Garage heat

Open flame heat in a building full of gas fumes? Sounds scary to me. My new garage is going to have radiant heat in the floor. My current garage is well insulated and warms up nicely from the florescent lighting.


(?) My shop is not full of gas fumes. I do parts cleaning outside and open the door and blow the fan when running a vehicle.


Ted
 
I use a 60,000 BTU Propane torpedo heater. When in the 30's I can get the garage to 50's and the ceiling is entirely open rafters and no insulation anywhere.
 
80K propane heater hanging from the ceiling. Keeps it very comfortable after a minute warm up. North Dakota is not the tropics this time of year.
 
Talk to your local HVAC contractor, they often pull out very useable furnaces that can be installed very easily in your garage. Be prepared to do some insulating
 
Mpi monitor stays on 58 all winter. Garage is 36x36 13' ceiling with two fans. I've been using Off road diesel in it.
When it's 30s and 40's fuel use is 1/2 gallon or less a day. Garage is heavily insulated.
 
I should have added more details to my earlier post (#14). My garage is detached from house, R30 in the ceiling, R15 in walls, concrete floor. I only use the portable kerosene heater when working in the garage, turning it on 15-20 minutes before working, turning it off upon exit. In the winter I store freeze prone items in my house basement (basically paints). This works efficiently and economically in New York's Hudson Valley.
 
For garages heated part time I find a mobile home furnace is hard to beat.Bottom discharge,so heat comes out where you need it.just need a small tank and a very simple exhaust setup.i have one in my old garage that I now rent out as a body shop.In my work garage I use waste oil,and I bought that waste oil furnace new in 1986.I do my own A's in my cellar,and use wood down there and oil for the upstairs.I also have a tiny home that uses a Monitor oil heater,those work great in a garage.Unless you use a lot propane is very costly to use here.We have the highest electricity rates in the country here,you can heat a home with oil for the whole winter for less than the cost of one month on electricity.
 
Gas forced air, 80,000 BTU ducted, two room shop, insulated well, normally at 50 degrees, wifi thermostat, bump up to 68 fifteen minutes when I'm in the house or truck before going out there. The original plan was in-floor heat but was used to heating only when working. Not practical as would take too long to heat up. Since then I changed to keeping the furnace on. Now I wish I'd stayed with the original plan. When your feet are warm, you are warm.
 
little more info about my 60,ooobtu gas fired heater.


I am currently enclosing a 12 x 24 carport on the east end of my shop, which will add almost 300 sq ft to the gas furnace. when construction is done in april i will add 3 tons of AC to the gas furnace. here in texas the hot summers can be as mizzerable s the cold/wet winters. don worry boys, there is plenty of insulation in the ceiling and walls.
 

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I actually have two systems. I have a 38 x 48 insulated pole barn. I built a 12 x 24 room inside and insulated the new wall and ceiling. This smaller area has a minisplit, that is on constantly in the winter at 61 degrees. Costs about $15 per month to run it. I am going out there this morning, and will be perfectly comfortable without a jacket. It is 5 degrees outside. The remainder of the barn is now 28 degrees, my wood stove, supplemented by a small propane radiant heater will bring it up to the 50s in about an hour. I will turn the heater off and the stove will keep it nice the rest of the day. It will also keep the barn above freezing through the night. I don't like getting it below freezing. The 100# propane bottle will last at least all winter, and hour or two each time I need it.
 
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