Propane heater in garage

[rharman]

I have a 3-car garage. I need some heat to make it palatable to work out there in the winter - even if it is SoCal.

I've tried the deskside heaters and they just don't cut it. I'm considering a propane powered unit like shown below. $100 is a decent price point for me. I don't want/need a full gas heater.

Anyone have any experience with these? Pros, Cons?

Thanks.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044R8Y5I/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[chrislehr]

I have one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004W7SIUG/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I don't love it, but it takes a WHILE to heat the space. However, I have minimal airflow or insulation, so its semi expected

I'd love to go larger next time, might do kerosene.

 

[Shiftless]

I have a little propane heater just like that. You'll get 10X the heat compared to your little electric heater.
I live on the east side of San Francisco Bay so climate is very mild. But once in a while I want to get work done in my 2 car un-insulated garage when the temps are in the high 40's.
The most important consideration is safety. Those heaters are obviously unvented so burned exhaust gases blow out the front. (Plus lots of water vapor)
When I use mine, I leave the garage door open about a foot and a window cracked open.
Temp goes up 20 degrees in less than 10 minutes.

Advantages... cheap, portable, high heat output, independent fuel source
Disadvanges... fumes could possibly kill you, noisy, puts lots of humididy into your space, still needs some electricity (to run the fan)

 

[flynlow8740]

I use one of those to heat my decently insulated 30x60x12 in Mississippi. It would be more than adequate for a 3 car in a mild climate.


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[evintho]

I've got one of those and use it just about every day in my 2-car insulated garage. I'm about 60 miles north of SF and daytime temps haven't been much more than mid-50's for the last month or two. I'm in agreement with Shiftless. No more than 10 minutes to bump the temp 20 degrees. I too crack the garage door about a foot for venting. I'll run it for 10-15 minutes then shut it off and close the door. Stays warm and toasty for a couple of hours. I bought mine at Home Depot and it's exactly like yours. $20 for a bottle of propane and it should last through the winter. Very pleased with mine!

 

[Sawdustmaker]

I have a 3-car garage. I need some heat to make it palatable to work out there in the winter - even if it is SoCal.

I've tried the deskside heaters and they just don't cut it. I'm considering a propane powered unit like shown below. $100 is a decent price point for me. I don't want/need a full gas heater.

Anyone have any experience with these? Pros, Cons?

Thanks.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044R8Y5I/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Hi rharman,
I also live in So Cal and agree with you. Could have used one out in the garage today. Glad the rain is gone. I've been looking at propane heaters too. Glad you started this thread. Should be some useful hints and suggestions. I've been considering one of those units that attaches to a propane tank. Have not made a final decision yet.

 

[cgrutt]

Tried one of those in upstate NY (which I'm assuming is much colder than SoCal) and learned pretty quickly about condensation. Lots and lots of condensation, on walls, ceilings & esp. cast iron (table saw tops, etc.). Not to mention CO risk. I replaced it with a wood stove (which has its own problems in a garage) but was much happier with the "dry" heat that it produced. If I were to use propane, I'd look for a sealed unit that vents to exterior. Good luck.

 

[finn]

I have one, which I used sparingly until I got a vented hanging heater. It'll work to heat your garage as a temporary fix, but in no way is it anywhere near a small hanging vented heater as far as noise, safety, and convenience.

If you can afford something safer, go for it.

 

[gungatim]

try a twin-head radiant heater like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044R8Y58/?tag=atomicindus08-20

less expensive and puts out a lot of heat. nice thing is you don't have as much noise as one of those tube heaters and takes up lots less space. buddy has one and heats his 24x30 in Michigan winters plenty to work on stuff.

 

[laser3kw]

Tried one of those in upstate NY (which I'm assuming is much colder than SoCal) and learned pretty quickly about condensation. Lots and lots of condensation, on walls, ceilings & esp. cast iron (table saw tops, etc.). Not to mention CO risk.

I am in northern Illinois and have a similar size garage. It is well insulated and has proper ventilation.I have a unit like the OP shows and have used it frequently in the past. I have not experienced moisture problems. I also have a Carbon Monoxide detector with read out. To date, The CO detector has not shown any signs of CO levels, even after 6 or 7 hours of burning.
But I got tired of the roar of the forced air unit and bought this type of unit:

another propane heater link

It is quite and heats my garage well, I can raise the temp inside from 15º to 60º in just a couple of hours. The add says "liquid propane" but it actually uses standard 30 pound or larger cylinders.
On that note, don't try and run any propane heater wide open unless you have a cylinder big enough to handle it. I use a 100# cylinder for a long time but drop back to 30# cylinder. The 30# struggles to keep up if I turn the unit up above 50,000 but.

