dharris45

I have been using one of the stand-up kerosene heater for the last 4 years to heat my garage. It does an OK job to get it to low to mid 50s. I live in Northern VA so our winter isn't brutal, but we do get some consistent low 20s and mid teens. I have a 2 car, about 500 sq ft garage.

I'm not unhappy with the kerosene heater, but the last station that sold bulk kerosene that I could find just took out their kerosene pumps. So instead of around $4 per gallon, I will have to buy in 5 gal cans at $8 plus.

I've been looking at electric heaters in the 5,000 watt/17,000 BTU range. Anyone using something like this to heat your garage?

If so, what brand/model are you using? How long have you had it and are you happy with it? And do you have any idea how it impacts your electric bill.

I only heat when I am working in the garage.

Thank,
Don

csherman

Here is what I use
I LOVE IT
I can work in shorts and a t shirt
I can adjust the temp as needed
Love it
10,000 watt
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...6377_200316377

Bill32

I used to run one of oil filled electric radiators in my 2 car, it ate electricity and the short cord always got very hot. Probably brought the temps up to 50.

I changed to a 1,500 watt ceramic with a lo speed fan , uses very little electricity. And it's very warm if you're at the workbench with it 4 feet away.

This year I bought another one, so 2 in one bay and I'm comfortable.

Best thing is they cost $49 each.

I'd think a 5k ceramic or inferred would work even better.

Bill32

Northern Tool sells great stuff.

msk914

Hi,

I tried a few things, and this style worked the best by far:





(I don't think this is the exact unit I bought, but I got it at either Lowes or Home Depot)

It is a propane heater, often used by construction people. If I put this into my 400 sq ft garage, it is 60+ degrees within minutes.

Mark

John McGraw

I would guess in your area, you will find the 17K BTU heater to be too small. I would think that for a 2 car garage in your area, that a 30-40K BTU would be a better choice, Electric heat is pretty expensive to run when compared to other heat sources, but it all boils down to how many hours a week you are going to run the heat. I work a lot of hours in my shop, and when I ran the numbers, it made sense to install a heat pump. Most heat pumps will generate BTU's for 1/2 to 1/3 of what it takes with resistance heat. It also gave me A/C in the summer time as well. A lot more money on the front end, but a lot less to operate.


Regards, John McGraw

MikeM

I use a heater similar to this in one garage I have. The garage is about 10x25 so half the size of your garage. One ten foot wall has an entry door in it. 25 foot wall has a sliding window (double pane) and the other ten foot wall is mostly and uninsulated wood garage door. The other 25 foot wall adjoins the house. There's four inches of insulation in the attic.

I mention the above because that little wall heater keeps the garage toasty warm even @ 20*F outside with the gas valve turned about half on. It's cheap to run also. Propane or natural gas.

Even though electricity is only about $.06.3/kwh, an electric heater would break me up.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Empire-Blue-...-/281527622770

ErminewhiteC2

I live in the country and have an outdoor wood boiler. When I built an addition to the house, I had the plumber run pipes to the garage. I have an old unit that looks like a radiator with a fan behind it. My garage is 25 x 48 with a 15' ceiling, insulation in the walls and R50 in the ceiling. I can bring it up to 60 degrees in no time.
Rick

aafadca

I have a 5500 watt electric heater in roughly the same size garage. I don't remember the name but it puts out good heat and warms it up nicely. My ceiling is kind of low and well insulated. My cousin has the same heater with roughly the same size garage but with a higher ceiling and no insulation. He complains about it not heating up enough:-)
Dayton sells a heater that gets really good reviews. It's the G73. Mine is similar but has more wattage.. If your garage is pretty well insulated I think you would be happy with one of this type of heater.

AZDoug

I have Mitsubishi Mr Slim heat pump.

The HP is a viable option as long at the temp is above about 32F.

It kept my old 600 SF concrete block garage nice and toasty, and will do a good job on my new 1400 SF shop/garage, which has 10' walls, plus peaked roof. I use some ceiling fans set on winter to circ the air from the peak to working space.

It gets cold here at night (anywhere from 5-25*F in winter), but by about 9AM, it is above 30, so i turn in on then, wait an hour, and it will be at least 60* by 10, and by noon, it is 70*. This is with very mediocre insulation, a s it is a metal building with compressed 2" thick fiberglass insulation. If was really insulated, it would work even better.

