Heating Garage

[fdrunner]

Well, I'm building my garage this coming spring/fall. It's a 36'x28x14'. It'll be fully insulated: Garage door, walls with R19 roll insulation, and R-50 in ceiling (blown in). Planning to put in a couple ceiling fans to help circulate the heat.

I'm looking into either mini split system or gas furnace. I ruled out radiant floor heating.

What's everyone thoughts? I live in the midwest (Iowa to be exact). Right now, I'm leaning towards gas furnace mostly because higher BTU and when it's -15 outside and windshield is -30 the furnace will heat up the garage a lot faster than a mini split.

 

[wirt]

I have a Lennox 46k btu forced air but also have a mini split that I bought at a great bargain. My mini does heat and ac, I bought it for the ac and these are my experiences with both.

The mini split does "ok" heat wise but when its really cold out it doesn't seem to get really warm. Also the fan on it doesn't blow really hard at all so it's abibilty to really push the air seems limited. However when it's in the 50's it seems to do fairly decent.

The hanging heater however is fantastic for quickly warming up the garage, even in the bitter cold we had in early January this year I was able to get my garage up to 65 in about an hour and it cycled only about three times an hour to maintain it.

Since I had the mini installed this fall I have yet to know how well the ac works, I'm hoping it won't be as disappointing as the heat.

Just my .02.

 

[russellmn]

Gas furnace does ok. Better than a mini split would. Can I ask why you've ruled out radiant/in floor heating? Best thing I ever did. I keep my shop at 55 all winter up in MN.

 

[fdrunner]

The main reason I ruled out radiant-in-floor heating due to eventually I'm going to put in a 2 post lift and I'm not really sure exactly where I'm going to put it until the garage is actually built.

 

[yeldogt]

The main reason I ruled out radiant-in-floor heating due to eventually I'm going to put in a 2 post lift and I'm not really sure exactly where I'm going to put it until the garage is actually built.

You can use a IR camera w/ the tubes heating the cold slab -- pinpoint the location.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I'm looking into either mini split system or gas furnace. I ruled out radiant floor heating.

You still want at least a vapor barrier under the floor and 2" of rigid foam board. It will make it much mor comfortable.

Right now, I'm leaning towards gas furnace mostly because higher BTU and when it's -15 outside and windshield is -30 the furnace will heat up the garage a lot faster than a mini split.

Even though gas forced air is cheaper to install, it will cost you more if you decide to add AC later.

 

[finn]

You can use a IR camera w/ the tubes heating the cold slab -- pinpoint the location.

You can get a good idea of the location of the pex tubes with the camera.

Mounting the lift so all 12 anchors miss the pex is another issue.

Skip the radiant unless you have a well defined location for the future lift.

I’m going through this nightmare now, trying to locate a lift and miss the pex tubes.

 

[Streetbu]

Gas furnace hands down for your application. Quick recovery time. Plus a minisplit will not work in temps that cold. You can use a house furnace, but if at all possible, get a large furnace that hangs. Saves lots of floor space and is safer because it won't **** flammable fumes from the floor directly into the combustion chamber.

 

[zmotorsports]

Your shop is close to cubic feet of my last shop and I had a 75k btu gas fired Modine Hot Dawg. Worked great at bringing the shop up to working temperature and was fairly economical. I kept it around 50 at night and bumped to 64~ish when working.

I would go with the gas fired heater.

 

[fdrunner]

Thanks Mike. I was leaning toward a hanging heater unit because takes up less space. My mini split I loved because super quite but dislike it because didn't heat up the shop as fast/much as I liked and I seldom used the AC part of it. I doubt I'll ever need AC, figure that's what fans are for .

I saw you put in reznor in your newest place? How do you like that unit? The 2 you have (the hot dawg and reznor) how loud are they when they cycle?

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks Mike. I was leaning toward a hanging heater unit because takes up less space. My mini split I loved because super quite but dislike it because didn't heat up the shop as fast/much as I liked and I seldom used the AC part of it. I doubt I'll ever need AC, figure that's what fans are for .

I saw you put in reznor in your newest place? How do you like that unit? The 2 you have (the hot dawg and reznor) how loud are they when they cycle?

My 150k btu Reznor is so much more quiet than my 75k btu Modine Hot Dawg was. The fan noise from my Hot Dawg was actually my biggest complaint. It worked perfectly but sounded like a plane trying to take off. With my Reznor in the new shop it is barely audible, nothing like the last shop.

 

[garagelogician]

The main reason I ruled out radiant-in-floor heating due to eventually I'm going to put in a 2 post lift and I'm not really sure exactly where I'm going to put it until the garage is actually built.

Having experienced a space with in-floor radiant vs. one with just unit heaters...if I was building any garage I would do whatever planning necessary ahead of time to nail down the lift location so that I could install an in-floor system. It is hands down the best way to heat a space. It is cheap, quiet and very effective at providing a very comfortable space.

It is so good that I'm very tempted to jackhammer the perfectly good existing floor out of my attached garage, just so I can pour a new slab with radiant heat.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Having experienced a space with in-floor radiant vs. one with just unit heaters...if I was building any garage I would do whatever planning necessary ahead of time to nail down the lift location so that I could install an in-floor system. It is hands down the best way to heat a space. It is cheap, quiet and very effective at providing a very comfortable space.

Few people have actually experienced in-floor radiant heat ! It is the most comfortable heat you can have !!

 

[James-W]

In-floor is wonderful, there is no question about that. But you would need to keep the garage heated all the time and not turn it down because it takes quite awhile to bring up the temperature once it is turned down.

A forced air heating system using natural gas is a quick way to bring up the temperature. I keep my garage at 50 degrees and then turn it up when I am working out there. Doesn't take long at all and it is 70 degrees in the garage.

 

[Showkey]

Then there is the infloor cost...........it’s great.........but never ever heard it was cheap to install.

 

[GYPSY400]

Plan for your lift and do radiant heat..if anything, insulate the slab.

There is also a good solar heating option for radiant heat

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