Water heater for garage

[ct03911]

I want my detached garage to be a detail shop for my personal needs.
I plan to wash cars in it on a regular basis, especially during the northeast winter.
What size and type water heater should I install?

I ran a single water line for the main home to the garage

The garage will have LP heat, a 26x28 with 12'ceilings.
I plan to wash a few of my cars a week and use a shop sink with warm water too.

I have the one cold water line from the house to the garage.
I'm thinking of a set up where I have hot and cold available from the house mains where I can feed a warm mix from my existing home basement but want to add a water heater in the garage too.

My basic question is what size and type water heater is best for a garage where the use is a few times a week and I could plumb hot and cold from the house into the one line.

 

[mygarageone]

If you mis the water , as you should a 40-50 gal gas should be fine.

 

[finn]

40 gallons is serious overkill.

My shop has a tiny (probably 3 gallons) 110 V electric heater and it does fine for washing the car and general cleanup.

I was skeptical when I bought the place with this tiny water heater and had plans to replace it asap..

I've had it for over a year now and that project never reaches the top 40.

I think something in the order of 20 gallons would be sufficient for your use. Remember, unless your water is extremely cold, you are tempering the hot water with alot of cold water for general use.

Larger heaters take more space, too.

This might be a good application for a small point of use wall hung heater.

 

[James-W]

I agree that a 40-50 gallon water heater is overkill unless you are washing cars all day ever day. As has been suggested, a small "point of use" unit may be more suitable for your needs, but I am not sure what it would cost.

 

[walrus]

Seems like a small water heater would do what you want

 

[CNGsaves]

As long you have plenty large supply lines for LPG/propane out there, just install a . .
. . . tankless water heater . . . that heats the water with propane.

. . . . endless supply of hot water !!

 

[nadogail]

I bought a Bosh small electric water heater, mounted it in the cabinet under the sink. It plugs into a receptacle under the countertop. It is smaller than a large breadbox.

Having hot water in my garage has been a real treat.

Zorro sold me mine.

 

[Stuart in MN]

40 gallons is serious overkill.

My shop has a tiny (probably 3 gallons) 110 V electric heater and it does fine for washing the car and general cleanup.

This is what I'd recommend, they're cheap and easy to install. You can get them in a variety of sizes, like 3 gallon, 6 gallon, 10 gallon, etc.

 

[nh_yota]

The water you're going to use for washing cars is not going to be as hot as the water you use for taking showers, meaning that a smaller water heater can go a long way when you use a tempering valve.

 

[Rod N]

I have around a 6 gallon at my work that works great. The beauty of it is you can mount it on the wall.
My garage uses the house heater, but you would be amazed at how nice it is to wash your hands often while working in the garage.

 

[dancalvin12]

so have you got that??? or still looking for it. i guess for garage 10 gallon heater is enough

 

[M-technik-3]

My question is where does your waste water go? When I purchased my new place I was required to close the floor drain so heavy metals would not go into ground water.