slinger2519
New member
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2022
- Messages
- 2
Hey Garage Journal. First time posting after lurking for a while. I'm looking for advice on heating my small garage this winter. I'm trying to decide the age old question of heating via heat pump vs natural gas vs propane. I've seen other threads debate this but most mentioned a 1000-2000+ sq ft garage or barn, not the 400 sq ft I'm starting out with. 21x21 ft with (currently) open ceiling and 2x4 insulated walls. Roof is about a 5/12 pitch, 2x6? rafters. Location is southern Wisconsin but not by the lake.
I've been working on insulating the walls and sealing up gaps in the garage doors the past few months, but insulation that is up to standards for this climate is definitely a work in progress. I'd appreciate any links to other threads showing fast and cheap ways to insulate the backside of a roof or add insulation to the backside of old wooden garage doors. (not sure if I can post pics here yet with my new account). Overall one thing I'm debating is how far I want to go with this garage. I do have space on the property to build one much bigger but this one is standing and I keep putting money/time into it. The current one is old, sits at grade, and worst of all only has ~7 ft between the floor and rafters at some points, so lifting up a car to work on it gets interesting. Because of that I'm not looking to go crazy and do spray foam or install any expensive permanent utilities that have a longer break even period. My dilemma is how much money and time do I want to sink into getting this garage workable during the our cold winters for a few years before I commit to taking on a dream garage build project. Or just moving if I see a dream garage go up for sale and the deal makes sense.
I've had good luck with marketplace deals so far and have been able to score a 45k btu hanging heater setup for propane that was broken for $25. Wound up being some solder joints on the control board were cracked so after I touched up that I was able to get it to stay lit and run well. I was also able to buy a 40lb tank and a 100lb propane tank the other week for $100 total. Filling the 40 lb tank was ~$50 at a gas station but a propane supplier quoted me ~$95 to fill the 100lb tank if I brought it to them. Looking at getting a dual tank rv regulator to link those together if I go this route. For the other route, the garage is detached from the house and would probably be a 125 feet run from the natural gas meter on the front of the house to the close corner of the garage. I considered just running the gas line when I run more power, but then I'd be searching for an electrician and a good plumber for this area and coordinating, so it seems like that project could balloon and not get done before winter. A heat pump would certainly require more power than the single circuit that feeds the garage now, but could that even keep up in the coldest parts of our winters? Propane is certainly easiest to get up and running and I've acquired 80% of the materials but how long before my wallet regrets paying to fill those tanks?
Other details
I plan on a running 220v 50 amp subpanel at some point, maybe this fall. This would be 60 feet or less from the side of the house to the garage. Already have some materials for this as well. That will get done with the help of some electrician friends, so easier than finding a plumber to run gas lines for me.
I have a roll around 18k btu ventless heater I could use to supplement heating during the coldest months of the year.
Would like to keep it around freezing and raise to 55 minimum when I'm working out there. Or if that is too much constant load just bring it up to temp while I'm out there.
For summer time, I had a 12k btu midea U window ac unit that couldn't keep up with the current insulation. Did drop humidity and make it a bit more comfortable though. A mini split with heat pump could be in the future but if a window unit can keep up with a well sealed garage during our milder summer I'd rather save a mini split purchase for the new garage. Wish I could find a window unit with a true heat pump to try that out. The window units seem ideal since I can install it in either garage and take it with me when if move. All of my friends would like a climate controlled garage, but I'm not sure how much the average buyer would care about these upgrades, so I'm being cautions about what I put into this structure.
What are garage journal's thoughts on my setup? Will I regret trying to heat this thing with propane this winter? If I'm trenching to run more electric should I go ahead and run nat gas? What would the extra cost for that be? Also not sure how much hassle permits and inspections for all that could be. If the bidding, work, and inspection for all that pushes me well into winter, I would save running the gas line for a few more winters and just do propane this year. Then the decision is more obvious.
-Slinger
I've been working on insulating the walls and sealing up gaps in the garage doors the past few months, but insulation that is up to standards for this climate is definitely a work in progress. I'd appreciate any links to other threads showing fast and cheap ways to insulate the backside of a roof or add insulation to the backside of old wooden garage doors. (not sure if I can post pics here yet with my new account). Overall one thing I'm debating is how far I want to go with this garage. I do have space on the property to build one much bigger but this one is standing and I keep putting money/time into it. The current one is old, sits at grade, and worst of all only has ~7 ft between the floor and rafters at some points, so lifting up a car to work on it gets interesting. Because of that I'm not looking to go crazy and do spray foam or install any expensive permanent utilities that have a longer break even period. My dilemma is how much money and time do I want to sink into getting this garage workable during the our cold winters for a few years before I commit to taking on a dream garage build project. Or just moving if I see a dream garage go up for sale and the deal makes sense.
I've had good luck with marketplace deals so far and have been able to score a 45k btu hanging heater setup for propane that was broken for $25. Wound up being some solder joints on the control board were cracked so after I touched up that I was able to get it to stay lit and run well. I was also able to buy a 40lb tank and a 100lb propane tank the other week for $100 total. Filling the 40 lb tank was ~$50 at a gas station but a propane supplier quoted me ~$95 to fill the 100lb tank if I brought it to them. Looking at getting a dual tank rv regulator to link those together if I go this route. For the other route, the garage is detached from the house and would probably be a 125 feet run from the natural gas meter on the front of the house to the close corner of the garage. I considered just running the gas line when I run more power, but then I'd be searching for an electrician and a good plumber for this area and coordinating, so it seems like that project could balloon and not get done before winter. A heat pump would certainly require more power than the single circuit that feeds the garage now, but could that even keep up in the coldest parts of our winters? Propane is certainly easiest to get up and running and I've acquired 80% of the materials but how long before my wallet regrets paying to fill those tanks?
Other details
I plan on a running 220v 50 amp subpanel at some point, maybe this fall. This would be 60 feet or less from the side of the house to the garage. Already have some materials for this as well. That will get done with the help of some electrician friends, so easier than finding a plumber to run gas lines for me.
I have a roll around 18k btu ventless heater I could use to supplement heating during the coldest months of the year.
Would like to keep it around freezing and raise to 55 minimum when I'm working out there. Or if that is too much constant load just bring it up to temp while I'm out there.
For summer time, I had a 12k btu midea U window ac unit that couldn't keep up with the current insulation. Did drop humidity and make it a bit more comfortable though. A mini split with heat pump could be in the future but if a window unit can keep up with a well sealed garage during our milder summer I'd rather save a mini split purchase for the new garage. Wish I could find a window unit with a true heat pump to try that out. The window units seem ideal since I can install it in either garage and take it with me when if move. All of my friends would like a climate controlled garage, but I'm not sure how much the average buyer would care about these upgrades, so I'm being cautions about what I put into this structure.
What are garage journal's thoughts on my setup? Will I regret trying to heat this thing with propane this winter? If I'm trenching to run more electric should I go ahead and run nat gas? What would the extra cost for that be? Also not sure how much hassle permits and inspections for all that could be. If the bidding, work, and inspection for all that pushes me well into winter, I would save running the gas line for a few more winters and just do propane this year. Then the decision is more obvious.
-Slinger