There are some real important considerations if you are going to run any combustion heater in a garage, both in the Codes and for you own safety. You need to let combustion air in if using a fired heater. That alone is a disadvantage compared to electric. If you have vehicles with gas in their tanks in the garage, you do not want it sealed up real tight! The Codes weren't designed to stymy you, they are there to protect you!

 

According to code any appliance with a pilot light in a garage where gasoliune is stored needs the pilot light to be 3' off the floor. Gasoline fumes are heavier than air and will flow along the floor. Same reason code calls for the floor to be pitched towards the door.
There are gas fired radiant heaters you can use or place a forced air furnace in an outside room and just duct the heated air inside.

 

I just ordered a 240V electric heater from Air & Water Inc. in California. They have a variety of electric heaters for different size garages & workshops.
Nice thing is the electric ones do not need vents as there is no CO2.

 

I'm currently using a 240V 5K BTU electric heater to keep the chill off in the garage will be installing a heat pump soon. Keeping it cool is more of a problem here than keeping it warm.

 

Well, if you have gas at your disposal, My buddy put an overhead "Bulldawg" heater in his garage, with a powervent out the wall, ran a seperate city-gas meter, and it's thermostat controlled. Set it at 40 degrees, and leave it. Come in, turn it up to 70 degrees, and in short time, it's at 70. Works slick.

 

i'm thinking of the outside woodburner for house and garage i should of put the pipe in the floor but i wasnt home when thay did it working on the road sucks when it comes to overseeing building projects was going to use electric but i put it all in 200 amp service meter socket called power company and thay want 600 bucks to run the power 15 ft so that has to wait till spring god i cant wait till wife is done with school

 

My 36x44 "house" is in-floor heat with a Monitron slantfin electric boiler. My first bill was $50. Now that the slab is up to temp, I shouldn't expect it to be any higher than that. With a wood boiler, you still have to find/pay for the wood, and load the box. With electric, I don't have to do anything..it's worth $600 to me. My trailer has a wood stove in the living room, so I welcome the break from the work involved with firewood. 7 years of breaking my back, lol. One thing I've learned...woodheat is the best when you want it, but it's no fun when you HAVE to have it to survive. And waking up every morning in your house to 40 degrees is no fun.

 

Wow! I had to have the electrician install the meter head and panel box, but the power co didn't charge a dime to run 200A service from the pole across the street to the weatherhead and hook it up. They even asked if I wanted it above ground or underground. Here all wiring is the power co responsibility up to the meter.

 

Same in MN, what the power co charged me for was the off-peak meter itself (something like $450). I even got a new transformer out of the deal, lol.

 

I built a separate building, 24 x 28. I put a Red Dog heater ( propane) in it. It does a fantastic job. I had the propane co. put a separate tank in the rear of the garage, I turn the thermo down at night or when I am not woring in there, I use avout a tank a season.


JimG

 

the electric to my house was 12000 dollars 3.50 a foot and havi i have about 50 acers of fire wood sitting there it seems i lose 2 or 3 big oaks to storms every year and i hate to leave that wood laying on the ground and we would still have the propane furance but my heat bills are like 300 a mounth 4 mounths out of the year my cousin loads his once a day so thats not to bad

 

I got the same problem. It's been -25 to -30C the past week. I do not have heat in my garage so in the past I had been using a propane fired heater for a quick blast to take the chill off then maintain the room temp with electric. But since its been this cold...I haven't done a darn thing on the truck....too much trouble.

Kevin, I see your shop dimensions are 32x36, do find that is a suitable size as I am planning on building a new garage next spring of similar size. I would love to see some pics and layout of your garage if I could.

Thanks

 

I heat with wood. I did try burning waste motor oil in a Mother Earth News / Roger Sanders oil burner. It did put out heat but the sooty mess was more than I wanted to deal with. One thing about a non-vented heater. If its cold in the building and warmer and humid (raining) outside, if you start a non-vented heater it will make everything inside sweat. I have had water dripping off of cold machines causing them to rust. Also dont open the garage door in this type of situation (warm and humid outside, cold inside) without warming the building with something other than a non-vented heater first, no matter how warm it is outside. Everything will be wet from condensation.

 

AX,
Does the 240V heater get the temp high enough to work more or less comfortably? Say around 60*?
Mine is in route and is 9,000 /5,000 BTU's.
Fred

 

I'm in a quandary on my garage. It is 24x32, no insulation (gyp board inside on 1/2 of the walls) and an uninsulated metal roof. With the sun here, it warms up to ~45-50 in the winter, by midday, from heat radiated down from the roof. If I insulate, I fear it may reduce the sun heating. I don't have electrical capacity to fully heat nor do I want to pay for the costs of gas service, so I am thinking a solar air heating system (i.e., panels that heat air). Even in the great white north, these systems provide a good amount of heat.

Personally, if it's even 45 inside, with no wind, and I'm doing work, I feel pretty comfortable. Can't paint but it sure beats working outdoors on a gravel drive in Chicago, which I did growing up!