garage heating options

ShaneB

ShaneB

New member
Winter is upon us which means those of us in the northern states are confined to our garages. I'm closing up the mobile aspect of my detailing but still want to be able to offer interior work from my garage. But I'd like to know what others have done for heating the garage?

My garage is insulated so that's not a concern (insulated garage door as well) but no heat is fed to the garage. I was thinking a space heater rated for large rooms but I'm not sure what will work. Also saw at Lowes for $200 is a garage heater but I'd have to get a 240 line installed to run it.

I don't need 70 degrees in the garage but I think 50 is reasonable. Just need it warm enough to protect all my supplies as well as be tolerable to work on an interior for a few hours.
 
Ceiling mounted garage heaters do a very good job at warming up large spaces and they're safer being up and out of your way. My brother has one in his woodworking shop as the sole source of heat and it keeps the place nice warm. Even though it may require an electrician to run a new line, I'd strongly consider one.
 
Some of those ceiling hung package heaters require venting to the outside as well, which is another expense. That may only be the nat gas ones though. Not sure about the electrics.
 
The one I'm looking at is electric, hence the 240 line I'd need. Has anyone used a space heater of some sort instead? I don't exactly have a huge budget for this. Was hoping to find a decent solution for under $100
 
Well, if your garage is insulated really well and drywalled, including the ceiling, any 110vac space heater would work, but would take longer to bring the temp up.

I had a small oscillating one when I lived in WA., and the winter temps got down to freezing all the time, but my little space heater in a well insulated garage and garage doors, etc., got the temp up to where it was ok to be out there and certainly, way better than being outside..

You just cant go opening the big door/s a lot while you are heating it up and you should be fine..

Of course the bigger the heater the better and make sure it has a good reliable thermostat on it to turn it off when the desired temp is reached..

Some oscillate too which is nice to help spread the heat around..

110vac heaters are good and much less expensive than getting a big unit running off of a separate 220vac line and 2 breakers...

If you were going to make this an all - year -around job, then perhaps the bigger more expensive heating unit could be justified and hopefully paid for from your work quickly, so you can get back to making a little money at this..

Good luck !
Dan F
 
Excellent points... I just need to get through the winter as I hope to really push hard next summer to be able to get a small shop by the following winter
 
You don't say how "northern" your state is. So...how looow are the temps that you hope to modify? We have never had a heated garage, but I have had some experience trying to keep small greenhouses afloat during winter. Greenhouses are pretty much the epitome of NO insulation, given some "solar gain" that you can trap and hold (not much).

If your garage is truly well insulated, I would look into an electric oil-filled heater with a good thermostat.

In WA I needed one big 240 near-roof-mounted electric heater with blower to keep a 15 x 25 ft greenhouse above freezing. But in our present NM location, much warmer, but with zero insulation (other than backing a "temperature modifying" barn wall), a single oil-filled heater holds the night temps above 45. A LOT of heat loss occurs within a "glass house". Much, much worse than any garage on the planet. If temps outside my greenhouse fall below 15 degrees, I supplement with a 1500 watt space heater (with good thermostat). Remember that the greenhouse has NADDAH insulation. NOT like an insulated garage.

An oil-filled heater takes up little space, is easy to move (on wheels), but is slooow to change temps. Does a good job of holding the temperature, if the thermostat is set fairly high (in my case 65 degrees). Doesn't cost hardly anything to run, as opposed to an electric space heater.

Might work for you? If,... you don't open garage bay doors, and your garage is attached to your heated hacienda. Doubt if you can find a good one for 100 bucks though.
 
I was leaning toward the oil filled ones with what I've been seeing. I'm in southern Michigan and last winter we had night time temps a few times down to 20 below (actual). I don't think we will see that again but I have to keep that in mind
 
I find that oil filled heaters take way too long to heat up and their heat output is not nearly as good as a well designed electrical, oscillating, thermostatic controlled 110Vac heater..

I had a couple of oil filled radiator heaters for my house last year I lived in fridgid WA., and they didnt do squat inside the house..

