Garage Heat

[pontifex]

What do you guys recommend for heating a detached single car garage so I can work out there on days like this?

These are what caught my eye at HD. Prices seem right.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Dyna-Glo-...specifications


http://www.homedepot.com/p/Dyna-Glo-...N#.UpIaDcReZ8F

[RandyO]

#1 will heat faster, but is very noisey

[Kurlon]

Both need LOTS of ventilation too FYI.

[Imbeek]

I've had one similar to the top one for many years. It works well to hear a small area very quickly; if there are drawbacks besides the noise, they are that:
1) you need an area to aim it where nothing will catch fire
2) it's not good for maintaining temperature, just heating it quickly. As a result, prepare to get your workspace too hot, turn it off, work till it gets too cold, then repeat. Size of room, insulation, and outside temp determine how often you repeat. It's not a "set it and forget it" type device, but it will heat the hell out of a cold single car garage in very short order.

[pontifex]

Thanks for the feedback. Maybe propane isn't the way to go.

How about two of these: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...5479_200395479

[SteveM]

I prefer electric, but placed on the floor. Heat rises, and in a poorly insulated garage a heat source above where I am only heats the air to the ceiling.

[netra709]

I went with this a few years ago http://www.homedepot.com/p/Reddy-Hea...3#.UpIzxsSUSA8 I bought a propane bottle at the same time, think it is 75 or 100 lb bottle. Piped the bottle through the garage wall. I have been happy with this.

[fineout]

My dad has a modine gas heater that's really nice, just have to run a line out there

[slowkermit]

I have option #1 and DO NOT recommend it. You need to ventilate the space, which is the opposite of insulating. So, you can either be warm with a headache from the fumes, or you can be safe by opening doors and windows and staying cold lol.

My next heater will be a BRAND NEW oil-filled electric radiator. I feel like they work well in a small space like my shed or your garage. An older one can definitely cause a fire.

[gumby]

This isn't the cheapest option, but it's by no means the most expensive. http://www.empirezoneheat.com/ehs/in...t-wall-furnace

If you plan on keeping your place for a while, insulate the garage and install a propane direct vent wall furnace. Personally, I consider it my most prized investment in home ownership.

[nhbubba]

I've been thinking about buying something like this myself:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Pelonis-1...o#.UpJJSZRrOJY

Geez, $40.. how can you go wrong?!

Spec says 150 sqft and my 2-car is more like 500.. but I don't expect or need it to be T-shirt warm. Just not freeze your nuts of cold.

[RandyO]

I have option #1 and DO NOT recommend it. You need to ventilate the space, which is the opposite of insulating. So, you can either be warm with a headache from the fumes, or you can be safe by opening doors and windows and staying cold lol.

propane?

I get fumes from my kerosene fired American Salamander (160,000btu), which aren't bad if its in proper tune, good idea to have a CO detector in the space when your running one, forced heaters are best for applications like hoop garages or spaces that are tarped or similarly enclosed
did not realize that propane heaters needed ventilation like a kerosene heater, my kitchen stove doesn't kill me

[netra709]

I've been thinking about buying something like this myself:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Pelonis-1...o#.UpJJSZRrOJY

Geez, $40.. how can you go wrong?!

Spec says 150 sqft and my 2-car is more like 500.. but I don't expect or need it to be T-shirt warm. Just not freeze your nuts of cold.

If your garage is insulated, and if there aren't too many drafts around the doors, that would work pretty well.

[nhbubba]

If its insulated, it is poorly insulated. And the door drafts like a mutha.

[carsick]

If its insulated, it is poorly insulated. And the door drafts like a mutha.

[slowkermit]

I think the problem with the little cheap propane bullet heaters like mine, is that they are cheaply constructed and don't completely burn the propane. They absolutely produce a byproduct, or at least mine does.

[reks95]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oIJpD2dPX4

[loudbeard]

I have a Big Buddy propane heater for I use for cold weather camping in a 9x12 tent. Just on the lowest setting (4.5k btu) it's almost too much. High setting is 18k btu. It's rated to be used in enclosed spaces. Pretty inexpensive at $125, then add an accessory hose to attach to a bulk propane bottle. Should be perfect for a single car garage.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Mr-He...ter/745033.uts

[pontifex]

That sounds perfect. I wonder why they say it can't be sold in Mass.

[jasnmar]

You can spend more and get a Massachusetts approved one.
http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-MH18...d_sim_sbs_hg_3

Another option might be if you knew someone who lived in NH and made regular trips to MA...

[loudbeard]

They actually just won't ship it to mass. I had mine shipped to my Dad's place in NH. I was at Bass Pro in Foxboro a few months ago and they were on the shelfs there. The Commonwealth probably just wants to exact some stupid inspection fee to determine its "tent safe."

[carsick]

So, the Big Buddy takes 4 D batteries?

[loudbeard]

The batteries are for the blower, you can also plug it in with an AC adapter.

[Garandman]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/f...splay.php?f=26

[GixerJockey]

I'm spoiled... I just turn up the thermostat on the garage wall about a half hour before I want to start working in there. Some genius ran a third zone of baseboard heat from the gas furnace into the garage of my condo. It was basically the decision maker for taking this unit.