When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I am at the compounding stage of my 26'x28' 10'-6" ceiling garage build. Here is what I got going on:
I have a Bosch Greenstar propane boiler 96%. Should be running about 90*- 112* water temps, this will help keep the fuel cost down. I will be very toasty all winter, also it's a lot nicer working on a concrete floor when it's not absorbing your body heat.
I am at the compounding stage of my 26'x28' 10'-6" ceiling garage build. Here is what I got going on:
I have a Bosch Greenstar propane boiler 96%. Should be running about 90*- 112* water temps, this will help keep the fuel cost down. I will be very toasty all winter, also it's a lot nicer working on a concrete floor when it's not absorbing your body heat.
I did the kerosene heaters and spent $150.00. The above heater was $200.00 and the home gas bill is a few bucks higher when its 70 degrees in the garage.
I have 2 garages. One has electric the other gas. The gas will heat faster but the windows and doors will sweat. Never had anything sweat other than windows and doors. The electric heater is quieter and is dry heat. The thermostat on the electric heater seems to regulate the temperature better also
I heard a lot of people mention condensation would be an issue with gas, or propane heat, so I went electric. It's only 5000 watts, and I keep it off unless I need to work out in the cold, then it takes maybe a half hour to heat the whole garage.
As others have said,....insulate first. If your insulation is working, you will not need a huge heater. It was 38 degrees out this morning, and the garage was 64,....and the heat was off.
I have the same heater in my 2 car garage. It is attached to the house so 2 walls are up against the house. This really helps a lot. It takes about 15 minutes to warm up. It never gets below freezing though. Enough to keep the garage about 65 which is just right for working on the car. Mor wheat and you just sweat.
Money pit your garage is way to clean. Also looks like you do a lot of stapling. 3 staplers? And your hacksaw frame is way outdated coming from the Lenox guy here. I wish my bench was that clean. Right now in the middle of an engine and trans swap on a forum members car so it is a little busy on the bench.
2025 C8 Z06/7/E-Ray of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2021 C8 of the Year Finalist Unmodified
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C1 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2017 Corvette of the Year Finalist
2016 C2 of Year
2015 C3 of Year Finalist
I have a wall mounted electric blower/heater run by a thermostat. I keep it in the 50's all winter. The garage is 36x30 and this does the job well. In the coldest months, Jan/Feb, it might cost me $100 per month. It's clean and dry and the thermostat works well. The garage is well insulated and has the heavily insulated doors.
Added benefit of cooling in the summer and very cheap to run
Brit , that's exactly what I am looking at by Mitsbushi . The slimline unit heats and A/C. have one in the house and they are cheap to run. Included is the 1.5 ton heat pump.
I live in Syracuse. I understand cold. Ive got a 2 car garage with uninsulated doors. The Vette sits on one side of the garage and my tools, supplies, other misc stuff sits in the other bay. Ive read all these posts here about adding gas heaters and propane and such, and all I can say you guys must be made of money. My garage and house is made in a way that I dont have any room to mount any of those fancy heaters. For years I ran a simple Kero heater, the round kind. It would get the garage NICE and toasty, but took FOREVER to get the garage comfortable. (sometimes in excess of 3 hours during the dead of winter.)
Last year I bought a Salamander heater and Ill never use anything else again. The heat is INSTANT, the thermostat regulates it and Kero is still readily available. I open the garage for the first few minutes when it fires up to get rid of the smell, and after that it runs pretty clean. There is no soot. The smell does sometimes permeate the house but it goes away when you light a scented candle or two.
If you are looking for part time heat thats portable and cheap, go with a Salamander, torpedo type heater.
Brit , that's exactly what I am looking at by Mitsbushi . The slimline unit heats and A/C. have one in the house and they are cheap to run. Included is the 1.5 ton heat pump.
Yes, Mitsi, Toshiba, Daikin, Panasonic etc there's little to choose between all of them
1350 sq. ft. garage with insulated walls and (12 foot) ceiling. No windows. Insulated entry and garage door. Ceiling fans to circulate air (when needed). I don't have access to natural gas in my subdivision, so I had to go with electric. I have a 3-ton heat pump which heats and cools the garage for year round comfort. I usually keep the heat set at 60-62 degrees in cold weather and can quickly raise the temp to a more comfortable level if I am working out there. I tend to keep the garage at 76-78 degrees in the summer.
I just installed a garage heater this past summer because I'll be doing body work during the winter. I bought a radiant natural gas heater that I mounted on the wall near the ceiling. I went radiant because of some feedback I got from buddies of mine. A forced air heater blows dust around when it kicks in. And we all know garages get dusty.
I just installed a garage heater this past summer because I'll be doing body work during the winter. I bought a radiant natural gas heater that I mounted on the wall near the ceiling. I went radiant because of some feedback I got from buddies of mine. A forced air heater blows dust around when it kicks in. And we all know garages get dusty.
Hey 80baby what is the size of your garage and a picture or the heater would help me.
Thanks
I just installed a heat/AC 3 ton unit, Connected it to the house Propane tank last week. Shop is 30x40 13' height in the center. Will only need it for about one month out of the winter. Last year I used a portable Propane heater I bought from Home Depot and took about 10 min to warm it enough to work. What I do not like about them is they are very loud..
I used to install security systems years ago, and the staplers are each for different size wire.
The bench my dad got from a factory that went out of business in Connecticut, that he hung onto for years, and finally decided to give it to me. It was originally rusty, showing it's age, so I cleaned it up, vise and all, and resurfaced it with hickory I got from Lumber Liquidators for twenty bucks. Took the pic of the bench to show my dad before I got it messed up from using it.
Just finished up my pole building, and the next vette project will be to fix the front end control arm bushings, and yank the rear end to do a gear swap.....There will be grease, dirt,....maybe some blood, and beer. I'll take pics of that too.
I'm somewhat surprised that nobody has mentioned a woodstove yet in this thread. I have two 2 car garages and a fairly large 42 by 32 two story workshop and heat them all with wood. The main house too is heated with wood. Very common here in Maine. They are simple, reliable, inexpensive and require no electricity. I'm not sure I would want anything else since I grew up here with wood and have used it in my own house since I started married life in the mid eighties. IMO grinding, welding and torching are much more likely to start a destructive fire than a wood stove. There is of course some maintenance i.e. cleaning the chimney every spring but that's easy enough. Just my 2 cents.
PS If I used electric heat here I would expect a bill of at least $1500 a month.
Last edited by 69L46vert; Oct 23, 2014 at 12:13 PM.
welding and torching are much more likely to start a destructive fire than a wood stove.
Welding and torching can be done when needed to keep things safe. The wood stove would be on all the time. A little accidental gasoline leak and the story changes.
coming from the Lenox guy here. I wish my bench was that clean. Right now in the middle of an engine and trans swap on a forum members car so it is a little busy on the bench.
My garage and house is made in a way that I dont have any room to mount any of those fancy heaters. For years I ran a simple Kero heater, the round kind. It would get the garage NICE and toasty, but took FOREVER to get the garage comfortable. (sometimes in excess of 3 hours during the dead of winter.) 
