stlbluesbrother

Hey guys,

This will be the first winter I have the ability to work on a car in my own garage. I want the inside air temp to be semi-comfortable (say 64 F degrees or greater) - right now it's already down to 57 F. So, I'm thinking about buying a space heater. Here are a couple questions to aid in a decision:

1. Safety - go with electric or liquid fuel based unit? I won't be using any welders or other spark producing tools
2. Any specific models to recommend? I don't want to break the bank, but am willing to spend up to $150 for comfort.

Thanks

f-85

I just went out and bought a cheap heater from manards. ( $40) Its a ceiling mount. Its around 1' x 2' But it works great!!! Im surprised on how well it works. I think im gonna add one more. Right now im usung the ceiling mount and a floor blower one. With the 2 it keeps my garage nice and warm.

bil

If by space heater you mean a portable device,I would be carefull with the liquid type. They can give off poisonous fumes,and also use up the oxygen in an enclosed space.That being said,they are very useful for making quick heat,bringing a space up to temperature much quicker than electric. I prefer the propane ones myself, and if a lot of heat is not required,I use the propane infra-red panel type, they clamp onto a grille bottle. ---bil

firefrost gold

I like torpedo heaters I have one and it burns clean and heats fast I use kerosine That I get by mn 71 w30 house and it works good for me. a 220 ceiling one will keep the chill off but slow to get the party started from the one's I have used.

bccan

I have one of those little propane "jet engine" heaters & it works well to heat space quickly. You gotta have a little space where the thing can blast without damaging anything & it's noisy but makes things comfortable. I was thinking a combo of something like this + something to maintain temp (elect?) would work nicely. I find myself shutting off the heater for peace & quiet, then running again occasionally to keep temp in comfortable range.

Indy_68_S

I think it depends on your garage construction, how cold it gets outside, & your desired comfort level.

In my old 2+car detached that was semi finished/insulated (but no ceiling) I would run a small fanned (1000W) electric and a Kero-Sun. I had a small low speed fan tacked to a rafter above the Kero-Sun to blow the heat down. This combo would keep the garage workable (>~50F) down to ~25-30F outside, but the hassle dragging the Kero-Sun outside to refuel daily and the odor was kind of a pain.

In my new 3 car attached, I just run one 1500W electric until its down to ~30F, then I add the old 1000W. This combo keeps the garage ~ 30 degrees warmer than the outside.

stlbluesbrother

Per the last post, I thought I'd show a pic of the work space. The garage is tuck-under, tandem style. Meaning the garage is under the house (semi-subterranean), long and narrow, and with an exterior wall made of stone.

IMG_0366.jpg

The floor is uneven, unfortunately. Slopes from right to left - I've tried to level the car by adding some old wood shelves under the driver's side tires.

MDchanic

Pick up a used salamander (torpedo) heater at a yard sale.
It should work great, and if you don't like it, the investment was minimal.

In an attached basement garage like that, though, it may be relatively easy to pull hot water from the main heater to a baseboard along the wall, or a duct if it's a hot air system. Could be cheaper to run than a separate unit.

- Eric

olds425

I use a propane tank with a small round heater on top. It does fairly well heating the area you are working in and is cheap.

Lady72nRob71

I think a garage like that can be heated pretty easily. Nice thing is that the heat that rises would just go back into the house. A small ceiling fan set in reverse on low can help bring it down again.
For ease of use and installation, and less cost, and less space needed, and no outside air needed, an electric should fit the bill just fine. Mount it on the ceiling and have it blow down. Electricity might be more expensive than say natural gas, but consider the installation costs, etc.
If I had the floor space, i would buy a used pot belly stove and fuel it with all the junk mail and tree limbs i collect throughout the year - free heat forever!
I do use a heat exchanger on the water heater flu pipe - not much but it is free...
Need to dig out the old industrial 1500W space heater from the attic soon - I might need it for this winter's suspension job.

stonedglass

I cast hot glass so I have a furnace running constantly over 2200 degrees. I don't worry about getting cold.

MDchanic

With low ceilings like those, otherwise known as a "guillotine!"

- Eric

Indy_68_S

Agree. The killer will be that stone wall. That's a massive heat sink. Might want to consider throwing some foam over it.

As far as operational cost. I can only speak to electric. I'm sure gas would be cheaper. I figure it costs ~ $2/day (36 kWhrs x $.055 per kWhr) to leave my 1500W running 24/7. I leave it running because if I don't, the garage temp will drop to ~ outside temp + 10F and it takes a 1/2 day to warm just the air back up when its < ~ 35F outside. And leaving it on warms everything (tools,etc..). I just add it to the 'hobby costs' !

Indy_68_S

Hehe... With a space that small, you don't need a full ceiling fan. In my old garage I just had an old 6" muffin fan (an old freebie copier part) like this..

..nailed to a rafter & aimed down above my Kero-Sun. Was virtually silent, only pulled like 20W, but moved enough air around. Anything that moves the air, even slowly, would work fine....(IMO!)

citcapp

I would buy sheets of hard thick insulation 4 X 8 sheets and glue them to the stone wall it is very dense material and has high R value. You can find them at home depot or other large box home builder stores. Use electric fan forced heat low to the floor heat always rises. Two heaters one at the front of the car one at the back. do not use propane or other fuels unless you can vent them to the outside or leave the garage door open 6" or so which kind of defeats the purpose.

