Garage heat question

I picked up a used torpedo/salamander/knipco/whatever you want to call it heater for the garage. The garage in question is attached to the house and I was wondering, am I looking at a carbon monoxide threat? The garage is about 40'x24'. Of course I only plan to run it when I am actually working in the garage. Do I need to crack a window in the garage when its running? I bought it used so I don't have a user manual.

Edit; Second question, would it be dumb to spray paint with it running? I don't need a giant fireball in the garage.

Yes.

Yes.

I use one of those in my pole barn. I keep the garage door open about 6" at the bottom when it's running. I used to have one of those big propane canister heaters that's essentially a giant flame in a sheetmetal tube, and one time when I was using it I just started coughing uncontrollably. Finally, I went outside to get some fresh air and immediately stopped coughing. That told me all I needed to know. I was probably lucky that day.

As for painting, keep your distance and you should be OK. Like 10 feet minimum, IMO. But I usually just turn the thing off when it's time to spray bomb something.

Yes they produce CO, and yes they stink. If its attached to the house it may stink inside when your done.

As for paint, its a flame, treat it as such.

I have a pellet stove in my garage, it was cheap and works great, and pulls combustion air from outside.

Yeah, echoing others, yes it is a CO producer. One thing I've found helpful is keeping a Carbon monoxide detector in the toolbox in the garage loose. I just put it in the work area that I am physically next to me somewhere just as an extra precaution- Even with a door cracked, CO can and will still build up in a room without any cross ventilation.

I finally got sick of the torpedo thing (they stink, you could die, they're inefficient, and they are loud) and installed a propane wall unit that is direct vented outside. It's improved my winter wrenching experience exponentially.

In reply to golfduke:

Yeah I know there is a lot of down sides but I've been so busy I wanted something that was just plug in and go for the time being. I only paid $25 for it and figured that it could serve me for a winter or two, then I would put in something nicer.

I mean, it is better than nothing, but I would just advocate being overly cautious. Carry a CO detector with you while you're working, pay attention to your body and the signs of CO poisoning, and make sure that you're working in well-ventilated areas with good airflow, even if it means the garage still being on the cold side.

Being cold is much better than being dead. I'm not trying to come off as a scaremonger or anything, but it is a pretty serious threat.

Yes, please be careful. I was using one in the winter when I was remodeling my house in the winter without enough ventilation and it was scary as hell. I was dizzy and had a headache for 3 or 4 days afterwards.

You'll get a lot of condensation on cold metal things (like cars and tools) when running that thing as well.

I'm wondering about heat in my new garage for this winter (Vermont). Came across one of these on craiglist craigslist heater. New prices aren't a whole lot more. I have propane at the house and the line runs along to the garage, so tapping into it wouldn't be crazy. Anyone want to take stab at btu requirements for 26x40 with 12 ft ceilings and attic? I likely won't be fully insulated for this winter. I still need to finish wiring, as well as insulating then wall covering.

These things are hard to beat if you have gas to feed them. Infra red heats up solids fast so that your tools are not painful to pick up.