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Garage Heater Size

Best0186

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I am building a 30' X 50' garage/shop with 10' ceilings. Walls are 2X6 construction and are insulated as well as the ceiling.
I am located in Bismarck, ND so it gets pretty cold here. Can anyone recommend the correct heater size for the building? I am looking at Reznor or Modine Hot Dawg heaters.
 
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TractorJeff

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I'm at 30 by 30 with 10 foot walls at R19 and R38 in the Ceiling with a 50k Big Maxx and a Ceiling Fan in the middle. I keep it at 50F all time I am not out there. Seems like it rarely runs and when it does, it isn't for long.
 

toyotadriver

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I have a 30x40 with 10 ft ceilings. I live in a warmer climate though. I heat mine with an 80k BTU Mr. Heater. I could heat mine with a smaller heater but I wanted a rapid rise before working inside.

I would not look at less than 80K and you might even want to go bigger depending on how large and how many windows and door you have. I'd probably be looking at 100k BTU sizes.
 

klassenl

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I agree with 35-50 btu/Sq foot. I have almost 1000 Sq fwet and I'm right at that 35 mark. No problems keeping things at 10 Celsius......say 50 farenheit. When I'm out there I raise it 10 degrees without any problem.
 
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Stuart in MN

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Unless a person also lives in Bismarck and has an identical building, the best you'll get is estimates - you really need to do a heat loss calculation (or have someone do one for you.) There are any number of free calculators online; they may or may not be 100% accurate, so it would be best to run the numbers through several of them to get a consensus.
 

toyotadriver

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Remember to calculate the efficiency losses for whatever heater you are installing. Most ceiling mounted heaters run around 80% efficiency. Therefore, an 80k heater will give you a usable 64k BTUs. A 50k will give about 40K BTUs.

We don't know anything about how many doors and windows the OP's garage has so it's hard to make an accurate recommendation. He also lives in a VERY cold climate so will definitely need more BTUs than many of us.

Another possibility would be to run two smaller heaters. Two 50K heaters would give the ability to use one when it's mild outside and both when it's frigid outside.
 
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Showkey

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Remember to calculate the efficiency losses for whatever heater you are installing. Most ceiling mounted heaters run around 80% efficiency. Therefore, an 80k heater will give you a usable 64k BTUs. A 50k will give about 40K BTUs.
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The manufacturers charts take that in account.


The most in depth heat loss study is going to come up with the exact same answer 50-80k.
Since heaters come is 45/50k, 75/80k take your pick.
 
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toyotadriver

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The manufacturers charts take that in account.


The most in depth heat loss study is going to come up with the exact same answer 50-80k.
Since heaters come is 45/50k, 75/80k take your pick.



The manufacturers' charts are as broad as can be. The "heats up to" numbers are really irrelevant. That's the purpose of a manual J calculation. That said, a shop is pretty simple to heat. A shop will typically need higher BTU per square foot than a house would for a variety of reasons.

For example, I live in a warmer climate than the OP does. I installed a 45k BTU Mr. Heater in a 30x40x10 shop. It could heat it but had to run a long time to bring the temp to where I wanted it. I don't heat it full time. If the heat has been off for a couple days the temp in the shop will drop to around 45-50. I want to be able to go out there, turn the heat on, and start working and feel the temp come up quickly. The 45k couldn't do that. So, I removed it and installed an 80k. The 80k is a little overkill but does what I want it to...which is what's important to me. Plus, I have two 9 foot tall/9 foot wide doors. They are insulated but still not nearly as insulated as a wall would be. So, there's a huge heat loss when I open the doors. I want to have the temp come back up quickly once I close the door.

The OP hasn't provided enough info to make anything other than a guess at what size he might need.

There are also other sizes than just 45-50k and 75-80k. I've seen vented heaters as low as 30k and higher than 150k. There are many sizes for the OP to choose from. Without knowing more about his install, I would estimate the smallest size he should consider is 80k BTU and he might want to go even larger.
 
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Showkey

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Sorry but the OP situation does not warrant a 30k or 150k unit. That’s common sense and common knowledge .

If you want fast recovery but short run times and possible short cycling go with a 80k.
The worst enemy of typical garage heater is rust from short cycling.

Been here long enough ? to see 1000-2000 garage sqft well insulated in cold climate will require 50-80k. It’s really that simple or complex depending on point of view.

I happen to live in very cold climate witha 1000sqft well insulated shop. My 75k unit rusted out, replaced witha 45k unit. No regrets no problem.

My 5000 sqft home insulated well ( same as the shop) is heated with a 80k furnace. Then add it’s a multi stage it rarely needs to operate at high.
 
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