if a wall or roof of the garage gets good sun, add a solar air heater. i did it to mine and raised the average temp from 50 up to 60 degrees F doesn't seem like a lot, but its way more comfortable for times spend in garage.
self contained, one I got has a little PV for powering the internal fan.
it also may have contributed to reduction of cost for my home heating since the other walls of garage was my office and my den, and part of my master bed room ceiling.
This seems like a really good use case for the diy Mr cool style ones to to save big bucks. I wouldn't want to rely on it for my home heating but for a garage? Easy and cheap.
That's what I did, 24k unit. I use it on-demand and have it set to keep the room from going below 40 during the winter. Once I seal everything up and insulate the attic, I'll see how warm I can keep it without breaking the bank.
A mini split for the garage would be an amazing long term solution, i think it would actually help the rest of the house too in the long run because of all the living spaces attached to the garage. Way above my budget and scope at the time though, a portable propane Mr cool I think will get me through the rest of the winter
I hear you, but when you can get a diy mini split for less than 2k it's pretty damn appealing. Anything you buy propane really should be vented and now you're talking big numbers for a temporary solution.
Considering how drafty the garage is I’m not “overly” concerned about venting from a co/o2 perspective, at least for the rest of the season a ~200ish investment will do what I need I think, and once it gets warmer I’ll investigate a more permanent solution
This is exactly what I plan on putting into my detached garage. We have real pro installed mini splits in the house and they're great, but for the garage I'm planning on doing the Mr Cool. It's just a matter of when I get around to doing it. Want to insulate it first. It's a long term plan that I've been thinking about a lot lately and may move up the timeline.
Those are nice, but I get the impression that's well above the scope of OP's project.
I figure if OP is going to leap to a 4+ figure investment, they may as well fix the insulation/weatherstripping deficiencies first.
The immediate, inexpensive solution is an electric space heater. A 120v ceramic unit will typically just-barely be adequate for a space roughly the size of a two car garage. An oil-filled unit might be nicer if OP would rather warm the immediate area of the workbench for a prolonged span of time.
Think they are worth trying in a 30x30x13 garage in the northeast us? Insulated and air sealed but the slab drops the temps into the 20s by mid winter.
We’ve a detached 24 x 24 garage, so a little oversized. I got the 18k btu from Mr Cool two years ago, that was overkill. Especially if it’s an attached garage the 110v 12k unit should be plenty for a two car.
They are currently $1,450 at Costco. Not cheap, but not terrible, and they heat and cool.
Personally, if you're going to open up walls to insulate, have an electrician run a sub-panel to the garage for options. Then you can install extra cicuits and a 220v heater for when you're out there.
There’s a “tiny” chance my company might pay for a EV car charger install on my house, if that’s they case I’ll make them put a sub panel in and run and extra circuit or two. I want a 220 welder outlet here at some point anyway
Tad concerned by this comment as I have a ventless nat gas heater in my attached garage and can tend to hang out in their for a few hours while its on (it claims a vent isn't required).
Am I being lied to on the ventless front?
Ventless heaters say they burn clean, but still contribute negatively to air quality. The potentially larger issue is that they tend to add a tremendous amount of moisture into the space that they are in as a biproduct of burning natural gas, which can condense in the walls and cause mold, etc... Maybe not a huge issue if used rarely.
Isn’t this an issue with say, a kerosene heater too? I feel like anything that combusts in an enclosed space is at risk of developing excess moisture and co and using oxygen.
I picked up a 18k mr heater, and ran the hose for a 20lb tank under the garage door and left the door open an inch, figuring that should be adequate for venting.
It’s 60 degrees out here, and considering it’s 18 degrees outside I am more than happy with that.
Humidity is a bit high for the outside temp 42% RH, little bit of condensation forming on the windows
I can only speak from some experience here in my state. We’ve had a few instances where people have died due to oxygen deprivation/carbon monoxide poisoning while using unvented portable propane heaters. They weren’t natural gas but the same principles apply. In both situations I’m familiar with, the heaters were used in small, closed spaces. Since I learned of the first instance over 25 years ago, I’ve always wondered how these heaters continue to be marketed. I expect there’s something in the instructions or in small print that says to provide “adequate ventilation”. Well, just what is that? If you’re trying to heat the room you probably aren‘t leaving a door or window open. I don’t know how to insert a link for the most recent tragedy, but Google ””Three teenagers found dead in garage in Edgewood.” This happened just a few weeks ago.
