Propane tank space heaters?

[Tom2]

Any opinions on these?

This one is $43 at Lowes 9-15k btu.

Harbor Freight sells them as well, but they are surprisingly much more expensive at HF.

They also have the double lamp style with BTU output of 30k. But I imagine you'd run out of propane pretty quick cranking out that kind of heat.

My garage is alread fairly warm in the winter, but I think this would help motivate me to get some work done out there on the colder days - Also would be good to keep the temps up when I'm painting.

 

[Tom2]

I should also mention my garage isn't exactly air tight, so suffocating shouldn't be a problem Likely, I would just use the thing on the low setting.

 

[Red Green]

I have one that I run to help bring the temp up quickly in the morning. That is an open flame so Depending on the type of painting you are doing it might be bad news.

Last I knew the Mr. Heater Brand was still made in the USA.

 

[sixball]

I bought one of those single head ones just so I could empty the propane out of a few old tanks I had. I was actually suprised how it raised the temp in my 24 X 32 somewhat insualted garage. Afew nights in the low 50's it raised it to 60 in about a half an hour. That was with the man door cracked alittle for venting.

Personally I don't like them for a primary heat source just for the fact that your ALWAYS going to run out of propane at the worst possible time. At least with a Kero or Diesel heater, you know how much fuel you have.

Sixball

 

[PaulR]

Spend a couple more bucks and get a Reddy Heater. They make a 30K BTU unit that goes anywhere from $50 to $80.

I've used both and in an average 2 car garage they take the chill right out, problem is after an hour or more the noxious smell starts to set in. What I researched and found out is if you can get the thing positioned kinda 1/4 way out the door to the outside you won't get any fumes, or , the fumes are much less. It grabs the cold fresh air from the outside.

P

 

[mojo_13]

I have a 1 1/2 car garage and was looking to get a propane heater to help take the chill off when I am working in there. I had looked into the tank topper type that you showed but saw that Menards had one of these on sale for $78 and decided to bite on it.

The reasons that I think this one will be a better fit for me is that it will heat the air more and not just in a specific direction. Also my garage is attached to my house and so it is lightly insulated but is insulated in the ceiling, so it should keep the heat form escaping into the above area. I also like the fact I get more BTU's for the same money as the double topper unit. Hasn't gotten cold enough here in Iowa to use it yet but I did fire it up once to make sure it worked and even on the lowest setting it pumped out some heat. It is a little loud on the highest setting but doesn't bother me when I've got the music going.

 

[Falcon67]

I used a Mr. Heater double head unit for a long time. I mounted it on a 30lb tank and used a tall floor fan behind it for circulation. Worked like gangbusters. I still have it for backup. The 30lb also works great on the BBQ, no fillups all summer.

I started with a single head unit - it worked, but it took a long time to warm the place up from dead cold.

 

[z28toz06]

propane gives off a lot of moisture. also it is an open flame, so I would watch what you are using in there as far as paint goes.

 

[mooman]

I used a Mr. Heater double head unit for a long time. I mounted it on a 30lb tank and used a tall floor fan behind it for circulation. Worked like gangbusters. I still have it for backup. The 30lb also works great on the BBQ, no fillups all summer.

I started with a single head unit - it worked, but it took a long time to warm the place up from dead cold.

I use the Mr. Heater triple head unit in my detached garage with a a large LP tank. Works fine for me.

 

[Tom2]

Bought and used the heater from Lowes last night. Worked pretty good. Not a lot of heat, but just enough for my situation.

Only minor complaint is the safety feature (all of them probably have) if you bump it, or go to move it, it instantly kicks off. A good feature to have, just takes some getting used to.

I kept the garage door about half open while I ran it and was doing some brush painting.

 

[mojo_13]

Bought and used the heater from Lowes last night. Worked pretty good. Not a lot of heat, but just enough for my situation.

Only minor complaint is the safety feature (all of them probably have) if you bump it, or go to move it, it instantly kicks off. A good feature to have, just takes some getting used to.

I kept the garage door about half open while I ran it and was doing some brush painting.

Did you end up going for the single or double unit?

 

[Tom2]

Went with the single. Didn't want to drain the tank so quickly running 2 heads.

Although, in hindsight, it might have been ok to go with the 2 heads. It's not like you always have to have both heads lit. But if you need to heat a space faster, you have the option to crank 'em both up.