Author Topic: How do you guys heat your garage? (Read 1580 times)

apollard · « **Reply #25 on:** December, 19, 2009, 08:29:49 AM »

Quote from: mcconneje on December, 18, 2009, 08:04:32 PM

So does this unit sit on the floor or is it mounted at the ceiling?

Thanks for all of the great suggestions, guys. Jeff

I have 13' ceilings, so I mounted mine ~3 ft from the ceiling. It can be mounted directly to drywall if you need to. Even with it dropped, I still run two ceiling fans on low to keep the heat down low.

Shaun · « **Reply #26 on:** December, 19, 2009, 09:21:22 AM »

Quote from: RapidRabbit on December, 19, 2009, 08:06:20 AM

It hangs from the ceiling. They come in a few different sizes depending on the size of your garage, and can be setup to run on Propane or natural gas.

This is what I am going to install in my garage soon. My garage is about 1000 square feet so I need something kind of big.

I use a 75,000btu Hot Dawg for my 1200sqft and a ceiling fan. Keeps things toasty.

Mach1ne · « **Reply #27 on:** December, 19, 2009, 01:39:42 PM »

I just picked up one of the Home Depot propane convection units for $99.

My garage is insulated so we will see what happens in the morning when I go to warm it up to work on the car.

Went this direction based on the information regarding the noise of the propane torpedo units.

I have a diesel unit at the farm and it can get really annoying.

I will post a review tomorrow.

silverblueBP · « **Reply #28 on:** December, 19, 2009, 01:58:05 PM »

Used my convection heater all morning/afternoon while working on the 66. Sure was nice to work in a comfortable temp!

Finished up the extra plates for the cage mounts and installed the HD driveshaft safety hoop since the interior is out. Try to put the interior back in tomorrow.

Mach1ne · « **Reply #29 on:** December, 19, 2009, 02:00:55 PM »

And where are the pictures?

silverblueBP · « **Reply #30 on:** December, 19, 2009, 04:08:16 PM »

tomorrow, too tired to go back out now!

ZFORCE · « **Reply #31 on:** December, 19, 2009, 05:07:02 PM »

Well down here in Laurie land (Tucson) we only read about winter. I worked outside for about 4 hours today, and it was a bone chilling low to mid 70s.

The wife locked both sets of keys in the car. One set in the trunk, the spare set in the console. World Wide Wisdom (WWW), said you couldn't Slim Jim a Lexus, yeah right. Weather was so nice, I really enjoyed myself!

Havok1 · « **Reply #32 on:** December, 20, 2009, 04:24:40 AM »

Well luckly it doesn't stay too cold here for too long, but when I need to get out there and work I use a combination of a Mr Heater convection heater that sits on a 20lb propane bottle and an electric heater. It gets it warm enough (50s) in about 20-30 min.

BB · « **Reply #33 on:** December, 20, 2009, 08:05:31 AM »

Since I already have a woodstove in the house, I decided to put one in the garage. So far, it works great. Just need to be extra careful about flammable fumes. I have a seperate room in the garage that is heated with baseboard heat when I want to do some parts painting. I put a fan in the room window and crack the door open about an inch so that it draws air from the garage and fumes go outside.
If I already has gas heat, I would probably have added a gas heater to the garage, but didn't want to go to the expense of adding gas just for the garage.

Mach1ne · « **Reply #34 on:** December, 20, 2009, 04:32:37 PM »

The $99 Home Depot convection heater worked just fine to heat my instulated 3 car garage.

39 outside and 60 inside. Almost got it too warm.

The only bad thing was the smell from burning the "new" off of the thing.

I figured a hour or two of use will take care of that.

Now just waiting for my propane tank that I stole off the grill to run out. Won't be outdoor grilling here in Kansas any time soon.

silverblueBP · « **Reply #35 on:** December, 20, 2009, 04:34:59 PM »

I got tired of the bottles and finally plumbed that sucker into my main line, whole lot less hassle!

vamustang · « **Reply #36 on:** December, 20, 2009, 05:27:26 PM »

Boy I sure need some heat in my shop this weekend. We got 18inches of snow yesterday ! I have several barns and old buildings on my property and I'm looking to build a shop next year hopefully! But in the meantime, I'm making due with a 100 plus year old building 600sq ft and pretty drafty. It does have a concrete floor and a very old woodstove in it. I have been afraid to fire-up the woodstove because the chimney isn't lined. Probably been 40+ years since anything was burned in it. So for the past few weeks I used a Kerosene torpedo heater which worked good but boy it gave me a headache for 2 days. I think I will spend the week insulating and use the propane because doesn't seem to put off the fums the same way.

mcconneje · « **Reply #37 on:** December, 20, 2009, 06:49:22 PM »

Quote from: Mach1ne on December, 20, 2009, 04:32:37 PM

The $99 Home Depot convection heater worked just fine to heat my instulated 3 car garage.

