Let's talk heaters...

[evil_twin]

It's that time of year again, and it's getting cold outside. So what do you use to heat up the garage when you're out there working on something?

I'll start.

I have a dual coil(?) electric heater that I bought at Costco. It isn't worth a sh!t. It takes forever to warm up the garage.

I'm thinking of upgrading to maybe a propane or kerosene style heater. The propane one that I saw makes a lot of noise though.

 

[930dreamer]

Modine natural gas up in the corner, 35000 btu torpedo when I want lots of heat right now.

 

[msom22]

I have a 45,000 btu Hot Dawg propane model hanging in the corner of the garage. I love it, keep it set at 45 and can have it to 60 pretty quick when going to be out there. Found it on craigslist list last winter.

 

[JoeMopar]

I have a 75,000 btu propane heater on the ceiling. Works great. Waiting for the first gas bill to come in.

 

[mcdtommy23]

Dyton g-73, 40,000 btu propane back-up, 80,000 kero bullet.

 

[Jeff]

I use this Mr.Heater:

I use it in the shop and can move it to the back porch when company is over.

 

[Interex]

We've got an entire section with dozens of pages of threads regarding this very topic: http://garagejournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=26

 

[boydgti]

Shouldnt this be in the heating section

 

[UncleJoe]

I use this Mr.Heater:

I use it in the shop and can move it to the back porch when company is over.

Is this heater loud ?

 

[blazsawgras]

i use a reddy heater 110,000 btu hooked it into a house type thermostat so it stays a steady temp.

 

[NUTTSGT]

My wood burner.

 

[sberry]

My shop NEVER freezes, hardly ever drops below 50.

I have a 45,000 btu Hot Dawg propane model hanging in the corner of the garage. I love it, keep it set at 45 and can have it to 60 pretty quick when going to be out there. Found it on craigslist list last winter.

With garage this is the route i would be inclined to take, invest in insulation, tighten it up, heat at low level above freezing and heat as needed. I am in mine daily so its heated constant but my primary is wood simply due to the amount of heat needed and I have large supply at nominal cost/effort.

 

[R6 Racer]

Shouldnt this be in the heating section

+ 1 for me too!
Great thread... wrong spot.

Steve

 

[Stuart in MN]

It's that time of year again, and it's getting cold outside. So what do you use to heat up the garage when you're out there working on something?

As mentioned, there's a whole section of the forum that's all about heating, but I'll throw a few things out: first, where do you live? Cold in Florida isn't the same thing as cold in Minnesota. Secondly, insulating the garage will make all the difference in the world. For a typical two car garage, even in really cold weather you can keep it quite comfortable with a small heater if it's well insulated and all the gaps and cracks are sealed. Finally, I'm not a fan of unvented combustion heaters, particularly if the garage is insulated and sealed up - at best they stink, at worst they can suffocate you. Either use an electric heater, or install a vented gas heater.

Electric heaters do cost more to run, but in the right application they aren't a bad idea...they are generally less expensive to install, and they can heat up the garage quickly. If you only want to heat it up for a few hours now and then, the extra cost per BTU isn't as big a factor.

 

[evil_twin]

Lets move this to the heating section.

I live in Northern Virginia. I see what you're saying about the combustion heaters. Last thing I need to do is fall asleep in the garage because of the heater... I guess it will at least be warm out there? lol

 

[mikester]

I also have a Modine in my 22x30 garage. It heats it up quick even on the coldest days and I live on Long Island. The only bad thing I can say is the price of propane is up around $4.00 gallon and last winter the cost of heating the garage was close to what it cost to heat my house with an oil fired Biasi boiler. I keep the garage thermostat at 50 and turn it up only when Im out there working or if I paint something and I want it to dry overnight.

 

[mslisaj]

Well this is what I use. It's a Volgelzang Pot Belly Stove. I burn coal in it and it qets pretty warm by the heater. This little heater will put out 200,000 BTU's. BUT, it's in the middle of a 3600 sqft metal building and I have to admit it doesn't heat the place. When it's below 30 in the shop I wear insulated coveralls and I'm okay. When I need to heat up I go stand by the eater and get warm and then go back to work. But it's better then nothing. Plus it's fun to stand around and talk shop in the winter.............

On the other hand I also have one of those "jet engine" heaters that blows heat to where I need it but it makes so much noise that I rather not use it. But there is no excuses not to go work in the shop is there?

Stay warm.........

Lisa

 

[evil_twin]

Im really curious to see how well those oil filled heaters work.

 

[djd99]

35,000 btu kerosene reddy heater going to upgrade this year to 75000 with a thermostat. That's only because I'm cheap I just don't want to fire up the natural gas forced air furnace if I don't have to. Funny side note consumers fucked up my bill this month they said I used 9,977.00 in gas last month. Really funny being I have the fuse pulled on the furnace and heat with kerosene. There getting a call today.