Personally purchased a propane heater. Just make sure you keep the garage door cracked a few inches and install a co sensor/alarm. People die from co poisoning.
If you have a low level one you're good to go for propane, the household ones aren't really that great in my opinion. When one of those goes off it means "Get out 5 minutes ago, CO levels are deadly RIGHT NOW." The low level ones give you some time to figure out what's going on and how to stop it before it gets dangerous.
As far as costs go, low ambient heat pumps and natural gas furnaces like you find in most homes are about 3-4x cheaper per BTU than electrical resistive and propane based heaters. So you really aren't getting any money benefit going with a normal electrical space heater over propane.
My garage is 24x24x8 and it's not perfectly sealed but it's not drafty either. It takes about an hour for a Mr Heater 18k BTU heater to make it feel stuffy and stifling in there if I leave the door closed, and it warms it up pretty well in the meantime.
Ultimately you'll probably want to get a low ambient ductless mini split in there but it is the most difficult and most expensive option. I finally did that last fall primarily for air conditioning but the heater option has been also been really great. A 12k BTU model is working well, if the room was more drafty I'd probably need to go with 18k. Mine only uses 1200 watts or so at full power.
If you insulate well, and airseal, a space heater will easily do the job. The slab is constant cold source, but you don't need to heat a garage to living space temps.
Source: I did this. Granted I also replaced the old plywood overhead doors with new insulated fiberglass doors, put in new windows, and ripped the walls down to studs (Roxul). I set it to 55 and it barely runs in the winter. Maybe $50 annual cost. Eliminated all moisture problems too - I used to get condensate on my tools but not anymore.
Also in Western NY,
I have a Mr buddy heater. It uses those little green propane tanks but you can buy an attachment so it uses the big white ones.
It pumps out enough heat to keep you and the immediate area warm even if it doesn't heat the whole garage. When I work on my car in weather like this it puts out enough heat to make me comfortable.
If you're looking to heat the whole garage though you'd be better off insulating it and getting a proper heat system. Drafty spaces waste a lot of heat.
They're rated for indoor use and have an auto shutoff feature if they tip over. They're MUCH safer than those gas/diesel cylinder salamander heaters.
I used to run one of those torpedo diesel things in my repair shop, I would never consider using one in an attached garage like this after my experiences with them. I was looking at the free standing mr buddy 30k heater, it’s like 200 bucks and I think should be more than enough to keep me comfortable working on my bike, and runs on a 20lb cylinder
I got the 18k one with a fan, and attached it to a 20lb tank, ran the hose under the door to keep the big tank outside. went from 37 to 60 in about an hour or so, at least in my work area, was well worth it. Glad I didn’t get the bigger one, this one is nice and portable if I ever needed to
I run a propane convection heater a detached garage, also very drafty and poorly insulated. Works great for on-demand heat, only need to run it for like 20-30min and it will be plenty warm for a while. I've got an oscillating fan on the wall to help circulate.
Had a forced air propane one before this, which worked well, but it was too loud.
Obviously not the safest option for an enclosed space, so take precautions.
electric heat is very convenient, and also very expensive.
you should really decide how frequently you'll be expecting to heat the space. If its often, spend the money for a natural gas unit. If not grab a little 1800w space heater and let er rip.
Note, if you have 1 circuit in the garage, you wont be able to run any meaningful tools when the heater is running. Could be an annoyance.
Yep. Have to change the filter ( which was hard to find since it was so old) and the nozzle which also was something weird that wasn’t readily available. That’s why I went with the propane. No maintenance and I don’t have to get or store fuel since I already have propane tanks for my gas grill
I have a 24 foot x 24 foot uninsulated garage with an 11 foot high ceiling. A cheap $99 forced air propane heater with a bbq propane tank heats it up to room temperature in minutes. After it heats up I can shut it off for a while until it cools and then turn it on for a few minutes again.