It is good AC unit in the summer, also.

Plus, no obnoxious fumes.

Doug

SupremeDeluxe

Before I got dedicated heat installed in the garage, I had one of these 50-60K BTU propane convection heaters. It would do a great job of getting a ~1000 sf garage to a comfortable working temperature (50-55F) quickly during winter in Chicago. Even though I have central heat, do not keep the garage heated all winter (only when I am working out there). So I still run the propane heater to get the room up to temperature fast, then shut it off and let the heater run. Mind you I have a very well insulated brick garage with insulated doors. Your mileage may vary.

Aside from having lots of lighting and a lift, installing heat is the best upgrade you can make to your work environment.

1955 copper

I use a heater that's a gravity feed oil burner that people used to heat their homes in the 30 -40's using no electricity or moving parts ,4 feet tall , 100 gallon oil tank outside behind garage to heat my 30x40 garage and works great

ejboyd5

Insulated work area of my 3-bay garage is 16' x 24' and heated only when being used. I didn't want the complexity and danger of adding a fuel source so I settled on two wall mounted electrical units designed to fit between studs on a standard 16" spacing. They have been operating successfully since '84. Only when the outside temperature drops below 10 degrees do they have trouble keeping up, but on those few days I don't even feel like walking out of the house. For intermittent use, electrciity is hard to beat.

mrtexas

electricity in Texas is 10-11ct/kwh.

MikeM

Almost everywhere it is higher than it is here. obama is fixing to change all that.

dharris45

Thanks to all

Now I have to make a decision. I would really like to have one of the Mitsubishi split units to heat and cool. I do spend a lot of time in the garage now that I am doing my second restoration in the last 4 years.

I would really like to have one of the Mitsubishi split units for A/C and heat, but the quote I got was $5,000.

Thanks,

Don

Crunch527

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Fahrenhea...H4AB/100120005

I put this in my 2-car garage last winter after insulating the walls and ceiling. I can get my garage to 80 degrees if I needed to...I usually set it to keep the garage at about 60-65 degrees...adds about $50 a month to the elec bill...far cheaper, easier and safer than propane.

I have the same heater Supreme Deluxe highlights...works well but requires a lot of ventilation (garage door fully open), which defeats the purpose.

Cheers,

Frank

survivor66

If you like a ductless split system heat pump like this, shop around. I got a builder brand, 1 ton unit, for $1000 plus $850 installation. For a garage it fits the bill - not super high quality but the right price.

AZDoug

See if you can find a moonlighter AC guy.

Commercial AC companies are a racket, I know they have overhead, but geez.

I knew an AC guy, no contractor license, as he worked for other people, that put in my Mr Slim split for about half of what you were quoted.

It is a precharged unit, install both sides, connect lines, evacuate lines with vac pump, and open valve,and you are done.

It wasn't rocket science. I wouldn't have used a moonlighter on a more complex rooftop install, but these units are not too much more complex than installing a window AC unit.

The most annoying part was going with him to the HVAC supply house and hanging around outside waiting to find somebody with a license to go inside with us and buy the unit for us. He ordered, i paid. Like a 16YO kid hanging around outside the liquor store, except I kept the money in my pocket until i handed it to the cashier.

JohnZ

I have a 125,000-BTU Reznor power-vented natural gas unit heater with electronic ignition (no pilot flame) in my 44' x 58' x 12' super-insulated garage (R-26 walls, R-58 ceiling, closed-cell foil-barriered foam insulation under the epoxied slab, custom 18' x 8' steel/foam/steel sectional doors with tubular seals between sections). We under-estimated the effectiveness of the insulation package, and could have gotten by nicely with 75,000-BTU; Reznor makes them in just about every imaginable size from 30K BTU to 250K BTU.

Copes nicely with below-zero Michigan winters - brings the garage up from 55* to 75* in about 30 minutes first thing in the morning, then it runs about once every 2 hours for about ten minutes to maintain 70*F until I shut it off about 9:00 PM.

Also have a 42,000-BTU Mitsubishi Mr. Slim mini-split system for cooling, installed several years after we built the house.

There's no substitute for properly-engineered insulation.