Gas heater recommendation?

[jymbee]

Planning to insulate & heat a space over the new garage. Gambrel trusses give us a 8x14x30 feet space to deal with. Not much experience with what's out there with respect to propane gas heaters and hoping someone can provide input as to some different heating units we might want to take a look at?

 

[bobmisi]

Gas heaters are pretty good, but in my new 46X28 garage, we installed a heat pump system. Much more efficient and we get air conditioning as a bonus. A little bit more initially, but you'll make it up in the long run. The new ones from Mitsubishi will make heat from the outside air down to minus 17 degrees . Worth checking into.We use the heat pump for the upstairs living space.

 

[teejk]

Pretty small space...IMHO anything with an open flame would be a recipe for disaster. I have a similar situation over an attached garage and plan on using one of those small "hotel/motel" electric units (heat and cool) if I ever get around to it. I built the house so was able to run that expensive 10/3 wire up before the sheetrock came in.

 

[coobie]

Planning to insulate & heat a space over the new garage. Gambrel trusses give us a 8x14x30 feet space to deal with. Not much experience with what's out there with respect to propane gas heaters and hoping someone can provide input as to some different heating units we might want to take a look at?

I bought a Empire brand heater from a local heating business/contractor.IMHO better than big box store because you can get parts local if you need them.

 

[SandburRanch]

Thermostat controlled convection gas heaters with a thermopile still operate during power outages. No electricity required for operation. I have a wall heater in my basement that heats the house if need be. Wouldn't own a gas heater without a flue.

 

[Gem99ultra]

We have a heat pump as well as a 'motel air/heat' unit for the Sewing Room. We also have a propane powered fireplace, which in truth, is not efficient at all, and is pretty much only a show piece.

And, while the heat pump will heat the entire 3,000 sqft house, it is very inefficient in temps below 40*. Below 40*, the "Emergency Heat" coil kicks in, and the electricity usage sky rockets.

So, two weeks ago I purchased a 25000 btu ProCom propane heater to inset in the fireplace. It was $350 from Northern Tool on sale. Blower assembly was a $100 option, which I also bought and installed. The blower is interconnected to the heater, which is allows both the heater and the blower to be thermostatically controlled.

What a difference! The extra boost by the ProCom stove supplementing the central HVAC makes a very nice arrangement. It's been 41* here for the last 3 mornings. Shutting the central HVAC down to <60* and setting the ProCom on the lowest setting makes for a cozy wakeup. So far it is using about 2 gallons of propane per 24 hr. period; very inexpensive at the current propane prices. About $0.08/hr. And the central HVAC unit hasn't even come on at all.

There are, of course, much cheaper ProCom stoves that are more generic in appearance. We chose a decorative cast iron unit with gas logs, etc., which of course is twice the cost of the generic units. For a workshop, the generic unit would certainly suffice for my liking. Still, I would opt for the integrated blower assembly, or a ProCom that includes the blower.

 

[jymbee]

I have a similar situation over an attached garage and plan on using one of those small "hotel/motel" electric units (heat and cool)

Thinking about it a unit like that might be a good option for us. Last summer it rarely got hot enough for an air conditioner but can't count on that going forward of course.

Lots of good info re. various options-- thanks to all for the input!

 

[teejk]

We have a heat pump as well as a 'motel air/heat' unit for the Sewing Room. We also have a propane powered fireplace, which in truth, is not efficient at all, and is pretty much only a show piece.

And, while the heat pump will heat the entire 3,000 sqft house, it is very inefficient in temps below 40*. Below 40*, the "Emergency Heat" coil kicks in, and the electricity usage sky rockets.

So, two weeks ago I purchased a 25000 btu ProCom propane heater to inset in the fireplace. It was $350 from Northern Tool on sale. Blower assembly was a $100 option, which I also bought and installed. The blower is interconnected to the heater, which is allows both the heater and the blower to be thermostatically controlled.

What a difference! The extra boost by the ProCom stove supplementing the central HVAC makes a very nice arrangement. It's been 41* here for the last 3 mornings. Shutting the central HVAC down to <60* and setting the ProCom on the lowest setting makes for a cozy wakeup. So far it is using about 2 gallons of propane per 24 hr. period; very inexpensive at the current propane prices. About $0.08/hr. And the central HVAC unit hasn't even come on at all.

There are, of course, much cheaper ProCom stoves that are more generic in appearance. We chose a decorative cast iron unit with gas logs, etc., which of course is twice the cost of the generic units. For a workshop, the generic unit would certainly suffice for my liking. Still, I would opt for the integrated blower assembly, or a ProCom that includes the blower.

Thanks for that...my MIL just bought a house not far from here that has a heavy gauge fire-box built into stone (with a built-in dumbwaiter to bring wood from the basement) . She's 87 and understandably doesn't want the hassle of wood but would love the "ambience" of the fire. The "pro's" wouldn't touch it but I'll look into that ProCom unit.

 

[Bengineer]

Some thoughts/info/terminology that might be useful. Disclosure: I've used none of these. A mini-split is on my list.

You could go (at least) three ways with a heat pump:

o Mini-split - mentioned - mitsubishi / daikin / many chinese: quiet, fairly expensive, professional install, can be super efficent and some can run down to the minus teens as noted upthread.
o Packaged - a "PTAC" aka "hotel" style unit: noisy, dunno about low temp operation.
o Window unit: noisy, cheap, might not go to low temps

Definitely check the low temp specs against the btu's you'll need at design temps - something like 0 for Albany. The mitsubishi, for instance, specs the btus at various low temps.

For occasional use over a garage, I might consider a simple wall convection gas heater similar to mentioned above for winter & a window unit run thru the wall for summer, particularly if you have natural gas available. If I was going to be living up there, something like the mitsubishi would be good - quiet, efficient, comfortable. Might want a fan to circulate air down that long space.

 

[truckdiagnostics]

Hotel/motel type unit would be what i would look into, they have some nice stuff out now. The mini spits sound good, getting rid of the condensate is an issue and repair is no picnic. Son puts them in and repairs them. They are money makers for him. Agree with the open flame issues. Could mount a home type unit run it on gas and get ac as long as mount in garage or attic space. Issue there will be sizing never looked for one that small. The hotel/motel unit would work, but you would need to be insulated real well!, to keep heating and cooling load down low enough.