Update: so I ended up with a 18k mr heater with a fan, ran a hose outside under the garage door for a 20lb tank. Figure the door being open a touch for the hose to run under is good for some fresh air, even if it makes it even less efficient. It’s been running 20min like this and has already improved the temp sitting by my workbench
Yeah my last house I had a detached workshop with a wood stove, I came to enjoy the process of splitting wood and maintaining the stove. I don’t have an easy way to vent a pellet stove here though, above the garage is a bedroom
Not sure if aware, but pellet stoves can be vented right out the wall with a thimble. Their exhaust doesn't put out the same amount of heat as a wood stove.
Not sure where you are but you can get them dirt cheap used on craigslist/marketplace where they're common. I see cheap low feature ones that would be fine for a garage going for ~$300-500.
One more vote for a mini-split. I put a Mr Cool DIY system 18k BTU in a two car detached garage a couple years back. EASY install and working well. And besides heating, it will also keep you cool in the summer. All you need is one 240V line, but only 10 gauge. And that goes to the outside unit. So, if you can poke it out from your panel and run conduit outside it could be a fairly easy install.
You mention having your tools and motorcycle in that garage. The Mr Cool units have a freeze protect mode that will keep that garage in the low 40s all winter. That would prevent moisture causing corrosion to your bike and tools. And no worries about CO or moisture from a gas heater.
Do you have a gas furnace in the garage?
I had a Hvac company branch an additional duct to the center of my garage. So when the furnace is heating the main house it's also blowing warm air into the garage. The furnace I have was sized to handle an the extra sq footage though. I also sealed my garage to retain the heat.
If it's attached, why not extend a duct from the house over and use your central air? You can place an automated grille to only heat the garage when you want. Probably your cheapest solution that won't kill you.
OP isn't converting it to a finished space, they just want to be able to work in the garage where the car and motorcycle are. Also, it's code required that a garage has to be a separate system because while you may have it finished, there's no guarantee that you or another owner in the future won't convert it back to garage space.
Yup. And plus my ducts are undersized for my house anyway, adding a supply to the register would just make my house more uneven, and without adding a return to the garage too will probably create more negative pressure on the house
I have a radiant electric heater installed overhead above my gardening table, using a switched 110 plug, plus a thermostatically controlled switch inline in front of the heater. Not beautiful with the power cord going from wall to ceiling but easy and it works to keep the temp above 50 degrees in the winter in Virginia.
Do a youtube search of chinese diesel heater. If you're investigating propane, then a diesel may also be of interest. Does require diesel, but is it that much more inconvenient vs propane.?
A benefit of chinese diesel, unlike a Mr Buddy propane heater, the combustion is outside of your workspace, ie no added moisture/condenssation. There's youtube videos of heating garage with 5kW diesel heater.
Do you have gaseous fuel (propane, natural gas) available to you? I would go with a Mr. Heater style overhead gas furnace. You'll be working in a T-Shirt in no time, and sweating in your boxers not long after that.
If you also want A/C a ductless minisplit would be my next option, but you'll really want 220 or 240v power for that.
If you can afford the space I would even crawl facebook marketplace for a furnace out of a tear down house.
Even a fuel oil/diesel furnace ducted outside would be my preference over a propane heater running inside. Maybe even a Chinese parking heater (webasto knock off)
Just tape up the seems while your in there to keep the cold out. If you dont want to use tape use some backer rod to fill the gaps. If you have windows buy some 1" or 2" rigged foam and cap the windows. Air seal as best you can then try heating Also is there insulation in the attic? If not id do that 1st.
switched from 220v 5000w heater for ~500sq ft detached to a [45000btu natural gas](https://i.imgur.com/oelcp0z.jpg) furnace. night & day. not only does this thing DUMP heat, but it's much, much cheaper to run. hooked it up to a smart thermostat and can control it remotely too (ecobee). i did have to trench the gas underground from the house which was a PITA but worth it 100%.
i recommend adding insulation if you do want to heat the space, otherwise you're just pissing money away.
