Temp Heat in Garage
 

Can't afford to put natural gas in my 26 x 30 garage yet, so looking for alternatives. Any recommendations for fairly economical and efficient propane heaters for limited use? Thanks!!

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

This probably won't help you but I heat my house and my shop (a separate building) with an outdoor wood boiler. The initial install and purchase cost was around $8k. The boiler has a 400,000 btu capacity. It's oversized for my 1800 square foot house and 1500 sq foot shop space I heat but I have the ability for expansion without replacing equipment. I also live in a rural area where smoke is not an issue and I have an abundant supply of wood. I keep my shop at 60 degrees all winter.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

What about one of those jet heaters?

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

Rick - I use a propane tank with a heater https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dyna-Glo...60DG/203534107

I have it mounted to a small hand truck, and move it around to where I am working.
Surprised at how well it heats and economically as well. I use the propane tank that
is about twice as large as the one shown in the photo.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

I bought a "Mr. Heater Big Max" from Northern Tool for my garage last year and like it. As I recall it was less than $500.00 for the heater the vent pipe was $160.00 or so locally. Mine is on Natural Gas but I THINK they can be converted.

What ever heater you decide on I'd recommend that you buy a vented unit as the by products of combustion of propane are H2O and CO2 which will put a lot of water vapor into your garage plus there is always the chance of CO/carbon monoxide with an unvented unit.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

Go on You Tube, several options for heating a garage. As Scotty said the propane jet heater seem to be the #1 choice.
In Indiana I had a 240 volt overhead mounted electric heater and with the insulated walls and ceiling in my 2 1/2 car garage. Kept it real "toasty"

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

I have a pellet stove in my 16 by 28 shop. Fully insulated. On days I won't be in the shop I start it in the morning and shut it off about 6 hours later. When I am working out there I leave it on until I am done. Plenty warm for working. Depends on the outside temperature. Right now it is 18 degrees (f) and very windy. The stove will struggle to keep it in the low 50''s. Running it 8 hours takes less than 1/2 bag ($5/bag)
I am very happy with it.
John

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

be careful with any flame heater to be safe it must be mounted high & vented.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

I run a forced air furnace all winter long, it works very well and is not too bad on cost.
I keep it at 55 degrees unless I’m painting or something. You can get a vertical one that takes up little space and These units can be bought used for a reasonable price.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

It's cold today 25 degrees in PA. I step out to work on something for 5 or 10 minuets at a time then come back in the house.

Maybe a cheapo Kerosene heater would work

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

This is kinda what I was thinking. Just finished my garage in June; have electric but no gas yet. I'm planning on putting natural gas next year, but looking for a cheap alternative in the meantime. Many thanks to all for the input.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

I got s ventless stove at Tractor Supply and use a propane bottle until I laid a gas line to the garage.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

I have an oversized propane heater that hangs from the ceiling. I keep the thermostat set at 45 deg. Turn it up when I working, take less that 15 min to be up to temp I want.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

After I got Natural gas I switch the ventless stove to natural gas does a super job.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

I used one of those jet kerosene heaters for years (until upgrading to a natural gas Hot Dawg). I was worried about CO2, but plugged in one of those CO2 detectors and it never went off...................
Of course what they said about anything flammable being close by is true.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

I have a ventless 35,000 BTU wall mounted propane heater in my shop, which is 30 X 40 with 14 ft ceilings and is insulated. I installed it because I wanted something cheap and easy to keep the chill off in the fall and spring. I am in north central Minnesota, but I usually winter in Florida, so I don't need anything very robust for the winter. This winter, courtesy of Hurricane Irma, I am stuck in Minnesota, so I have been using my heater almost daily. I am amazed at how well it works. I usually go to town in the morning to get the mail and stop by my shop (which is 3 miles from my home) on the way back and start the heater. I then return home, do whatever needs to be done, and go back up to my shop. By that time, the temperature is around 60 degrees, which is plenty comfortable if you're working. After it gets to 63 or so, it shuts itself off (it is thermostatically controlled) and cycles from then on. I have two 20 lb propane bottles connected together by a hose gizmo I got off Amazon. I go to the shop 5-or 6 days a week for 4 to 5 hours at a time. With this pattern of use, the 40 lbs of propane lasts about two weeks. The last two 20 pounders cost me $36.05 to fill. I also have a large ceiling fan that is on all the time, blowing downwards. All in all, I am extremely happy with this setup. I have had no problems with excess moisture or smells. I do have a quality carbon monoxide and gas detector installed. I highly recommend this kind of heater, especially to someone looking for something temporary. When you decide to go to something permanent, you will probably be able to sell a unit like this for almost what you paid for it.

There is one other factor that comes into play. My shop is in a storage complex and as such, is not free-standing. The unit on my right is not heated during the winter, but the one on my left is owned by a friend who keeps it at 45 degrees. I'm sure this makes heating my unit easier, how much I don't know, because the common walls are also insulated.

Here is a link to the type of heater I have. I couldn't find my exact unit (which is 35,000 BTU and black), but this is close. BTW, these units can be switched from propane to natural gas with a turn of a valve with no extra parts needed.

https://www.menards.com/main/heating...277994&ipos=19

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

Just watch it as most fire codes are pretty strict in regards to garages, gasoline and heat/flames. When I built my shop my insurance company wouldn't let me install any wood burning furnace or stove. You surly don't want to have your insurance company deny a claim for a totaled shop and car because of code violations.

