Reznor unit heater size?

[zmotorsports]

heating a garage is going to cost you. It's going to cost you to install it, to maintain it, to heat it, etc. When you heat the garage, opening the door essentially empties out every single bit of heat that was there.

I'm not the OP but I don't understand your comment. I agree heat may be a comfort item and not heating his shop will not cost him but not quite sure of the argument you are trying to make. He would have been money ahead to not build the shop in the first place but if having a shop and asking about heating it I would assume he wants to be comfortable while in the shop and realizes it will cost some upfront funds as well as monthly usage.

As far as opening the door, it won't empty out every single bit of heat that was there. The air won't exchange that quickly and there are items that are heat soaked, such as the floor which is the largest heat sink, that won't immediately drop to ambient once the door is opened. Granted if the door remains open for long enough temperatures will naturally equalize inside with outside but whatever heat escapes by opening a door to pull a vehicle in or out is quickly recovered in short order.

I pull vehicles in/out of my shop all the time at night and with temps in the single digits to teens and as long as I don't leave the door open any longer than necessary usually by the time I walk back to the shop from parking the vehicle the t-stat is either already satisfied or nearly satisfied.

 

[Bert_]

heating a garage is going to cost you. It's going to cost you to install it, to maintain it, to heat it, etc. When you heat the garage, opening the door essentially empties out every single bit of heat that was there.

Not even close. Air doesn't hold much heat energy. Most of the heat is stored by the stuff in the building.

Opening the doors only wastes a small amount of energy. we're only opening the door for a few minutes the building will get back up to temperature fairly quickly, even if you turn to the heater off.

 

[etbjr]

Got it hung, now need to get it the venting done and gas hooked up.

 

[zmotorsports]

Awesome.

 

[toyotadriver]

Looks good.

The only thing many people don't consider when installing garage heaters is, most garages are only heated when people work out there. Otherwise, they sit unheated. An unheated garage takes a LOT of BTUs to get up to a comfortable working temp. Garages also often have taller ceilings than a typical house. Then, add in garage doors (even good ones are poorly insulated compared to an insulated wall) and when you open them, you are losing a fair amount of your heat so you'll need more BTUs. So, unless you maintain your garage/shop temp just like your house, the average person will need a heater with more BTUs for a shop than they will for the same size house. Yes you don't want to grossly oversize the heater but for a shop generally you are better off sizing it a little on the high side instead of the low side.

 

[etbjr]

As far as for the sizing it’s a done deal....and I believe it’ll do just fine (125k). The shop is well insulated and my current kerosene at around 20k brings it up around 3 degrees an hour. The plan is to keep the shop at 55 degrees, then bump it up when out there.

 

[toyotadriver]

As far as for the sizing it’s a done deal....and I believe it’ll do just fine (125k). The shop is well insulated and my current kerosene at around 20k brings it up around 3 degrees an hour. The plan is to keep the shop at 55 degrees, then bump it up when out there.

Since you plan to maintain a set temp, I’m certain your 125k will be fine. For your size shop if I was just heating it when needed, I’d lean to the 150k. But for your planned use I bet it works great.

 

[Bert_]

Since you plan to maintain a set temp, I’m certain your 125k will be fine. For your size shop if I was just heating it when needed, I’d lean to the 150k. But for your planned use I bet it works great.

125k is already sized up.. It will recover from a setback fairly quick.

 

[TTA89]

I have a 28x54x15 with 2x6 and batt insulation, 3 big roll up uninsulated doors. I have a 125K Beacon Morris propane unit that I only run when I'm in there. With two ceiling fans moving air around I can bring the Nest thermostat from mid 20s in winter to low 50s in less than an hour. It moves some heat... Works great for me.

I open the door to bring snowmobiles and cars in and out. It catches right back up..

 

[etbjr]

So I’m getting things ready for the exhaust vent hook up and have the inside wall cut out already, before I do the outside wall I’m needing to make sure I have the sealant for the vent pipe and thimble joint. I have a tube of GE Advanced silicone that’s rated for 400 degrees, will that work or do I need something with a higher temperature rating? I can’t seem to find out what the flue vent temp is for a 125k heater.

 

[PoorUB]

I see it is a done deal, but I live in North Dakota and in our climate I would have recommended a 100K BTU. In your climate I bet a 75K would have done it.

HVAC contractors are crazy! I worked in the trade for twenty years and pretty much all of them over size equipment. if you under size you get in trouble. If you over size nobody says a thing, so most will over size. Your choice on the 125K is a bit more than I would do, but not crazy. No way I would put a 150K or larger in your shop.

My neighbor has a 1,000 square foot shop he heats with 30K BTU and no complaints. I live in an older 1,000 foot rambler. My garage is better insulated. I can heat my house on 24K BTU down to about -30F until I need to reconnect second stage on my furnace.

 

[etbjr]

Thanks for the feedback on the unit size! I found some silicone sealant at Ace Hardware for the vent pipe at the thimble.

 

[etbjr]

Here’s the heater all finished! Really like it a lot.

 

[etbjr]

Don’t know why pics are rotated.

 

[etbjr]

Here’s some of the exhaust vent outside.

 

[etbjr]

Another from inside.

 

[toyotadriver]

Looks good. The drip leg ideally should come in and then the gas should make a 90* turn and enter the furnace. It should still work though so I don't think I would change it.

 

[purediesel]

Looks good. The drip leg ideally should come in and then the gas should make a 90* turn and enter the furnace. It should still work though so I don't think I would change it.

Yes, turn your Tee so that the gas comes in the top and the heater take off it to the right. Hard to describe, but the short take off is for the heater while the long side of the tee would be vertical.