Garage heater

[dj1701]

Hello all,

I currently heat my shop with a kerosene torpedo heater. I have high ceilings,
but it does a great job of getting it toasty pretty quick.

The drawback is noise. I was wondering if there is any portable that will give me the heat
like the torpedo but has less noise?


Thanks
Dave

 

[homesteader13]

The least expensive option would be a wood stove that is what I use. The most expensive option would be a gas or oil furnace.

 

[George2615]

I too have a torpedo heater for quick garage heat up. Yes it is noisy. But I also installed a cheap used mobile home furnace (bought used from a furnace technician for $100) that runs on kerosene or #2 home heating oil. If I'm going to work in the garage in cold weather I fire up the furnace and torpedo heaters and go back in the house for 15 minutes for another coffee. When I come back out the torpedo heater has cycled off on its thermostat and the MH furnace maintains the garage at the T-stat setting. I usually set it for about 60 deg. which for me is comfortable.
I fuel the MH furnace from a portable 15 gallon tank sitting next to it.

I have heard others use wood stoves or propane fueled infrared or ceramic heaters but have no experience with them.

 

[radios1]

this is it.

also, if you use a hollow cone nozzle, instead of a solid cone nozzle, you can make your current heater quieter. the torpedo heater that I made was very quiet, it used an oil burner.. competition makes manufacturers skimp on quality..

 

[Industrial Toys]

This is a radiant VAL 6 style heater, but better for large areas or outside. It only has a small fan for combustion purposes. They are expensive, so I waited five years before finding a bunch at auction.

The torpedo heaters will also make you sick in an enclosed space. These won't, or are not nearly as dirty. PLUS, they run on Diesel. I always had to buy and keep expensive kerosene on hand for the torpedo heater. Anyone run the torpedos on Diesel?

 

[jasonzee]

If you can I would build a barrel stove.

 

[radios1]

The least expensive option would be a wood stove that is what I use. The most expensive option would be a gas or oil furnace.

a coal stove is even cheaper if you have to buy wood!. coal also lasts a lot longer per fill..

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have a nice big wood stove in my garage/workshop. Trouble is, you have a twenty minute job to do and you need to get a fire going a couple of hours before to heat all the mass up.

 

[homesteader13]

a coal stove is even cheaper if you have to buy wood!. coal also lasts a lot longer per fill..

I live in the northern rockies of Western Montana sometimes I take for granted that not everybody has a lifetime supply of firewood on their property.

 

[homesteader13]

I have a nice big wood stove in my garage/workshop. Trouble is, you have a twenty minute job to do and you need to get a fire going a couple of hours before to heat all the mass up.

I do have a newer used propane furnace that I can use for quick heat but my wood stove is my primary go to.
And another plan I've got is I am going to get several grapple loads of rocks from the tailings pile on one of my mine shafts and stack them on and around the stove as a large heat sink.

 

[Industrial Toys]

In floor heat makes no sense for occassional heat, but it would be nice to take excess heat from ones wood stove and put it into the cold slab.

I have my stove on a two foot or so frame, to store a little firewood underneith and so I don't have to get on my knees to load it. But an "expert" woodstove friend chastised me, saying the stove works better if it can suck the cold off the floor.

 

[jaydee325]

110,000 BTU propane hanging furnace in my attached 30x40 workshop/garage. Keep the thermostat set at 40 deg F unless I'm working. In that case, turn the thermostat up to 55-60 deg F and 20 minutes later (or less), I'm going to work.

Yep, I know the cost and it is worth it to me. Pays your money and takes your choice.

 

[Jack Murdock]

I heat my two car with a wall mount infrared from Enerco. HS25N High Intensity Radiant Workshop Heater | Heatstar. I have had it for a few years quiet and 99% efficient. I only turn it on when I am out there and do NOT use it as a sole source of heat. overnight etc. Mine is on LP gas.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I investigated ceiling mounted electric radiant heaters. Expensive and I wasn't convinced they would be effective.

 

[Deere Dude]

I put a 30k ventless LP gas wall hung heater in my garage and my shop. I would think a ceiling hung heater would be better but these ventless heaters work great and are cheap and easy to install.

 

[dj1701]

Yeah, I want something quick. I don't want to have to build a fire to get warm.
a lot of time, I'm not out in the shop for long periods, so I want to keep it simple.

 

[crashz]

I used a torpedo heater decades ago to heat my father's garage while working on my old truck. After a few hours of working, I heard a knock on the door. My oldest friend, a guy I knew all of my life, was standing there. I asked him who he was and what he wanted. No idea who he was.

Its nice to be warm, but its nice to have a proper amount of oxygen to the brain. Choices.

 

[mrmikey]

I've got a 4500W ceiling mounted electric heater in my 20 x 26 garage, 2 x 4 insulated walls and 3-1/2" batts in the ceiling. It'll take the <5°C garage to a comfortable 15°C in about an hour or so. Sure it adds to the power bill but for the amount of time I'm in the garage in the winter it beats having to get propane or oil and I don't lose the space as I would with a wood stove......Mike

 

[homesteader13]

So, OP What is your situation? Are you on an acreage with timber? small or large shop? Insulated or not?
My shop is at 5500' elevation 30x50 with 10 foot rafter height. R30 (10" fiberglass insulation) in the walls and nothing on the roof but in the Spring going to do 2" of foam so I have vapor barrier so the roof doesn't drip condensation. 3 or 4 logs in the morning and 3 or 4 logs in the evening, A few more if I'm working out there during the day. and in also has a 6 by 8 diesel generator Room which creates ambient heat and can stay warm pretty much all the time with minimal effort. But everybody's situation varies so if we answer some more specifics, I think everybody could give you better opinions or advice on what might work for you.

 

[lennyzx11]

I too have a torpedo heater for quick garage heat up. Yes it is noisy. But I also installed a cheap used mobile home furnace (bought used from a furnace technician for $100) that runs on kerosene or #2 home heating oil. If I'm going to work in the garage in cold weather I fire up the furnace and torpedo heaters and go back in the house for 15 minutes for another coffee. When I come back out the torpedo heater has cycled off on its thermostat and the MH furnace maintains the garage at the T-stat setting. I usually set it for about 60 deg. which for me is comfortable.
I fuel the MH furnace from a portable 15 gallon tank sitting next to it.

I have heard others use wood stoves or propane fueled infrared or ceramic heaters but have no experience with them.

I use propane heaters. A 30k mr heater torpedo works in my 24x24 but is loud.

Last winter I got a another heater that is a lot quieter and works well.

https://www.samsclub.com/p/dyna-glo-200-btu-lp-hrt-cov-2000-btu/prod16300076

I have a propane heater to permanently mount from a mobile home but haven’t got it done. And a wood stove to install.
I don’t want to give up the space required though.