 

[cre73]

I heat my shop mostly with wood but for quick heat on little jobs after work I use a similar heater to the two amazon links. Works well just to stand by and warm up for a few seconds. But it is not going to heat my 30X40 un-insulated shop. My wood stove will but takes a couple hours to get there and ALOT of wood.

 

[6PTsocket]

I tried a similar kerosene type torpedo style heater in my garage. By the time I had enough ventilation to stop getting dizzy from CO, the door was open so wide it was useless The box it came in actually showed it being used to heat a garage. I took it back.

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[theoldwizard1]

The only downside to those, is if you run them A LOT, you are adding a lot of water vapor and CO2 to your garage atmosphere. If you have an un-insulated garage, I would not worry about it.

Get a combination Smoke/CO2 alarm.

 

[LS1-IROC]

I run a propane torpedo heater in my 28x30 garage here in Michigan for heat. The nice thing about it is you don't have to run it but 10 minutes every hour or so to keep it at a nice temperature even at temps in the teens and 20's. Never had a condensation or CO problem.

 

[bgarrett]

consider a Mr Buddy. A lot safer than the OP

 

[Randy in Maine]

I have one of those that I used when I was building my shop and before the radiant floor got turned on. It worked good but did put out some moisture. I ran mine off a 50 gallon tank from my propane guy.

 

[Shiftless]

consider a Mr Buddy. A lot safer than the OP

Agreed, but...
You'd need about 10 of those to get the same heat output as the torpedo style.

 

[jpinca]

I use one of these in my 20x40.

Heats the place up from 50's to sweating in about 15 minutes. I use a 100lb tank.

It is very loud, but I only typically need to run it once per shop session, unless I need to open the rollups.

Oh, and it is hella nice to stand in front of after trenching in a downpour....

 

[johnehr]

I live in Minnesota so definitely a colder climate. For garage heat I've had both propane and kerosene heaters. I have come to prefer the kerosene versions, they seem to be a lot more economical to run. It's amazing how quickly a 20lb propane tank empties and how much they get for a refill. Bulk kerosene from the gas station is cheap. YMMV.

 

[rharman]

try a twin-head radiant heater like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044R8Y58/?tag=atomicindus08-20

less expensive and puts out a lot of heat. nice thing is you don't have as much noise as one of those tube heaters and takes up lots less space. buddy has one and heats his 24x30 in Michigan winters plenty to work on stuff.

My understanding is the radiant type like that don't do a good job of heating a space. They will heat whatever is in front of it.

I have an electric like that - single head - and that's been my experience. When you walk past it, great - otherwise... meh.

 

[rharman]

I've got one of those and use it just about every day in my 2-car insulated garage. I'm about 60 miles north of SF and daytime temps haven't been much more than mid-50's for the last month or two. I'm in agreement with Shiftless. No more than 10 minutes to bump the temp 20 degrees. I too crack the garage door about a foot for venting. I'll run it for 10-15 minutes then shut it off and close the door. Stays warm and toasty for a couple of hours. I bought mine at Home Depot and it's exactly like yours. $20 for a bottle of propane and it should last through the winter. Very pleased with mine!

What about the connection to the tank? It looks like a male thread on the end and the propane tank is also a male thread.

 

[rharman]

The only downside to those, is if you run them A LOT, you are adding a lot of water vapor and CO2 to your garage atmosphere. If you have an un-insulated garage, I would not worry about it.

Get a combination Smoke/CO2 alarm.

Door is insulated as is the back wall adjoining the house and the covered ceiling. Side walls are not.

I figured I'd crack the door a bit when running it and then close it when the garage gets up to temp.

 

[unslow1]

I have several types of heaters in a couple of garages. The one the OP posted is one of them. That thing is really noisy but heats up the space faster than any other I've tried. I bought a CO2 detector for the garage. The best recipe I've found is to heat up the garage with it then let the electric and radiant heaters maintain the temp. That one and the kerosene forced air both burn up the oxygen quickly.

 

[gungatim]

What about the connection to the tank? It looks like a male thread on the end and the propane tank is also a male thread.

all propane tanks have female threads, it's just that the new opd also have the large male. larger tanks do not require the OPD valve. and you should be using a large tank (100 lb) for those big btu furnaces, the small tanks don't have enough sa to evap enough to keep them going...

 

[laser3kw]

I figured I'd crack the door a bit when running it and then close it when the garage gets up to temp

Get a Carbon Monoxide detector with a read out. Watch it as you work and run the heater. If the detector shows an elevate CO level open the door and ventilate. If you have experience like many others members, you may not need to ventilate.
PS some propane cylinders have both male threads ("lift truck connection") and female threads (cga 510)
cylinder valve thread chart

 

[6PTsocket]

I live in Minnesota so definitely a colder climate. For garage heat I've had both propane and kerosene heaters. I have come to prefer the kerosene versions, they seem to be a lot more economical to run. It's amazing how quickly a 20lb propane tank empties and how much they get for a refill. Bulk kerosene from the gas station is cheap. YMMV.

