OK need garage heating help (Rookie here)

[DIY Rookie]

Ok, so I did post another thread and I was hoping for more. So I have a 27x22 size garage. I am going to insulate the walls and put up plywood and insulate up top as well. So, I don't have 220 electoral, only 120. I need ideas on the best way to heat my garage? Would it be propane? I need all the help I can get and ideas as I am not good at this stuff. Please help me with the best way to try and get some heat in my garage. I don't need it hot, if I can get it up to say 60 degrees I would be happy. Thanks for any help you can all give me. Thank you

 

[AldeanFan]

Natural gas is usually cheapest to run but more to install.

Propane is probably next best but price it out if you have to buy a big tank and have it filled.

Electric is normally most expensive.

How much do you use your garage? Are you out there everyday or just weekends? Do you want to heat all the time or just when you’re working in there?

Is there a gas line available?


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[DIY Rookie]

Natural gas is usually cheapest to run but more to install.

Propane is probably next best but price it out if you have to buy a big tank and have it filled.

Electric is normally most expensive.

How much do you use your garage? Are you out there everyday or just weekends? Do you want to heat all the time or just when you’re working in there?

Is there a gas line available?


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Thanks for your reply.... No, I am not out in the garage everyday working. I would say on average a few times a month for a couple to few hours, so I am just looking to take the cold/chill out. I live in Michigan where it obviously gets cold, but I am going to be insulating the whole garage soon and am looking for the most easy and economical way to go since, like you asked and I said I am not out there all the much.

No, I do not have a gas line running out to my garage, It is a detached garage.

 

[EOC_Jason]

If you don't (or can't) run a gas line to your garage, then probably the most convenient for intermittent use would be those heaters that you screw on top of a 20lb propane cylinder.

 

[shadycrew31]

You could get a 120V hanging electrical heater. But its going to cost you a fortune to heat the space. You can get a gas fired reznor with a separate 100lb propane tank outside the garage 100 lbs should last you a while if you keep things at a mild temperature. You could always get a 200lb tank.

Obviously you would need to confirm to local codes...

That said I would strongly consider running 240V 100 amp service out there.

 

[Zephyr20]

I have one of these that I use in the garage attached to my house when I want to heat it up to have people out there in the cold months or when I need to work on something there. It works great, its relatively cheap, and its portable if you need to use it someplace else. Bought mine on sale for $110. And you can use a 20 lb gas grill tank to run it.

 

[Phantomd]

those $100 propane heaters are amazing.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dyna-Glo-50K-80K-BTU-LP-Convection-Heater-RMC-LPC80DG/202895381
I would put a desk fan or a box fan on low blowing above it to move the air around but you cant beat the amount of heat for the price on those.

If you plan on using your garage a lot a ceiling mounted propane heater (bigmaxx 50kbtu) is the ultimate. 50k btu is technically oversized but it's more difficult to find the smaller sizes.

 

[thanasi]

I ran those forced air propane heaters for a few years my self, safety is the biggest concern always worrying about the hazards and then the fumes. You tend to blow it off/deal with it or open a door but it defeats the whole idea of keeping warm the fumes get to you after your done doing what you needed to do. Personally running 240 and a wall heater will be worth every penny best thing i ever did.
Im a tech so i spend a few times a month also in my double garage so i know how it feels.
You drive your car in, turn the heater on come back in half hour and its very comfortable and only gets even warmer OH install a small cheap ceiling fan this will help large
Im close to Michigan so i know how you feel , good luck i what ever you decide

Tom

 

[jacric2005]

Good luck to you. I'm in Oregon, so going the mini-split heat pump route. Question for you: How are you insulating the garage doors?

 

[theoldwizard1]

First, do you want it warm enough so that you can work in there on evenings and weekends or do you want to maintain 55-60F all winter ?

Heat rises, so the most important thing is a ceiling with at least 12" of insulation. "You pay for insulation once, you pay for energy every time the thermostat calls for it !"

