Hello all, been a member for some time now, mostly reading up on others projects trying to get ideas for my own. I'm planing on installing natural gas heat this fall and am looking for some advice form those that have. Any advise on brand and open v. sealed combustion chamber would be very helpful. I do not do a lot of painting or high dust work, but am concerned about the issue of moisture build up inside the garage. I have a 30x30 attached garage with finished 8' ceiling, mild insulation at best. Restoring a 1949 FarmAll tractor and the heat will be a welcome addition in Michigan weather. Thanks for any advise you can offer.
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Heating attached garage
- Thread starter Dungjenpa
- Start date
sarman47
Well-known member
Hi Dungjenpa
Here is some info on my garage heater install. It was a wonderful addition to the garage last winter.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1953658#post1953658
Here is some info on my garage heater install. It was a wonderful addition to the garage last winter.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1953658#post1953658
Last edited:
Thanks sarman47! Do you have any condensation issues?? trying to decide on open v. sealed combustion chamber. There is a price diff (more for sealed), but I can get the same heater here at my local Lowes-which I am leaning heavily towards.
sarman47
Well-known member
No condensation issues at all. The natural gas does not produce the moisture like propane. The walls are finished. I did add blown insulation to the attic (builder did not do). Our house is a bungalow 3 years old. We are on the Canadian side near Port Huron, Michigan. My garage is 24x24 and the 45'000 btu heater is more then enought. What really surprised me was how economical the heater was to use. I used a tstat the you could set to cut out 2 degree's above set temp and cut in 2 degree's below. Made for a longer cycle time. The best part is the wife love's a warm car in the morning (Happy wife, Happy life.......).
Sealed combustion is ALWAYS the better option. It is just safer. Carbon monoxide is a colorless and odorless gas. Unless you have one of these "eat off the floor" type garages, the environment is dusty, dirty, at least and sealed comb will keep your burners, igniters, etc clean, thereby reducing service and repair.
Propane does not produce more condensate. Oil, lp and ng all have approx the same entrained vol of moisture in the flue gases. What creates the condensate is dew point. When you reach the temperature where the moisture can no longer stay in a vapor state, it condenses onto you pristine cylinder head or table saw.
For 900 sq ft in Michigan I'd suggest the Rinnai ES 38. Modulating burner and blower, programmable stat built in. MUCH quieter than anything else you are going to run. 3" hole in the wall for the vent. My standard disclaimer. I've represented Rinnai for 22yrs. That said, in my old house I heated the house, basement and garage with them. Currently heat new old house with them and will heat the new garage shop with them when I build it in the spring.
Propane does not produce more condensate. Oil, lp and ng all have approx the same entrained vol of moisture in the flue gases. What creates the condensate is dew point. When you reach the temperature where the moisture can no longer stay in a vapor state, it condenses onto you pristine cylinder head or table saw.
For 900 sq ft in Michigan I'd suggest the Rinnai ES 38. Modulating burner and blower, programmable stat built in. MUCH quieter than anything else you are going to run. 3" hole in the wall for the vent. My standard disclaimer. I've represented Rinnai for 22yrs. That said, in my old house I heated the house, basement and garage with them. Currently heat new old house with them and will heat the new garage shop with them when I build it in the spring.
Thanks for the info, I'm in the Detroit area so our weather is the same...all the info I have keeps coming back to the NG forced style heater for my set up. Finished with 1964 insulation in the walls, I will be adding to the attic, door is already insulated so that should help with heat retention.Happy wife, Happy life.....ROGER THAT!!!
Thanks again
Jackfre, thats a wall unit correct? How does that perform over the larger ceiling units. 3" hole for direct venting horizontal or vert. We get some pretty cold days here in Mich. I have a brick exterior on my garage walls. How does that venting work straight out the back??
The code requires that you be at least 12" from ground to the bottom of the vent termination. Common sense then dictates that if you are in a snow load area you need to take that into consideration. As well, a gas appliance has to be 18" off the floor, so that makes it a simple matter to get appropriate clearances. That requirement is because of all the old open flame water heaters, etc that blew up when the gas can was thrown against it. That actually required the complete redesign of all natural draft tank type water heaters. With sealed combustion units this should not apply, but codes change decades behind the technology. Having been on the NFPA 31 committee for 15yrs, I know that is the way it works. Go to www.rinnai.us-direct vent wall furnaces-choose the ES-38/details/documents/owners manual. Read up on it and post any questions.
One thing, the vent that comes with the ES38 is the part #FOT-151 and will adjust from 4.5-9.5". If your brick face throws it outside the 9.5", you will have to go with the next size up (extra cost), the FOT-152, pg 5, that will adjust from 9.5-15.75".
One thing, the vent that comes with the ES38 is the part #FOT-151 and will adjust from 4.5-9.5". If your brick face throws it outside the 9.5", you will have to go with the next size up (extra cost), the FOT-152, pg 5, that will adjust from 9.5-15.75".