Bluevista

x2 with Citcapp, be very careful with portable oil or gas fed space heaters for asphyxiation and explosion/fire reasons.


I have a 1-1/2 car garage with 11 foot ceilings, fully insulated and drywalled with a 16 foot insulated steel overhead door, concrete floor. I installed a Dayton G73 electric ceiling mount heater , less than 300 bucks and it works great. I've had mine for almost four years and no problems.
I keep the garage temp at about 40-50 degrees, plenty warm enough for working, I crank it up to about 70 for painting the night before so everthing's warm and ready to go.

http://www.shopping.com/G73/info

D Appeldorn

if you seal a singel wall you get condense on the inner side.

try rockwool and put a membrane between the wall and insulation.

and rockwool is a fireproofing material.

But as insulation hard pressed PU insulation is thinner and having more R value.


I gonna put a woodburner/ stove in my garage this year.
My next garage gonna get the same insulation and heating device as my house.

Cameo White

I've got a 2-car detached. Block/brick construction, 20 x 20 external dimensions with a 16 foot door. Insulated ceiling only. (Hoping to get the door insulated next weekend). I put a 45K BTU Reznor natural gas unit in there last year. Beauty! I set it at 55 and let the H/O sleep nice and comfy. After adding it last winter and improving the ceiling insulation in my house, my heating bills went down over the year prior.

Run to Rund

for your stated budget of $150,
http://www.mrheater.com/ProductFamily.aspx?catid=47
I use one of their smaller bullet heaters for a 28x36' shop with uninsulated doors.

MDchanic

I'll repeat (because I like to hear myself talk...) that since your garage is in your basement, a cozy, safe, non-smelly garage may be just a few pipe fittings or lengths of duct away. For all I know, your furnace is just on the other side of that wall...

- Eric

Bluevista

By code you can't penetrate a garage firewall with a duct to feed the garage from a furnace in the house for a number of safety reasons, fire and asphyxiation are a couple.
Forced air heating ducts into garages don't work well anyway, you would have to be crazy to have a cold air return and without one the furnace just pressurizes the space and doesn't heat very well. The extra air volume for the garage has to come from somewhere and you end up with negative pressure in the house too, throws the heating system's balance off.

76 Regency

My garage is fairly small (well, any garage would get small quick with 2 '76 Ninety Eights in it!) and I use a heater like the one below. It cost me $100 at Home Depot and it uses the tank from our BBQ. I run it for about 15-20 minutes with the door open about 6 inches for fresh air and then I turn it off. I can work in the garage in a t-shirt pretty comfortably for a while before I have to turn it back on. I do have insulated doors and my garage is attached to the house so that probably helps a bit too. I'm hoping to connect a duct from the furnace this winter so it keeps the garage warm even when I'm not working in there.....gotta keep the kids warm.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053

ziff396

My problem here in Michigan, and I have propane, kerosene, and electric heaters at my disposal, (and I have tried all of them), is when the garage gets below freezing for awile, and I heat it up, even slowly, the car sweats. And of course tools. Not to mention the cold concrete floor.
I am giving up on my winter work until I can afford to add a furnace or ceiling heater such as a Modine, to at least keep it constant say 45 degrees before I heat it up to work. Mine is 26x36.

citcapp

The sweating is usually cause by not having enough ventilation to let the moisture out. even with a dry heat like electric you have to allow the air changes to occur. crack a window or leave the garage door open and inch or two. You'll be surprised how much it helps.

ziff396

Thanks! Yup, tried that also. And fans. Mainly it's the engine block and disc rotors etc. that are the problem. I also am talking 10-20 degrees for say 1-2 weeks before heating it up. And If you drop some of your favorite drink on the concrete it will freeze in short order. Have done this for 2 winters now, and I really don't want to be cleaning rust off these parts anymore as everything was new.
Thanks Again

MDchanic

Code?

We don't need no stinking codes.

I've been in garages that were built the way I described, in houses in which the occupants were still alive and actually breathing the air. I guess they were built in the "bad old days" of carnage and mayhem (and white picket fences, and safe schools that actually taught you something, and not using foul language in public, and winning the wars we got involved in...).



- Eric

Lady72nRob71

Now that is cold! You guys up there are a hearty breed...

Destructor

My garage is a detached, block and wood and unheated. It's not big enough to work in. Cold storage is not a bad thing. Winter air is very dry and my moisture absorbers produce almost no water over the whole winter. I only open the door during dry days. If you open a cold garage during a warm moist winter day the car quickly accumulates water droplets on all metal surfaces.

ziff396

Agreed! Been there also Don't do that anymore.

Econow

If you look up infrared heaters that you can buy - this may help you.
They work by heating the water molecules in the air - that will take care of the bad moisture problems. Plus it is a warmer air - Click on the add @ the bottom of this thread and start you research.

But check out infrared heaters - this will work good in your small area.