As I said earlier, my experience with one of those kerosene torpedoes was almost instant headache/dizzyness from CO. I started out with the side door on my two car garage, open. I started raising one of the the main doors a little at a time. By the time I had enough fresh air in there, the garage was so wide open that the heater was useless. I am trying to figure out how you were able to use one and I was not.

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[johnehr]

As I said earlier, my experience with one of those kerosene torpedoes was almost instant headache/dizzyness from CO. I started out with the side door on my two car garage, open. I started raising one of the the main doors a little at a time. By the time I had enough fresh air in there, the garage was so wide open that the heater was useless. I am trying to figure out how you were able to use one and I was not.

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I saw your comments on that. I haven't had that issue at all, so am wondering if maybe your heater wasn't functioning properly. If that was a common experience, it seems that the kerosene torpedoes wouldn't continue having a market.


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[6PTsocket]

I saw your comments on that. I haven't had that issue at all, so am wondering if maybe your heater wasn't functioning properly. If that was a common experience, it seems that the kerosene torpedoes wouldn't continue having a market.


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I guess that it might have been defective or maybe I am just sensitive to CO. Thanks for the feedback.

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[moriboy]

Not too much to add, but I'll confirm with others that have posted that these heaters work good, but they are just too loud and create too much moisture for me. Vented propane heat is the cat's meow IMHO.

 

[TractorJeff]

I have both a 35k and a 100K kerosene units. If I am in the insulated shop(not 100% air tight), I'll turn it on to heat the area and leave the door to the uninsulated garage open as it DEFINITELY is not air tight! It warms up to a comfortable temp in an hour or so then I turn on the electric heater(Yes, I said that!). In the garage, I open the overhead door about 18" so it ***** air in the heater Intake though you do lose a LOT of heat over the top of the door as obviously heat rises!
BTW: I buy kerosene 50 gallons at a time to get home heating price for it.

 

[Davefr]

I'd recommend getting the Mr Heater Big Buddy. Buy the external hose so you can install a 20 lb tank outside the garage.

I'd also get the filter, AC adapter for the fan and a CO detector just in case.

These units produce a nice amount of heat and you can get all this for around $200 or less.

 

[Falcon67]

I have one of the 30/60K units. Hate it, used it one time. Loud, stinks, condensation everywhere. Will sell it at the spring swap meet, no use at all for it.


This works a lot better IMHO

 

[Showkey]

Besides the CO, CO2, NOX and moisture you may or may not think your creating.........the bigger problem is any solvents used in the shop pass through the flame. Creating some really really nasty stuff.....especially but not limited to brake clean, parts solvent, carb cleaner, thinners .

Yes .........safety is for sissies until you wake up next week or 20 years down the road with a life changing health problem.

 

[rharman]

Checked and, son of a gun, my tank does have both threads. Ordered the heater tonight for delivery Saturday.

Using my 20lb barbecue tank. The heater will be very lightly used and if it's so cold I need the heat, we sure aren't using the barbecue.

Thanks all for the feedback. Much appreciated.

 

[JRC3]

Go get yourself a little clamp on desk fan. You'd be amazed how well this little setup works.

 

[gungatim]

that fan is a great idea!

the twin head I posted on amazon earlier in the thread at $69.99, well I see in the new ad I just got that HF has a twin head (probably nearly identical) on sale even cheaper...

 

[laser3kw]

Go get yourself a little clamp on desk fan. You'd be amazed how well this little setup works.

Yes!
I have a box fan tipped up towards the ceiling behind my construction heater(about 8 feet away). BIG difference on how the heat is distributed!

 

[JRC3]

Another good thing about these little tank mount heaters is they work without power. I've had my power go out in the winter for short periods and I don't think twice about dragging it into the house. Obviously don't leave them unattended. I never saw a single change on my digital CO detector. Of course it burns no more propane than 2 burners on a stove and even less than an oven.

 

[Advan]

Heater?

+

Just kidding. I do have a 1500W electric heater in the garage, but only for parking my beer in front of so it doesn't freeze ******* ****-stiff! I dunno, put a long-sleeve shirt on or something?

 

[Blue XJ]

Heater?

+

Just kidding. I do have a 1500W electric heater in the garage, but only for parking my beer in front of so it doesn't freeze ******* ****-stiff! I dunno, put a long-sleeve shirt on or something?

I was thinking the same thing, highs in the 40's or 50's? That's warmer than I heat my garage too when I do heat it. I just put a warmer set of clothes on and even temps in the 30's is no big deal, since your indoors, away from the wind.