Garage/Shop heaters?

[MinisterofDOOM]

We've had some interesting weather this week (tornado just miles from where I work! In Utah!!! WTF?!) and it's been under 60*F for a couple days with lots of grey and rain. And, being at least 75% Demon (the other 83% is Robot) I have been unhappily thinking of how much less useful my garage is going to be very very soon when temps drop.

But then I remembered the forced air propane heaters we used when I was building houses, and I thought maybe I'd look into one of those. They're not expensive, but they are LOUD. They seemed a lot more effective than radiant heaters, but they were pretty strictly directional.

I've also heard good things about used-oil heaters (which seems ideal as I end up with lots of used oil from various oil changes--so basically free fuel) but they are very, very expensive and I'm not really interested in spending that much money.

Anyway, after some googling and amazoning (that's a thing) I realized I have no idea what kind of heater is best for heating a garage.

So: what do you guys use to heat your shops/garages? (And yes, I know a lot of you live in wonderful places where summers are 115 and winters are 80, but I don't, dammit.)

My garage is a little under 600 sq feet, with a pretty well-insulated door and ceiling. There's plenty of free wall space for hanging a heater if needed, but a bit of free floor space if that works best, too. It has a ten-foot ceiling, so there's a lot of air volume to heat per square foot. I'd probably prefer something hydrocarbon-powered (vs electric) for cost reasons. I also don't comprehend the meaning of the phrase "too hot" (seriously, do those words even conjugate?) so I'd rather shoot for overkill rather than just enough capacity.

[MinisterofDOOM]

And, being at least 75% Demon (the other 83% is Robot)

Ohai



Just tryin' out my new HTC Vive.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I use my turkey fryer or a multitude of "4 cylinder heaters" haha.
Just start my cars up, plumb the exhaust outside, and then shut them off after a time. The blocks get hot and heat the shop nicely. Mine isn't insulated and has much higher ceilings too.

I actually like working in the cold though. Lay down some cardboard over the concrete floor, good to go.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

But yeah I agree, I was looking into those waste oil heaters and couldn't believe how much they cost.
If I lived somewhere colder, I'd probably look into making my own, or some kind of wood/oil hybrid.

[elwesso]

I'd get on Craigslist and find a used gas furnace like for your house. Even if it was setup for natural gas you can convert it pretty easily to propane.

[frapjap]

My garage has a wood stove. Its pretty awesome, even though I've never used it.

A friend used one of these patio heaters in college when we worked on cars.


They're pretty cheap these days (~200-250) and run on a big tank of propane. They're really good at radiating heat. So much so that we used to keep the garage door cracked in the winter. We wouldn't worry to much about combustion since many homes have propane ranges without ventilation. If you're really worried, buy a cheap CO2 detector.

These are supposed to be awesome, too. http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produc ... 8-000-btus
You can get a longer hose through the company and run a line to a bigger tank outside if safety is your thing.

[numbnuts240]

But then I remembered the forced air propane heaters we used when I was building houses, and I thought maybe I'd look into one of those. They're not expensive, but they are LOUD. They seemed a lot more effective than radiant heaters, but they were pretty strictly directional.

i use one of those guys. i usually let it run while i'm getting the tools i need ready to go, or while i'm taking a break for a beer and to get off the floor and stretch for a bit. heats up enough to be comfortable, and by the time i need to turn it back on to restore lost heat, i'm usually ready for another beer break anyway. works out pretty well. my buddy uses the same type, but kerosene fueled. i definitely wouldn't go that route. the exhaust will leave you in an altered enough state to make things dangerous.

[BusyBadger]

Friend of mine uses an infrared fireplace that he no longer used in the house.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Ended up getting one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-MH18B- ... B0002WRHE8

It puts out quite a bit of heat for its size, and I got an adapter to use a full 20 lb propane tank with it so I don't have to keep buying the tiny camp tanks. It has a fan that can run off D batteries or a 6v (wtf?) power supply that for some reason is sold separately from the heater, but the fan isn't necessary for it to operate--it just helps circulate the heat better.

[float_6969]

I know it's too late, but an old home furnace is best, or wood if you have it available. TECHNICALLY, anything that can be an ignition source is supposed to be mounted at least 18" above the floor if placed in the garage. If any heavy flammable vapors accumulate, it can blow the garage up. The problem with propane is that the combustion gasses are going into the space you're in. This does two things. The first is that you're using up the air in the garage. The second is carbon monoxide. I USED to thing this was silly non-sense for idiots, until I nearly became one of those idiots. I was working in my garage for a couple of hours with a jet propane heater. I was building my ethanol still and so I had a MAPP gas torch to make the solder joints. The torch stopped lighting, though it had plenty of fuel. I though the little sparker thing was bad, so I tried to light it with a cigarette lighter. The cigarette lighter wouldn't light either. That's when I realized that I had used up so much oxygen in the garage that they wouldn't work anymore. I stepped out of the garage and they both worked instantly. I immediately ran in and shut the heater off and opened the garage door. I've kept the garage door cracked open about a foot and put the intake of the heater by the door ever since.

[centralcoaster33]

Float_6969... lucky to be alive!

I have a dinky electric area heater. It heats up the corner I'm in and takes the edge off of the rest of the garage. The garage itself isn't very sealed and let's a lot of heat escape. I'm in CA and it's rarely turned on anyway. I think the one you got looks like what I'd want if it were actually cold. Let us know how it works out. How long it takes to warm up, ventilation... if you're up to it.

[MinisterofDOOM]

This will be used only in a well-ventilated garage (likely the rolling door open, but at the very least an exterior man door and window open. Amusingly, it's labelled as "indoor-safe" and instructions make no mention of operating in well-ventilated areas, which is an odd contrast to the safety-excessive labeling I'm used to seeing on everything from Tonka trucks to kitchen utensils.

As for height, it does have wall mount bracketry that I'll likely use. I have more free wall space than floor space, anyway.

I'll certainly report back on its efficacy as the winter cools off. Cabin fever sets in fast for me in the winter with my dislike for the cold, so I'm always looking for things to occupy me in the garage. I imagine I'll get a lot of use out of it.