[leadfoot67]

Hi I live in Pittsburgh pa, and its getting cold approximately 30-40 degress. I have a house with a detached 2 car garage. My house is all electric no gas whatsoever!! How can I heat my garage enough to continue to do body work in it this winter?

 

[NorStang]

You can get a propane burner, they work too good sometimes, hehe

 

[05horse]

wood stove! or gasheater, i got the gas heater and radiant heat in the slab

 

[RF Mustang]

leadfoot67, You are about 4 to 5 hours drive from me. I live in Miamisburg, Ohio (south of Dayton) and my temperature this morning was 12 degrees. I could use the "slightly" warmer weather you are experiancing.

I heat my 3 car garage with a propane heater I got from Ace hardware. Cost me about $150 and uses a propane bottle just like your gas grill. Takes my garage from bitter "holy mother of god" cold to t-shirt temperature in 15 minutes. No fumes or worries.

You'll go through a whole bottle in about 5 hours if you leave it running so it can be expensive.

All this after buying a huge quartz electric heater. To sum it up .............worthless....... unless you are working within a 5' perimeter. Not to mention I pop a breaker periodically. My buddy next door uses a oil filled electric heater. It to is even more worthless.

 

[Ivy66GT]

All electric heaters that plug into 110V outlets have the SAME heat output (or less!): not quite 1500W. (You can't get more than 1500W out of a standard 110 outlet without blowing a breaker.) All the quartz, oil-filled and/or whatever else they try to sell you for more $$ are sales BS and does not in any way change the heat output which is limited by the AC power coming out of the wall.

 

[68yelstang]

I also live 30 miles South of Pittsburgh Pa.
and use a wall mounted unvented gas heater.
But When I use it I get moisture on every metal object.
anybody have a cure for that ?
It keeps me from working in the cold weather in the garage
thanks in advance

 

[rusty33]

be very careful heating a garage with an unvented propane heater. Carbon monoxide can build up and poison you, particularly if your garage is well sealed. It doesn't smell, it just kills.

 

[Crunchyskippy]

Although I have read about other folks warning that moisture is a problem with propane heaters, I've not experienced any moisture myself. Perhaps it is either that I only use my heater in short bursts (to get my garage up to ~60 degrees) or that my garage door leaks so much that the constant "fresh" air is much drier. Maybe one of those two variables will help you out. Good luck.

FYI - I'm in northern Virginia (it was 25 degrees this morning here).

 

[Explorer]

I've been using a 120,00 BTU torpedo style kerosene construction heater for the last ten years. Kerosene has gone up since I started using it, but it does the job.

 

[dne']

try this~

HI:wavey, dne' here, you may ask the guys on www.Garagejournal.com I'm on that site and theyr'e always asking the question you're asking!:winks It's a great site for garage questions! I don't work when it's too cold, but Houston only has a few days of cold! We just pass winter and go right into spring!
dne'

 

[wolfdog]

I use the space heater that uses kerosene. I can take it around the shop where ever i am working. Its a 52000 BTU heater it works good.

 

[Lizer]

I have a 15,000 BTU heater that screws in to a conventional propane tank. I have a 70 pound tank. Using one of these on a 20 pound tank on high will last 40-50 hours. I put a fan behind the tank to blow the warm air. It doesn't get the garage toasty by any means, but it makes it so the temperature is manageable and you can work comfortably without gloves. You can get a single burner one for $40. They also make double burner ones, which I'm kind of wishing I got.

 

[rex1965]

If your garage is insulated, you will use a lot less fuel, I use a kerosene heater, but mine is not well sealed. I'm thinking of converting a electric water heater to a wood burning heater, you can google it. But I don't live in the city limits, so its not a problem. Good Luck.

 

[dodgestang]

I use a salamder (torpedo heater) that can run on diesel/k1/home heating etc.... keeps my 2000sq/ft pole barn 30 degrees warmer than what ever it is outside. Just have be willing to work with jet engine sound

 

[B.A.]

leadfoot: I'm sure you know this already but... I would stay away from ANYTHING like a kerosene torpedo heater if you are going to be doing any type of spraying any primer or paints even spraycans.
And any type of open flame is obviously a bad idea.
Since you don't have natural gas,my suggestion would be if you could find a used mobile home propane furnace and have that hooked up with the tank outside.
I believe some newer furnaces have an electronic ignition so there isnt even a pilot light to worry about.
I suggest this because its pretty much what I have set up for my garage other than its a gas home furnace instead of propane.
You might have a little more money wrapped up in this sorta setup but you won't blow yourself up either.
Good luck

 

[fangalid]

I'd go with a heat pump. Cheap energy and effective and since i guess your garage doesnt have that many inner walls the heat will spread nicely.

The efficiency is pretty decent even with 30-40 degrees. They do not work very well here in Sweden in the winter because here we have around -13F. This goes for air souce heat pumps.

Good luck.

 

[Explorer]

leadfoot: I'm sure you know this already but... I would stay away from ANYTHING like a kerosene torpedo heater if you are going to be doing any type of spraying any primer or paints even spraycans.
And any type of open flame is obviously a bad idea.
Since you don't have natural gas,my suggestion would be if you could find a used mobile home propane furnace and have that hooked up with the tank outside.
I believe some newer furnaces have an electronic ignition so there isnt even a pilot light to worry about.
I suggest this because its pretty much what I have set up for my garage other than its a gas home furnace instead of propane.
You might have a little more money wrapped up in this sorta setup but you won't blow yourself up either.
Good luck

While I totally agree with the safety factor, I do paint all winter. Heater is shut down before shooting and garage completly aired out before cutting back on. I'm more concerned with the spark from my 7.5HP air compressor cutting on than the heater. Propane is sneaky stuff. Being heavier than air it will collect in the lowest point making a leak doublely dangerous with gas water heaters, refrigerator motors, stuff that fires up from the bottom.

 

[silver69]

When I finshed my garage I thought "great!!" till it got cold. it was 35 degreres and I was standing (very close) to a space heater and could not feel it.
I insulated it with cheap r8 and finished the walls with 1/4" knot free plywood then i put in central heat and ac. I know this is overkill to a point but you cant do a whole lot in 35*. if you insulate this way it will add resale value to your property and reduce your heating needs dramatically. also keep the space a constant 60, dont shut it all down and then go wasting energy trying to get it warmed up only to shut it down again. you are all electric and I like the suggestion of a heat pump. that way in the summer you can control the heat with little effort and cost as well. this will keep your stored cars, chemicals, lawn equipment,
paint - you name it - safer longer.
joe

 

[B.A.]

Explorer: I would be hoping that after the furnace is hooked up, the connections would be checked for any gas leaks, thus I would think would be as safe as it would be as if it were in a house. But I'm not an expert in the HVAC field either.

Although the more some sort of electric heat is mentioned that may be the way to go.A heat pump,electric base board,etc.