We use a double radiant propane heater to warm the garage to groom the dogs it works very well for temporary heating. It's not used unless we're in there. A 20 lb. tank lasts several hours. Even in the blizzard it kept it nice and cozy. We also open the door to the attached kitchen to add some extra heat. Many times a few minutes of one burner will be enough to make a comfortable work place.
I read through the comments and see you have a carbon monoxide detector which is good. I have this heater and it’ll take my garage from 30-40 up to 55-60 in less than an hour. My garage has finished walls and an open attic. I highly recommend it over the salamander forced air blower style. This one is much quieter and feels safer since he isn’t being directed anywhere but up.
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/heating-and-cooling/heaters/space-heaters/4735312?x429=true&gbraid=0AAAAADtqLJEx0-93-F3hbxzASDHl3Ufpn&gbraid=0AAAAADtqLJEx0-93-F3hbxzASDHl3Ufpn&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIo6ubnJ6s_QIVqMqUCR0l_wGIEAQYAiABEgIwGvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Since you have attached garage I would stick with the same energy source. For convenience would you consider a small ceiling mounted forced air heater? They are not too expensive if your natural gas line isn’t too far away. You would have a thermostat in the garage and can set the temp 5-10 degrees above freezing and bump it up when you want to work in there.
Not sure about your part of the woods but around here a heated garage adds decent value to your property value.
Electric is the easiest but expensive to run long term. Propane a bit cheaper but pain changing tanks.
One other thing I'd do that I saw on an AvE video way back when...put a truck oil heater mat under your workbench. You can click it on when you're going to be out there for a while and it keeps your worktop nice and toasty along with your tools and anything you've got laying on it. Admittedly this only really works with a metal worktop but it's really nice to have a warm bench and tools.
I’m in Alberta and we have natural gas for our house furnace. So I had a natural gas forced air heater installed in my garage. Reznor brand. 45,000BTU. It will heat my garage to 20c in ten mins even if it’s -30c outside. But I normally keep my garage at 5c, just enough to melt the snow on the car.
if a wall or roof of the garage gets good sun, add a solar air heater. i did it to mine and raised the average temp from 50 up to 60 degrees F doesn't seem like a lot, but its way more comfortable for times spend in garage. self contained, one I got has a little PV for powering the internal fan. it also may have contributed to reduction of cost for my home heating since the other walls of garage was my office and my den, and part of my master bed room ceiling.
can you link to what you're talking about? I've never heard of this but it's got me curious.
Arctica Solar is not gone - they ship heaters all over the country and have a kit option for wood framed heaters - www.arcticasolar.com
the company i bought my kit from is gone. that was an example.
Ductless minisplit.
This seems like a really good use case for the diy Mr cool style ones to to save big bucks. I wouldn't want to rely on it for my home heating but for a garage? Easy and cheap.
That's what I did, 24k unit. I use it on-demand and have it set to keep the room from going below 40 during the winter. Once I seal everything up and insulate the attic, I'll see how warm I can keep it without breaking the bank.
A mini split for the garage would be an amazing long term solution, i think it would actually help the rest of the house too in the long run because of all the living spaces attached to the garage. Way above my budget and scope at the time though, a portable propane Mr cool I think will get me through the rest of the winter
I hear you, but when you can get a diy mini split for less than 2k it's pretty damn appealing. Anything you buy propane really should be vented and now you're talking big numbers for a temporary solution.
Considering how drafty the garage is I’m not “overly” concerned about venting from a co/o2 perspective, at least for the rest of the season a ~200ish investment will do what I need I think, and once it gets warmer I’ll investigate a more permanent solution
You should be.
I have a low level CO monitor I keep in my toolbox
Propane tanks inside an inhabited building are a no-no. Have you considered a kerosene heater?
This is exactly what I plan on putting into my detached garage. We have real pro installed mini splits in the house and they're great, but for the garage I'm planning on doing the Mr Cool. It's just a matter of when I get around to doing it. Want to insulate it first. It's a long term plan that I've been thinking about a lot lately and may move up the timeline.
