Heating a garage

[Kim Armstrong]

Just curious I've got a 2 car garage and was wondering how some of you are heating your garages to work in? Thanks

[Aguyfromohio]

Mine is a two car garage attached to the house.

I open the door between the kitchen and garage, and place two fans. One in kitchen at door blows warm air from house to garage, the other out in garage blows vertically to stir the room air so it doesn't stratify with all the warm air at the ceiling. That is very effective, using the huge house furnace to heat the garage.

When it gets bitterly cold I add a propane heater in the garage, one of those cheap units that screw right on the top of a 20 lb propane bottle, plus the other setup

We were comfortable last winter in single digit temps.

That setup works to air condition an attached garage just as well during the dog days of summer.

[Tom&Shelly]

We just put this: Fahrenheat FUH54 240-volt Garage Heater, 2500-5000-watt, in a few weeks ago, when we discovered epoxy won't cure below 60 deg F.



I fear the electric bill! We only use it when needed, but it sure makes the meter spin! Does heat a 3 car garage relatively quickly though.

In Winters past, I would turn on the florescent lights early to let them warm the garage up, then dress in several layers. I'm usually moving around quite a bit while woodworking and the Winters in New Mexico, even in the mountains, are usually not too bad during the day. But epoxy curing is definitely higher on the priority list than human comfort.

Tom

[coyote]

3rd home. I have always used a small natural gas heater. Quick glance on eBay, used $55-$100. I think mine came from estate/garage sale’s. We leave it on very low to keep pipes safe from freezing, turn it up to work. Coyote

[Philip]

I have a two car garage 24x26. I have a 90,000 BTU suspended gas furnace mounted between the garage doors out of the way. keeping the garage at painting temps is not a problem.

[MtnDon]

Ditto on the suspended gas fueled furnace. Couple that with a smart thermostat and you can remote control it.

[Kim Armstrong]

Thanks for the replies. Like the idea of the hanging heater but I don't have natural gas so I'll look and see if I can find something in propane. Thanks again.

[MtnDon]

The main difference between the two fuels is the orifice size. That and an adjustment for the pressure. Check if any nat gas ones you see have a conversion kit. Not all gas appliances can be converted

[Kim Armstrong]

Thanks MtnDon.

[GTS225]

I have an older L.B. White hanging in a 24x24 detached, running off of a pair of 100# LP cylinders stashed in an out-of-the-way corner. Does pretty good, especially since I piped the heat down from the heater and across the floor.
I've been thinking about putting a 1.5" tube at the ceiling on the opposite side wall, and a small fan drawing through that tube, to recirculate the warm air up by the ceiling and back down to the floor. (I've only got 8' ceilings, so no room for fans.)

Now, just for the record, my municipality frowns on that, for fire safety reasons, so you might want to check with your city, unless you don't care what they think.

Roger

[tony.latham]

I'm in the process of having a brand-spanking-new 600 sq.' shop built. (And yes, a new 'drop will be birthed there.)

Here's how I figured my BTU needs:

https://www.hunker.com/12470085/how-to-estimate-the-heater-size-for-a-garage

And here's the heater I'll use:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M8KXXAB/?coliid=I1B89ILE11JHF7&colid=3DIEP78B3UWPM&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

There are lots of similar electric "garage" heaters. I chose this one since the manual shows how to mount a wall-mounted thermostat. Some of them apparently require wiring a relay switch in them.

Tony

[crttaz]

22x22 garage, no insulation. I bought a Kerosene/Diesel torpedo heater with a temp control. Even using pump diesel the fumes are nothing like the kerosene heater Dad used while I was a kid. Walk out to garage, flip the switch on the heater, turn on a few other things, go inside for 1/2 hour and wait while the garage is warmed up.

Using Propane has a downside, water condensation on tools and parts. Esp. an issue as I rebuild transmissions.

[Woodbutcher]

I heat my shop with a Radiant heater. It draws air for combustion from outside into a burn chamber and sends the heated exhaust down a steel tube to an exit out the other end of the shop. The heat radiates into the shop, heating everything. This helps the temperature recover when opening the shop doors . Mine is a 40K BTU unit and is more then enough to heat a 3+ car shop. Two other benefits are, no forced air, blowing dust around the shop, and because it uses outside air for combustion there is no risk of blowing yourself up from dust or solvent fumes in the air. Try finishing a project with a forced air furnace circulating dust filled air. Mine runs on propane, but they make natural gas and electric versions also.

[tony.latham]

...no forced air, blowing dust around the shop,

T

[Kim Armstrong]

Thanks for everyone's help!