Heating the garage

[jmacdonald]

Good evening everybody. I finally have my garage and have my two cubs under a roof. No power or insulation just yet, but getting there. I wanted to heat the garage so I could work (play)during the winter. I was intending to use a coal stove that I had, but thought about getting a Rinnai propane heater with a direct vent, and avoid building a chimmney. After reading the Rinnai info on line I am a little conserned that a garage installation might not be the best idea, with the dust etc. Then I thought of everone here and wondered what your suggestions might be? It's not a machine shop like some guys have, just a garage. I offset the two bay doors to one side so I could park cars and work on the cubs all along the other side with a generous workbench at the back. It's 32' deep 30' wide and the ceiling is approx. 10 feet high. It's getting cold up here already!

 

[hsimon]

all I use to heat my uninsulated garage is a knipco. Let it run for a few minutes prior to going out to work and before long I'm working in just a shirt and jeans. Plus I have the overhead cracked a smidgen to let in fresh air.

 

[sblunier]

Get a little Modine "Hot Dawg".....about 30,000 btu, power vent, runs $400-500.

I have mine heated with a salvaged (but like new) 75,000 btu Modine......toasty warm and not need to "air it out" every once in a while like the old salamander.

 

[jmacdonald]

Steve the Dawg(s) look interesting, and the prices seemed reasonable. I like the idea of it hanging from the ceiling out of the way. Looking at the company web page they wouldn't warrenty the unit if there was sawdust in the air. Do you do any woodwork in your garage? Finally when you install a through the wall thimble for a horizontal install do you need to cut away much of the siding? Thanks for any info.

 

[sblunier]

Jim,

Mine is an older 80% shop furnace, with standing pilot, etc., about 25 years old, came out of a firehouse. It's not the same animal as the new hotdawgs, but then again, I've got less than $200 in the whole set up (piping, vent, heater, everything).

I installed mine at the same time I put on a new roof on the house/garage, so I cut in a double wall vertical vent.....can't help on the siding ???

 

[rbedell]

Jim M:

The manufacturer of the unit will specify the amount of siding clearance it will need. Some OEM's supply a flashing to help protect the siding and maintain there clearance. The last one I installed, if I recall correcly, had a 3" clearance dimension from the outer flue wall to the siding.

 

[tschweizer]

I have another one like the one Steve posted below if anyone is interested. It is the same furnace out of the same building.

 

[dtanner]

Heres mjy cub,loader to installes on monday.My garage 28-30 with infloor heat. Don Tanner

 

[dtanner]

 

[jsdavis]

Jim you can get a shop furnace suchas the modine that will work really well out of a grainger catolog its a really safe furnace ive installed alot of them in anything from industrial manufactureing to churches.if you end up insulating your garage all youll need is a
50000-75000 btu unit wo insulation depending on outside temps,say below the teens i would go with a 100000-150000.the vent pipe needs 1 inch clearnce from combustables for double wall or 4 inches for single wall.

 

[racolton]

All I can say is that whatever you get, make sure it's vented!!! Non-vented = lots of moisture released into the air. I made that mistake with a propane heater - the moisture condensed on my still-cold tools and left a light haze of rust wherever the oil had been wiped off. (Then there is that small matter of non-vented heaters possibly consuming all oxygen or releasing carbon monoxide into the air, but hey, I think of the tools first!)

 

[stanner]

I run electic baseboard heat, cycled on a timer so it runs only when the rates are low, from 11 pm to 7 am. The heaters are below a bank of cinderblocks and stone, which act as a thermal flywheel, thus releasing the heat during the day.... works well...

 

[racolton]

Hey Don, in-floor heat would be really nice, but how do you keep the lines from freezing? Do you have your garage heated all the time, or is it a closed-loop system with anti-freeze in it?

 

[chunt]

In-floor heat uses glycol or a glycol water mix to circulate through the pipes. I have a wood stove, works ok with a box fan behind it to blow the heated air toward where I'm workin'...

Carey

 

[mgault]

I’m looking for an Electric heater 220v around 30,000 BTU that mounts from the ceiling like a Hotdawg. The only one’s I have been able to find are 16,000 BTU or less. If anyone has any info on a good Electric heater, I would appreciate it. I would like to use gas, but my garage is under the house and I have concrete walls all the way around.

 

[jsdavis]

Mike
Williams Forsaire Wall Heater. Electric Forced Air Wall Heater Model 3144030.this is an electric wall heater takes up very little room.40 amps(#8 wire)31000 btu good units .it doesnt have to be williams but they are good wall heaters no celing though
jason

 

[jsdavis]

there is another called a dayton G73 good for 500 sq feet 17000 btu though but a really reasonable price you could get a couple!!they are like the modine in the picture below

 

[sblunier]

Mike,

The new Hot Dawgs have a forced vent option, so the hole in the wall could be small (~3" PVC)...I personally would consider this before electric, but that's just MHO.

I think I'd go with 2ea 15 MBtu electric heaters rather than one big 30...then you could only use one if it wasn't that cold and potentially save on some juice...and get better heat circulation...and get into ceiling mounted units.

 

[mgault]

Thanks for the info guys. I would really prefer a natural gas model. The only reasons I am considering electric is; 8" concrete w/rebar is a #$%$& to vent. I already have 220v going through the garage from a old hottub.
For now I'll just keep using the propane heater until I make a decision.

 

[racolton]

Mike, rent a concrete core driller to make a hole for venting. Those things work slick.