On-demand heat for 16x20 garage

[headshok2002]

Hey guys,

I've got a fairly small 16x20 garage that is insulated, albeit with a poor quality door (single car size, though). The whole garage is drywalled and insulated, including the ceiling.

I only need it heated a few times a year, when I've got work that needs doing on the cars. I'm also on a budget, so I don't want to be running a gas line or installing some big system that'll cost a lot and take a lot of time to install.

I also do not want to asphyxiate or burn my garage down.

Last year I ran a 4800w construction heater with pretty poor results. While it did eventually heat the garage up a little bit, it took a long time to do it.

I am thinking of a propane or kerosene fueled heater. I've been looking at the "Mr. Heater" brand, although am open to any suggestions. I've seen convection models, as well, but have electricity available so not sure if this is a pointless option for me.

I've got no problem with leaving the garage door open a couple inches when working on the car, and I'm not concerned with the fuel costs of propane or kerosene as, like I said, it will not be used very often.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[PCO6]

Do you have a vapour barrier? That's the key to keeping in the warmed air (vapour). I use the same heater you do and it works well in my 20'x20'10' garage.

 

[headshok2002]

I just went out and checked, and it appears that a vapour barrier was used--I see it poking out here and there. It's possible they did a poor job with that part of the construction, though, as I have found many surprises in this home and garage since purchasing it 2 years ago.

The heater I currently have was bought at Canadian Tire. It was cheap, on sale for 56 bucks if I recall correctly, and if you put your hand in front of the thing when it's on the air never feels hot. You can feel the heat radiating off of it from behind, and if you shut it off it gets hot. The fact is, it takes about an hour to bring the garage from say, -10 degrees celcius to about 0.

I want something that I can turn on for 10-15 minutes, come back and work in a garage that's approaching room temperature. I'm thinking of something like this:

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/60k-lp-forced-air-heater/924456

 

[tatra]

moisture is going to be a prob with any unvented heater except electric of course.........and as for heating it from beow zero to something comfortable with electric, i found it better to keep it constantly at just above zero year round and then crank it just before i go in for whatever time it takes to get comfortable..........

 

[Camper]

I installed one of these in my little 16 x 24 garage.
I have it running off a 40lb propane tank.
Works great !!

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200307961_200307961

 

[headshok2002]

moisture is going to be a prob with any unvented heater except electric of course.........and as for heating it from beow zero to something comfortable with electric, i found it better to keep it constantly at just above zero year round and then crank it just before i go in for whatever time it takes to get comfortable..........

I definitely do not want to leave the 4800w thing plugged in all the time. It'll be a nightmare on my electric bill and I'm hardly ever in the garage where I need heat (but am in often getting the snowblower etc which would let out all the heat). Is moisture going to be an issue if I'm using a propane heater for 15-20 minutes at a time? I would be worried if I had an unvented propane heater that was turning on daily... but for how I intend to use it will it really be a problem?

I installed one of these in my little 16 x 24 garage.
I have it running off a 40lb propane tank.
Works great !!

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200307961_200307961

This looks like a pretty sweet setup! Just wondering if it's overkill for something I'll only use a few times a year. I have a line on a barely used Dyna-Glo Pro 50 000 - 80 000 BTU propane 'torpedo' heater for around 125 bucks... wheras I'm thinking the ceiling mounted one done properly will cost me 600-700 all said and done. Maybe a year or two down the road, if I'm still in this house.

 

[jvitez]

30,000 or 35,000 btu/h propane bullet heater for 15 min will put some moisture in the the air, but not huge, and you'll want to be running it with a door cracked open a bit for combustion air anyway. Get one these. Princess Auto sells them. Use it to warm things up along with the electric heater, then leave the electric one on for the duration of your project. It's exactly what I did in our old house, which had a 22 x 24 insulated attached garage.

 

[headshok2002]

30,000 or 35,000 btu/h propane bullet heater for 15 min will put some moisture in the the air, but not huge, and you'll want to be running it with a door cracked open a bit for combustion air anyway. Get one these. Princess Auto sells them. Use it to warm things up along with the electric heater, then leave the electric one on for the duration of your project. It's exactly what I did in our old house, which had a 22 x 24 insulated attached garage.

Okay, this is an idea that I really like. I hadn't actually thought of this, and was thinking I'd either sell or toss out the old construction heater I used last year. But this makes a great deal of sense... let the propane heater do it's magic for 10-15 minutes to get the place warm and let the electric heater simply maintain the temperature. Genius!

I think I'll pick up the bullet heater for 125, then. I think it's around 50-60k BTU, though, so it may not have to be fired up for very long.

 

[jvitez]

Glad to help.

Where are you located? I assumed you were in Canada for some reason, hence my suggestion of Princess Auto.

60,000 btu in 320 sq ft? Get the marshmallows out! Check to make sure it can run on 20 lb tanks, or whatever you happen to have. I know my 35K btu heater gives off almost nothing when the 20 lb tank is nearing empty, so I keep 2 tanks full just in case.

