Ideas for heating my garage

[gorman]

I have a new 50x50 garage with 14’ ceiling and I need to figure out a heat source for the winter. Tried to get a pipe installed but every contractor is booked past spring.
I don’t know what I’m doing for installs so there’s no way I’m gonna wing it.
I was thinking about a portable propane burner cause that’s what my Drywaller used last winter.

 

[farmer steve]

First thing is to check with your insuarance co to see what is allowed if you are parking gas engine vehicles in your garage. pics of the garage please.

 

[gorman]

I don’t have gas engines. Only diesels. But I will check later.

 

[spyder62]

50x 50 is pretty big. And propane ain’t cheap. I would look into a reznor or modine hanging heater or better yet maybe a residential 90+ furnace. Something that moves some air. Insulation is your friend here also. Also make sure the burner is at least a couple of feet off of the ground so vapors from anything with gasoline or whatever will not be ignited by the heater. I forget what is code.

 

[NSMaple1]

Insurance companies don't discriminate between gas & diesel.

What kind of pipe did you try to get installed?

I assume you don't have piping in your floor for in-floor heat?

Talk with your insurance person will be the main factor - next would be what you have for fuels there and costs of each.

 

[gorman]

50x 50 is pretty big. And propane ain’t cheap. I would look into a reznor or modine hanging heater or better yet maybe a residential 90+ furnace. Something that moves some air. Insulation is your friend here also. Also make sure the burner is at least a couple of feet off of the ground so vapors from anything with gasoline or whatever will not be ignited by the heater. I forget what is code.

Yea I looked. Installs for this stuff are booking for spring.

 

[Mustang71]

Idk where you called but there's no way heating companies are booked until spring. I put in a lot of hanging heaters. A furnace with some simple duct work would work also or a radiant tube heater. It's not that big of an install.

 

[Nick Kent]

A portable propane burner like a torpedo is a horrible idea. They dump a lot of humidity while they burn. Do it right and get a vented heat source setup. With ceilings that high you might want a couple of ceiling fans to push the warm air around.

What kind of insulation does the building have?

 

[gorman]

A portable propane burner like a torpedo is a horrible idea. They dump a lot of humidity while they burn. Do it right and get a vented heat source setup. With ceilings that high you might want a couple of ceiling fans to push the warm air around.

What kind of insulation does the building have?

Just and ceiling insulation. Roll on stuff. It holds heat pretty good. Doors are r5 and windows are r8

 

[Nick Kent]

Just and ceiling insulation. Roll on stuff. It holds heat pretty good. Doors are r5 and windows are r8

Still not sure what you have for insulation. What are the r values and what type? Is it a slab floor?

 

[gorman]

Still not sure what you have for insulation. What are the r values and what type? Is it a slab floor?

The walls are r-21 kraft batts and the ceiling are r-30 kraft batts

The floor is concrete and there insulation in between the earth and the slab.

 

[Mustang71]

Seems pretty well insulated we have a slightly smaller pole barn at work with r19 in the walls and spray foam in the ceiling and a radiant tube heater down the middle. That heats the shop real well and unlike forced air it heats the slab and all the objects in it so when you open the door you dont lose all the heat.

 

[Nick Kent]

Personally I don’t like blown hot air. I think the radiant tube heater is a good direction to take, although I don’t know that much about them really. You’re at minimum code insulation, so I’d have someone run a heating calc to make sure you don’t undersize. But also don’t oversize.

 

[Mustang71]

You can't really over size a tube heater or hanging heater. The higher the btu in a tube heater the longer it has to be. Thermostat location is more important. The tube heaters have a minimum clearance under them because they will melt stuff. So if you are putting a lift in you need to take that into consideration.

Usually with hanging heaters we put smaller ones in garages where people park cars and dont spend time out there. They will keep it at 55 degrees. If you want to go out and work then a bigger heater is better it will heat the place up a lot quicker.

 

[muddstopper]

I would take a pic of my barrel wood stove, but it kinda of got covered with junk this last summer. I for certain will have to "dig" it out if I want to use it this winter.

 

[sawjunky23]

Seems pretty well insulated we have a slightly smaller pole barn at work with r19 in the walls and spray foam in the ceiling and a radiant tube heater down the middle. That heats the shop real well and unlike forced air it heats the slab and all the objects in it so when you open the door you dont lose all the heat.

I worked under radiant tube heaters for a few years in an auto shop. Never liked them. If you ended up under it you almost had to get naked. Three feet away it felt chilly

 

[gorman]

I can’t run anything on the ceiling. My trucks have high clearance. I want to have a wood stove since firewood is “free” for myself. I have an endless supply of raw material. I just need something to get me through this winter until I can get someone to install a stove pipe for my wood stove. This radiant pole sounds nice but I should have clarified that I’m looking for something on the cheap and not necessarily efficient.

 

[Mustang71]

Well if it were me I'd bring home an old high efficient furnace and pipe the flue out a window and have a tank of propane dropped off with a temporary gas line. That's how we provide heat for any new build houses. But I have access to old furnaces.

 

[blades]

Minimum 4 ft off floor for any type burner. Local code might state hanging types or sidewall mounting only besides those are the only types that will pass ins. specs. otherwise its outdoor wood burner either hot air or hot water though an ex-changer. likely a minimum distance away as well code wise. Course if you have a few annul people on the local board might be banned. My local county has a ban on owb-- dosen't say anything about a hot air unit though( it's called using a technicality).

 

[cantoo]

Take a look at this thread and a few others he has on here. I have almost the same furnace in my shop and love it.
https://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/my-outside-hot-air-furnace-project.154832/