Garage Heating Solutions?

[BlueSaph95GT]

Alright gents, doing a little bit of forward planning. I want to work on the Mustang over the winter to update various suspension and rear end bits, but unfortunately the garage is detached, brick, and no insulation or inside walls. Just the outer face brick on all four sides and the inner cinder block. I would be interested in a lower cost solution for heating and am considering propane or a kerosene/diesel heater if I can figure out a way to keep things properly vented. Garage only has two glass block windows with vents in the middle that are literally right next to my spot (don't want that heater blowing propane flames directly at my passenger door!)

What solutions have you found? Electric heaters? Is propane clean burning enough to keep a heater in a poorly vented garage?

Would love to have a wood stove or waste oil burner out there but not so sure about chopping up the roof to make that work with a chimney...

Ideas and suggestions appreciated. I want to figure this out while it's still hot outside so i'm not fighting through numb fingers and missing sunday football telecasts putting together a heater!

 

[Adam95GT]

used a large kero heater before with good results. not sure if it was the best idea.


Just do a lot of welding things heat up fast

 

[whitesqual]

I use this heater to heat an oversized two car garage. I only takes about a half hour to get the garage nice and toasty.

http://www.amazon.com/Kero-World-KW-24G-Portable-Convection/dp/B000050I7X

 

[ProKiller]

at my dad's place we have a torpedo kero heater that works pretty well but we usually leave it running the whole time as its small for the space.

at the inlaw's garage, he has a full wood stove so that thing cranks once you have it going but that takes a good hour or so.

they do make propane stoves that don't need to be vented. go check out a fireplace store or a good hardware store that sells that stuff.

 

[Adam95GT]

Yea the one we used was something like this:
Amazon.com: Kero World KW-11F 10,000-BTU Indoor Portable Radiant Kerosene…

Worked well enough to take off the extra layer.

 

[revhead347]

I just got two electric space heaters from Walmart. It's not efficient, but you only heat it when you are out there working so it's not that big of a deal. I just didn't see spending a whole bunch of money on it.

Kurt

 

[DOHC otto]

If you can easly get firewood for a cheap price, have a welder and a little extra steal. You can make one of these set ups out of steal barrels for about 250 to 300 bucks (most of it is in the stove pipe)and go out the wall with the pipe. Its a little redneck but it will put out the heat.

 

[Zero_chance]

I'm in a similar situation as you. 800 square foot garage, no insulation on the roof (where all the heat goes) and thin foam insulation on the walls (circa 1970s). Last year I bought a 110,000 BTU kero tube heater from a local person. Works great, heats the whole place up to high 70s and higher but the fumes can get to you after a while. I also had a smaller propane tube heater. Good for directional heat but doesnt heat up the shop. Much better on fumes though, by far. The way to go is like someone already pointed out.. Kerosene convection heater. They only really give off fumes the first few minutes (most are rated for indoor use), dont suck down the fuel like tube heaters do and a decent one will do a thousand square feet with no problem. Thats my next investment. Going to use the propane torpedo for directional heat while the convection heater heats up then that should carry it with no problem. Wasnt very fond of filling the 40lb propane cylinder every week and cant take the fumes from the kerosene torpedo.

 

[StadEMS3]

I want to heat mine too, but it's 33'Dx35'Wx15'H. It is fully insulated, sheetrocked and painted though. I guess I could get away with a 10k BTU?

 

[Zero_chance]

Having it fully insulated and sheetrocked will definitely help your cause. Is the roof insulated as well? Most of the heat will escape that way as it rises up. Most heaters will advertise what theyre capable of heating in terms of square feet. Convection heaters are by far the best for heating up large rooms, maintaining the heat and doing so with minimal fumes and maximum fuel economy. Just keep in mind it takes a while to heat up. Torpedo heaters are the best for instant directional heat, though they suck down the fuel, kerosene versions will leave a lot of fumes and only the large units will actually heat up the entire work space if its an open floor plan.

 

[Last5.0]

Maybe look for a used home furnace on craigslist or something and install that.

My garage is 30x35, 10' ceiling joists and rafters above that. Not insulated but sheetrocked. About 10 years back my parents bought a new furnace and a/c unit and I took their old one. It's a Lennox 110,000 btu. I have it suspended from the ceiling towards the back and I ran a gas line, put a vent pipe in the roof above it and wired it up to a thermostat. Works great. At first I just had the plenum on the top angled down towards the center of the garage but it blew **** around too much, so I installed an air duct with vents on the sides straight out to the front of the garage.

I don't run it all the time, only if I'm going to be out there working I go out and light the pilot, flip it on and set the stat to like 75 and go inside and get me a beer. Within 5 minutes it's nice and warm in the whole garage and with the thermostat it will kick on/off just like your home furnace does.