 

[BL50]

I installed one of these in my little 16 x 24 garage.
I have it running off a 40lb propane tank.
Works great !!

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200307961_200307961

You can run one of these on a 40# tank? How long does it last?

 

[headshok2002]

Glad to help.

Where are you located? I assumed you were in Canada for some reason, hence my suggestion of Princess Auto.

60,000 btu in 320 sq ft? Get the marshmallows out! Check to make sure it can run on 20 lb tanks, or whatever you happen to have. I know my 35K btu heater gives off almost nothing when the 20 lb tank is nearing empty, so I keep 2 tanks full just in case.

I'm in Sudbury, Ontario. We have a Princess Auto, which is nice. I reckon it was my reference to Canadian Tire that had you thinkin' I was a Canuck.

Yeah I'll have to double check the BTU's of the unit I was looking at... I think it's a bigger one, though. I do like roasted marshmallows, so I'll be happy either way. Haha

I've got two 20lb tanks already for my BBQ and don't do much (any) grilling in the winter, so I think I'll be all set. Plus, this thing will almost certainly not get used enough to drain a single tank over the winter. Knock on wood that the cars don't give me headaches this year!

 

[headshok2002]

You can run one of these on a 40# tank? How long does it last?

I was pleasantly surprised to read that as well! Love that idea for the future. No budget for it now.

 

[Interex]

Fahrenheat FUH5-4 5000W 17,065 BTU heater did very well for me last winter even when we got down into the low teens. Thermostat controlled and straight forward install once I ran some juice to it from my breaker box. In the end, electric was just easier. When I broke down the additional costs and inconvenience of other methods, electric was the choice for me. My electric bill didn't see too big of a jump either. Within a matter of about 15 minutes, the garage reached a comfortable 60 degrees with it being well below freezing outside.

 

[headshok2002]

Fahrenheat FUH5-4 5000W 17,065 BTU heater did very well for me last winter even when we got down into the low teens. Thermostat controlled and straight forward install once I ran some juice to it from my breaker box. In the end, electric was just easier. When I broke down the additional costs and inconvenience of other methods, electric was the choice for me. My electric bill didn't see too big of a jump either. Within a matter of about 15 minutes, the garage reached a comfortable 60 degrees with it being well below freezing outside.

This thing looks pretty good... anybody know if there is a Fahrenheat dealer in Canada?

 

[winnipegtibook]

This looks identical to the dayton (?) that is talked about extensively on garage journal. Check Princess Auto for a re-badged model, or if you are close to the U.S. border, you could always make a trip to Menards, Fleet Farm, etc.

PS - I am on the prairies and dealing with the exact same thing right now...and I've looked at basically everything under the sun, currently 99% decided on this.

 

[headshok2002]

This looks identical to the dayton (?) that is talked about extensively on garage journal. Check Princess Auto for a re-badged model, or if you are close to the U.S. border, you could always make a trip to Menards, Fleet Farm, etc.

PS - I am on the prairies and dealing with the exact same thing right now...and I've looked at basically everything under the sun, currently 99% decided on this.

Yeah, I'll check Princess Auto. Nothing like the Farenheat on their website, though... but fingers crossed.
It's on eBay for 249, though, with cheap shipping to Canada (34 bucks). Not sure how on Earth they ship it for that low of a price but who knows. I'm just concerned that it'll still take a while to heat up the room, but I would be okay with spending 300~ if I knew it'd solve my problems. I'd also like to test the cost of keeping the garage at just above freezing for the whole winter... would be nice to have the snow melt off the snowblower and to be able to keep the car detailing stuff in the garage (I have to move it all into the house to keep it from freezing).

If I strike gold at PA I will report back. May try sneaking out there today.

 

[Milton Shaw]

The problem on propane heaters on small tanks(20lbs) is that the evaporation of liquid propane cools the tank and the colder it gets the slower the evaporation. So the more you use propane the less propane pressure you have. That's where having a couple extra tanks to swap out as you use them gives them time to warm up and be ready to let you get some more propane. Quick heat with propane, continue heating with electric seems the way to go.

 

[headshok2002]

The problem on propane heaters on small tanks(20lbs) is that the evaporation of liquid propane cools the tank and the colder it gets the slower the evaporation. So the more you use propane the less propane pressure you have. That's where having a couple extra tanks to swap out as you use them gives them time to warm up and be ready to let you get some more propane. Quick heat with propane, continue heating with electric seems the way to go.

Yup, it's looking more and more like this will be my solution.

I just returned from Princess Auto and they do not have any electric heaters worth mentioning. There's another place here in town that may have something but it seems unlikely (it's an electric supply shop).

I just threw an offer at the guy selling the used bullet heater so if he accepts I'll be trying the 'propane-assisted electric' route, haha. Meaning, this bullet will bring the temp up and then will be shut off to let the construction heater maintain the temp.

Going to look into running a second 220 outlet in the garage as right now I've got to unplug my compressor to plug in the heater. Not a big deal as it's a 60gal compressor running automotive air tools, but still kind of annoying to unplug it and keep swapping them.