39 outside and 60 inside. Almost got it too warm.

The only bad thing was the smell from burning the "new" off of the thing.

I figured a hour or two of use will take care of that.

Now just waiting for my propane tank that I stole off the grill to run out. Won't be outdoor grilling here in Kansas any time soon.

I watched the Browns-Chiefs game on TV today, and it looked very nice out there. I can work outside in 40 degree weather and my electric heater.

Mach1ne · « **Reply #38 on:** December, 20, 2009, 06:54:50 PM »

It actually got up to 46 today here in KC. A big surprise based on the forecast.

The garage and floor were still cold after it stayed cloudy and cold all day Saturday.

The big test for the new heater and insulation will be later this week when in cools back down below freezing for the daily high and we get snow.

guruatbol · « **Reply #39 on:** December, 20, 2009, 10:12:31 PM »

I just got some extra bottles from one of those bottle exchange places. They have one at Wal-Mart. Now I have five bottles. One on the BBQ which this time of year gets only a little use and four for the garage. when I get down to two, I take the other three in and trade them out.

Propane or natural gas is the only way to go.

Mel

ZFORCE · « **Reply #40 on:** December, 21, 2009, 02:49:02 AM »

Just an FYI, here in AZ those bottle exchange programs charge over double what it would cost to have them filled at the local gas station! Used to be hard to find a local gas station that had propane, but anymore, they are pretty common...might save you a little $$.

apollard · « **Reply #41 on:** December, 21, 2009, 04:40:49 AM »

Quote from: ZFORCE on December, 21, 2009, 02:49:02 AM

Just an FYI, here in AZ those bottle exchange programs charge over double what it would cost to have them filled at the local gas station! Used to be hard to find a local gas station that had propane, but anymore, they are pretty common...might save you a little $$.

I get mine for the grill filled at BJ's Warehouse Club (like Costco) - $10.50 vs over over $22 for the exchange places.

I need to plumb the grill into the 100 gal tank for the house, though - that's ~$5 for 20 lbs.

guruatbol · « **Reply #42 on:** December, 21, 2009, 10:47:19 AM »

I got started on the exchange because my bottles were old. The guys at the station wouldn't fill them. It costs me a bit over $14 for the exchange at Wal-Mart with SWMBO's discount.

I guess it would be cheaper to get it filled at a station, but then I would have to go farther into town fighting traffic, make an additional stop, wait for someone to help me at the local farm supply store or gas station and wait for them to actually fill the bottle and have them decide they can't fill it and then go inside and pay them. Takes an extra 45 min to an extra hour in town.

At the exchange, I pay for the bottle while checking out from groceries and meet the associate at the rack. Hand them my old bottles and they hand me the new one. Easy and with the price of fuel...oh, my time is worth something. Not much I know but something.

So I guess it is all what you like. I like simple and easy.

Mel

ZFORCE · « **Reply #43 on:** December, 21, 2009, 02:46:10 PM »

Well, I have 4 tanks that I use, so I'm saving about $50, and since it is for me, I won't charge my usual $200/hr. LOL!

buening · « **Reply #44 on:** December, 21, 2009, 04:43:05 PM »

I may have missed it but what size is your garage? If you have a smaller 2 car then one of those Big Maxxx heaters may be overkill. If you don't want to run gas and are good with wiring, you can run 220 to a corner of the garage and use a Dayton G73 like here: http://www.heater-home.com/product/G73.aspx

That is what I'm using in my 22x20 garage and it does just fine. Takes a few minutes to get everything to a comfortable level, but again I don't have an enormous heater to take up an entire garage corner.

Grabber70Mach · « **Reply #45 on:** December, 21, 2009, 05:39:32 PM »

I use oil, its the other warm heat, in the summer I flip the switch for the central air conditioner. :)

guruatbol · « **Reply #46 on:** December, 21, 2009, 10:41:56 PM »

Quote from: Mach1ne on December, 20, 2009, 04:32:37 PM

The $99 Home Depot convection heater worked just fine to heat my instulated 3 car garage.

39 outside and 60 inside. Almost got it too warm.

The only bad thing was the smell from burning the "new" off of the thing.

I figured a hour or two of use will take care of that.

Now just waiting for my propane tank that I stole off the grill to run out. Won't be outdoor grilling here in Kansas any time soon.

OK, I looked at one online today and was wondering, You are running it from the 5# tank from a BBQ, right? How does it work? The specs call for a 30-40# bottle.

Mel

6t6red · « **Reply #47 on:** December, 22, 2009, 02:10:12 AM »

Quote from: guruatbol on December, 21, 2009, 10:41:56 PM

OK, I looked at one online today and was wondering, You are running it from the 5# tank from a BBQ, right? How does it work? The specs call for a 30-40# bottle.

Mel

I used a 20# tank with my propane heater and it worked good. My son now has it and he uses a 40# tank and it works better.