shop heat

[dave1949]

If you have reasonable electric rates and 230V in your garage, Dayton and a few others make electric heaters that can be wall-mounted or hang from the ceiling. Thermostat control and fan. $250-$300 I think. No gas lines or tanks to fill would be a plus.
Dave.

 

[AHNC]

Yes, that is indeed alot of money to invest in a garage heater, especially when it would only be needed occasionally. I think I would prefer to find one of the used mobile home furnaces for a few hundred bucks.

You can always do it cheaper. You won't so it better. If it is a very infrequent use, it may be a lot of heater for that particular garage. Then again there are folks who want a pretty nice garage, spend a lot of time in it and you get a lot more done in it if you are comfortable.

Be very careful using a non-sealed burner in a garage which has paints, solvents, fuels and you in it. At the least, you can end up with a heck of a head ache. At worst...?

In my home and in my garage I have combustible gas and CO detectors. Be very careful with a used appliance.

 

[ben2go]

Pot belly wood stove piped through a window.If you need instant heat,check out the ventless propane wall heaters from Northern tool.We got a 40x40x14 shop, insulated, and we use a small wood stove.Takes about 30 minutes to get it warm inside.That's 50* to 65*.Working is the best way to keep wurm.

 

[buck12]

If you have reasonable electric rates and 230V in your garage, Dayton and a few others make electric heaters that can be wall-mounted or hang from the ceiling. Thermostat control and fan. $250-$300 I think. No gas lines or tanks to fill would be a plus.
Dave.

This may be my best option. I had a natural gas heater in the shop at my former house and loved it. The current house is all electric except gas logs. I yet to have the gas turned on because I would be billed a minimum amount all year yet would only use the gas about four months of a year. I really don't want propane because of the big silver tanks unless I could get by with a small propane bottle.

 

[Jaylegger]

I built a 25x32 insulated garage this year and after chatting with my residential/commercial electrician about my heating needs (essentially keep interior above freezing) he suggested a small 250v "construction" heater adding that he knows of quite a few using them without issue and they easily warm up a two car garage. They cost less than $100 and provide a little over 16,000 BTU's (4800 watts). Seemed like an inexpensive experiment so he installed a 250v 30 amp (nema #6-30p) receptacle and so far so good. With little to moderate wind outside the heater can maintain indoor temp at approx 15-20 degrees Fahrenheit above outdoor temps. In high wind conditions (I live on a large lake, I'm talking very windy) it struggles to maintain a handful of degrees above but my though my garage is insulated below the large loft above is not and there is plenty open space between so I'm essentially heating twice the space until I close off the two spaces. You won't be wearing shorts in the winter in there but it sure takes the edge off.

Here's a link to the type of heater purchased:
4,800 watt construction heater | Electric Heaters | Heating | Farm | Princess Auto

 

[JB4310]

This may be my best option. I had a natural gas heater in the shop at my former house and loved it. The current house is all electric except gas logs. I yet to have the gas turned on because I would be billed a minimum amount all year yet would only use the gas about four months of a year. I really don't want propane because of the big silver tanks unless I could get by with a small propane bottle.

I agree with both you and Dave I have a little 230 volt wall mounted heater I got from Grainger 10 years ago and it works great.

It's in a little 600Sq ft free standing detached shop building, there is plumbing in there with bathroom, it's mostly set at like 40 degrees to keep the plumbing from freezeing, but if I want to work in there I just crank it up a little and it's pretty fast warming up, not as fast as a gas unit heater but not bad, it's a nice quiet heat. Seperate meter so I know what it costs, about 75-100 extra bucks a month for the 3-4 winter months. To me, not bad.

Do you have the juice? This one is on a 30 amp breaker, I forget what it comes to in watts? I can check.

 

[dave1949]

I have one of these. I see it's more expensive than I remembered, or maybe the price is up from two years ago. $350

Dayton G73 5000 Watt Electric Garage Heater

5000 watts, 230V 17,100 BTU
If you were paying .15/KW it will cost about $0.75 per hour to run it on max. Since the heat element likely isn't on all the time, it would be a bit less than that.

I can't really tell you how well it works. I have mine incase I need to be in the detached garage to fix something when it is real cold outside. So far, that hasn't happened.

I have tested it and it gives off very nicely warmed air.
Dave.

 

[ovrszd]

You can always do it cheaper. You won't so it better. If it is a very infrequent use, it may be a lot of heater for that particular garage. Then again there are folks who want a pretty nice garage, spend a lot of time in it and you get a lot more done in it if you are comfortable.

Be very careful using a non-sealed burner in a garage which has paints, solvents, fuels and you in it. At the least, you can end up with a heck of a head ache. At worst...?

In my home and in my garage I have combustible gas and CO detectors. Be very careful with a used appliance.

Good stuff here. Especially the part about safety.

If you hired a contractor to install a heater in your garage and it blew up from breathing fumes and caused damage would you expect the contractor to pay for the damages??? Then you probably shouldn't be using a similar heater installed by yourself. Shop fires aren't cool.

 

[firefighter9208]

I have an old Ashley wood heater in my shop (30x40x10). It can bring the temp from 40 to 80 in about an hour. I usually like to get it up to about 70. I fill it full of wood and put the damper on Med. It'll burn several hours on a load. Of course I don't use solvents or paint in the shop with it burning.

Chris

 

[SunnyJim]

I use a Reddy heater, it can run on just about anything I can use diesel or heating oil, JP-8 etc. Some people have burned used transmission fluid in them with out any problems. The old Reddy heater site is down or I would give you the official list of what they can burn.


This list sound about right? I'm running mine of heating oil now. I have burned kerosene and diesel.

Runs on kerosene,#1#2 diesel, fuel oil, jet A-1 or JP-8.

DESA R40 PORTABLE FORCED AIR HEATER 115V

They are forced air so you don't actually need a ton of BTU. Also since its forced you can always point it at you while working if the shop is still cold. I have a 70k BTU unit and no insulation what so ever. Only problem is it gets to warm and I have to turn the thermostat down. This has to be the best heater I have ever owned hands down.