Heating my garage

[Reaper]

Ok I need a little bit of help here. I live in New Jersey and it gets pretty cold out during the late fall and winter. My garage is about 20x20.Its sheetrocked inside and I put up insulation, but it still gets cold.I do have a small heater, and I have a kerosene heater but I can't be inside when I am running that.I don't think the town will allow me to put in a pot belly stove because the pipe will have to come out thru my garage roof.Has anyone tried anything different that works? I will appreciate any information that you can give me. Thanks.   Dave

[Gabby]

Any thing that burns fuel needs to be ventilated to the outside gas, oil or wood / coal.
Electric is the only thing I can think of that won't require a flame, but they can cause the old meter to spin pretty fast.

I think natural gas runs the cheapest but don't quote me. At any rate it would still need a vent through the roof just like a water heater or any other stove except electric. Fresh air may not be a problem if all the cracks aren't sealed or you can open a window a little.

I'm sure others will chime in.

Just remember fire makes carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide which you cant breath in large quantities without dying, especially carbon monoxide! Some people commit suicide by running their car in a closed garage and the monoxide is what kills them. If I remember correctly monoxide is picked up by your blood 400 times easier than oxygen and your system has a hard time getting rid of it, the EMT's on here probably use straight oxygen to help flush it out of your body. They can correct me if I'm mistaken.
I hope you find this useful.
Gabby

[rob roy]

Hi Reaper, my name is Roy and I'm from Scotland and we get it pretty cold here too. I would  not advise you to use Kerosene, or Paraffin, as we call it here, as you will create a lot of condensation. For every gallon of kerosene you burn you will create a gallon of Water. Not good for the tools, plus naked flames and fine dust can explode if there is enough of it. As Gabby says natural gas will require plenty of ventilation. Hope this helps. RR

[Russ C]

First I would not consider extending the ducts from your existing heating system it could draw car exhaust and carbon monoxide into the house, not to mention sanding dust and fumes from finishes.

Here are a few options you can consider. Electric heating is probably the easiest and least expensive to install but cost the most to operate. The modern permanent mounted ones are more efficient than the older models. Don't let it fool you, those glowing red coils are just as bad as an open flame when it comes to dust and flammable fumes.

Next would be a sealed-combustion, direct-vent space heater powered by natural gas or propane, it will safely heat a garage workshop. Its combustion chamber draws air from outside, so you don't have to worry about it sucking in wood dust or sucking oxygen out of the garage, and it vents exhaust to the outside, so it doesn't pollute indoor air. It can be vented through an exterior wall not the roof. I'd recommend getting a wall-mounted unit instead of one that sits on the floor, because it's less likely to get clobbered when you move lumber around. These appliances also supply warmth rather quickly. 

I would also recommend installing a smoke detector and a carbon monoxide detector in the garage also since you are using it as a shop with the doors close. 

[aubec]

Hi you say you have put up sheetrock.  What about the floor.  We had this problem when converting a garage to be used as a workshop, it was cold.  We finished up putting in a false floor with insulation and this was a great improvement.
aubec

[mrsn]

I'm from Minnesota, I know a thing or two about cold garages. 1st Be careful with kerosene, the carbon monoxide is a serious issue. You need to be really really well ventilated. My husband uses it to heat some of the sheds at our place when he is working outside, our shed things have only 3 walls so ventilation is built in a bit, but I have noticed becoming ill a time or two when the heaters are running.

[jimbo]

I just put more clothes on and if it is to cold give up for the day, can you duct it from your house? that may be an option
Jombo

[GrayBeard]

Ok...I have a 10 X 20 garage with so much ventilation I do not hesitate to use a propane heater. This is the one I use.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002WRHE8/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0030OHCJ0&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=127QVRKQC609Y2ZFDSEK

I have a 30# (tall) propane tank sitting just outside my garage with the hose fed thru the wall.
This thing puts out almost 18,000 BTU's per hour and when the temp in the garage is 20 deg. I can turn it on, wait 15 mins, and go out to a garage that is 60 degrees. I then turn it to 1/2 output and it will keep the garage 'toasty' all evening.

