What does everyone use to heat the garage in the winter

[junkyardjeff]

I have been using a kerosene heater since the late 70s and I had enough,about 5 years ago I spent the whole winter going through the suspension in my 37 Chevy p/u and now I have a hard time with the kerosene fumes and already tired of it and only been through one tank so far this year. I am thinking about a wood stove to heat the garage as it smells better then kerosene,a new kerosene heater might help as I am still using the same one since 77.

[1937-44]

I was going to heat my garage with a wood burner as I have an ample supply of wood until my insurance company told me if I did they wouldn't cover me if there was a fire due to the flame being low in the garage where fumes accumulate and a source for combustion. Gas is not available to me, electric seemed to expensive and I didn't like the idea of fuel oil or kerosene due to past experiences with fumes, so I went with a propane radiant heater that is mounted at the ceiling. It takes a little while to warm the garage , but after it's been on a little while it's comfortable to work in the garage. If I used my garage more I wold probably go with a propane heater with forced air next time.

[AJFord54]

My garage is attached to the house and is insulated. Thus, it stays around 40 degrees all winter. However, when I am working out there, I use a propane tank - just the same as your gas grill uses - and the attachment that screws onto it. I can run it off an on for a good two weeks every night until it runs out. Costs $12 to fill. It brings the temperature of my 2 1/2 car garage up to 50 degrees in no time, and most importantly, takes the chill out.

I too hate the smell of the kerosene. Propane is much cleaner and no venting required with the small units. If you get serious, you might want to purchase a wall mounted version of the above (I use one in my cabin). They can take the same canister or you could go all out and get a larger one and leave it connected outside with less trips to the filling station (they will come to your door).

[junkyardjeff]

I do have a hanging natural gas furnace that I might be able to convert to propane,I could run a gas line out to the garage but do not want my gas bill to be any higher. I would love to have one of those outside boilers so I can heat both the house and garage but way too much money.

[CarlLaFong]

I dunno. It was about 75 in my garage today:cool:

[whtbaron]

The last time I filled up the propane tank off the barbeque up here it was $25. I'm going with an electric boiler and infloor heating in my new shop. I've had woodstoves that got cut off by insurance companies as well... no CSA sticker on a concrete block chimney either. I've run 5kw electric space heaters and the draft is annoying. If you read the warning labels on those propane heaters they also tell you to use them in a ventilated area with no explosives. Any spraying of parts cleaner, primer, paint, gas, oil, even dust is a potential explosive under the right conditions.

We've seen minus 35 here already this winter...

Edited December 17, 2013 by whtbaron (see edit history)

[R Walling]

I have a oil fired hot air furnace that is mounted 8" above the floor.

I leave it set at 45 degrees with a ceiling fan running all the time forcing the hot air up and to the far corners where it falls down and warms the floor.

I turn it up to 70 when I am working, I don't want to catch a cold. (besides I like it cozy) I burn about 275 gal. a season, that's about $6 a day. Where else can you be happy for a $1 an hour?

[39BuickEight]

One of these, around here we call them torpedo heaters, but we use diesel since it's cheaper and seems to last just as long, takes our uninsulated 40x30 shop from 40 to 65 in under an hour and will run all weekend on 8 gallons.

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/1829634980397800863?q=torpedo+heater&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&bav=on.2,or.&bvm=bv.57967247,d.b2I,pv.xjs.s.en_US.joeC7AlIzNQ.O&biw=1366&bih=566&tch=3&ech=1ψ=jUywUtitD-f-2QXm-IDgCQ.1387285644426.3&wrapid=tlif138728564562711&sa=X&ei=j0ywUpe3BuTr2QXTmYHICQ&ved=0CHsQ8wIwAw

[AJFord54]

Wow - $25 a fill. I have found prices in our area to be a high of $17.95 and the low at $12. Even at the higher prices, it seems to last so long that it's a good deal. I think propane is very safe as long as you don't have any leaks and don't aim the heater at combustable items. Have used it in my cabin for 7 years now and works quite well.