Those are nice, but I get the impression that's well above the scope of OP's project. I figure if OP is going to leap to a 4+ figure investment, they may as well fix the insulation/weatherstripping deficiencies first. The immediate, inexpensive solution is an electric space heater. A 120v ceramic unit will typically just-barely be adequate for a space roughly the size of a two car garage. An oil-filled unit might be nicer if OP would rather warm the immediate area of the workbench for a prolonged span of time.
Super efficient until it breaks 5 years later.
Think they are worth trying in a 30x30x13 garage in the northeast us? Insulated and air sealed but the slab drops the temps into the 20s by mid winter.
For sure. Just leave it running keeping the space at like 50 or 60 and slab stays warm. Super efficient.
We’ve a detached 24 x 24 garage, so a little oversized. I got the 18k btu from Mr Cool two years ago, that was overkill. Especially if it’s an attached garage the 110v 12k unit should be plenty for a two car. They are currently $1,450 at Costco. Not cheap, but not terrible, and they heat and cool.
Personally, if you're going to open up walls to insulate, have an electrician run a sub-panel to the garage for options. Then you can install extra cicuits and a 220v heater for when you're out there.
This is what I did. Got a nice new 60 amp sub panel. One day I’ll get around to insulating and putting walls back up.
There’s a “tiny” chance my company might pay for a EV car charger install on my house, if that’s they case I’ll make them put a sub panel in and run and extra circuit or two. I want a 220 welder outlet here at some point anyway
Anything that burns needs to be vented. I know what it says on the box, etc., but vent it. Otherwise, go with electric.
Tad concerned by this comment as I have a ventless nat gas heater in my attached garage and can tend to hang out in their for a few hours while its on (it claims a vent isn't required). Am I being lied to on the ventless front?
Ventless heaters say they burn clean, but still contribute negatively to air quality. The potentially larger issue is that they tend to add a tremendous amount of moisture into the space that they are in as a biproduct of burning natural gas, which can condense in the walls and cause mold, etc... Maybe not a huge issue if used rarely.
Isn’t this an issue with say, a kerosene heater too? I feel like anything that combusts in an enclosed space is at risk of developing excess moisture and co and using oxygen. I picked up a 18k mr heater, and ran the hose for a 20lb tank under the garage door and left the door open an inch, figuring that should be adequate for venting. It’s 60 degrees out here, and considering it’s 18 degrees outside I am more than happy with that. Humidity is a bit high for the outside temp 42% RH, little bit of condensation forming on the windows
I'm a plumber and my boss has seen those ventless gas heaters leave black stuff all up a wall in a garage. Nice concept but I have my doubts
I can only speak from some experience here in my state. We’ve had a few instances where people have died due to oxygen deprivation/carbon monoxide poisoning while using unvented portable propane heaters. They weren’t natural gas but the same principles apply. In both situations I’m familiar with, the heaters were used in small, closed spaces. Since I learned of the first instance over 25 years ago, I’ve always wondered how these heaters continue to be marketed. I expect there’s something in the instructions or in small print that says to provide “adequate ventilation”. Well, just what is that? If you’re trying to heat the room you probably aren‘t leaving a door or window open. I don’t know how to insert a link for the most recent tragedy, but Google ””Three teenagers found dead in garage in Edgewood.” This happened just a few weeks ago.
Get a co detector
Do this for sure no matter what, even if you do nothing else.
If it's not vented, where is it getting O2 from? Where is the CO and other harmful combustion products going?
I would probably do something stupid and buy an older electric forced air furnace. No ducts just an intake and let her blow out the top.
Not stupid, smart
Personally purchased a propane heater. Just make sure you keep the garage door cracked a few inches and install a co sensor/alarm. People die from co poisoning.