You are gonna buy fuel some way so I just use what I can also use to run my B-B-Q grill also.
My garage walls are drywalled and insulated BUT there is a high pitch roof with nothing to block that heat from rising. This fall I intend to staple a tarp to the bottom of the roof trusses and I may be able to use a lot less Propane.

~~~GB~~~

[Marshall]

My two cents , how about a propane ventless heater - this is what I use in my 20x30 work shop here in Arkansas . I have a 100-LB gas bottle right outside the shop that has the copper tubing coming in off a regulator . Now remember you have to have a regulator between the heater and the gas bottle . It's cheaper to take the bottle and have it filled on your own . Maybe this will give you some insight - for it heats my big shop just fine . Now my ventless is a five burner model which is a 30000 BTU .....................

[Gabby]

Marshall unless you have fresh air coming in some where the flame is burning the oxygen in your room, may be OK for a while but if you start feeling woozy or faint, GET OUT OF THERE!
Anything that is ventless means the exhaust is staying in the room with you to breath. I wouldn't use anything like that. Just not safe. I really don't know how they get away with marketing them.
Most of the RV's have warnings about heating with the burners of your gas range. Same thing.
Gabby

[Marshall]

Gabby I've been using these propane ventless wall heaters for over 17 years now and have never got dizzie or anything like that . They may have warnings on them I don't think mine has , but in this part of the country they sell and use the fire out of these kind of heaters and are sold by reputable propane companys . This has been my learning and experience in this kind of heating , just my opinion on this ................MB .........

[Gabby]

Only thing I can think of is there is enough fresh air coming in through cracks or around doors.
We have a demand water heater in a small utility closet and I notice it gets pretty thick in there when it's been working. It gets enough air for combustion under the door which is at least an inch gap and it vents through the roof.
Gabby

[Russ C]

I have used vent-free gas heating for over 20 years with no problems. I have one in my house for emergency heat if the power goes out, a vent-free gas fireplace in the living room we use every year and a vent-free gas heater in my shop I use every year during the winter months when I need it. I also have carbon monoxide detectors in the house and workshop. They have never gone off.

In 1980, the ANSI standard for vent-free gas heating products was revised to require each unit to be equipped with an oxygen detection safety sensor (ODS).  The ODS is remarkably equivalent in function/reliability to what a circuit breaker is to electrical current.  The ODS automatically shuts off the unit in the unlikely situation that carbon monoxide is elevating and there is oxygen depleting in the vicinity of the unit (regardless of the CO source).  The ODS is tamper resistant!  If there is any attempt to override, modify, or tamper with the unit, the ODS will shut off the gas supply and disarm the ignition system and the appliance cannot be operated.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has stated that it is not aware of any documented incident in the CPSC In-Depth Investigation (IDI) database of fatal CO poisoning associated with an ODS-equipped vent-free gas heating product. These appliances have earned an outstanding safety record.

In 1996 the Vent-Free Gas Products Alliance, members of GAMA, an Association of Appliance and Equipment Manufacturers, commissioned an independent research project to be conducted by the American Gas Association Research Division (AGAR).  The objective was to measure the primary by-products of gas combustion from vent-free gas products against the most relevant indoor air quality standards and/or guidelines.The contributors to indoor air quality that were tested were oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and water vapor (humidity).  The researchers took into consideration the climate in the five Department of Energy heating regions in the U.S., various types of housing construction, and varied volumes of space to be heated.  After running hundreds of thousands of computer based scenarios, the results were confirmed by the American Gas Association test house which was modified for all factors.

The researchers concluded that ?vent-free gas heating products performed well within nationally recognized guidelines for indoor air quality.  This research proves that vent-free gas heating products meet applicable emissions requirements even when used over extended time periods, among sensitive populations, and with units whose maximum heat output exceeds the requirements of the space.

[Paw Paw Ray]

I use a propane heater that has a blower.  It uses the same type tank that my BBQ grill uses.  Got it at the red big box store when they put them on sale a few yrs ago.

[Reaper]

I want to thank everyone that helped me out with my heating problem.A lot of good ideas and information I didn't know.I think I will probably go with the propane first and try that for the season and then try the more expensive route next winter if my results aren't that great. Once again thanks for all the help.   Dave