The last time I filled up the propane tank off the barbeque up here it was $25. I'm going with an electric boiler and infloor heating in my new shop. I've had woodstoves that got cut off by insurance companies as well... no CSA sticker on a concrete block chimney either. I've run 5kw electric space heaters and the draft is annoying. If you read the warning labels on those propane heaters they also tell you to use them in a ventilated area with no explosives. Any spraying of parts cleaner, primer, paint, gas, oil, even dust is a potential explosive under the right conditions.

We've seen minus 35 here already this winter...

[junkyardjeff]

I was wondering how my heater would do running it on diesel since its a little cheaper.

[auburnseeker]

I heat my home Garage, 24x 28 fully insulated with Propane and one of the vented small wood stove looking heaters with the fake logs. That's about 75.00 a month at 45 degrees all the time. I heat my shop 40x40 with a 20 foot ceiling in one bay and a 10 foot ceiling in the other with a Monitor Kerosene Heater mounted to the wall (it's Direct Vent) as a backup overnight heater and the time I'm there I heat with a big Chunk wood stove with a Thermostatic damper.

I like my Monitor heater It's thermostatically controlled. (a used one runs 100-500) bucks. New they are or were around 1500. Especially if your garage is insulated. I burn around 100.00 in Kerosene a month. It's totally clean air inside as it burns and exhausts outside air. If you have under 1600 sqaure feet it would be a great unit to check into.

I prefer keeping all my cars in heated garages as it keeps them from sweating and if you want to work on them the car won't be 20 degrees or your tools eventhough the air is 60.

If I build a new shop, it will have radiant infloor. If you've ever been in a shop with it, you will understand why.

[Dave@Moon]

With concerns over fumes and aerosol use in the garage, I switched (from kerosene) to electric space heaters years ago.

[West Peterson]

I use an un-wrapped leaky duct that leads to an upstairs room.

[39BuickEight]

I was wondering how my heater would do running it on diesel since its a little cheaper.

We can also use old oil in ours, but unless you take the roof off the garage and cover everything in it, the soot and air is less than workable for more than a few minutes.

[Bhigdog]

I use a hanging propane heater. 36 X 48 not extremely well insulated building. 150,000 BTU heater with a fan heats it up quickly. The heater has an exhaust fan so the only chimney required is a 4" vent. Best parts are quick warm up, no fumes, no moisture, no freezing worries, very little maintenance (none in 12 years) and no handling of fuel. I have a 500 gal tank and that lasts me all heating season on one fill up................Bob

[TexRiv_63]

Interesting to see so many folks heating a garage / shop with exposed flame heat sources. When I seriously considered heating my garage with gas back in Illinois I was told the only safe way was using an exterior vented furnace with a sealed combustion chamber due to the likelihood of flammable fumes. When I moved to Texas and was having a house built I inquired about including heat and A/C in the house system, I was told that was totally against code due the same fume possibility plus possible carbon monoxide dangers. I use electric heaters now when needed, of course with exposed elements they are no safer than the flame...

[Guest Will C]

I use Jim Beam. Its worked well for many years. Years ago I lost my garage because of faulty wiring. When the new garage went up I said no more power for me. I got way to many toys in there to take that kind of chance again.

[JACK M]

A hanging natural gas heater with a dial on the wall.

I have been thru wood, kerosene, oil, and propane in my different shops over the years.

Pay the gas bill and all is good.

On a side note, I have one of those on demand natural gas water heaters. No limit hot water and cheap.

So heat the shop and all the hot water I need and $15 to $60 a month depending if I am in the shop much.