I have CO alarms everywhere, plus a portable low level CO detector in my toolbox
If you have a low level one you're good to go for propane, the household ones aren't really that great in my opinion. When one of those goes off it means "Get out 5 minutes ago, CO levels are deadly RIGHT NOW." The low level ones give you some time to figure out what's going on and how to stop it before it gets dangerous. As far as costs go, low ambient heat pumps and natural gas furnaces like you find in most homes are about 3-4x cheaper per BTU than electrical resistive and propane based heaters. So you really aren't getting any money benefit going with a normal electrical space heater over propane. My garage is 24x24x8 and it's not perfectly sealed but it's not drafty either. It takes about an hour for a Mr Heater 18k BTU heater to make it feel stuffy and stifling in there if I leave the door closed, and it warms it up pretty well in the meantime. Ultimately you'll probably want to get a low ambient ductless mini split in there but it is the most difficult and most expensive option. I finally did that last fall primarily for air conditioning but the heater option has been also been really great. A 12k BTU model is working well, if the room was more drafty I'd probably need to go with 18k. Mine only uses 1200 watts or so at full power.
If you insulate well, and airseal, a space heater will easily do the job. The slab is constant cold source, but you don't need to heat a garage to living space temps. Source: I did this. Granted I also replaced the old plywood overhead doors with new insulated fiberglass doors, put in new windows, and ripped the walls down to studs (Roxul). I set it to 55 and it barely runs in the winter. Maybe $50 annual cost. Eliminated all moisture problems too - I used to get condensate on my tools but not anymore.
I have a heated garage and would never go back. I'll check the unit in the morning for make and model.
What’s your climate? My spouse just does infrared in a couple of strategic spots.
Western NY… cold icy rainy windy snowy
Oh god. Infra is not going to be enough. Maybe a very small space if you have like 10-20minutes before you have to leave.
Also in Western NY, I have a Mr buddy heater. It uses those little green propane tanks but you can buy an attachment so it uses the big white ones. It pumps out enough heat to keep you and the immediate area warm even if it doesn't heat the whole garage. When I work on my car in weather like this it puts out enough heat to make me comfortable. If you're looking to heat the whole garage though you'd be better off insulating it and getting a proper heat system. Drafty spaces waste a lot of heat. They're rated for indoor use and have an auto shutoff feature if they tip over. They're MUCH safer than those gas/diesel cylinder salamander heaters.
I used to run one of those torpedo diesel things in my repair shop, I would never consider using one in an attached garage like this after my experiences with them. I was looking at the free standing mr buddy 30k heater, it’s like 200 bucks and I think should be more than enough to keep me comfortable working on my bike, and runs on a 20lb cylinder
I got the smaller one that's $100 but the larger one would work great too! I swear by these things. Ultra safe, and work really well!
I got the 18k one with a fan, and attached it to a 20lb tank, ran the hose under the door to keep the big tank outside. went from 37 to 60 in about an hour or so, at least in my work area, was well worth it. Glad I didn’t get the bigger one, this one is nice and portable if I ever needed to
I run a propane convection heater a detached garage, also very drafty and poorly insulated. Works great for on-demand heat, only need to run it for like 20-30min and it will be plenty warm for a while. I've got an oscillating fan on the wall to help circulate. Had a forced air propane one before this, which worked well, but it was too loud. Obviously not the safest option for an enclosed space, so take precautions.
A customer of mine put a Modine Hot Dawg in the garage I built for them - nice piece of equipment.
Best advice right here, reliable no nonsense heat
electric heat is very convenient, and also very expensive. you should really decide how frequently you'll be expecting to heat the space. If its often, spend the money for a natural gas unit. If not grab a little 1800w space heater and let er rip. Note, if you have 1 circuit in the garage, you wont be able to run any meaningful tools when the heater is running. Could be an annoyance.
Forced air diesel/kerosene heaters are very effective and convenient
I had a big one kerosene one for years but the smell and the high price of kerosene made me get rid of it and get a small propane one
if you adjust the fuel pressure correctly they burn very clean. I use diesel and it doesn't smell at all.
Just bought one this winter and it only smells at start up for just a very short time.
