Garage heat

Gfsimon · Sep 26, 2003

I thought I remembered seeing a thread on heating a garage, but I can't find it now.

Anyway, I have a 26' x 48' garage almost finished and am trying to determine which type of heat to use. The back 12' will be a wood shop and I plan on a ceiling mounted gas furnace. The front 36' is where I'm confused....A ceiling mounted forced air or infrared??? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

My first thought was infrared tube which seems nice...heat the objects, not the air and probably more efficient? BUT, I understand that when the heat escapes via an open garage door, it's slow to reheat. A forced air would bring the temp back up more quickly.

I'm in SE Minnesota (long, cold winters). The garage is insulated (6" walls) with low e glass in 6 windows.

Thanks for any opinions!

kokopelli2 · Sep 26, 2003

we have been using forced heat for years, and it is not efficient, but it works. what we did to make it more efficient was to use ceiling fans. it really helps to keep the air moving and to bring the heat down from the ceiling.
hope this helps.

Hambone · Sep 26, 2003

I have a 36' x 30' and use forced air propane.
I bought a 75,000 btu 93% effecient side draft and hung it from the ceiling. Added six ducts spaced around the garage. I even put an A coil in for future air conditioning.
It is always heated. I have water inside, but, when not in I turn it down to 58 or so.
I will try and remember to look up some of my heat bills.
I am thinking the most was $150 for a month, but we are in the thing every night.
Plus, when you pull your truck in, it is like pulling in a 5500# ice cube!

GaryM · Sep 26, 2003

I have been looking at a Modine HotDawg which can be seen here: http://www.gas-space-heater.com/modine-hot-dawg.html

Supposed to be a nice unit and can be vented either through roof or sidewall. Propane or NG.

mountain_man · Sep 26, 2003

Thanks for the gas heater tip.

Has anyone used Radiant Heating (tubes in the slab) for a garage? Think that would be the way to go for new garage construction, however probably takes a while to warm up? Any comments?

bebster · Sep 27, 2003

I'm putting in heat in my barn with garage underneath now. I've decided that radiant heat is NOT the way to go in the garage, since I'll probably be using it for short intervals in the cold season (eg to change oil, etc.) Better to get a shorter responding propane heater that will warm it up fast, and then can be switched off. I'm concerned that radiant will take too long, and I'll be done by the time it heats up.

Gfsimon · Sep 27, 2003

Thanks for the replies. I think I'm leaning more toward forced air for the quick heat up. I plan on keeping it about 35-40 most of the time, but when I go out to work, I'll want it to heat up to 55 so quickly.

Mountain Man, In floor was my first choice until I learned of the cost. I talked to somebody who put it in his pole barn/shop/dog kennel and it ran over 8k with him doing a lot of the work /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Granted, his is a very nice system (big boiler, multi zone), but it scared me away.

BubbaJr · Sep 27, 2003

Hello,

I built a 42x60 pole barn with 6" insulation in the walls (fiberglass batts) & 12" blown cellulose in the attic, with radiant tube heat. I keep the thermostat set around 48-50 degrees and it only takes about 10 minutes for it to feel plenty comfortable to work in. Someone mentioned before that it will cool down quickly when you run the door up to pull the tractor in or out. In reality just the opposite is true. The heat you lose is the heat in the air, but you still have a huge heat sink in the concrete floor, vehicles, tools, implements and anything else that will absorb heat. If you don't leave the door up any longer than neccessary, mine only takes a few minutes to come right back up to temp. When you use forced air for heat, you are heating the air, and then the air heats the objects in the room, which takes a lot longer to build up a secondary heat source. So with forced air you are letting all the heat out with the air when you open the door, unless you've had it on a long time. With infrared you heat the objects first, and that in turn heats the air.

What I like about mine is that after about 20 minutes you start shedding clothes and after about 45 minutes I usually turn down the thermostat, because the heat is heating me instead of the air.

I installed 2 Detroit Radiant tubes about a foot below my 11' ceiling and they run down both sides of the barn and exit out the side walls. You will want to get someone to do a heat loss evaluation on the building so you get the right size tubes. The units are not nearly as noisy as most forced air, and it is pretty economical to run it also. Of course that depends on the propane price too.

I'm very happy with the units and would highly recommend them to anyone. Of course with any heat, the better you seal up the structure the quicker and cheaper it will heat up the barn. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Well at least that's my theory, and I'm sticking to it /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

Jeffintheburg · Sep 27, 2003

I built a 24 x 30 shop with two 10 x 10 insulated garage doors. I also insulated the attic and walls of the shop. I installed a through the wall air conditioner/heat pump. I usually run a kerosene heater for about half an hour during the winter when it is below 20 degrees. After the shop gets warm I turn of the kerosene heater. It keeps it warm enough that I can work in a tee shirt. It also keeps it nice and cold during the summer. I think the price was about 500.00 dollars

alan40 · Sep 27, 2003

Built a 24x28 garage , insulated it and finished off the inside. I installed a 65000 BTU ADP brand forced air unit in the garage. Works well. I agree with the ceiling fan idea but haven't done it yet. I put a 19 inch box fan up in one corner and let her blow. Maintain 40 degrees except when I'm in it for a long time. Heats up to 60 in about 10-15 minutes. The key to any heat system is insulate insulate and insulate.
Good luck!!