Ideas for heating a garage

[wp34]

This is the first winter in my adult life I don't have access to a heated garage/shop via my father.  He always had a gas powered furnace of some kind which I'm finding now had me very much spoiled.  Currently I use one of those "ceramic" heaters meant for the basement--in this case literally stolen from the basement.  It is good for taking the chill off when the outside temp is in the 40's but we are starting to get temps under 20 and I need more power.

I've looked at propane options such as the Mr. Heater Big Buddy.  I'm a little concerned with this option since my garage is attached to the house. They suggest that if you are going to use 20lb tanks you put the tank outside and run a hose under the garage door to the heater.  That seems like a pain in the buns.

There are some decent looking electric heaters out there as well.  I would need to wire for 220 though and since I will be making a lot of saw dust I'm concerned with how safe an electric heater would be.

Anyway I was curious if other folks had experience with either electric or propane heat.  I'm also open to other ideas for heating a garage.

[BobA]

Gas fired infrared heating is a good clean alternative to open flames.

Link  http://www.ien.com/article/basics-gas-fired/133821

[Slippyblade]

Set the garage on fire, that'll heat things up... 

But seriously, a good wood burning stove is worth it's cast iron weight in gold.

[redbeard30]

There's pellet burning stoves. Would have to run a 4" double walled vent outside but only needs a standard outlet for the hopper motor. Also a little more work and expense but they make "thru the wall units" sort of like u see at motels. Also hanging heater is an option in gas or electric and would be above the work floor. May have to check w/ local code for any option though, as there are space/height clearance issues due to combustible car fluids.

[spoot]

How big of a garage?  A natural gas heater on the ceiling isnt' too expensive and sumwhat cheap to run.

[DaOld Man]

Is the garage insulated (including any roll up doors)?
If not you may want to do that. You can do a little at a time, and be prepared for next winter, or if you can hire someone, do that and get it done now.
No matter what kind of heat you use, if the area is not insulated you are going to have a hard time keeping it warm.

[harveybirdman]

two fifty gallon drums and some and some round hvac duct makes a killer wood stove.

[EightBySix]

Hand tools instead of power tools do the trick.

[wp34]

Thanks for the feedback guys.  While I really like woodburning stoves they don't fit with what I'm trying to do in my garage.  My garage is mostly insulated but will need some bolstering.  I think really what I want is something like BobA suggested or natural gas forced air.  I'm not likely to get that done this year though and like DaOldMan mentioned I need to do some insulating as well. 

I'm leaning towards trying this propane heater for now and then based on how much I actually heat the garage I can decide whether upgrading next year makes sense. 

http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-MH18B-Portable-Propane/dp/B0002WRHE8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1385314800&sr=8-2&keywords=mr.+heater

[JDFan]

Since the garage is attached to the house - What type of duct work does the house have (perhaps you could reroute some duct work into the garage and just use your existing heating\air conditioning to add the garage space (assuming the current units have enough headroom to heat\cool the added space !) of course this option depends on the current system you are using and if it has enough capacity for the added area but since the garage is attached it may be a viable option.

[wp34]

That's an interesting idea.  I need to look but believe I do have ductwork on the I side wall.  When nobody is home I have been leaving the door to the garage open which does a decent job of heating.  Sawdust was getting to be a problem in the house hence this thread.

I wonder if there would be code issues or problems with fumes tying into the house ducts?

Since the garage is attached to the house - What type of duct work does the house have (perhaps you could reroute some duct work into the garage and just use your existing heating\air conditioning to add the garage space (assuming the current units have enough headroom to heat\cool the added space !) of course this option depends on the current system you are using and if it has enough capacity for the added area but since the garage is attached it may be a viable option.

[Xiaou2]

There's a really amazing development in super efficient wood burning heating called "Rocket Mass heaters".

 It actually creates a strong inward sucking wind, similar in look and sound to a Jet Engine.

 When looking inside, you can actually see the fire being pulled horizontally inside its burn chamber.  Its buns very cleanly, and its exhaust, is nearly smoke free.

 Rather than simply pipe the heat right out of a vertical chimney... a rocket mass stove will often guide the exhaust from its horizontal start.. up into a vertical burn chamber, then back downwards, into a long exhaust tube that is covered by a heavy thermal mass. 

 The Thermal mass, is often sculpted into a long sitting bench...  made from a mixture of  mud/clay/cob, and or firebrick, concrete...etc.   
I think some have even made the tube into a heated flooring system.

 The heat gets almost fully absorbed into the mass, before exiting the building... and the trapped heat will radiate out of the mass, for several hours after the fire has long since burned out.
 
