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I'm hoping some of you would have opinions on heating a garage. I've been using a freestanding ceramic grid propane heater the past several years and am thinking I'm tired of waiting an hour or two to be comfortable in the winter.

I'm considering the radiant electric units that are a tube you can hang like a light fixture, but would like to know how to compare them to other options. Also trying to figure how large a unit to use as I need to only heat 1/2 of a two car garage.

Gas options are out as the wife has decided that I'm asphyxiating myself with the current propane unit. Building code won't allow running the house heating to the garage, which I realize would be stupid anyway. I don't want to incur the expense of a separate HVAC for the garage.

I've already got 110 and 220 run in the garage.

Are BTU ratings for radiant and BTU ratings for other types of heaters comparable? Would the radiant be adequate as we do get a few weeks of below zero most winters.

Oh, and I'm just an amateur builder with pretty intermitant opportunities to get out to the garage in the first place.

Advice?

Thanks

The best fix would be to insulate the walls, floor and ceiling. Also install a vapor barrier. I heat my shop all winter with a small $20 ceramic heater. Pals, Vic.

Wat Vic said is best to start. My shop/garage is not built right because I have to park a golf cart in it. I bought some garage door insulation that is thick and can be cut to fit inserts in doors.

One thing a person can do and pretty cheap is look around and find a motel who may be replacing their AC/Heater for rooms. Takes care of AC/Heat and a lot of humidity problems. Have to cut a hole in the garage wall and hook it up to 220 and easy to do. If not comfortable doing those, find someone who can do it for you. Shouldn't be that much.

Living in Branson there at times are a lot of units out there. I have seen them run about $125 to $175 and working perfectly.

I used one of these type construction heaters in my old garage shop. http://www.ouellet.com/commercial-heati ... .aspx?i=20
I had insulated and vapour barriered the walls, and had an aspenite ceiling and sub floor on sleepers. It worked really well until the outside temp. reached about -25C and windy. I usually had to turn the temp. way down, once I got moving.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I'm running one of those overhead radiant heaters, the long tube ones. I think that it is a fabulous choice for a retrofit, especially a woodworking shop. The combustible air is drawn in from outside, is contained, and then exhausted. These is no exposed flame. Also, as it is radiant, there is no air being blow around the shop moving dust. They work on natural gas or propane. The 12' unit is good for about 600 square feet. Mine is overkill at 24' as I was planning on expanding my shop size and the larger unit was only modestly more expensive.

Something to keep in mind, in addition to what has already been mentioned. If you work in the shop regularly enough, don't let the shop get too cold! The room will never feel warm until everything in it warms up. Until then your shop is just absorbing all the heat that you can throw at it. It often takes more energy to re-heat the shop than to just keep it warm. If there are times when you don't work in there, let the shop go to cool but not to cold or freezing.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
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It's not ideal, but it is fast. I bought one of those small blower heaters from lowes. You plug it into a wall and a fan and sparker start up. It's attached to a propane tank. And it is fast. And no, you are not suffocating yourself. These things are very efficient and designed for such use. You can always leave a window open if you are overly concerned.

Until I bought my mini-split heat/pump/AC, I used those electric, oil filled radiator heaters. They work great. No drafts, nothing to start a fire, except electrical short or something, pretty good thermostats in them, and they don't excessively dry out already dry air.

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Waddy

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I put a 50K BTU gas tube heater in a few years ago. Love it!

viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=24694&hilit=heater

Ken

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I also use an electric, oil-filled radiator heater in the shop. I have it set to keep the temperature at about 50F. Usually it's warm enough in there (around 55-60) so that I'm comfortable working although if needed I have a heater/AC combo unit in the wall. My shop is about 15 x 22 feet, it is well insulated, and there is no garage door so the small heater is more than adequate.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

If you are only heating the space intermittently you might try a couple of the inexpensive electric heaters with the built in fan that farmers use to warm their milking parlors with. They warm things up reasonably quickly. Wearing an insulated vest and keeping your core warm will also make working in a cold shop more bearable.

Being in Minnesota, I've tried it all in my garage.
Your biggest enemy is humidity. So you need something that heats thing up fast without effecting humidity.

I tried the propane thing, electric heat and a blue flame wall heater al because I didn't want to cut a hole in my wall or run a chimney.

Finally settled on a traditional furnace. Got a 90% efficiency unit for free from an HVAC guy.
I didn't run any ducting because the space is so small and the unit was only 60k btu.
The hole I cut was only 4".
Humidity stays stable and the place heats up in just a few minutes.

The hanging units are fine and would do the same job, I just didn't like the price.

Consider the humidity when you make your final decision. If you are building guitars, you NEED to keep that as constant as possible.
I've had too little and too much and suffered the consequences on both ends of the spectrum.
If you can keep it constant, you'll be much happier on the long run.

Dave

Good point about the humidity Dave. It makes a big difference what climate you're in. In this area at around 50-55F in the shop it's pretty easy to stay at about 40-45% relative humidity. I have a dehumidifier for when it gets higher.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I had one of these in a previous shop (about 400 square feet). It worked perfectly until it got to -20C or so and then would struggle somewhat to maintain room temperature. That was with insulation, drywall and an insulated roll-up door. Should work just fine in your part of the country. You can easily put a remote thermostat on it as well. http://www.homedepot.ca/product/1500w-2 ... ite/901509 I now use a 60,000 BTU Natural gas overhead heater that easily keeps things heated in any weather. It is direct vented and has an enclosed combustion chamber which is pretty much a must in a woodshop.

Definitely insulation first. The second is it will cut down on the noise going out too. Unless your neighbors like the sound of routers....
I keep a oil-radiator type thing running pretty much always set at 55-60 or so. I break out the heat lamps in about October and put a couple over my bench and work tables for spot heat. I also have a twin tube radiant heater hung from the rafters that works well too, but is actually too hot most of the time.
You can control the heat from lamps with a Variac, which is IMHO one of the most essential shop accessories (variable speed shop vac, heater control, etc. etc.) I also have a woodstove for really cold snaps, but my shop is a separate building so I have that flexibility.
I have my storage shelves for in progress bodies and parts enclosed, and a ceramic infra red (used in terrariums for reptiles - get them at the pet store) rigged up to heat an aluminum plate set about 4 inches from it. If the humidity gets too low in the "pup tent" I can put a soup can of water on the aluminum plate and it gently vaporizes it.

-C

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