Hanging Gas Radiant Heater Question

[jonzer12]

I have been all set on a gas radiant overhead furnace for my new garage.
(28x36 shop with 2 cars parked in it most times).

I have 12' 1" ceilings. I did my research and it seems perfect for me but local gas guys here keep trying to talk me out of. They say it will damage the roof of my cars and heat the cars more than the floor. I was also thinking of doing a small 6x10 mezzanine which would block more of the floor. I will be heating the garage year round. I like the fact that the radiant will heat the floor first and that it is quiet and doesn't blow dust around.

I am not feeling so good about my plans anymore, should I just get a plain old gas forced air unit?

 

[jonzer12]

bump

 

[Stee6043]

I have a radiant ceramic heater in my garage. 110k BTU I do believe. It's a beast for the size of my garage.

Radiant will heat "objects" so if your cars are closest they will get more heat. I ultimately installed a fan above my heater to force air circulation in my garage. This enables the garage to heat up much, much faster. Without the fan I suspect there would be a 50 degree temp difference between the sides of my garage.

If I had to do it again I would have picked up a forced air natural gas hanging unit. In fact, I'm shopping for one now. My primary complaint with my radiant heater is that the "ventless" operation is not really "ventless". I have no problems with moisture but do have problems with the gases it gives off. Having to have a door cracked when the heater is on really defeats the purpose on a zero degree day in February.

If I were in your shoes I'd grab up a Mr. Heater hanging unit from Harbor Freight, vent it through the roof, never look back.

 

[jonzer12]

The unit I am looking at is vented and has a fresh air intake as well. If your unit was vented would you consider it better than forced air?

 

[jjpp]

If you are looking at a low intensity tube heater you will be fine. Stee6043 I believe is talking about a high intensity unit and yes they can cause some damage if you are not careful. Look on the manufactures web site for proper clearances.

 

[Stee6043]

The unit I am looking at is vented and has a fresh air intake as well. If your unit was vented would you consider it better than forced air?

I have a Solaronics "high intensity" Infrared heater. Perhaps this is not what you are talking about. Either way, to answer your question, I still want to change mine out to forced air NG. For me I have to have my heater in a corner and I really think the IR/Radiant units should be more centered to be effective (especially without a fan). And my model really can't be vented...

 

[Stuart in MN]

A lot of radiant tube heaters are designed for high ceilings but you can get them specifically for use in garages with lower ceilings - check the specs on the ones you're looking at.

 

[JB40]

STEE6043, your application is very dangerous. Local codes would never allow the "high intensity" ceramic version you have installed. Surface temps. are close to 4000F. Min. mounting heights are usually up around 20 Ft., perfect for airplane hangers, really bad for residential applications. They are also not vented which means you're adding a lot of moisture to your space. Jonzer12, a low intensity tube heater is the best system out there for a residential garage, even better then in-floor radiant. It's instant heat, and it only heats objects, not air. Your install / layout questions are easy to answer. Every manufacturer offers a couple models that have been approved for residential use. Here are a couple residentially approved models: http://www.h-mac.com/heating/gas-heaters/gas-infrared-heaters.html?hmac_product_type_gih=161Simply match the clearance requirements found in the installer's guide, vent them per code, and you'll save yourself 30-50% per year in fuel costs (over forced air heaters) If you do go fan forced like mentioned above, at least go with an American made product like Modine. Mr. Heater is built overseas. The Modine HD series was the first out there, it's a time tested design: http://www.h-mac.com/brands/heating-brands/modine.html?hmac_brand=536

 

[jonzer12]

Been a while as the progress is slow but I have my electrical inspection tomorrow and I have ordered a 22' infrared tube heater. Thanks for the advice.

 

[synchro7]

I've been using a 40' 125000 BTU Reverberay overhead tube heater for about 6 years. My ceilings are 12'. I'm also using a fan to circulate the air. So far no problems. I'm heating an area 40'x44'.

 

[Rixter58]

I also heat with an infrared tube heater. I couldn't be more pleased.

 

[goneflyin2002]

Been a while as the progress is slow but I have my electrical inspection tomorrow and I have ordered a 22' infrared tube heater. Thanks for the advice.

Worry not, my restoration shop is full of them, and with 12' ceilings, you'll be more than happy with it.
Don

 

[BadgerBoilerMN]

We install radiant tube heater all the time. Hot heads; no, burnt paint; no, old woman over their tea; yes.

We have installed residential tube heaters with fresh air intake and direct vent through the sidewall in 8' residential garages...specified and approved. We do a proper heat load and install two-stage units where the fit.

If you can't afford radiant floors or the slab is poured without PEX, a radiant tube heater is the next best thing for any garage or shop.

 

[hammerlane]

I've been using a 40' 125000 BTU Reverberay overhead tube heater for about 6 years. [\QUOTE]

I recently helped someone install 4 Detroit Radiant..which are Reverberay...units on a job he was on. They were the HL3 models.

Two were 30 footers and two were 40 footers. I like them so much I am going to get a 10 foot LS series from them for my garage.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I will be heating the garage year round.

Where on this planet are you located that requires year 'round heat???

Charles

 

[jonzer12]

All my worries are put to rest, the furnace is in at the local vendor and I am halfway done my insulating. Just need to figure out wall covering and I will probably have heat in a few weeks.

Charles, I am a long way from GA...