If you can not do natural gas, propane is the answer. Any non-vented propane heater will put a LOT of moisture in your garage. This is fine, if you are only going to be out there for a couple of hours. All day, and you will wonder why all of your tools are rusting !

 

[guyerst]

My 7500 watt electric heater was run about 20 hours last month, and added roughly $20 to my electric bill. So for occasional use, electric isn’t a bad option.

My heater is 220, but I think you could get by with a 120 heater. Especially if your well insulated and sealed. My garage is pretty leaky, walls are well insulated, but only 2” foam board on the roof. Takes me about 30 minutes to heat up a 2 stall garage from 40 to 60. Heater then runs about 5 minutes every half hour.

So my approximate 20 hours last month amounts to somewhere between 5-6 hours of actual run time. The high efficiency kerosene torpedo type heater I had previously would use less than 2 gallons for that amount of run time... less than half the cost of electric. So the folks that freak out about the cost of electric have a point.

To me though, it has been totally worth the added run cost to go electric for several reasons... safety, fumes, fuel handling, and moisture mainly. If I wanted to run the heater significantly more, it would be worth exploring vented natural gas or propane. But i can run the electric heater for several years at least on the money I saved.

 

[DIY Rookie]

I have one of these that I use in the garage attached to my house when I want to heat it up to have people out there in the cold months or when I need to work on something there. It works great, its relatively cheap, and its portable if you need to use it someplace else. Bought mine on sale for $110. And you can use a 20 lb gas grill tank to run it.

Nothing came up.

 

[DIY Rookie]

I ran those forced air propane heaters for a few years my self, safety is the biggest concern always worrying about the hazards and then the fumes. You tend to blow it off/deal with it or open a door but it defeats the whole idea of keeping warm the fumes get to you after your done doing what you needed to do. Personally running 240 and a wall heater will be worth every penny best thing i ever did.
Im a tech so i spend a few times a month also in my double garage so i know how it feels.
You drive your car in, turn the heater on come back in half hour and its very comfortable and only gets even warmer OH install a small cheap ceiling fan this will help large
Im close to Michigan so i know how you feel , good luck i what ever you decide

Tom

Ultimately this is what I would like to do. Hopefully I can sh!t a gold bar one day and do all the things I hope to do one day

 

[DIY Rookie]

First, do you want it warm enough so that you can work in there on evenings and weekends or do you want to maintain 55-60F all winter ?

Heat rises, so the most important thing is a ceiling with at least 12" of insulation. "You pay for insulation once, you pay for energy every time the thermostat calls for it !"

If you can not do natural gas, propane is the answer. Any non-vented propane heater will put a LOT of moisture in your garage. This is fine, if you are only going to be out there for a couple of hours. All day, and you will wonder why all of your tools are rusting !

No I am not looking to maintain a temp in there all winter. Just looking to take the chill out when I want to go mess with my Harley or another project for a couple hours or so at a time. I am not one to spend days and hours in my garage during the winter, but I would probably spend more time if I knew I could go out there and it be decent enough to work out there.

 

[DIY Rookie]

Good luck to you. I'm in Oregon, so going the mini-split heat pump route. Question for you: How are you insulating the garage doors?

My main garage door? I honestly don't know. I could take some advice for that as well.

 

[DIY Rookie]

My 7500 watt electric heater was run about 20 hours last month, and added roughly $20 to my electric bill. So for occasional use, electric isn’t a bad option.

My heater is 220, but I think you could get by with a 120 heater. Especially if your well insulated and sealed. My garage is pretty leaky, walls are well insulated, but only 2” foam board on the roof. Takes me about 30 minutes to heat up a 2 stall garage from 40 to 60. Heater then runs about 5 minutes every half hour.

So my approximate 20 hours last month amounts to somewhere between 5-6 hours of actual run time. The high efficiency kerosene torpedo type heater I had previously would use less than 2 gallons for that amount of run time... less than half the cost of electric. So the folks that freak out about the cost of electric have a point.

