running in to grab a screwdriver no.

If I'm standing in the garage using said screwdriver yes.

 

[Firebrick43]

40 degrees is T shirt weather unless you are sitting doing nothing physical.