My Garage

[jpdrake]

so how do you heat your garage? im building a 2nd bay on mine making it 28x24 i want a gas forced hot air w/ a thermostat. i wonder how much it would cost. i assume most would use a stove but i dont think im interested in all the work. i just wanna set the ther. and go.

any of you use that garage-pak.com? how about a good 80gal compresorany sugestions?

 

[udy2554]

IMO, there are a few good ways. In-floor radiant would probably be the best if constant temp was kept, but you said forced air. So, a hanging space heater works pretty well if your ceiling is high enough that you don't walk into it. Getting the heat to the floor where most of the work gets done is the only problem there, especially if you use any kind of an exhaust fan. If it were my shop, I would set a trailer style furnace in a corner and run duct along the wall on the floor with registers every 4' or so. That way the heat blows across the floor. Build a shelf over it and a work bench over that, then the heat blows on your feet while working on the bench. If going this way, look into the Thermopride gas trailer furnace. They have a serpentine heat exchanger much like a normal residential furnace, and they are actually a little cheaper than the Nordyne/Miller units. Sealed combustion with an inducer for the exhaust are also an upgrade to the norm.

 

[jpdrake]

i have 9' ceilings so im only looking at 6000 cubic feet, would it really be that much of a temp. difference if i were on the creaper or stool? i understand the cement floor is gonna be cold i dont think i could justify to the wife radiant heat.

 

[sledheadak]

i have a 30x40 ft shop with 12 ft ceilings.i have a forced air furnace that looks like it is from a house.there are vents on its pedistool and it will keep the shop at 75 deg when its -30 out side with no problem.i will be installing ceiling fans this summer to help move the heat around for next winter.

 

[sixb]

My back yard shop is 24x46 and I just installed a wood burning stove and it works great, but takes a couple hours to get warmed up. Next year I will install 3 ceiling fans to push some air.

Edit; mine is also a 12' ceiling.

 

[udy2554]

i have 9' ceilings so im only looking at 6000 cubic feet, would it really be that much of a temp. difference if i were on the creaper or stool? i understand the cement floor is gonna be cold i dont think i could justify to the wife radiant heat.

Depending on insulation, it looks like you need about 25,000 BTU's. I would go alittle higher if you plan on leaving the shop cool and then raising the temp. while you are in there. There are alot of hanging space heaters very reaasonably priced. Most are side-wall ventable. A trailer furnace might be a little overkill. A decent heater will have adjustable louvers to force the air down. My buddy uses a 30,000BTU hanger in a 40x32 shop with 10' ceilings. He keeps the shop at 50, and brings it to 55 to work in, with no problems. His walls are sprayed on poly insulation, then batted with vapor barrier. Ceiling has 20" of batting over steel siding. Insulated 12x9 overhead door. He kinda went overboard insulating, but it paid off. His shop is pole barn construction. Modine is a major maker of the space heaters. Just about anything is available from them. His heater is corner mounted, blowing toward the center!

 

[jpdrake]

so i live in TAXachusetts in the winter it avg 30* i thought 55* would be a good working temp. ive got new windows back door and will get 2 new insulated garage doors 4" insl walls and 6" in the attic. a ceiling fan might sound like a good idea to even for the summer just to move some air. so from the ceiling i wanna hang drop light, air lines, florecent lights, heater and ceiling fan. ceiling is gonna be as crowded as floor plan.

 

[udy2554]

Soounds like something in the 25,000BTU output is what you're looking for. Should be efficient and able to raise temp. relatively quickly if necessary. May want to get a little more ins. in the ceiling if possible. GOOD LUCK! I'm jealous of any shop space. Mine is my driveway. SNowy and in the teens right now!

 

[Big Blzn]

so how do you heat your garage? im building a 2nd bay on mine making it 28x24 i want a gas forced hot air w/ a thermostat. i wonder how much it would cost. i assume most would use a stove but i dont think im interested in all the work. i just wanna set the ther. and go.

any of you use that garage-pak.com? how about a good 80gal compresorany sugestions?

All the work??? Finding, buying, installing and stoking a wood stove would be far easier and cheaper than a forced air unit of any kind. Having to stoke a fire every 45 minutes to hour is simple. You can find good used stoves fairly cheap and to run the chimmeny/exhaust the right way would be cheap too. To get the heated air thoughout, just buy a cheap osilating (sp) fan and put behind the stove and your good to go.

 

[odin]

Garage?
Shoot son. I still work outside

 

[jt512]

I just use a propane forced air unit (jet heater, torpedo) with a 100lb tank. Adjustable output from 35k to 80k btu's , depends on how much I am out there but I have only filled the tank once this winter, and it should last until it warms up. It was cheap, works great and fits up pn a shelf during the summer, plus I use my big tank for the BBQ grill.

 

[Big Blzn]

We have those torpedo heaters at work in the 150K-350K BTU's and those fockers are loud. At least louder than I'd like to work around. BTW, make sure you have proper ventilation too.

 

[plumber mike]

Don't forget(at least here)the code says any fuel burning heater is supposed to have its burner at least 18" off the ground so as not to ignite vapors such as gasoline that are heavier than air and can fill a room from the ground up.Don't wanna go boom!

 

[sixb]

All the work??? Finding, buying, installing and stoking a wood stove would be far easier and cheaper than a forced air unit of any kind. Having to stoke a fire every 45 minutes to hour is simple. You can find good used stoves fairly cheap and to run the chimmeny/exhaust the right way would be cheap too. To get the heated air thoughout, just buy a cheap osilating (sp) fan and put behind the stove and your good to go.

My stove was cheap, 150.00 used, but the 3 wall piping to go through the roof was 110.00 for a 6" x 3' piece. All togeather I have about 330.00 into a self installation. I also put a fan behind mine to move the hot air. I actually like the stoking of the fire every now and then while I drink a beer and sit by the fire

 

[sixb]

I just use a propane forced air unit (jet heater, torpedo) with a 100lb tank. Adjustable output from 35k to 80k btu's , depends on how much I am out there but I have only filled the tank once this winter, and it should last until it warms up. It was cheap, works great and fits up pn a shelf during the summer, plus I use my big tank for the BBQ grill.

I use to use a torpedo kerosene heater with diesel and it does work great but would give me a headache after a couple hours between the noise and the fumes, but it would keep it very compfy in there even with the man door wide open. I kept it cause if I have to do something quick out in the shop it's the only way to go, instant heat

 

[Greg72]

If you're pouring new concrete, I would seriously investigate how to insulate underneath it. Concrete will work as a great heatsink and will constantly pull any warmth out of the room. It takes a LOT of heat to make concrete warm, and it warms very slowly.

I'm sure there is some sort of rigid foam or other process that is designed to go underneath concrete...I'd put a thick layer of plastic sheeting too so that you'd never have moisture percolating up through the floor either. These are the things I have fantasized about doing when I pour a new floor in my workshop.

The other serious consideration for heat is avoiding sources with an open flame if you plan on using solvents or paints. It doesn't take much to blow yourself up, and a pilot light or wood burning stove could spell disaster if misapplied to the application.

 

[NEK5]

I think the propane heater I'm using in the carport is something like 75000-200000 BTU It's open flame though, so you have to be alot more carefull.