[Bob Hill]

I use a PTAC - provides great heat and AC

Bob

[John Byrd]

When we built our house in Alabama, we had a basement for most work along with the outside garages. We used a propane gas fired hot water heater that recirculated the hot water through a unit very like a giant heater core in a car. This was contained in the same duct work the AC unit used, but when we used the heat, only a small 110 volt fan was necessary to heat the whole house and basement. It was very clean, but the choice of gas types or electric could be different if needed. Our house/basement (over 4500 sq. ft combined) was much cheaper to heat than any of the neighbors, some with much smaller places. The outside garage was heated by an old heat/AC combined unit (electric) that an HVAC shop gave me after he replaced one in a home because the AC part didn't work. Electricity is pretty cheap in the mainland south, so that was not a problem. The heat side worked fine, and the price was sure right ! Now, over here, well, I use an overhead fan in the garage to keep some air moving - - - BUT - - there are lots of areas on the island that need winter and evening heat. Most folks (us included) have gone to the whole house electric solar deal. Lots of the solar units are coming down in price, and if you have enough "sun time" are certainly worth considering, even a small one for a ducted heat unit only.

[Mark Shaw]

I put radiant heat in the floor of my 850 sq. ft. home shop. My son and I laid hog wire before the cement floor was poured and tied 1/2" PEX tubing in two loop circuits spaced a foot apart. We also placed 2' X 4" foam insulation around the perimeter to contain the heat within the building. I connected the two loops via two valves for control to a TACO recirculating pump and installed a small used gas fired water heater. I use the thermostat on the water heater to control temperature and have tested it up as high as 70 degrees in freezing weather. I keep it around 50 through the winter here in the Northwest where we really only see freezing temperatures for two or three months.

The great thing about this system is it only cost about $300 in materials and it is always comfortable when your feet are warm (not to mention laying or kneeling on the floor to work. It will also completely dry a wet car in less than an hour after driving it in.

[Paul Dobbin]

Last year at this time I saw one of those restaurant patio heaters on sale at Lowe's for $99.00, and bought it. They had the same sale again on Black Firday this year. It's stainless steel tower (About 7 Ft.) with an umbrella type shield that deflects the heat downward. Powered by a propane tank in the base, it works well for the work area. Although it does take the chill off the entire 2000 ft. shop, I prefer to work close to it. The shop is not air tight so I don't worry about lack of oxygen but I don't paint in the winter and stay away from gasoline and volatile chemical fumey stuff.

The qualifier is if it's colder than 20 degrees, I find something to do in the house. I think it's limits are about a 35 degree rise in the temperature, and those are my limits too.

[AJFord54]

I put radiant heat in the floor of my 850 sq. ft. home shop. My son and I laid hog wire before the cement floor was poured and tied 1/2" PEX tubing in two loop circuits spaced a foot apart. We also placed 2' X 4" foam insulation around the perimeter to contain the heat within the building. I connected the two loops via two valves for control to a TACO recirculating pump and installed a small used gas fired water heater. I use the thermostat on the water heater to control temperature and have tested it up as high as 70 degrees in freezing weather. I keep it around 50 through the winter here in the Northwest where we really only see freezing temperatures for two or three months.

The great thing about this system is it only cost about $300 in materials and it is always comfortable when your feet are warm (not to mention laying or kneeling on the floor to work. It will also completely dry a wet car in less than an hour after driving it in.

And....the winner is!.......

[junkyardjeff]

If I ever build a new garage radiant floor heat will be installed,do not fell like ripping up the floor in my present garage but I need to do something.

[MochetVelo]

Here is an interesting heater source. I have no connection with them, but they have many heaters for sale that would work in a garage and prices seem good.

http://www.heater-store.com/

Phil

[clink53]

My dad and I are both in GA and have been trying to figure this out as well. He tried a propane heater until we read about the possibility of passing out due to the carbon monoxide. The open flame situation was never good, either.

