Best way to heat a garage in the winter???

Posted by on January 1, 2009, 10:31 am

Hi, I have a detached garage with electrical service. It is all
insulated: doors, walls, roof, etc. It gets cold up here in Canada and
I'd like to keep my garage at a constant 1 degree above freezing. I
thought of just buying a space heater that had a built in temperature
gauge that would regulate itself, but the garage is so big (about 3
cars), that the units I've seen probably won't be up to the task. Home
Depot sells a construction fan that looks like it would do it (220v),
but I'm not sure what I could hook it up to that would regulate the
temperature. I've also thought about baseboard heaters, but that seems
overkill. Any thoughts on how I might go about this? Would any of the
Honeywell home thermostats be able to be modified to control the 220v
construction heater???

Thanks all,

Rob

Best way to heat a garage in the winter???

Posted by on January 1, 2009, 10:55 am

On Jan 1, 10:31=A0am, 41roblyn...@gmail.com wrote:

> Hi, I have a detached garage with electrical service. It is all
> insulated: doors, walls, roof, etc. It gets cold up here in Canada and
> I'd like to keep my garage at a constant 1 degree above freezing. I
> thought of just buying a space heater that had a built in temperature
> gauge that would regulate itself, but the garage is so big (about 3
> cars), that the units I've seen probably won't be up to the task. Home
> Depot sells a construction fan that looks like it would do it (220v),
> but I'm not sure what I could hook it up to that would regulate the
> temperature. I've also thought about baseboard heaters, but that seems
> overkill. Any thoughts on how I might go about this? Would any of the
> Honeywell home thermostats be able to be modified to control the 220v
> construction heater???
> Thanks all,
> Rob
> Best way to heat a garage in the winter???

I would go with a ceiling mounted forced air unit, Reznor makes some
nice ones if they're available in Canada. They are available in
natural gas or propane and easy to install.

Posted by PeterD on January 1, 2009, 3:28 pm

On Thu, 1 Jan 2009 07:55:50 -0800 (PST), jimbobmitchell@verizon.net
wrote:

>On Jan 1, 10:31 am, 41roblyn...@gmail.com wrote:

>> Hi, I have a detached garage with electrical service. It is all
>> insulated: doors, walls, roof, etc. It gets cold up here in Canada and
>> I'd like to keep my garage at a constant 1 degree above freezing. I
>> thought of just buying a space heater that had a built in temperature
>> gauge that would regulate itself, but the garage is so big (about 3
>> cars), that the units I've seen probably won't be up to the task. Home
>> Depot sells a construction fan that looks like it would do it (220v),
>> but I'm not sure what I could hook it up to that would regulate the
>> temperature. I've also thought about baseboard heaters, but that seems
>> overkill. Any thoughts on how I might go about this? Would any of the
>> Honeywell home thermostats be able to be modified to control the 220v
>> construction heater???
>> Thanks all,
>> Rob
>> Best way to heat a garage in the winter???

(gmail posters are blocked so this is for the OP...)

I have an 1800 sq ft metal building, insulated. I don't actively heat
it this year full time, and am seeing temps into the high 20s when
really cold out.

Last year I kept a small (1000 watt) heater running full time in the
garage. Only a few times did I see temps below freezing. I did find
the cost of the electrical heater to be more than the value of the
heat, however. This heater was one of those simple 'oil filled
radiator' types, no fan, relatively safe without high temperature
elements.

For working in the garage, I do have a 200,000 gas heater. Brings the
interior temp up to a balmy 55 or so in about 20 to 30 minutes, with a
ceiling fan to move the air (16 ft ceiling in the middle, 12 on the
eves...) With the heater on for 30 minutes, it can be 80 degrees at
ceiling level, that's hot!

Caution, many 'construction' heaters are not intended for unattended
operation, be careful to consider this.

>I would go with a ceiling mounted forced air unit, Reznor makes some
>nice ones if they're available in Canada. They are available in
>natural gas or propane and easy to install.

Posted by ransley on January 1, 2009, 4:07 pm

On Jan 1, 9:31=A0am, 41roblyn...@gmail.com wrote:

The cost to heat it could be hundreds a month, for most of the US
electric is much more than gas, why not bring in what freezes inside.

Posted by AndyS on January 2, 2009, 8:44 am

ransley wrote:

> The cost to heat it could be hundreds a month, for most of the US
> electric is much more than gas, why not bring in what freezes inside.

Andy adds:

An excellent suggestion, if it is practical.... Usually there are
only a
few items one needs to worry about, such as automobiles, paint,
some liquids, etc.....

A block heater would keep the auto engine and radiator warm, and
would cost a LOT less than trying to heat the entire garage.

If there are pipes in the garage exterior wall, cutting an opening
and putting
a 60 watt light bulb next to the pipes on cold nights will probably
handle that.

If you plan to work in the garage, such as having a workshop there,
you
might consider heating it only when you want to work, or maybe hanging
some plastic sheets around your workspace and putting in a space
heater
for when you are there....

It may not be practical to heat the entire garage just to preserve
a couple
of items. Just trying to get you to consider a different direction.

Andy in Eureka, Texas

where it only get to freezing a few times a year....

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