planning 2 spend more than the usual time in the garage... ..here in chicago winter is on its way...running a gas line 2 the garage...garage is a 20x30 walls x8 insulated walls and ceiling and drywalled 5/8 .....anybody know of what kind of gas heater is the bst 2 use?...they have these vent free ones ...at the local home depot..but dont know about them...and then you have those comercial type ,but they could run about $600-800 ..ouch..... ..then they have them kerosene and propane type...but to much handling of tanks and odor...the natural gas is cheaper and ready-available.....i know its not exactly buick related ..but its home 2 a buick atleats... :Brow:
in my 24x24 insulated and drywalled garage, I went with a 45000btu lennox hotshot furnace...and I love it. The thing is only 12" tall, 24" wide and 18" deep, and sits about 1" from my 10 foot ceiling, out of the way, and works very well. No pilot light either so can turn it off if painting etc and no worries about blowing myself up..10 year warranty too. The guy who sold me the furnace said that 30000btu would have been fine for my garage , but I wanted the extra. Some guys like radiant heat as you heat the objects, not the air, but in the middle of winter I don't open the garage door anyway, and I've heard guys wear hats in those garages sometimes because the radiant heat also heats YOU....I've also heard of burned paint etc but not sure if thats true or not...would have to be awfully close I would think. My main reason for not wanting one is that they need to hang form the ceiling and are quite long...with the hotshot it just sits right in the corner and takes up virtually no space at all. Of course, if you were building the garage, a heated floor is the only way to go..... Just some thoughts. later Tim
I have a forced air unit that I bought new 12 years ago I also had it professionally installed its worth the extra $$ to get it done that way. Its a TRANE unit having no problems with it either !!:TU:
Yeah if I ever build a garage it will have a heated floor, basically you just put down copper pipes in the cement when its poured, pump to circulate the fluid and small heater. It is incredible..heat rises so why not start at bottom, always warm on the creeper, always warm even with door open....just need room for pump and heater.if your feet ar warm, you are warm. Works very well. later Tim
yea ..heated floor sounds great...should of ,,but 2 late..maybe in my next life...:grin: ...the wife is pissed as it is ...she says i spend 2 much time in the garage...and $$ on car stuff....dont tell her but i think some of my tools have better curves..... ..i asked a heating/ac guy about my garage size ,he told me 2 get into a 60,000 btu ..sound like 2 much btu's..compared 2 what you have......
Well I don't know..maybe get a second opinion. I spend a fair amount of time in the garage and I like how its set up...a larger furnace won't have to run as long to get the same heat but I usually keep my garage fairly cool anyway, I find once I start working it warms up anyway. Maybe it has something to do with the layout of the garage? Not much difference in the sq footage though.... later Tim
My Garage is 27 x 45 with a 10' ceiling, 6" insulation in the walls and 24" upstairs. I've got a 70,000 btu hanging furnace I bought from Granger, I think it was around $400. I did the install myself, not to hard, maybe $50 in materials. I have LP gas, Natural Gas is not available to me or I would have gone that way. We have Radiant heat at my shop, Its the "hot" setup if you have a big shop with a tall ceiling, our units are 15' off the floor and you still don't want to work under them if there on.
Skip the vent free units, They only go up to 30,000 btu and only heat 1000 sq ft. They also introduce moisture into the air and I mean a lot of moisture. To the point that I'v heard of damaged drywall. In a shop that might not be to much of an issue but would cause surface rust on machined metal. Also if you plan on keeping your garage heated all winter all the time a vent free unit will not work as they use the oxygen from the room they are in. When the oxygen gets down to a calibrated %age they shut themselfs off and willnot relight untill the oxygen is replaced. They are only intended as supplimental heat. I would deffinatly go with a vented unit
Go with the forced air unit between 30 - 45000 BTU. Also get a vented system and make sure your properly insulated where it penetrates any wood structure. This size is more than enough for the footage you will be heating and could keep you comfortable even with the door open on a calm day. Unless you are familiar with these systems and gas installation, I would suggest having it installed by a pro.
Heat I grew up in Wisconsin so even though I'm in NC now I still remember COLD! I bought a propane 30,000 BTU Ready Heater at Wal-Mart for $99 last Christmas that is small and portable and run off a gas tank from a gas grill and I got at least 10 hours out of one tank, it wasn't full. It's mini torpedo heater. NC winters only get in the 20's but its more than enough for "my" garage, its was something cheap to get, most people have gas grills, and its alot better than kerosene, and not nearly as bulky.- I think. Most people I knew up North that worked in there garage had some type of heat. Everyone seems to have good ideas on this post but I figured I'd through something "budget minded" up on this post for people that just need some cheap heat. Wal-Marts are everwhere right? :TU: If not just think warm thoughts.
When it would get really cold back home growing up, Dad would just go buy and old Furd and set it on fire!:laugh:
Im on the same boat......but I also need some linda cooling in the Summer as moisture condenses on everything as it cools in the summer nights. Noot good for tools, machined metal....GS's etc. Im looking into a heat pump but hear they're not the best when it gets really cold ?? Anyways.....forget about the cheap route if you plan on staying in your locale for any stretch. Last winter I used a 155,000 BTU Propane torpedo. Took too long to heat up, Stunk , Fumes are bad to breath, and it always ran out of kero at an inoopertune time (plus i had to drive 10 miles to a station that sells Kero). Ditto for the propane unit and fumes - you definately want a unit that vents the spent gasses outside !!!
I use an older vented Reznor unit. I currently go through 2-100lb propane tanks per winter. (MN) I have the jets for natural gas if I ever get around to running the gas line to the detached 3-car garage but still haven't done it in 5 yrs.. Thing about it is, I can leave it at about 45 constantly but have the whole place crank to 75 within about 15 minutes. I snowmobile from there so my doors are open and shut constantly. The portable tube units crank out carbon monoxide, don't they? Nothing like running out of oxygen it being replaced with the silent killer at the same time. Go with a something vented and stay with us a while longer.
My 2 cents worth: 2 STAGE RADIANT HEAT!!! MY gararge is 43X23 12' ceiling WELL insulated, I have a 20' 2 stage(hi and low) unit and I can make it any temp I want within an hour... and with the 2 stage, I can leave the thermostat set at 55-59 deg and it hardly effected my heat bill.runs on the low stage most of the time I love it,I'd do it again
...and I'll throw in the obligatory and overused "down here in the south, we just open the doors in the winter" comment... :laugh: :laugh:
Ever heard of Enerco heaters ? They were made right here in Cleveland at one time , but I'm not sure if they still are. It is by far the most common thing I've seen in all sizes of garages. Google them and check 'em out. Natural gas radiant .They work great , quiet , no fumes detectable. My 2 cents.