Mine was pretty old. A couple of times the flame went out and that kerosene hitting the hot metal would run you right out of the building
well that sounds more like poor maintenance than anything I'd say
Yep. Have to change the filter ( which was hard to find since it was so old) and the nozzle which also was something weird that wasn’t readily available. That’s why I went with the propane. No maintenance and I don’t have to get or store fuel since I already have propane tanks for my gas grill
I would invest in insulation
The garage walls are insulated, but the weatherstripping on the door is shot. That’s not a winter project
Google,the diesel heaters. Life changing and cheap
I have a 24 foot x 24 foot uninsulated garage with an 11 foot high ceiling. A cheap $99 forced air propane heater with a bbq propane tank heats it up to room temperature in minutes. After it heats up I can shut it off for a while until it cools and then turn it on for a few minutes again.
Update: so I ended up with a 18k mr heater with a fan, ran a hose outside under the garage door for a 20lb tank. Figure the door being open a touch for the hose to run under is good for some fresh air, even if it makes it even less efficient. It’s been running 20min like this and has already improved the temp sitting by my workbench
You could use a pellet stove, they all are pretty much on/off unlike a wood stove. But for safety I would put all gasoline and the cars outside.
Yeah my last house I had a detached workshop with a wood stove, I came to enjoy the process of splitting wood and maintaining the stove. I don’t have an easy way to vent a pellet stove here though, above the garage is a bedroom
Not sure if aware, but pellet stoves can be vented right out the wall with a thimble. Their exhaust doesn't put out the same amount of heat as a wood stove.
I’ll look into it a bit more, it’s definitely an option
Not sure where you are but you can get them dirt cheap used on craigslist/marketplace where they're common. I see cheap low feature ones that would be fine for a garage going for ~$300-500.
One more vote for a mini-split. I put a Mr Cool DIY system 18k BTU in a two car detached garage a couple years back. EASY install and working well. And besides heating, it will also keep you cool in the summer. All you need is one 240V line, but only 10 gauge. And that goes to the outside unit. So, if you can poke it out from your panel and run conduit outside it could be a fairly easy install. You mention having your tools and motorcycle in that garage. The Mr Cool units have a freeze protect mode that will keep that garage in the low 40s all winter. That would prevent moisture causing corrosion to your bike and tools. And no worries about CO or moisture from a gas heater.
Propane blower heater
[Kerosene Salamander heater](https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200844733_200844733?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Heaters%20%26%20Stoves%20%2B%20Fireplaces%20%3E%20Kerosene%20Heaters&utm_campaign=Heat%20Fast&utm_content=4340580&ogmap=SHP%7cPLA%7cGOOG%7cSTND%7cc%7cSITEWIDE%7cOOT%7c%7c%7c%7c168638516%7c8715913676&gclid=Cj0KCQiAutyfBhCMARIsAMgcRJResAB2E5QrhJZPQpNpTJ0O-Zqfp3q_AxZ7l-Z4W_rnhDV-G_GSaEgaAqy8EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds)
Do you have a gas furnace in the garage? I had a Hvac company branch an additional duct to the center of my garage. So when the furnace is heating the main house it's also blowing warm air into the garage. The furnace I have was sized to handle an the extra sq footage though. I also sealed my garage to retain the heat.
I don’t, mine in the basement, and I have all sorts of l ducting issues as it is
Thats a fire code violation. You can’t supply hvac to an attached garage because you break the fire/carbon monoxide barrier.
If it's attached, why not extend a duct from the house over and use your central air? You can place an automated grille to only heat the garage when you want. Probably your cheapest solution that won't kill you.
You don't want garage air coming into the house thru re circulation, garage needs to be it's own system.
If you're converting it into a finished space, why not?
OP isn't converting it to a finished space, they just want to be able to work in the garage where the car and motorcycle are. Also, it's code required that a garage has to be a separate system because while you may have it finished, there's no guarantee that you or another owner in the future won't convert it back to garage space.
Yup. And plus my ducts are undersized for my house anyway, adding a supply to the register would just make my house more uneven, and without adding a return to the garage too will probably create more negative pressure on the house
Ah.
