Heating a large garage

Well...it appears the house I've been trying to buy is going through. It needs some TLC and interior work...but the garage was built in 98 and is 37X29 with ~ 11-12 foot ceilings. The walls are insulated...but I'll have throw something on the back of the garage door.

Now...if I close before the end of november, I'll have some extra loot to throw into home improvement. The first thing that comes to mind is a heater for the garage...possibly one that can heat it throught the winter. I'd like to keep the price at or around $500.

Now...Ideally I'd pick up a infrared overhead gas unit and be done with it. Unfortunatly, there is no gas run out to it currently...and I'm not sure if I'll be able to lay the pipe before the ground freezes.

I've been eyeballing a 3200watt electric quartz overhead unit...but am unsure if one will be sufficient to heat the garage. There is no way I'll run two of em though.

I'm somewhat sold on a radiant heat system...as I've heard they do a much better job keeping it comfotable at all levels. Seeing as I would like to heat it throughout the winter...I see it as a better/cheaper heating solution when compared to forced air.

I'm not completly sold though...so ny and all input/opinions would be appreciated

Well...I dont want a temporary heating solution, so I'm not looking for anything portable.

Ponypower89, yes...If I can find an effeciant enough solution...then I'll heat it year round. The garage is fully insulated with the exception of the door...but I can always add some insulation to the backside for relatively cheap. As far as the temp goes...I'd be looking for a constant 50F+, depending on costs.

89sallen, I saw that thread earlier...but none had a garage bigger than a 2 really. Most only had a 1 and the heating meathods seemed smallscale and innefeciant for a larger area. Now, I hadnt researched the hot water methods...although I'm not to keen on digging down to run a line. Still though...it's an option I'll look into, thanks!

I'll be using the garage to work on the stang....and I have a lot of work to do, let me tell ya. I'll also be using it for parking of my winter beater (I hate scraping windshields).

Now...Forced air units seem great to quickly heat the garage...but once the garage door opens say goodbye to the heat. They dont seem to be an option with fulltime heat. They also only heat the air. It seems that your tools will stay freezing cold...and can possibly rust from the condesation from the rapid heating/cooling of the air.

Another issue is heating the concrete. With forced air units, the concrete and your feet stay cold. Heaven forbid you have to lay on the ground to do any wrenching.

So...for now it looks like I'm heavily leaning towards radiant (unless someone knows another method or has experience showing otherwise).

88_GT_5_oh said:

i seen you post on turbomustangs..... my garage is a 2.5 car garage with open rafters and no insulation plus the garage is 30 years old. my 80 000 btu propane heater works awsome at -30C. unless you runt he heater all the time the tools will stay cold and the floor will still be cool. even with permenant heat the floor will be cool.


keeping warm up here is something we do well

Click to expand...

The idea behind the overhead radiant heater is that it doesnt heat the air...but rather the concrete slab and all solid objects within the room. They in turn radiate heat throughout the air. Once the concrete and all objects heat up, they stay warm for hours (assuming good insulation). The Heater would only come on to maintain the temperature of the concrete slab...and other solid materials.

After looking briefly at the above head gas units...they seem to be a bit more expensive than what I had origianlly thought. http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...?storeId=6970&productId=200316369&R=200316369