Leaning toward Electric heat

[Clockworkone]

Just built a new 24x28 garage. 9' ceilings
r-13 insulated walls, r-24 ceiling. Insulated 18' x 7'-6" door. , Insulated service door. 4) double pane windows(4sf-each).
Did a btu calc and came up with a ball park of 18,000 btu's needed.

Have 240 electricity available. No gasline available. Could do a 100lp tank but am not really keen on that. What with getting it filled every so often. Electricity may be more but how much more really. I will not be continuously heating the space. Only when I plan on working in the garage. I live in Minnesota. Hell freezes over here on occasion. (and yet the Vikings still haven't won a Super Bowl.)
I saw the following heater at this website:


It seems like it could do the trick at 19,000 btu. Does anyone want to talk me out of it, or have another recommendation?

 

[MNMuskie]

I had a heater that looked almost identical to that one in my 20x20, but ended up returning it because it did not push air at all. Because it didn't move the air, it ran constantly and I had a hard time keeping things that were located near the overhead door in liquid form. I didn't see any CFM specs on the one you posted but I would find out before buying it.

I ended up buying the off-white colored 5000w from Northern. It pushes a lot more air (270CFM) and keeps my garage at or above 50 degrees in the coldest temps. When it's really cold out it will run for a few minutes every 1/2 hour or so and costs me about $30/month to run.

Given that your garage is a bit bigger than mine I would recommend stepping up to a 7500w unit. A friend of mine has one of these more powerful units (don't know the brand) and it keeps his 2.5 garage toasty. Bigger is definitely better and you'll be glad you went up a step when it gets really cold.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I specify a lot of these heaters for commercial/industrial use: http://www.heatersplus.com/muh.htm They're more expensive than the one you posted but they work very well.

 

[66L78]

I have the same type Stuart has, Q Mark, and it really works well, keeps my 35x25 as warm as I want it, economical also Chuck

 

[bobs409]

I'm thinking of electric heat alot lately for my 2.5 car garage. MNMuskie, you mentioned $30 a month to heat. Does that sound possible for my situation:

26 X 28 R13 walls, R19 ceiling, one bay is 7ft high as it has a closed off loft above it, the other side goes up to about 15 at it's peak for my lift. Average daytime temp of 30+, average nightime temp 20's. (Pennsylvania)

I would be thinking maintaining about 45 degrees continuous and perhaps bump it up a bit when working in there. (maybe not) Any chance this would cost about $30 a month? I roughly figured electric is costing me .13 cents a kilowatt give or take?

Electric rates are supposed to go up in 2010 I believe so not sure what to do.


Thanks,

Bob

 

[MNMuskie]

Sorry, I'm no expert, so I can't give you specifics based on the size and insulation in your garage, especially with the high ceilings. Obviously the increased energy prices are going to have an impact. However, seeing that you only want to keep the garage 15-25 degrees warmer than the outside air, I can't imagine it would cost you a lot.

We can regularly have temps dip to -10s and 20s here and I keep my garage in the 50s all winter. When it's really cold I'm careful to only open the overhead when I need to and close it as fast as I can. The only time I feel my heater is underpowered is after the overhead has been open for a while in the bitter cold, as takes a bit to heat up the air again. That's why I said CFM specs should considered along with BTU.

I would go to a higher powered unit than you think you need because if your heater is undersized it will be running constantly and will cost big money to run. If my garage was any larger, I would have bought a higher powered unit. I can see what unit my friend has in his 2.5 garage. That thing pushes air like a forced air gas heater, but he paid a lot more than I did (~$800). I'll also try to find out what he pays per month.