I am ignorant regarding all things electric, though, so will be looking for help. The outlet is 5' away from the breaker panel so I think it should be fairly straightforward.

 

[headshok2002]

Some new developments, perhaps...

Scoured Rona's website (good God, it's a terrible site)... came up with the following:

http://www.rona.ca/shop/~unit-heate...ing_heating-ventilation-air-conditioning_shop

This guy looks similar to the Farenheat in terms of design... 5000w, ceiling or wall mounted, adjustable louvers and a built-in thermostat. Around $300, so not too bad.

http://www.rona.ca/shop/~heater-500...ing_heating-ventilation-air-conditioning_shop

This one looks quite interesting. I like how low-profile it is, although I could easily sneak the previous heater into a ceiling corner and never notice it. Downside is the lack of built-in thermostat. I'd have to buy one separately and wire it up. Upside of doing that is the thermostat would be nicer than the built-in ones and obviously more accessible as it'd be mounted on a wall.

I'm going to check out my local Rona and see if they stock either, as they give a pretty slight blurb of info on the site.

 

[winnipegtibook]

the rona (sylvania) with the exhaust fan built in is VERY interesting. it's 5000w (same as the smallish corner / wall heaters), takes up NO wall space, has a vent (a plus) and can be hard-wired for a thermostat (double plus).

i am on the prairies and it looks like this isn't available to me, so i will have to look elsewhere but this is a keeper.

 

[mike_s]

I am thinking of a propane or kerosene fueled heater. I've been looking at the "Mr. Heater" brand, although am open to any suggestions.

I bought a Mr Heater "Big Buddy" for my 12x16 workshop. It works good. puts out 18,000 btu and has a small blower that helps some.

It also doubles as an emergency heat source if our power goes out in the main house.

Will run on one or two 1 pound lantern propane bottles a 20 pound bottle with a hose.

It's safe to use indoors and has an O2 sensor on it that will shut it off if o2 levels get low. But they do suggest cracking a window 1"x12" at least to provide fresh air. I'd also get a carbon monoxide detector with ANY setup, regardless of brand.

I paid $95 for it at a local Farmers co-op type store. (on sale).

Hooks up to the external tank like this

the one pound bottles screw in like this, then swing inline the plastic case.

they suggest if you use the external tank you use this filter.

you can get a case like this to transport it in.

pic I found of it on the web in use. (although it's recommended to use the 12ft hose and put the tank outside.)

 

[headshok2002]

the rona (sylvania) with the exhaust fan built in is VERY interesting. it's 5000w (same as the smallish corner / wall heaters), takes up NO wall space, has a vent (a plus) and can be hard-wired for a thermostat (double plus).

i am on the prairies and it looks like this isn't available to me, so i will have to look elsewhere but this is a keeper.

I'll be looking to get more info on this heater at my local Rona... if they stock it.

If I can get them and you want one, I could ship one out your way. Likely 35-40 to ship it.

 

[Lt CHEG]

I'll be keeping my eye on this thread as well. This winter will be the first time I've had a garage. Unfortunately it's rented (I hope to be building my new house with garage next spring and summer) so I can't make any permanent changes. The garage door is insulated but I don't know how much if any insulation the walls have. I won't be working in there often but since it's not heated I'm trying to come up with good ways to keep it warm when I work there. I have a kerosene convection heater of the type that are safe to use indoors that I figured will keep things warm once up to temperature, but I think it would take a while for that heater to get it up to temperature. The garage is about 22' x 24' x 8' so it isn't huge. I was thinking about picking up something like one of these Mr. Heater Construction heaters http://www.gas-space-heater.com/mr-heater-construction.html to supplement the other heater and bring it up to temp quicker. Or even using a kerosene or propane powered salamander/ bullet style heater with the garage door up 6 inches for half an hour to get things up to temperature and then just use the kerosene convection heater to keep it warm. I'm also planning on picking up some rechargeable desiccant packs to keep in each drawer of my tool chests to ensure that my tools don't rust.

 

[KENLUDE97]

This is what i have used in the past (currently). It would take my old 14x20 up to workable temp in about 20 min and very comfy in about 40-60min. That was with a VERY drafty door, and insulated walls and ceiling. They are cheap to buy easy to store off season. Mine was used when i got it, and i've had it for 7yrs.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

The heater I currently have was bought at Canadian Tire. It was cheap, on sale for 56 bucks if I recall correctly, and if you put your hand in front of the thing when it's on the air never feels hot. You can feel the heat radiating off of it from behind, and if you shut it off it gets hot. The fact is, it takes about an hour to bring the garage from say, -10 degrees celcius to about 0.

I want something that I can turn on for 10-15 minutes, come back and work in a garage that's approaching room temperature. I'm thinking of something like this:

It sounds like your 4800 watt heater is not putting out properly. Possibly one of the elements is not working or it is wired incorrectly (internally, at the plug, etc). This thing should be like a blast furnace right in front of it.

Charles