Auburntsts

Auburntsts

Well Known Member
Folks,
As I move on to my Fuse, I also have to move from my fully heated basement workshop to my unheated garage. Being an Alabama boy, heating garages is not something I've ever given any thought to until now. Soooo, what's an economical method (read cheap) but effective way to make the gararge livable this winter?
 
I'm originally a Georgia/Tennessee boy, and as long as I stay busy, I'm quite comfortable down into the 30's in my garage in the wintertime, even without gloves. It's really handy having all that working time with proseal! My wife is originally from Michigan, and she thinks I'm crazy!
 
barn heat.

I found a used radiant tube system out of an old factory that was just right for my barn. FREE! I just had to pick it up. Doesn't use much gas and really nice being in a toaster in the winter here in Michigan.
 
If your garage is insulated, and that should be the first step, it doesn't take as much heat per sey as it takes to distribute the heat to the far corners. I found a small wall heater was enough if I added fans to "move" the heat.
 
Hmmm. It's un-insulated and finished so I'm pretty much resigned to leaving it as is. So, would a space heater (either propane or electric) work to take the chill off while working when the outside temps are in 20-30 deg range? Don't need it short sleeve and shorts comfortable, but don't want to see my breath either (or look like a cast member on NWT Ice Pliots).
 
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We'll crack the garage door open an inch and run the kerosene torpedo heater in a clear area & pointed toward the center of the garage for a few minutes til it gets hot, then turn it off and work in comfort for an hour or more. There's a foot of blown insulation in the attic which really keeps the heat in nicely in winter. We worked often in 20-degree temps last winter.

A little indoor sealed space heater under the work bench will radiate enough heat to stay comfortable while you work on small parts & pieces. Keeps the toes from freezing! :p
 
I have a little 120V 1kw electric space heater with fan that's only about an 8" cube, so it doesn't take up much space on the workbench, and you can direct it right at whatever you happen to be working on.
 
I'd recommend a propane torpedo heater. Puts out a lot of heat quickly for a cold day, burns a lot cleaner than kerosene. Can use the tank you already have for your gas grill.
 
Believe it or not, it gets bone-chillin' cold in north central Texas in the wintertime. We managed to build at least 4 planes inside unheated, uninsulated bare metal hangars with much of the work happening in the winters, using propane radiant heaters like these:

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http://www.heatershop.com/propane_radiant_heaters.html

plus also the heat given off by halogen shop lamps like these helps a lot too

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Arnie,
Unfortunately, that is not an option. My furnace is in the basement and would require serious work to duct out to the garage which in reality is a temp workshop. Once the plane moves to the airport, the garage will revert to being just a garage so I don't want to spend any more time and effort than is absolutely necessary to keep myself from freezing.

I've been checking out Home Depot, Lowes, and Ace (all of which are nearby) and the 3 burner radiant heater attached to a 20# propane tank looks like a winner for what I need.

Thanks for all the suggestions!
 
Auburntsts said:
I've been checking out Home Depot, Lowes, and Ace (all of which are nearby) and the 3 burner radiant heater attached to a 20# propane tank looks like a winner for what I need.
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BTW, Are you guys aware that Home Depot and Lowe's offer a 10% discount on everything to veterans. Just take along a copy of your DD Form 214.
 
Yes I am, and you don't a 214, just your mil ID (CAC for AD and Blue DD Form 2 for us retired pukes), at least at my local Lowes.
 
Most propane radiant heaters made these days burn the fuel pretty completely, producing little CO, but if your garage is not very "drafty" then a CO monitor to go along with the heater might be a worthwhile investment too.

We didn't have to worry about that in the old metal hangars due to plenty of flow-thru ventilation even with all the doors shut :eek:
 
anti propane heat

JHines said:
I'd recommend a propane torpedo heater. Puts out a lot of heat quickly for a cold day, burns a lot cleaner than kerosene. Can use the tank you already have for your gas grill.
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I did this for a few years, until I built the garagemahal, which is insulated better than my house.

Propane heaters seem to dump a lot of water vapour into the air, too.
I didn't like that much, nor the source of ignition.

For my old garage, spot heating on me while I worked was all that was affordable, until I insulated. No need to pay to heat the outside faster than you have to. I did find that in the colder weather, I occasionally needed to heat up the work pieces and tools a bit in front of the heater as well, to be comfortable.
 
AlphaCharlieBravo said:
Hi Todd
My furnace is in my garage and I just cut a 14x6 opening and installed a register with a adj. damper into my base can. Before I head out into the garage I just punch up my thermostat in the house up a few degrees, open the register and I can work out there in a tee shirt when it is 30 outside. My outside wall is insulated with R-19. My garage door is R-9.2 Made for a very comfortable working environment.
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Is this allowed under the building codes and your house insurance?
I don't think it's allowed here - fear of mixing auto fumes with house air, and flame path I think it was, but I haven't looked at it in a long time.
 
I used a belt and suspenders approach. Most of the time a 1500 watt electric heater was sufficent. On colder days, I'd just come in, fire up the radiant propane heater (15,000 BTU, as I remember), AND the electric heater. Once the space was warm, I could turn off the propane heater and the shop would stay plenty warm most evenings.

I found that below a certain temp in the shop, I lost dexterity in my fingers, so heat was important.

If you can, insulate the ceiling of the space and seal the space as much as you can. Its a garage, so it will leak air, but do what you can.
 
rv8eh said:
Is this allowed under the building codes and your house insurance?
I don't think it's allowed here - fear of mixing auto fumes with house air, and flame path I think it was, but I haven't looked at it in a long time.
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No, it's not allowed here. That's why there is sealed ducting installed. You are entirely correct about the flame path of the fumes introduced to the living space. That's also why there is a total fire wall required between the garage and the living space as well.
 
Two things that helped me with warming the garage -

Insulated garage doors - made a big difference in both winter and summer

Infrared electric patio heater - got one at Costco a couple of years ago. You can adjust the tilt and swivel to point it at your work area.



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