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Garage heater recommendations?

besserheimerphat

besserheimerphat

Well-Known Member
Apr 11, 2006
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Mount Vernon, WA
I want to get a heater for when I go out to lift in my garage gym. I'm in western WA so it doesn't get frigidly cold, but it does get into the 30s overnight. My preference is electric (110/120v, we have gas appliances so no 220V service). Is radiant the way to go? If I do natural gas, propane or waste oil I have to vent it through the roof right? I don't want to deal with that either. And if I'm heating the garage I don't want to have the garage door or windows open.

I'm not sure of the garages exact dimensions, but I'm really looking to heat about a 10' x 10' area around my equipment - no need to heat the whole garage when I'll just be in one corner of it.
 
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Why not kerosene? I've always heard bad things about electric's durability.

We had a kerosene heater for my garage growing up and even brought it indoors when the power went out. No vent needed.
 
I will say that radiant will suck what moisture remains in the air and make **** uncomfortably dry in my experience.
 
I have a lp vent free heater in my garage and several outbuildings. They are cheap to run and are pretty trouble free. I have never had to crack a window or had any problems with carbon monoxide.
 
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You can get ventless natural gas heaters (LB White). Electric is poor heat but for the small area you are looking to try and heat could be effective. Electric heat does a poor job of heating air but will give you burn if your right there.
 
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My view, as much lp or kerosene that you use will produce that much water vapor. Condensation could become a problem. That is not a fun problem to deal with. Electric radiant. Heat the objects,bench floor in that area with radiant. Not the air in the whole area. The air will stay warm with the warm objects bench and floor. If any petroleum base products are use in that area, paints, stains varnishes oils cleaners etc. , The non vented heaters can create some nasty smells. I have experience with a ventless lp gas log and electric radiant. Just my 2 cents worth.
 
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Here’s a video from a guy I follow talking about heating his garage and going through the options he looked at. Lots of good information here. Just for context he’s in Denver, CO so the climate is a bit different than what you’re dealing with.

 
A milk house heater could be all you need. Just a large space heater for around $30.
 
I've been needing this as well for my garage. I don't need it often, so I'm not ready for a high cost permanent solution. I'm thinking that I'm going with a forced air LP heater, but to be safe I'm thinking of adding a CO detector as well. From what I've read, it sounds like a garage should have plenty of oxygen to avoid concern, but being it's an attached garage, I want to make sure that it doesn't start to produce detectable levels of CO.

Anyone have any experience with this?
 
Mr Heater might have a model that works well for you. I really like mine. Great combo of price and functionality for me.
 
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If you can, a Reznor heater with natural gas is wonderful. Yes you will need to vent it. I leave it on all winter and my garage never gets below 55. I turn it up as needed...working in the garage, wood working, bike trainer...
 
Yaz said:
If you can, a Reznor heater with natural gas is wonderful. Yes you will need to vent it. I leave it on all winter and my garage never gets below 55. I turn it up as needed...working in the garage, wood working, bike trainer...
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What area are you located for weather comparison?

Have you been able to figure out what it costs you to keep the garage at 55?
 
 
Cyclonesrule91 said:
What area are you located for weather comparison?

Have you been able to figure out what it costs you to keep the garage at 55?
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I live in Iowa. I have no idea on the costs, however, I like the convenience. The garage is insulated BTW. With the heater running, the beer fridge stays cold, the food in the freezer stays frozen due to the heated garage. Also, getting in your car when its 10 below in January is really nice too. We really didn't notice a big change in our bill so I don't think its a big cost to run it.
 
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I used to heat my garage with an LP bullet heater and the amount of condensation that built up was enough to rust my tools. I have since put in an electric heater and am very happy with it.

If your panel is in or near the garage, a 220V heater is pretty simple to install even if you don’t have any 220v outlets wired. It was around 200 bucks all in for the heater and materials. I just set the temp at 65ish and it’ll keep it there. If you’re not comfortable with the wiring, an electrician can have it done in about an hour. I ended up putting a 7500 watt one in my FILs three stall as well.

 
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Clonehomer said:
I've been needing this as well for my garage. I don't need it often, so I'm not ready for a high cost permanent solution. I'm thinking that I'm going with a forced air LP heater, but to be safe I'm thinking of adding a CO detector as well. From what I've read, it sounds like a garage should have plenty of oxygen to avoid concern, but being it's an attached garage, I want to make sure that it doesn't start to produce detectable levels of CO.

Anyone have any experience with this?
Click to expand...

I used to run a forced air LP heater and always ran it with the door cracked. You can definitely smell the fumes if you don’t. They’re kind of annoying to listen to as well. The issue with not having a permanent solution is that trying to heat up a a bunch of items and a concrete floor for a few hours at a time doesn’t really work that well.

I have an insulated garage with an insulated door. If you keep the concrete up to temp, it really doesn’t add much to the power bill. If I had the LP heater cranked up to 80,000 BTU it’d run through a grill tank in a day.

If anyone in Des Moines wants a forced air LP for cheap, let me know.
 
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In addition to the condensation issues, road salt on your vehicles plus a heated garage is a recipe for disaster.
 
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