I'm unsure what would be my best option to heat my garage. I have a 24'x24' uninsulated wood garage w/ 2 single uninsulated steel garage doors.

Based off a formula I found, the max btus I'd need to heat the garage in the dead of winter would be 83,000btu. But , I believe this is to maintain the temp?

Anyways, the question I'm really wanting to ask is if these convection propane heaters work well or not compared to a forced air unit? Can anyone give me any experiences bewteen the two? Thanks!

 

The convection propane heaters are real good if you are standing within 5 feet of them. Otherwise, all the heat just goes up.

If you are looking for a heater for an uninsulated garage, go with a fan forced heater such as an L.B. White propane heater. You can hang it and have it pointing towards the center of the garage. It should keep you toasty when you need it.

Just my .02

Tim

 

good point about the heat rising. I do have two household pedestal fans that I use in summer to cool the garage that maybe I could use to circulate the heat generated by the convection unit?

I plan on building a new garage and a 60x40 steel shop in the next few years that will be heated most likley by geothermal heating aswell as my house. I'm on 10 acres just outside the city.

I just don't want to spend too much on heating the garage over the next 2-3 winters.

I can get a max. 80,000btu convection heater for ~150CAN or a max 55,000btu forced-air heater for ~220CAN. I was thinking the convection would save me $70 since I could use the pedestal fans I already have to move the heat around?????

 

Well Prime, you raise a good point. If you are going to build a new shop in a couple of years, why spend big money now....

You may be able to go with a good convection heater but you will find that using the fans will cool the air almost as fast as the heater heats it. That's the plus side of forced air...it's heating the air as it moves.

I'm not telling you what to do, just throwing out some scenarios. I do think that the convection will be OK.

Good luck and stay warm,
Tim

 

OK I know nothing about heat being from Louisiana lol
But you want to keep the ignition out of the shop, gas fumes will explode! Forced air that draws from outside is a good choice, or radiant heat with the boiler in a different area. Remember to be safe.

 

I too have an uninsulated 24 x 36 barn (it used to house a pair of llamas). Mine has a 4x8 hinged door at the front and an 8 x 8 slider (have to fold in the mirrors to pull my truck in) on the side. I have a small wood stove (Volgelzang) and use a pedistal fan to move the air around. At best, I can raise the inside temp 15 degrees above outside. All my research and inquiries have pointed to one thing, insulation. It was pointed out to me that just putting R10 foam against the roof sheathing and R3 on the walls (which will also cure most of the drafts) will reduce the energy needed to make the same rise in temp by 80%.

 

Agreed. Although you plan to build a new shop in a few years, I'd be willing to bet that investing in some minimal insulation now will pay for itself in reduced energy costs over the next few Winters.

 

wow, good point about the insulation! I didn't realize their would be that much of a difference! I think for a few hundred bucks I could cheaply insulate and then maybe get by with that convection heater and the 10K btu camping furnace I have too. Thanks everyone...

 

Either convection or forced air will do the job. But remember the LB White ag heaters and the convection style wall heaters are 1. a source of ignition as pointed out earlier. 2. a source of carbon monoxide so be sure to have good venteilation.

Good luck
Be safe

 

For less than $250 I was able to insulate and drywall my 2.5 car garage. I haven't done the ceiling yet. But just having the walls done has helped....