Garage heater brands

Well the dreaded upcoming winter is creeping closer and closer every day.
I got a 2 stall garage to heat here in iowas cold winters anyone have a suggesting of what type of heater I should get?
Wood stove is out so hoping something will work.

infrared is nice not sure how it would work in a small shop

Originally Posted by joef1812

infrared is nice not sure how it would work in a small shop

I was thinking infrared too or a heat blower type one. Just not sure since its not insulated. Will do that in the spring when I put on new siding.

If you go with electrical heat then infrared would probably be the most cost effective. I use 2 eden pure infrared heaters in my house because I have an electric central heating furnace that costs way too much to run. I have saved about $50/month running the infrared heaters. They are not loud at all and blow some heat.

I'm guessing wood is out because you need something that will operate unattended. Have you considered waste oil, corn, or wood pellet heaters?

The type of stove you would choose depends on whether you can get a deal on the fuel....got any farmer relatives in the corn growing buz? Pellet and corn stoves have a little auger that pushes fuel into the burner when necessary. Up in my corner of the world, lots of people use pellet stoves for heat.

I've looked into waste oil heaters but they are a little more maintenance and I'm not sure they are allowable in an attached garage. I'm pretty sure they are ok for use in a detached workshop building. Waste oil heating would be ideal for a guy who scrapped out cars since they have to drain the oils anyway.

Hope this helps,
Jon.

Originally Posted by MetalEarthRecycling

If you go with electrical heat then infrared would probably be the most cost effective. I use 2 eden pure infrared heaters in my house because I have an electric central heating furnace that costs way too much to run. I have saved about $50/month running the infrared heaters. They are not loud at all and blow some heat.

I have some friends who use those in the house and keeps it rather warm but not so sure in garage that isnt insulated which is my concern.

Originally Posted by sledge42

Reznor heaters.. various sizes and btu's great brand with a long track record.

Thanks I will check on that brand see if it works for me.

Originally Posted by Mechanic688

How about a cheap propane wall heater?? They make them look like an electric baseboard heater.
You can get them at Big R or TSC farm stores. A 100lb pig would last all winter.



100 lb'er

That would be helpfull too and what I would probably get since the girlfriend has too many worries about a wood stove even tho we have homeowners insurance but maybe they dont cover them I will have to look she just aint crazy about it. With a toasty garage to go along with big screen tv and satelite probably why she not keen on me staying too toasty out there as I may not wanna come in lol

Originally Posted by sawmilleng

I'm guessing wood is out because you need something that will operate unattended. Have you considered waste oil, corn, or wood pellet heaters?

The type of stove you would choose depends on whether you can get a deal on the fuel....got any farmer relatives in the corn growing buz? Pellet and corn stoves have a little auger that pushes fuel into the burner when necessary. Up in my corner of the world, lots of people use pellet stoves for heat.

I've looked into waste oil heaters but they are a little more maintenance and I'm not sure they are allowable in an attached garage. I'm pretty sure they are ok for use in a detached workshop building. Waste oil heating would be ideal for a guy who scrapped out cars since they have to drain the oils anyway.

Hope this helps,
Jon.

The corn stoves seem to be mixed reviews on that and a bit more then I want to pay on those but that was a few years ago maybe they better now? Thanks its worth checking out lots of helpfull suggestions. I just dont want to break down stuff in basement seems too messy which iam with tearing down stuff. I just got to town then clean up.

It seems to me that the venting (chimney) required for pellet and corn stoves is the same as propane or natural gas....so it can be pretty simple. Up here in the great white north they allow wall mounted vents so it is a pretty cheap install--a heck of a lot less than a wood stove chimney.

One other idea might be to find a plain old used home heating furnace that burns standard heating oil. They should be a dime a dozen on craigslist as people change out their home heating to higher efficiency furnaces. Find a cheap tank for oil (also on craigs) and you could be into decent heat for your shop for pretty low bucks. You'll have to install a slightly better chimney than a gas furnace but still way less costly than a wood stove chimney.

Natural gas heat in most places is the cheapest heat you can get but it seems to me that it doesn't lend itself to installing by yourself since there are lots of rules that need to be followed. I AM assuming that you want to do it in a least costly way so that the lady of the house doesn't start to get feeling left out!

Jon