Out in the garage - forgetaboutit...
Good Luck with this -
Dan F
 
If you are looking at an actual possible temp of 20 below, I doubt if any small space heater, or oil heater may keep your garage toasty. Regardless of the R-ratings of your garage insulation I would be skeptical of how well any small portable heater would deal with the "interior climate". It's gonna be cold for a loooong time, even in the daytime hours.

I would go with a 240 installation, with blower, like I had in the greenhouse in Wa. Going 240 will save you money in the long run, because it generally costs less to run. This possibility might also be determined by the size of your home service entrance, and how many "spare breakers" you have at the panel in your home, or garage. In WA, GA, and in NM, we had/have separate breaker panels for barns+greenhouse,..and home, so there has not been an issue with adding a "240 circuit". If your home is older, and with a small panel, you might not be able to dedicate an additional 240 line to your garage?

The way to go, at 20 below? Dunno, but a thought.

In defense of portable heaters tho: We suffered a near-record breaking winter in 2011 in NM, with the temps dropping to minus 6.5! and staying below freezing for several days. Totally out of character for our area. To save plants in the small greenhouse, we cranked up the electric oil heater and added a 1500 watt "milk house heater", and all came through. Even though our very well insulated three car garage is connected to our home, we cracked the back door from the utility room into the garage space. Naddah fffffroze, in either space. Thankfully.

I understand your temps, as we also had a refer/fridge thermostat go out in winter (thankfully?) when we lived in Quebec Canada. We moved all of the frozen food out to the Porsche 911 under the open carport. Locked it all up. The priciest freezer we have ever had. No Joke!

Good luck. Look into going 240....!!
 
Stokdgs said:
I find that oil filled heaters take way too long to heat up and their heat output is not nearly as good as a well designed electrical, oscillating, thermostatic controlled 110Vac heater..

I had a couple of oil filled radiator heaters for my house last year I lived in fridgid WA., and they didnt do squat inside the house..

Out in the garage - forgetaboutit...
Good Luck with this -
Dan F
Click to expand...

Yeah I like them as a booster for rooms I am in in my house. Rooms already 67/68 and I am chilly use it to bump room to 74/75. I like it because its silent and moving air tends to upset my sinuses (allergic to dust bad).
 
I'm not concerned about it being toasty... Just above freezing to keep my products from freezing really.

My other thought was to just equip the garage with a number of halogen lamps (I need more lighting anyway) and those put off a ton of heat themselves. Maybe I could kill 2 birds with one stone and get added lighting along with heat. I wonder how 8 or 10 halogens would work for a supply of heat. But I'd still need a small heater to keep my supplies warm when the lights are off
 
Anyone use a propane heater? My neighbor was telling me about some heater he has in his garage that runs off of a propane tank like one you would use on a grill. I live in Northern Indiana and we get negative actual temps all the time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
This is the heater I used in my garage during winter details. It has an auto-off function if the unit tips over.

It takes about 30 minutes to start heating up the garage but after about an hour it's quite nice.

Note: My garage is approximately 20'x20' with 14' ceilings. Drywall on a few walls, no additional insulation.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Patton-Milk-House-Utility-Heater-PUH680-N-U/dp/B0000BYC61]Amazon.com - Patton Milk-House Utility Heater, PUH680-N-U - Garage Heater[/ame]

61EZoZkJAYL._SY355_.jpg
 
Kerosene torpedo heater for the win. My garage is half insulated right now, haven't finished it yet. Ceiling is about 10 feet with foam board covered rafters, insulated door, 1.5 walls insulated with r15 fiberglass and drywall. Was in the 40s or so and a tiny 35k btu one nearly killed me with heat after 10 minutes.
 
Propane and Kerosene heaters - what about carbon monoxide ?
You cannot smell it and it kills you after awhile, right ?
How do you remove the fumes from the combustion process ?

I have seen big kerosene or propane heaters in big shops, but they also have doors open and doors opening all the time, Im assuming to help remove/replace the air supply ? ? ?
Dan F
 
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