Is this a good shop heater for me?

[ross87t]

Believe it or not, I live in southeast Texas, and am currently shopping for a garage heater. The only time I really ever have to work on my car is usually at night, so temps can get in the lower 40's for a few months. (You northern guys are probably rolling your eyes right now. LOL!) I have decided to go the propane route. What do you guys think about the heater below. This would be used for heating my 20'X20' garage. (No ceiling, open to roof)

http://www.heatershop.com/convection_heater_80_vca.html

Thanks,
Ross

 

[fitz3820]

My cousin has one like that, it does take the chill off, of course the chill is -30 in Northern VT.

They are pretty propane thirsty at that temp, the local propane company gives you big tanks for free if you buy propane from them.

You might have to crack a window open to let some fresh air in.

I am rolling my eyes, I remember changing my tranny in the driveway when it was 17 degrees and snowing...others will have better stories than that.

At 40 degrees I would work nude

Mark F.

87 GN 11.9 @ 115

 

[1badTTA]

That is the same one I have (yes in AZ) and it does work pretty good but also uses alot of propane (good excuse to fill the tank in the car) for hte amount of heat it produces. I would actually recomend one of the ceramic radiant heaters as you can point it to where you are working instead of just letting the heat rise to the ceiling and taking about an hour to heat the garage up to comfortable working temps.

The radiant heaters are much better for smaller jobs (oil change, plugs etc..) but the one shown will work great if you are building an engine etc.. Just depends what you have in mind for when you will need it.

 

[turbojimmy]

I used one of those in my detached 25x25 open ceiling, non-insulated garage at my first house. It worked decent but did suck down the propane. It will work with a 20 lb. cylinder, but you're better off with a big cylinder.

The house I'm in now has a 22 x 22 attached garage insulated on all sides and the ceiling. That thing would make it like a sauna in there. I installed a vent free 30,000 BTU natural gas unit last year that works okay. Heat is still spotty (like near the heater and up at the ceiling) but a fan helps move the heat around.

The propane thing gets HOT too. My brother got too close to it and caught his leg on fire. Since the skin grafts went well, it's one of the things we still laugh about at holiday get togethers.

(kidding about the skin grafts, he didn't get hurt but it was really funny)

Anyhow, the propane unit has been in my basement collecting dust for 4 years. If you want to give it a whirl let me know.

Jim

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

One bad thing abou those adjustable mushroom heaters, is they need to be vented, and will stink you out of the garage.

i work on heavy machinery, and we have rental heaters at work [united rentals] that vary betweeen 30K inferred heaters, all the way up to a 1.5 million BTU heater

if you want the numbers off the heater i have, email me at wanner@kc.rr.com it will keep your garage warm, you will love it!!


the mushroom heaters have a open flame and you can cook on the top of them, but since they are knee high, it would be easy to have something fall on top of it and catch the garage on fire.... also dont warm up the concrete to keep your butt warm!!!


here is what i would suggest,

go and buy a 35K btu heater that mounts on top of any 100LB propane upright bottle, and mount the heater to the top of the bottle, and your garage will be hot in about 30 mins, and the concrete will be warm after a few hours, and so will your butt.

one AWESOME thing about a radiant heater is they warm the objects up in the garage, ie concrete, car, tools ect and those objects keep the garage warm for alot longer than forced air or the mushroom heater.... imagine opening the window in your house, it gets cold quick doesnt it?

you can buy the heater and rent the bottles from WWW.UNITEDRENTALS.COM they deliver, or you can pickup..
make sure that the rental yard is locked in on SUMMER PROPANE prices, we are, and it will save YOU alot of $$$

1 100 lb bottle of propane will run you 110 hours of continuous useage with that radiant heater.

email me if you have any Qs

BW

 

[Little6pack]

Just buy the small torpeo style 30 or 60k btu unit.
A lot of that hot air will go up up up to roof
Kinda Like CHEECH & CHONG up in smoke.
I would use plastic or tarps along the rafter to save heat from going up. I did that in my garage. took about 45 mins with staple gun, those cheap $1.99 8 x6 tarps in sections work well.
if you go with bigger tarp you will need a friend to help hold it as you staple it.

I would go fire the torpedo up for 10 to 20 mins without you in there. After that time the garage should get the warm to about 60-65.
Go in & turn it off. Then you can work for an hour before you may need to turn it back on.

 

[NoNos38]

littlesixsteve, is right on track with the torpeo, But I would step right into a 150K.. I love mine. Make sure you buy one with a thermastat.. Only way to burn the fuel..

Matt

 

[Scott Atk]

Anybody know anything about the shop heaters that burn used motor oil?

 

[burnout]

I'am with NoNos38 the 150btu heats things up nice. I have a
1 1/2 car garage and I can be in there with a T-shirt. I also did the tarp ceiling. I just did a filter / spark plug cleaning on my heater. I noticed last year I was starting to get some fumes on start up. Any of you guys notice that?

Burnout

 

[ross87t]

Don't forget guys. I live south of Houston, TX. I'm talking about battling whopping 40°+ temps in my garage. Not sub zero temps. I'm not looking into turning my garage into a sauna. I just want something that will keep me comfortable. Plus, I don't want to spend that much money. Trying to keep it under $150.

How about one of these?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005LEXK/102-5383942-8335358?v=glance

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...ls/102-5383942-8335358?v=glance&s=hi&n=228013

 

[machinegun]

First thing to do is use plastic or tarps to cover the ceiling of youe garage. Remmember heat rises and it will collect at the highest point. You can even use 4 mil plastic, staple it up and you are done. I bought a 10 by 100 foot roll for about 20 dollars at the lowes. Gallon for gallon a kerosene heater will be more efficient than a propane heater and I can get kerosene at the pump for 1.46 a gallon or 1.36 in bulk whic is how I usually buy it. In heaters bigger is not always better. A heater that comes to temp and warms a little longer is more efficient than something that turns on and off before becoming completly warm. I use a 70,000 but torpedo heater on a thermostat to heat my garage. Last year with nothing but plastic on the ceiling and that heater my garage would come from 10 to about 55 in about an hour plus. However the concrete was still cold. An over nighter would make it fine. Since you are not dealing with these kind of temps, your system will probably run only about 20 minutes at most at a time. Since you are never really towards freezing temps, a slighly smaller kerosene or the radiant heaters should work but I do recommend the torpedo as it will be very good and get everything warm quickly and cheaply. I bought mine with a therostat built in for only 159.00. I have had it 2 years with no problems. Hope this helps.

 

[ross87t]

ttt