He came up with the idea to use the air handler from a heat pump unit. It's the part that goes inside the house--so it's just an emergency heat strip with a blower. There's no a/c coil on top. He built a makeshift plenum on top to restrict the air flow with a vent on it. It heats better with the restriction. It has 2 filters over the air intake hole. It's even on a thermostat. His is wired directly to his breaker box. Because the blower is so strong, all of the dust in the room gets sucked up to the filters, keeping the room clean. His works great--and heats a metal carport with one end enclosed and a fabric drop cloth covering the other end. It has gotten down to 40 degrees and it heated the room up to 70 in about 20 minutes.

The best part is...we both bought the air handler with the heat strip for $75 each. The extra metal to build a plenum was $12 at my local hvac supply. You would need a breaker and some wire to direct wire it.

Cheap and effective!

[Uncle_Buck]

We have a sun room addition to our house, about the size of a one car garage, not insulated and the floor is tile with just wood decking and nature underneath it. It was useable only in warm months and then it would get too warm, etc., making the room useable a small percentage of the year.

After a couple of years of killing parakeets with propane heat and scaring us (left us feeling wobbly), we started looking for a solution.

Here it is: A Mitsubishi 'Split System'. It is a heat pump, so you cool in summer, heat in winter. One outdoor unit can run several (up to 4 ?) indoor air handlers.

It won't be cheap, but it will not kill you either and who doesn't like A/C on hot/humid days?

This may not be a good solution for those living in the frozen tundra, like any heat pump. Our experience is that it will take our room from the mid-thirties to high 60's in about an hours time. We are very happy with this purchase, both in performance and reliability 2 years after the install. Super quiet too.

I would couple this with a few HD ceiling fans that are made for shops and garages that can be reversed depending on the season to thoroughly circulate the heating or cooling produced by these units.

Edited December 18, 2013 by Uncle_Buck (see edit history)

[Guest bofusmosby]

Heating my garage?? I have a large 2-story house (with no insulation), and I only manage to heat 2 rooms in the house....and the bathroom is NOT one of them.

[KenHupp20]

The guys with radiant floor heat are the winners.

About 25 years ago I bought a used hot air furnace for $75 installed it myself , it's still going.

Of course I can hardly afford any oil now, so I've installed my old favorite Glenwood.

[Guest Restrain]

We don't use any sort of fired heater in the garage since it is attached to the house. We also had a run-in with CO poisoning from a bad furnace this year. Nasty stuff. So we use one of those oil-filled heaters that looks like a radiator that you can get at Walmart for $40. Keeps a 2-car garage at 50-55 degrees when well below freezing outside.

[AJFord54]

I have found several items that may or may not have an application here, but they are great for "thinking out of the box". My cabin has no insulation underneath it. Additionally, my water supply is a 200 gallon cistern. I vowed this year to have water 12 months a year. To accomplish it I did the following:

1.) Purchased "Frost King" pipe tape. Think of it as an extension cord with a thermostat on one end, near the plug. You zip tie it every 6 inches along the pipe to be insulated. I then put fiberglass tubes around it and taped them. The thermostat is left out in the open air and it kicks on at 35 degrees or so and off at around 37. Thus, the pipes going to and from the cistern stay free of ice.

2.) I bought a 1500 watt heater that goes into the bottom of the cistern that comes on at around the 35 degree mark and off around 37, as the heat tape does. It keeps the water from freezing.

3.) This part is neat. I then bought a newer item on the market - a grounded thermostat plug that connects into your regular outlet. You then plug in a heater, say 1500 watt, and it will come on at the same numbers listed above (ie: 35-37). I placed it in the small area closet where my water manifold and UV chamber are located. I also run a small 500 watt electric heater at low. This keeps the bathroom and attached closet at a nice 56 degrees.

For $3.50 a day I am heating my cabin just enough to be able to have water 12 months a year. I have survived 0 degree weather using this system this winter.