To me though, it has been totally worth the added run cost to go electric for several reasons... safety, fumes, fuel handling, and moisture mainly. If I wanted to run the heater significantly more, it would be worth exploring vented natural gas or propane. But i can run the electric heater for several years at least on the money I saved.

I have a torpedo propane heater that isn't bad, but I do worry about the fumes. I would love to run 220 out there and maybe one day I can do that, but for now that is not a option. You say a 120 heater.. do you have any recommendations for a 120 heater?

 

[DIY Rookie]

Thanks for everyone's help and advice. I appreciate it and keep any other ideas coming. Appreciate it.

 

[thanasi]

In regards door insulation im sure they sell blankets for them, when i did replace mine a while back i got the best ones i could afford i think R16 2inch blown insulation with thermos windows best thing i did.
Now i was thinking my old man had a detach doubl garage somewhat insulated and he was running some antique kerosene stove with a vent out the window nothing fancy and it got real hot and seemed safe ran clean and controllable flame probably took a hour to get toasty warm inside not to bad something to consider ill find a pic for ya
something similar to this with a bigger window and a door in front to access and start the fire but you get the idia, also doesn't take up allot of room that is nice.

 

[DIY Rookie]

In regards door insulation im sure they sell blankets for them, when i did replace mine a while back i got the best ones i could afford i think R16 2inch blown insulation with thermos windows best thing i did.
Now i was thinking my old man had a detach doubl garage somewhat insulated and he was running some antique kerosene stove with a vent out the window nothing fancy and it got real hot and seemed safe ran clean and controllable flame probably took a hour to get toasty warm inside not to bad something to consider ill find a pic for ya
something similar to this with a bigger window and a door in front to access and start the fire but you get the idia, also doesn't take up allot of room that is nice.

Nice! I like that. Thank you, appreciate it.

 

[Briguy_123]

If you have natural gas in your house, their is only one answer. Run a gas line out there and get a unit heater. Peroid. Everything else is a cob to a greater or lesser degree. With fair insulation you can leave it set to 45 degrees all the time and it will cost you as much as a dinner for two at McDonalds every month. 10 years ago my wife had the utility bill in her hand and asked me. " I thought you switched the garage over to natural gas?"

 

[Pay2play]

If you have natural gas in your house, their is only one answer. Run a gas line out there and get a unit heater. Peroid. Everything else is a cob to a greater or lesser degree. With fair insulation you can leave it set to 45 degrees all the time and it will cost you as much as a dinner for two at McDonalds every month. 10 years ago my wife had the utility bill in her hand and asked me. " I thought you switched the garage over to natural gas?"

What do you mean “unit heater “. Can you clarify please? Pics always help. Thanks


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[mrjohnsmitt]

What do you mean “unit heater “. Can you clarify please? Pics always help. Thanks

I think it's anything like that:
Mr. Heater Big Maxx™ Natural Gas Garage/Workshop Unit Heater — 80,000 BTU

 

[Briguy_123]

Yes exactly. Mr. Heater, Modine, Reznor.etc.... For a building your size with average insulation a 30k btu unit heater will be fine if you heat it all the time. A 45-50k unit if you heat it intermittently and want it to heat up fairly quickly when it's cold outside. 10 years ago I installed a 45k Mr. Heater unit in my 24x24 with r13 walls and r19 ceiling. Changed my life. Warm cars in the morning. No more rust on my tools. Didn't have to move everything in the house that would freeze every fall. Recently added on 34x48x13 with radiant heat. Now I'm really spoiled...

 

[Notgrownup]

If you can do a propane heater that would work, Natural gas would be better... or you can get a good quality kerosene heater but use only the cleaner fuel you can buy in small containers it doesn’t stink as bad.
Nice wood stove would be great as well...

 

[rburke65]

Dig a trench and run a conduit and a gas line. NG will be most economical, and then later pull in a larger electrical feed to the garage.