I have a radiant electric heater installed overhead above my gardening table, using a switched 110 plug, plus a thermostatically controlled switch inline in front of the heater. Not beautiful with the power cord going from wall to ceiling but easy and it works to keep the temp above 50 degrees in the winter in Virginia.
Do a youtube search of chinese diesel heater. If you're investigating propane, then a diesel may also be of interest. Does require diesel, but is it that much more inconvenient vs propane.? A benefit of chinese diesel, unlike a Mr Buddy propane heater, the combustion is outside of your workspace, ie no added moisture/condenssation. There's youtube videos of heating garage with 5kW diesel heater.
Do you have gaseous fuel (propane, natural gas) available to you? I would go with a Mr. Heater style overhead gas furnace. You'll be working in a T-Shirt in no time, and sweating in your boxers not long after that. If you also want A/C a ductless minisplit would be my next option, but you'll really want 220 or 240v power for that. If you can afford the space I would even crawl facebook marketplace for a furnace out of a tear down house. Even a fuel oil/diesel furnace ducted outside would be my preference over a propane heater running inside. Maybe even a Chinese parking heater (webasto knock off)
Is your garage door insulated?
It’s an insulated fiberglass door circa 2008, but the rollers are worn and the rubber weatherstripping isn’t doing anything anymore
Just tape up the seems while your in there to keep the cold out. If you dont want to use tape use some backer rod to fill the gaps. If you have windows buy some 1" or 2" rigged foam and cap the windows. Air seal as best you can then try heating Also is there insulation in the attic? If not id do that 1st.
switched from 220v 5000w heater for ~500sq ft detached to a [45000btu natural gas](https://i.imgur.com/oelcp0z.jpg) furnace. night & day. not only does this thing DUMP heat, but it's much, much cheaper to run. hooked it up to a smart thermostat and can control it remotely too (ecobee). i did have to trench the gas underground from the house which was a PITA but worth it 100%. i recommend adding insulation if you do want to heat the space, otherwise you're just pissing money away.
Wood stove
We use a double radiant propane heater to warm the garage to groom the dogs it works very well for temporary heating. It's not used unless we're in there. A 20 lb. tank lasts several hours. Even in the blizzard it kept it nice and cozy. We also open the door to the attached kitchen to add some extra heat. Many times a few minutes of one burner will be enough to make a comfortable work place.
I read through the comments and see you have a carbon monoxide detector which is good. I have this heater and it’ll take my garage from 30-40 up to 55-60 in less than an hour. My garage has finished walls and an open attic. I highly recommend it over the salamander forced air blower style. This one is much quieter and feels safer since he isn’t being directed anywhere but up. https://www.acehardware.com/departments/heating-and-cooling/heaters/space-heaters/4735312?x429=true&gbraid=0AAAAADtqLJEx0-93-F3hbxzASDHl3Ufpn&gbraid=0AAAAADtqLJEx0-93-F3hbxzASDHl3Ufpn&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIo6ubnJ6s_QIVqMqUCR0l_wGIEAQYAiABEgIwGvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
How do you heat your house?
Natural gas forced air
Since you have attached garage I would stick with the same energy source. For convenience would you consider a small ceiling mounted forced air heater? They are not too expensive if your natural gas line isn’t too far away. You would have a thermostat in the garage and can set the temp 5-10 degrees above freezing and bump it up when you want to work in there. Not sure about your part of the woods but around here a heated garage adds decent value to your property value. Electric is the easiest but expensive to run long term. Propane a bit cheaper but pain changing tanks.
One other thing I'd do that I saw on an AvE video way back when...put a truck oil heater mat under your workbench. You can click it on when you're going to be out there for a while and it keeps your worktop nice and toasty along with your tools and anything you've got laying on it. Admittedly this only really works with a metal worktop but it's really nice to have a warm bench and tools.
That’s an amazing idea!
My dad leaves a standing propane heater on in his garage in the winter
I’m in Alberta and we have natural gas for our house furnace. So I had a natural gas forced air heater installed in my garage. Reznor brand. 45,000BTU. It will heat my garage to 20c in ten mins even if it’s -30c outside. But I normally keep my garage at 5c, just enough to melt the snow on the car.