From: theise@panix.com
On Sat, 31 Jan 2026 12:54:06 -0600,
sticks wrote:
> On 1/31/2026 10:35 AM, Ted Heise wrote:
> > Okay, I checked out various options at Lowe's yesterday. It
> > seems the best approach might be to get a gas heater (or heat
> > pump) installed, but that's a big job and will take some
> > planning.
>
> Here's a pic of mine. I installed the unit 8 years ago and
> it's 50,000 BTU. A gas heater is the only way to go if'n you
> ask me. Electric is about twice as expensive to buy the
> hardware/heater, with the possible benefit of not having to
> install venting. I would never go with a convection heater as
> they can cause mold, and just don't work as good IMO.
>
>
That looks so good!
> > Something that's somewhat portable would have the advantage of
> > use to heat the house if the power goes out. I assume such
> > use would mean a catalytic heater or venting from inside the
> > house as well.
>
> Before I installed the BigMaxx, I used one of those little
> barrel liquid propane heater when I was out there. They will
> heat the place up in a hurry, but you will have to monitor the
> oxygen levels and have to crack a door to get some fresh air
> occasionally. I wanted the garage to be warm all the time and
> not just when I stepped out there, so I eventually did it
> right. It is really nice to get in a warm vehicle, or just
> close the door and bring in the groceries.
Yeah, the portable ones definitely have downsides. And that's a
great point about being able to get into a warm car--you're making
a pretty compelling case.
> > For the near term, I ended up getting another smallish space
> > heater--one with IR that runs on 110 V. With it and my
> > existing unit I was able to get the temp up to the low 40s
> > yesterday.
>
> Hard to get what you want with those. They are helpful in RV's
> for people who get electric hookup and don't want to use their
> gas and main heater that much. I'm not worried about those
> things so I don't use one.
Huh. It never occurred to me that a small space heater could be
used in an RV. Like you, I doubt I'll ever do that, but will tuck
away the idea for futuer consideration.
> > Interestingly, opening the door to the house and running a box
> > fan for air exchange made no difference on the garage temp.
>
> Heating the air is one thing, but in the garage you have to get
> everything in the room up to temp before it stays warm for any
> length of time. For example, it can be below zero and if I
> pull into the garage, the heater will kick on and warm the air
> back up, but it doesn't have to heat up the floor, walls and
> all my other toys, so it is comfortable right away.
Oh, more great points. After my earlier post today I went around
the garage and pointed a thermometer at all the interior surfaces.
They were all in the upper 50s to lower 60s (as compared to the
garage air in the 20s), so I'm thinking there must be a fair bit
of air being exchanged with the outdoors. Still, the walls do
have a lot of mass and would take a lot to heat up.
> > The garage was back down to the 20s this morning after an
> > overnight below 0 F and without any heaters running. Hope I
> > can get it up to the 40s again so I can get on the rollers.
>
> Even before I installed it, the garage mostly stayed above
> freezing. I do have things out there that I don't want to
> freeze, so as soon as it start getting cold, I turn the heater
> on.
Yeah, I've got paint in the garage and don't want it to be
freezing all the time, so it seems I really need to find a way to
get the garage to a consistently higher temp.
> > Additional reading suggests that probably the best thing to do
> > is improve insulation. The double bay has living space above
> > it, so nothing to do there. The single bay has an attic with
> > no insulation, so laying a layer of insulation above the
> > ceiling seems like a good idea (and something I can do).
>
> Absolutely. My whole garage has a thick layer of insulation
> above the ceiling. My walls are 2x4 studs and are also all
> insulated walls. My garage doors are the insulated ones and
> they do a good job. That's why it rarely went below freezing,
> but I still wanted it "warm". FWIW, it kicks on when it gets
> down to about 62F and will turn off when it gets up to about
> 72F.
Nice. Mine doesn't stay above freezing with space heaters off, so
I clearly need better insulation and weatherproofing. Thanks for
all the tips on the door seals (and pics of other stuff).
> Below is a picture of the thermostat and the I also installed a
> switch to power the outlet from the previous paragraph. When
> the power is on the light lets you know. I can monitor
> everything with the heater right from this one spot.
>
> https://i.postimg.cc/tRvdfWbj/Switch.jpg
Okay, that pencil sharpener made me laugh.
> Last, being a fairly new place, I would bet you already might
> have gas going to the garage. If so, that might be a factor on
> where you place a heater. Mine vents up into the roof, but you
> can also vent them right out a side wall. I prefer the roof,
> but I had the right setup to be able to do that easily.
You would think new construction would be more wel planned, but
this is a Celebrity build so as cheap as possible.
The gas would have to come from the adjoining basement, and
probably run all the way along the back of the garage--my work
space is along the outer side (the single door). Going that far
would also be necessary to vent a heater to roof, because the
double door garage nearest the basement has bedrooms above it.
Anyway, thanks again for all the suggestions!
--
Ted Heise Gretna, NE, USA
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
|