 The wood being burned is typically fed vertically, and there is little to zero smoke.  Small possible exceptions, when getting it initially started.  Some have installed small fans to help start / and or remove any smoke traces as all.  Once its going, theres pretty zero  smoke / exhaust escaping the feed hole.

 Theres also been a lot of interesting modifications to the initial designs.. such as with auto-feed hoppers, cooking plates, radiant heat fins on the main chamber, secondary burn chambers, vortex spirals, and more.  (I think many of these may actually reduce the efficiency however... but might yield faster initial heat output)

 

[Fursphere]

Pellet stoves can get crazy expensive.  (including the fuel).  And even though you can DIY - if you burn your house down without pulling a permit and getting everything "up to code" - you risk being ass out on the insurance side of things.  And where I am - there are "burn / no burn days" where you can get fined for burning on a no-burn day.  Totally lame, but something to consider.  (And they're a ---smurfette--- to clean - I've had a few of them over to the years...)

I insulated my garage two years ago, including the door (not the ceiling yet....) and just that made a HUGE difference in the summer and winter.  I have an in-wall AC unit that I installed - considering upgrading it to a in-wall AC / Heater unit.  Just haven't pulled the trigger yet. 

[Xiaou2]

Not sure if Funsphere was thinking that my post was a Pellet stove.. but to clarify, its not... and its not even close in aproximation to one.

 Rocket stoves burn large chunky wood, and do so cleanly... without creating dangerous creosote and large amounts of ash/residue.

 They are also probably 500x more efficient, especially if your mass design is good.
 
 If memory serves right.. Id heard people whom used to use something like +4 chords of wood a season, to only needing 1.

[Fursphere]

Nope.  referring to an earlier post.

[ark_ader]

Depends how much time you spend in there on average.  In the UK it can get real icy, and my garage would be like a meat locker.  To get around this I insulated the walls and roof, located all the drafts and sealed them leaving one for ventilation.  Oil or Gas fires just heat up a small area, so you would be better off getting oil space heaters which cost pennies to run.  The is also problems with condensation which can help rust your tools.

Maybe it would be cheaper to wear warmer clothes and gloves. 

[jdbailey1206]

What a dumb ass.  I just closed my window before posting.  Derp.

Anyway.  In a nutshell my points were:

• Both father and father in law have insulated garages.  Father no heater no less than 45 degrees on coldest days.  Father in law has wood burning stove.  Nice and toasty.
• I have a wood burning stove but little to no insulation.  I have a heat reclaimer and only feel its effects if standing within 5-7 feet of my stove.
• I feel that most options are viable as long as you have some sort of insulation to keep the heat in.  Otherwise  you're just burning *insert combustible material here for the hell of it.
  
  -Bailey
  
  PS  Just read your previous post of keeping the door open.  Have you also considered a cheap screen door?  It will act like a filter to keep the dust out but let the heat in.

[Monkeyvoodoo]

I have similar issues. It doesn't get cold enough here (maybe zero degrees in the middle of winter) to warrant dressing warmly while in the garage. It does affect the materials though. Contact cement needs an ambient temp of 15*c at least to cure. (This I found out this past weekend) I'm thinking about getting a space heater just for warming the area. I would love to have a properly heated work space!

[eds1275]

Did you move Monkeyvoodoo?

Again I didn't see how large your space was. I have, in the past using a single car garage used those electric oil-filled heaters. They heat the oil and the oil stays hot for a long time. They run between $40 and $100 and are fairly energy efficient. Just leave it in the middle of the room for the best results.

[Monkeyvoodoo]

Did you move Monkeyvoodoo?

Again I didn't see how large your space was. I have, in the past using a single car garage used those electric oil-filled heaters. They heat the oil and the oil stays hot for a long time. They run between $40 and $100 and are fairly energy efficient. Just leave it in the middle of the room for the best results.

I haven't moved (yet).  Just been using the girlfriends garage out in sooke.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I ended up buying this heater at my local Tractor Supply co.:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/redstonetrade%3B-ceiling-mount-quartz-heater?cm_vc=-10005

It was perfect for allowing my paint on my projects to cure properly, but they had to be directly below on the floor.  The rest of the garage was still chilly.  I live in Brewster, NY where it can be very cold (below 0 at times).  My garage is not insulated (yet) and neither are my garage doors.

But something like this would work too since it's a higher BTU:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/mr-heaterreg%3B-big-buddytrade%3B-radiant-portable-heater-18000-btus?cm_vc=-10005

DeLuSioNaL29