What to do v. Garage heaters

Blownbyyou

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Mar 27, 2008
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I love my vented natural gas..WiFi thermostat lets me control via Alexa and smart things, leave it at 40 degrees till about 5:00 am then kick it up to 60 before we leave at 7 am....plus if I leave early it knows I’m gone and goes down to 40... plus if I leave the door open it turns off automatically
 

Gamble

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May 23, 2015
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I have mine mounted on the ceiling as well.

That looks like the one I have. I got my garage (3 car) up to 63* today.

I know I need a garage door seal and I added some insulation to the garage door (well half of it, I still need to finish the rest)
When it's super cold out I will use a torpedo heater to bring the garage up to a comfortable temp quickly then the ceiling mounted heater does a decent job at keeping it comfortable.

A vented natural gas unit is the way to go. I had a vent free heater for a few years, but I got sick of the condensation buildup and humidity. I switched over to a vented unit and it's so much better. It's connected to a thermostat and is left at 60 degrees all winter unless I'm working out there and want it warmer.


I would agree with a natural gas one. My dad has one in his 2 car and the heater is small, but you can go from it being 0* outside to pulling a car in full of snow and in 15 minutes you will be sweating your ass off.
 

LoveSpank

JTICE
Mar 13, 2012
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Tell me more! Needs gas and electric ran to it? Ventless, right? Does it have the same issue as these other open flame heaters that cause condensation and or smells?
They are bad ass, yes u will have to have electric and gas for it to work. I think some are ventless but the one I want is vented. I have installed so many different models of there vented units and yes certain ones condensate. And as far as smell, the first few times u may get a odor but after that its gone. Kinda like using a new oven for the first time, its gonna have that initial stank. All in all after working with this product for the past 5 years in the winter I really like the quality and the relative maintenance free aspect.
 

OffshoreDrilling

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Aug 28, 2007
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Didn’t read any posts besides the original one. IR heated is 100% the better way to go as far as comfort.

Reasons:
1. I say so
2. HVAC professional
3. IR heats via radiation, heating surfaces directly. Comfort is associated with the mean radiant temperature of the objects around you. Your cars will be warm to the touch, your tools will be warm to the touch.
4. Forced air only heats the air and relies on the conduction from the air to objects to warm them.

Think of it like your home. If the air is 70* but you’ve got a tile floor that’s 60*, and hot leather couch is also 60*, that shit is going to feel cold regardless what the air temp is. Conversely, if the floor and couch are 70* but the air is cooler, you’re still going to be feeling warm because the effects of the radiant temperatures of the objects.

This is how homes were heated forever. Radiant heat from a wood burning stove. Forced air is the absolute worst way to heat.
 

Frank Dukes

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May 5, 2009
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I wound up with a combination of a 120v plug in mounted on the ceiling and a 15k btu propane unit on wheels. In unison they work great. Long term the real answer seems to vented natural gas. I looked at buying a 30k btu ventless wall mount but instructions say not to run one on a 20lb propane tank. The 15k ones can tho.
 

SMKE EM

Banned
Nov 9, 2016
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So I was at Menards the other day researching garage heaters in prep for Black Friday sales that might happen.

Option 1: I spoke with a lil ole sales guy who was pushing me to the electric heater for $599 because it requires no venting and only uses electric during the winter months when electric is cheaper anyway.
https://www.menards.com/main/heatin...430-c-6328.htm?tid=6608613120192647791&ipos=5

Option 2: Then I saw the infrared heaters that are 99% efficient and require no venting:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AXF0M/?tag=tcg21-20

I like this concept. However, there is no fan to push the warm air around so I need to run another fan to move air.

Option 3: Then there is the old school nat gas heater with a fan that does all of the above: makes heat, has a fan to cycle air, and requires both gas and electric to be ran to it as well as needing an exhaust vent outside. Not a big fan of that exhaust requirement.

Anyone here have experience with anything other than option 3?

IMHO both suck unless your garage is tiny and well insulated. My walls have insulation, no drywall, and the roof is non-insulated to give you an idea. About 3 car width and 30ft deep 12ft peak to roof.

I had a 40,000 btu heater in my garage, Ventless. Not only were there fumes, everything in the garage gets sweaty due to the moisture in the air. Tools will have slight condensation, and I had it on for 8hrs and didn't raise more than 10 degrees.

I purchased a used Dayton 150,000 btu nat gas heater on CL for $250. Guy lied to me and said it worked, ended up being that the blocked vent switch needed to be replaced to work again. I just overrode the switch with a jumper wire, free fix. My vent is literally right above the unit, it'll never get blocked. That said it's just a hair more work as you need a plumb bob and saw zall to cut a hole in your roof for the flashing to install the vent tubing. Took me maybe 1hr

Garage now has a 1degree / min temperature raise during the coldest days imaginable. Only thing I've been battling is finding a LCD thermostat that doesn't have issues operating below zero
 

SMKE EM

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Nov 9, 2016
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Ignore my mess for now. You can see the heater in the back right of the garage just to get an idea of scale.

