another "what size heater" thread LOL!

[chadman]

OK guys here goes. I will be heating a 24x32x12 space. Walls and ceiling both will be R-19. One 16x9 insulated overhead door. Two insulated man doors and no windows. I am looking at either a 45k or 75k BTU unit heater to be run off of LP gas.

Temps do get down to 0 degrees here on occasion but typical winter time temps are teens to thirties. I would like to maintain 45 degrees when not in use and kick it up to 65 degrees while in use in the evenings and on weekends.

I think 45k would be adequate but do I need the 75k for quick recovery?

 

[northeimcustom]

i would say your border line....... just becuase of the tall ceilings id probably go with the 75k and a ceiling fan for sure

 

[bzinsky]

You are well insulated, I think the 45k is more than adequate.

Propane isn't cheap, please consider a mini split heat pump.

I've done hours upon hours of research. My climate is almost identical to yours. There are very few that will provide adequate heating at lower temps. If you're interested, save yourself the hassle of doing research and go with

LG - LA120HYV
Engineering submittals have it putting out some pretty good heat around -12 degrees, I've heard from atleast 4 people at LG that their numbers are very conservative.

It would probably be all you needed to heat the garage, but it will take awhile to move from 45 degrees to comfortable working temps. Just install that as your primary heat and a few $40 electric heaters that you can turn for 30 minutes before you start working.

As a side benefit, not that us guys care about fancy pants AC in our garages, you get ultra efficient AC in your garage in the summer.

I would also be happy to help you out so you could DIY install it.

 

[dave67fd]

Propane can be competitive with electric depending on your area. The 45k should heat your area fine as mentioned. I have a 75k propane in a 28 x 38 x 10.5 with two overhead insulated doors, 4 windows and service entrance door, R19 walls and R30 in the ceiling and mine heats it well.

Why waste your time with a "few" portable heaters.
Popular gas and propane FHA heaters are the Big MaxX, Modine HD etc.. Some of the popular electric's are the Dayton, Farenheight and proFusion.

My 75k will bring my space from 45 deg. to 65 deg. in about 20 min.

 

[regguy1]

45K heats this 26' x 30' just fine. 9' ceiling R13 walls and ceiling:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=140674&highlight=26'+30'+Garage+photos+videos

 

[BadgerBoilerMN]

No, I think the 75 will do it...about 5 times!

Think about a proper heat load, right-sized heat source and thinking ahead about 12 hours before you want to raise the temp.

Lower operating cost, maintenance, fan noise and more comfort.

 

[brewchief]

I did a quickie load calc based off what info was posted, came out at around 21k btus.

45k will heat it but recovery will be fairly slow, if you need to open doors often it may struggle at times.

If it was mine I would do a 60k or 75k but I am the type that may have a door wide open multiple times an hour in the middle of a snowstorm and would prefer to have a faster recovery time. The larger heaters will have a shorter run time and the temp in the building may vary a bit but for my uses I would be OK with it.

 

[chadman]

I did a quickie load calc based off what info was posted, came out at around 21k btus.

45k will heat it but recovery will be fairly slow, if you need to open doors often it may struggle at times.

21K is about what I came up with as well using an online calculator. I ended up getting the 45k unit. Thanks everyone for the input.

 

[rodm1]

BTU calculator
http://www.ultimategarageheater.com/propane-garage-heater/search.php
Sizing your LP tank
http://www.nbmc.com/heaters/lpchart.html