How do you heat your garage come winter time?

[Lefty]

I've owned a Ranger for a little over a year now. It's been a blast rebuilding and customizing. This is an easy vehicle to work on. Parts are cheap and plentiful. And this forum has been wonderful in providing great advice. The trouble is that winter is coming. i need to heat my two garage. Have you any suggestions about getting a good portable heater?

Meanwhile, I've been working late into the night.

 

[Shran]

Insulation... cap the ceiling if it's not already. Regardless of your heat source, it will be a lot more effective. I used to run two 140k BTU torpedo heaters in a uninsulated 30x60 shop with no ceiling and it would get lukewarm in the winter... and everything reeked like diesel exhaust.

My current 30x40 shop is insulated with R19 in the walls and R30 in the ceiling and it is all sheathed with OSB. 10' walls, two 10' garage doors. I put in a 80k BTU natural gas shop heater last year and it'll cook you out and stay warm for a long time.

If you just want something quick and dirty, I would get a 3 burner Mr. Heater tank top heater and 2-3 BBQ size propane tanks, or a single 50 or 100lb tank. I did that setup for a few years and it worked pretty good. On high with all 3 burners going, a 20lb tank would last about 6 hours.

 

[RonD]

"Heat rises", so if you have an open ceiling install a ceiling fan in attic space to circulate the warmer air back down

 

[Lefty]

Insulation... cap the ceiling if it's not already. Regardless of your heat source, it will be a lot more effective. I used to run two 140k BTU torpedo heaters in a uninsulated 30x60 shop with no ceiling and it would get lukewarm in the winter... and everything reeked like diesel exhaust.

My current 30x40 shop is insulated with R19 in the walls and R30 in the ceiling and it is all sheathed with OSB. 10' walls, two 10' garage doors. I put in a 80k BTU natural gas shop heater last year and it'll cook you out and stay warm for a long time.

If you just want something quick and dirty, I would get a 3 burner Mr. Heater tank top heater and 2-3 BBQ size propane tanks, or a single 50 or 100lb tank. I did that setup for a few years and it worked pretty good. On high with all 3 burners going, a 20lb tank would last about 6 hours.

Thanks. knowing numbers was very helpful

 

[RonD]

1/2" plywood has an "R" factor of 0.6 so close to 0 insulation value, basically just blocks the wind , which is not nothing
R19 walls and R30 ceiling is great for heat retension

 

[Shran]

Finishing the inside of your shop is probably expensive right now - I had around $900 of insulation and $1500 of OSB invested in my entire building... I am guessing double or triple that if I had to do it again right now. However, it is really money well spent if you can afford it. Your heating bill will be a tiny fraction of what it would be unfinished plus the building will be worth more... taxes might go up though unless you do it on the sly and don't tell anyone.

A real garage heater can cut down on heat costs too - I was spending $100+/month on propane that made my shop very humid and smelled terrible. The natural gas heater costs me at most $50/month and it doesn't smell, heats far more evenly and I can even paint while it's running without a problem.

Really just depends on your budget and end goal.

 

[ElectraRider]

I used to do insulation till I became a heavy equipment operator and insulation is the only part of the house that pays for it self. I have a two and a half car garage , use a overhead electric heater, it's about 15x 15 . I keep it set at about 45 degrees in the winter and when I work in there I just turn it up a bit makes it nice for working . runs on 220 volts.

 

[sgtsandman]

I use a propane torpedo heater to warm up the shop and two reflective kerosene heaters to maintain the temperature.

Torpedo heaters burn through fuel fast. So, unless I’m out in the driveway doing an emergency repair, it doesn’t stay on long.

Kerosene is a lot cheaper but if can afford to go natural gas and you have the space, that is the cheapest way to go.

 

[19Walt93]

I have a propane wall furnace hooked up to a remote control so I can turn it on from inside the house and get it warmed up a little. Once I get out there I fire up the wood stove and shut off the propane because the fan cycling irritates me.

 

[racsan]

I use a kerosene torpedo heater when I need to work in the garage during the winter. Id love a waste oil burner, thought about building my own.

 

[pjtoledo]

heat???

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

The heat is in the tools!

I don’t have a garage that’s useable yet. But it will probably have a propane heater and something else, maybe electric, maybe a wood stove, we’ll see when I get to that point what makes the most sense. Working on stuff outside, mostly I just deal with it, but I have used a kerosene wick type heater for something to warm my hands by or sometimes built a tent and used a torpedo heater. My buddy uses natural gas heater, but you can’t fit anything in his garage (good place to hang out though and sometimes we build a tent off the garage door and work there) but natural gas isn’t an option here

 

[1990RangerinSK]

Whatever you choose, keep the temperature in your garage below freezing.

The freeze-thaw cycle is hard on vehicles. It accelerates rust.

 

[rubydist]

If I have to work in the garage and its really cold, I have a kerosene torpedo type heater. I find that if I start it outside and let it warm up about a minute before I bring it in and close the door, most of the smell is gone. I also have a small propane heater if I just need a little heat. Fortunately here its rarely so cold that I need to heat the garage, now that its insulated.

 

[Lefty]

The heat is in the tools!

I don’t have a garage that’s useable yet. But it will probably have a propane heater and something else, maybe electric, maybe a wood stove, we’ll see when I get to that point what makes the most sense. Working on stuff outside, mostly I just deal with it, but I have used a kerosene wick type heater for something to warm my hands by or sometimes built a tent and used a torpedo heater. My buddy uses natural gas heater, but you can’t fit anything in his garage (good place to hang out though and sometimes we build a tent off the garage door and work there) but natural gas isn’t an option here

Understood. It gets pretty cold here in Minnesota. After a certain point I just lose all will to work.