In my shop I was able to install a high efficiency LP furnace just off the floor as it has a sealed combustion chamber and draws outside air for combustion. At the time, here in MN a regular furnace (or any source of flames) would have to be a minimum of 4' above the floor in a garage.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

Go to your sister site Garage Journal.Com. There is a wealth of info there

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

I've often thought of making a solar panel for heating my garage (Lots of youtube videos are out there). How much heat they produce is impressive.But usually they only work when you don't need them.I'd like to build one anyway. Free heat.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

I considered many options and ended up with an overhead heater, propane powered. Very happy with it. good insulation in walls and overhead help a lot to keep the operational costs down.

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Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

Strange that no one here has mentioned getting a heater from an old mobile home ? Does not require much room and should take the chill out of a shop. My basement is a constant 60 degrees and plenty warm for anytime I am down there.

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In my old shop at the farm I had a vent less wall hanging propane heater which did a great job in my 36X30 with 8 foot ceiling room that I fabricated chassis in. I was skeptical about the vent less feature but used it 15 years with no problems. It just hung on the wall on one end of the shop. It was very economical. In my new 30X40 shop with 12 ft ceiling I have a hanging Hot Dawg vented overhead heater. I does a great job and burns very little propane.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

My 32x40 shop is heated with a Hot Dawg and works great, but if I need something in my 3 car garage I use a jet propane heater. You can turn it on and point it in the direction where you need the heat to be.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

I have a picture of Bo Derek from the 1970's. She is running on the beach straight towards me.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

I heat and cool my 26 x 36 garage with a mini split. I keep it at 50 during the week and bump it up to 60 or so on the weekends. Heat cost me about $3 a day.
In the summer I set it on the drying mode and it keeps it cool and dry or I can switch to full AC. Both the heat and AC are whisper quiet.
I also have a 12KW ceiling hung electric heater for back up. I'm very pleased with the whole set up.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

I have had this vented propane heater for 25 years. My shop has 2” of insulation and is caulked and sealed from our winter Illinois winds. Also have overhead fan.I keep it 45 at night and 68 for the day with an automatic thermostat.

This has worked well for me,but there are newer technologies when you get ready for for a permanent set up.

John

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

Surprised no one's mentioned a wood or coal stove.
Heated my house for years with a Warm Morning (100 lb capacity) coal stove. 110 in the cellar, 90 to 75first floor and about 60 2nd floor.
Paul in CT

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

Ron P,

I prefer the Bo Derek from the Tarzan movie and pics - from the early 80s.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

Guys, some of you are getting waaaay of the subject, which was "Temp Heat". He's not looking for a furnace or wood stove; as a matter of fact, he specifically mentioned propane as his desired fuel. One of the nice things about some of these propane heaters is that they are fairly easy to sell when you are done with them. I sold a propane garage heater on Craig's List. Being careful, I wanted to make the exchange in a public place. The buyer suggested the parking lot at Home Depot, which is fairly centrally located. I thought it was kind of ironic, since I had bought it there a couple of years earlier for about $20 more than he paid. He did save sales tax, and it was properly broken in.:D

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

For those of you guys that are getting ready to pour floor in the shop or build a shop I highly recommend hot water in the floor of the shop I have an electric boiler which takes up no room as it is hung on the wall my shop will maintain Heat with no problem my thermostat is set on 65 and it stays that way the year round no maintenance no Flame and that warm floor is a greatest thing to work on there ever was. When I built the shop I spend my whole life working in shops with either heaters in the ceiling or the turbo diesel and propane heaters and freezing my feet off at all time again I would highly recommend the N for heat

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Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

Or was he looking for an alternate heat source, that would have limited use, that didn't require the high expense of the natural gas line? ;)
Either way lots of good suggestions.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

Absolutely. If you don't do anything else be sure to follow THIS rule.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

I use one very similar to this. At full blast it will throw you out of the garage within a few minutes. I just used it in my 2 car very leaky garage on a 32 degree day pulling an engine out. Mine is a Coleman power mate , 80,000 to 2000,000 btu's and despite opening the doors three times in an hour it kept us warm. Bought it about ten years ago and has worked great ever since, although some years I didn't use it at all.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dyna-Glo...80DG/202895381

or this - a smaller unit

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dyna-Glo...-202223055-_-N

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

I found a used mobile home oil furnace. pumps hot air out the bottom. takes up about 2 sq. ft of floor space. feed it off a 20 gal plastic drum filled with fuel oil.

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

Used oil burner

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Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

"Construction Heaters" (such as shown in Post #33 above) can be quite dangerous. I had one and I was working in my shop, about 4 feet from the heater with my back to it. I had blue jeans on and they had a small, frayed, hole in the back of my calf. All of a sudden, I felt extreme heat on the back if my leg, and found my pants were on fire. Frayed cotton is one of the most flammable materials there is (Boy Scouts use it with their "flint and steel" fire starters). The end result is that the back of my leg was badly burned and it took two months and a skin graft to recover. I never used that heater again and sold it shortly thereafter. Because of their very nature, these thing throw a tremendous amount of heat and can start anything close on fire. I wouldn't have one (obviously).

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] caught himself read the warning labels I guess

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Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

Are you looking to keep your hands warm or preserve your Ford? If it's the latter, you don't need heat, just control humidity. Dry atmosphere = dry and not rusty car. If it's the former, well the previous posts have all the information you need

Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

Just find a used oil burner every shop has one if you can find a broken one they are simple to fix and you'll get a hell of a deal gather all of your friends dispose of there used oil cheapest option you can find

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Re: Temp Heat in Garage
 

This all Reminds me, many years ago in the Army, I was overseas and had purchased an old ex police Harley Davidson. Many foreign countries used Harley’s in the 50’s to 70’s.
It was winter and I didn’t want it in plain view in the motor pool while I worked on it. So I put it in the small boiler room behind the shop and started the restoration. It was very cramped, but nice and warm. :)