As far as cost, if I work on a vehicle every other day 8+hrs~ it raises my heating bill by about $100-$150/mo which is nothing compared to what I was spending on diesel fuel for the 80,000 btu/hr torpedo heater.

For a torpedo heater, an 8hr session would cost $15-$20.

Torpedo Heater
15 days x $20 for 8hrs = $300/mo

Nat Gas
15 days x $10 for 8hrs = $150/mo

Electric would've been more in my area
 

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Gav'sPurpleZ

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Another vote for the 220v electric, I only turn it on when working in the garage. Can be out there in a T-shirt after it being on for a few hours even in really cold temps.

Electric bill is negligible difference.

my Dad ran the fusion heater, auto t-stat and my mom wasnt too happy with the electric bill that month.

with that said, if it was only used when needed, then I would assume the bill would be less.
 

Mr_Roboto

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I keep kicking myself for not getting a heater when I'm at the swap meet. I see em for $50 or so typically. Maybe I need to get on Craigslist and find something.

The one down side of using a gas heater is I'd be leery of having something with a burner when trying to do something like paint a vehicle, or work with gasoline fumes.
 

Vogz

Moist Ass Bitch
Jul 4, 2006
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Batavia, IL
I run a ventless infrared 25K BTU Enerco heater in my 600 sq/ft 3 car garage without any issues. I have a temperature/humidity gauge in the garage and the only time it gets humid is when the cars bring in a bunch of moisture (rain/snow) or if it's humid outside. Rest of the time humidity stays well under 50%. I've never had any condensation on my tools or anything else inside the garage regardless of humidity level and it heats up garage very quickly without a fan pushing air around.

The only condensation I get is on the window on the side of garage when it's REALLY cold outside.

There is a very light smell during and after it's been running, but you really only notice it if you're looking for it. That's probably the only downside. Not having to put a hole in my wall or ceiling more than makes up for it.

The only thing required is a natural gas line. It's doesn't even need electrical since the pilot light/ignition system supplies low voltage to the thermostat.

https://imgur.com/a/Xbx9y
 

SMKE EM

Banned
Nov 9, 2016
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you know my wife signed up for this just energy thing where they claim our electric bill will only be $81/month......so I can leave my heater on 24/7 :)

There was something like that for my house too, until you read the fine print. They base that by assuming your usage for the year, if you go above that, they bill you for the overage at the end of the year
 

boostedguy05

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if for [MENTION=750]RICH17[/MENTION] asking all the questions again.

and i slam the door on the door to door people that claim they are with comed but have different company logo on jacket.

also my area has no door to door solicitation, and i have the sticker on my door “NO solicitation”. I tell them you don’t work for comed, I am not showing you my bill, and you apparently can’t read, SLAM.
 

cap42

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Mar 22, 2005
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I used to powdercoat as a side job for a number of years so having no flames was a requirement. Plus I did a lot of research on gas, vs radiant vs electric. Radiant and electric were the top 2. I chose electric as with the 2 car garage I would have needed several IR units to work in different sections of the garage.

The electric heater was only 1 unit and I already had the 220v outlets. I have a thermostat built into my unit so it can keep the garage at a certain temp if I want it to. I used to keep it at 50 all winter as it would only take a 2-3 hours to get it to 70 when I needed to work in the garage several days a week. Now that I don't PC anymore I leave it off and kick it on first thing in the morning it still get's to 60 degree's within 2-3 hours even if the garage is below freezing.

As far as electric costs, it broke down to .48 cents an hour if the heater was set at it's highest setting. Now I did that math a few years ago so it may have gone up slightly but even running the heater 4-5 days a month full blast my electric bill is still cheaper in the winter vs running the pool.

My garage is insulated on the doors and the walls but the ceiling is open and uninsulated. In the next garage I will look at putting a vented gas unit in, as Gas will heat the garage quicker and I hope to have a larger than a 2 1/2 next time around.

One last thing people need to account for when doing the math of how much each heater type will cost is setup. Electric and IR is just running the electric and in some cases the electrical is already there. If it's not figure the cost of having that run and if your box can handle it etc. For gas you need 110 and the gas line run which usually is more than the heater unit.

So look at all pieces of the puzzle, there is no 100% right answer. Take into account how much you use the garage, insulated vs non, the garage's current configuration (electricity &/or Gas availability) If it's attached or not attached. How quickly you want it to heat, the initial purchase cost and it's maintenance and usage costs.
 

CMNTMXR57

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Sep 12, 2008
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Another option and you may have to check your building codes.

Plumbing in heat lines off your furnace, just like to your kitchen, bedroom, etc...

Some building codes will say no completely. Some will say yes, if you have a damper mechanism. I think they request this to keep fumes from any engines flowing back into the HVAC.
 
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