 

[StadEMS3]

Having it fully insulated and sheetrocked will definitely help your cause. Is the roof insulated as well? Most of the heat will escape that way as it rises up. Most heaters will advertise what theyre capable of heating in terms of square feet. Convection heaters are by far the best for heating up large rooms, maintaining the heat and doing so with minimal fumes and maximum fuel economy. Just keep in mind it takes a while to heat up. Torpedo heaters are the best for instant directional heat, though they suck down the fuel, kerosene versions will leave a lot of fumes and only the large units will actually heat up the entire work space if its an open floor plan.

roof is sheetrocked, painted and insulated as well. Thanx for the info, looks like I'll be getting a heater this winter.

 

[millhouse]

If you plan on doing any type of major work out there on a frequent basis, I HIGHLY suggest looking into a radiant tube heater. The type of heat put off is compared to that of the sun (radiant), and as such…there is no need to heat the air up directly. Instead, all of the objects in the room are heated indirectly which then radiate the heat back out. This means the temp can be 55* yet, you'll find yourself working in your T-shirt and sweating your ass off after working for a an hour. They are MUCH more efficient and are FAR less prone to heat losses associated with air leaks, poor insulation and a garage door that frequently get's opened and closed. Another bonus is that it doesn't blow dust and dirt everywhere and has a sealed combustion chamber which draws fresh air in from the outside and exhausts it back out. Anytime you vent the exhaust gasses back into the same room you are heating, you are prone to major condensation on everything within the room. Likewise, you want to avoid frequent heating and cooling above and below freezing. Basically, you'll be dumping water into the air as a result of combustion and all of the water will condense onto objects in the room when then temp reaches the dew point.

FYI, last winter I kept my 1000sq Ft garage at 45* (in Mid-Michigan) at all times (which is long pant's and sweatshirt comfortable). When I wanted to go out and work for more than 30 minutes, I'd crank it up to 55*. My average gas bill increase was around $50/month…not bad considering I was unemployed and spent many a day's in the garage working on things.

 

[Chutel]

I apologize for bump the old topic, but I have some interesting observations that I would like to share, maybe this will help someone in the future because once I was on the lookout for useful advice.
I don't have any direct experience, but as someone shopping for his first single family home, I have been trying to educate myself on home construction and remodeling. What I've heard is that in-floor radiant heating is a lot more efficient than forced air, with the down side being that it takes longer to bring up the temperature.
In floor is the best, insulate under the slab, and thermal break the foundation (if applicable)
Second i like patio heaters https://patiotip.com/best-patio-heater if youve got the ceiling height.
Third is plain old forced air, and id insulate the 2nd level seperate if your going to have it at 2 temperatures. You could use a mini split heat pump for your upstairs. AC is nice for the office, insulation wise, i like roxul r19 walls r60 attic. Could go with r19 batts in walls/cdiling then blown in cellulouse, just do a good job with your vapor barrier as its important. If youve got the money i would do closed cell spray foam but just butter the ceiling then cellulouse on top. Your overhead doors will be your main loss, and keep a close eye on weather stripping.
There are a lot of useful videos on this subject on Youtube, I'll leave one here, Hope this helps someone. Good luck!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLumJT_v5_8

 

[Noobz347]

I apologize for bump the old topic, but I have some interesting observations that I would like to share, maybe this will help someone in the future because once I was on the lookout for useful advice.
I don't have any direct experience, but as someone shopping for his first single family home, I have been trying to educate myself on home construction and remodeling. What I've heard is that in-floor radiant heating is a lot more efficient than forced air, with the down side being that it takes longer to bring up the temperature.
In floor is the best, insulate under the slab, and thermal break the foundation (if applicable)
Second i like patio heaters https://patiotip.com/best-patio-heater if youve got the ceiling height.
Third is plain old forced air, and id insulate the 2nd level seperate if your going to have it at 2 temperatures. You could use a mini split heat pump for your upstairs. AC is nice for the office, insulation wise, i like roxul r19 walls r60 attic. Could go with r19 batts in walls/cdiling then blown in cellulouse, just do a good job with your vapor barrier as its important. If youve got the money i would do closed cell spray foam but just butter the ceiling then cellulouse on top. Your overhead doors will be your main loss, and keep a close eye on weather stripping.
There are a lot of useful videos on this subject on Youtube, I'll leave one here, Hope this helps someone. Good luck!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLumJT_v5_8

The original poster created this thread in 2010 but he might still be looking for a solution.

 

[General karthief]

I live in Florida, we use cold weather for an excuse to party

 

[Noobz347]

I live in Florida, we use cold weather for an excuse to party

Most of you lunatics retreat to the indoors so that us tourists have room to move around.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I have three options.

Kerosene heater...which sucks because I have to keep garage door open to avoid dying

220 v electric heater

Stand up AC/ heat pump unit....great for shoulder seasons