The big thing here is that the plug in thermostat (item #3) can be purchased to come on a various temperatures. You simply purchase the one that best suits you. For instance, you could have one that comes on at 45 degrees and goes off at 50. You arn't cranking juice 24 hours a day - just when it is needed. These thermostats only run $17.00 each. The value here is that some of us want to keep the garage at around 40 or so to keep the moisture down, and this accomplishes it.

Again, in my garage, I use propane, but modern technology really allows you to use some of the above to accomplish what you want without breaking the bank.

Edited December 31, 2013 by AJFord54 (see edit history)

[Mark Shaw]

What did I win???

[AJFord54]

A NEW labyrinth!

[Laughing Coyote]

I'm looking into building a solar heater for my fab shop. The thermometer shows 46 in the winter time. Way to cold for me. They're posted all over Youtube on how to make them. Not sure how well it will work for you being in Ohio. I'm sure the days are overcast alot and you don't get much sun. Just a thought and cheap to build and no fumes and free heat from the sun.

[kings32]

I had a fire in my garage couple years ago. When I rebuilt , I put in a wood furnace But put it in a small building , concrete and steel , Piped the hot air in through 8 in ducts. Takes about one hour to bring the heat to 65 in the shop. Wood is cheap some times I get paid to haul it away. Splitting keeps you in good shape and sometimes get help when you get mad at something that won't go together the way is suppost to .Always make sure your insurance is up to date , most old cars are under insuran along with the out building can you replace for that amount ?

[Bhigdog]

The guys with radiant floor heat are the winners.

About 25 years ago I bought a used hot air furnace for $75 installed it myself , it's still going.

Of course I can hardly afford any oil now, so I've installed my old favorite Glenwood.

Now that there is a beautiful stove. does it have shaker grates for coal?................Bob

[Jim Bollman]

Use to have a used house oil furnace that did a great job but oil is high and they will only deliver a minimum of 150 gallons at a time. A few years ago the snow decided to stick a little to long before coming off the roof and when it let loose it took out 3 snow guards and my very expensive metalbestas chimney. I decided to sell the furnace and have the steel roof panel replaced. One possible long term plan is to put a through the wall exhausting wall mounted LP heater. Haven't sprung for that yet and am getting buy with a kerosun heater and a couple of electric heaters. I also picked up a 2'X4' radian panel that I mounted in the ceiling over where I stand at the work bench.

The other think I have been reading about is a small either free standing or wall mounted heat pump. The free standing ones could sit on a shelf and would be big enough for my main shop area and would give me some AC in the summer.

[KenHupp20]

Thank you Bob, My stove has the flat grates for burning wood.It also has a bit of history;used to belong to the niece of President Franklin Pierce. I bought it 35 years ago before the "fad" started.

Ken

[Guest prs519]

Here are a couple of monumental mistakes I have made, which seems my mode of learning sometimes. 1. Be sure that you have the correct orifice size or nozzle size, and especially pressure regulator, especially when converting natural gas to propane, and vice-versa (air duct may also need adjustment to ensure a clean flame). Miracle I did not burn my new shop down -- I was fortunate that I had a long whip line from my propane tank, enabling me to shut the supply gas off, hence, avoiding the high pressure torch inferno I had created with an old gas stove! 2. In my scrounging, I acquired a brand new Carrier dual purpose AC Heat unit, and proudly boxed it into the wall of my new shop. Its physical size seemed just about right, so I did not concern myself with technicalities. This was unfortunate; having wired it up to 220V, I turned it on. I found that I had not the BTUs on the heat side to melt a popsicle! Then, and only then, did I read the obvious tag. Since it was framed up so expertly, I decided to dedicate it to wall art, and to my own lack of common sense, hence it will remain. The moral is that physical size should not be used to gauge any heat unit's output. Read the data plates. Probably you already would act in ways consistent with my advice, but if you have a nature similar to mine, you might learn from the mistakes of mine, instead of your own. I wish I would learn from the mistakes of others instead of my own, but I haven't mastered that yet.