heating questions? options?

[Eazy716]

I've been reading for hours about heating a garage, and still have yet to come to any conclusions.

the past 2 years I have been heating my garage with a wood burning stove and a blower, which was in the garage when I bought the house. There is also a gas heater in the garage that i have never used since I moved in, so I planned on taking it out. now im not sure what i should do. The wood stove has somehow melted the extremely thick metal grates, and i am unable to pull them out, as well as unable to find anything even close to a replacement set of grates.this makes me want to remove the wood burner, but then im back to having no heat.

so what do you guys recommend? should I

A) figure out how to get the wood burner to work with some different grate setup
B) keep the existing gas heater
C) replace the wood burner with a new one
D) replace the old gas heater with a new one
E) find an alternate form of heat

the structure is 22'x22' and i use the garage multiple nights a week in the Buffalo cold.

i thought about possibly using one of those propane powered "cyclone" or jet like heaters, but reading about carbon monoxide poisoning in enclosed areas scares me...especially when i can sometimes be out there for 12+ hours strait.

any info or help you can provide is much appreciated!!

 

[Eazy716]

i should also note that all the work i do is fiberglass and body work, so the fumes can get heavy quickly

 

[markzrt1]

I pick option D

 

[timgr]

Since you have gas piped to the garage already, D. You're certainly no worse off in terms of fire hazard with the gas heat than with the wood burner. You might consider a separated combustion heater: http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=HDS

 

[Franz©]

1) jack the wood stove UP and set it on concrete blocks so it is not in the fume zone. Minimum height is 18" preferable is 48" above the gloor.

2) Wood does not require gratings to burn on, in fact you found that out. Wood will burn equally well on the floor of the stove. It will also impinge the floor till it has burned a hole thru. Either install a castable refractory floor at least an inch thich, or brick the floor of the stove, and you'll be fine.

 

[russlaferrera]

I vote for "E" , go solar! You did not specify $ to be spent, or availability or cost of wood, cost of elect. Which is the safest for your projects? Which has the most BTU for $.

 

[Eazy716]

bringing this one back from the dead........

the past few months i've been using the wood stove, and now im having a new issue arise. it seems the previous owner who installed the wood burner was a complete hack. he piped the exhaust out an old existing window in which he used cynder blocks and also built a full chimney. well that exhaust port in the old window frame is cracking out and i can move at least 2 of the blocks. ill try and post pics of what i mean later...but

now what? id really just like to get rid of the wood stove altogether. too much time to get the garage to a decent temp...too much time spent sitting idle and tending to the fire....and the wood i got this winter is terrible...takes a few hours to even get a decent fire going.

I was looking at the Hawt Dawg heaters, but those a bit above my price range. is there an alternative heater of any kind in the $300 range? i know thats not alot to work with, but im getting nervous continueing to use the wood stove.

any input is much appreciated!

 

[rickairmedic]

Ok heres my firstt question . Whats wrong with the existing Gas Furnace ya never know it might just actually work thus solving your whole dilema at least for the moment and regardless of how you heat gett a Carbon Monoxide detector for the garage . I say check out the existing gas furnace if it works dont worry be happy .

 

[Eazy716]

thanks for the reply...

to be honest....ive never really stopped to look how the thing works. i did check the gas line and found it is live....just not positive on how to actually kick it on.

i guess tonight might be a good time to look into that, lol

 

[rickairmedic]

Eazy if you cant figure it out let me know the model and serial number on the furnace and I can probably get you operating instructions.

Rick

 

[Eazy716]

^^^thanks Rick, I appreciate it!!

I'll see what im working with tonight and get back to you

 

[Eazy716]

looks like i have a Kenmore Model #114-5070 20

20,000 BTU unit

I tried to seach google for anything related to it, but cant find anything

 

[rickairmedic]

I'll see if I have any luck Eazy and let ya know what I find out.

Rick

 

[Eazy716]

thanks Rick, I VERY much appreciate it!!!

 

[Eazy716]

well, im back in the market for a new heater. I talked to my brother in law as he works in HVAC field.

my garage is 22' x 22', 8' tall around the box, and peak is about 12-14'

He told me take the sq. ft. of the garage and multiply by 42 to get my BTU need. which puts me right about 20k BTU.

in other posts i read people were asking about 20'x20' shops and were told 60-75k BTU. why such a difference? the garage is fully insulated, roof and all, with a layer of OSB over the walls. also insulated garage doors.

so should i be looking for near 20k BTU or higher?

thanks in advance

 

[6768rogues]

I have a 36 by 48 garage with a 14 foot ceiling and I use a 100k BTU Reznor gas hanging heater. It works well and will maintain and gain temperature in any weather in western NY. I have insulation, but not a lot, certainly not as much as my house. Good, insulated and weatherstripped garage doors make a lot of difference.

 

[Eazy716]

do you think a 40k would suit me best?

 

[rickairmedic]

Eazy I would go 40,000 in your shop the main reason for oversizing a garage heater is quick warm up every time the big door opens you are almost starting from scratch again .I will also tell you I havent found anything on your old heater yet .

Rick

 

[Dragster Racer]

Your recovery will be longer with the smaller heater, although, in general, smaller heaters tend to be a little more efficient since their cycles take longer, and startups are wasteful. I'm no expert, but I think you would regret going too small, especially on very cold days. Open the door one time and wait a long time to get warm.

 

[Eazy716]

Rick - thanks for the info! and no worries on the other heater info. I'd feel more comfortable with a new more efficient unit. That thing is pretty old

Dragster - thanks, I think im going to go 40k. i do end up opening the door to air out once in a while, so quicker recovery is a definate plus

 

[Eazy716]

would something like these work alright with the right BTU unit?

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...Id=10053&productId=100593846&N=10000003+90066

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...Id=10053&productId=100594229&N=10000003+90066

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?acti...uctId=141643-234-LCR30NT&detail=cr&lpage=none

they say they will heat 2,000 sq. ft., just wondering how well.

also do these pose any risk of combustion with chemicals, etc?

 

[rickairmedic]

Eazy only problem with those is they are all ventless which means you will have moisture problems and you could get a turbo heater for less than any of them if the moisture isnt a problem for you . I would recomend a vented heater myself no moisture problems to deal with.

Rick