Garage Heat

My garage is 20x30 uninsulated block construction. I currently heat it with a 115,000 btu torpedo heater running diesel. It warms it up fine but it is very loud and can get a little smelly when working in there all day. 

I was looking around at other heat options and can't decide what would be best. I would like to run a gas line out to the garage but that isn't happening anytime soon. 

These are two options I have found. 

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200680937_200680937?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Heaters%20%26%20Stoves%20%2B%20Fireplaces%20%3E%20Kerosene%20Heaters&utm_campaign=Mr.%20Heater&utm_content=57329&gclid=CjwKCAiAi4fwBRBxEiwAEO8_Hr2GhF53EcugdPyMH_gU2dA8OiI0YJvvPozV1ycpnzAMtF67oJIp3xoCjsAQAvD_BwE

Radiant torpedo style heater. Apparently much quieter. Could possibly run into the same smell issues if I run it on diesel but I could use kerosene instead if that helps. 

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200612484_200612484

Propane Infrared heater. More expensive and I would have to get a 100# propane tank. Propane would probably be more expensive to refill as well. 

Are there other options for quieter heat without running a natural gas line? 

I use a 50000btu mr heater, hangs from the ceiling of my 36x32 shop, 8 foot ceiling, fully insulated.

I use a 100lb propane tank and refil as needed, i dont keep the heat on but use it as i use the shop, does a great job.

I think most unvented options are going to be stinky and a bandaid at best. If you got a vented heater you could run it on diesel or kerosene and have it not be stinky, but it seems to me that running gas out there is your best option long term. How far do you have to go to get gas?

The infrared type heaters work really well, because they don't heat the air, they heat the ground and tools and your clothing.  Anything that heats the air first is kind of crappy because still air is a wonderful insulator, which not only means it's crappy to heat with, but unless you're running the heat full time, everything in the garage stays cold too.

We have infrared type heaters at work.  We can have the garage door open at one end and the man door open at the other end and it will still be warm in the building because the ground and benches and everything are warm.  At my last place we had a traditional air-heater type furnace, and the place got frigid as soon as you opened a door.

That said, since I'm only in my garage for an hour or two at a time, and it is very poorly weather sealed, I'm not interested in making the whole space warm so much as I'm looking to get temporary personal comfort.  I've got this guy:  https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mrh-f274805/overview/ and 18000btu seems low, but to be honest, most of the time I have it on medium (9000) to start with and then drop it to low (4000btu) after ten-fifteen minutes.  I bought the 10 foot hose for it this year so I can use a 20lb propane tank, which is roughly a buck a pound for refills, versus maybe $4 per one pound canister like I had been running.  I should be able to go two weeks or more on a twenty pounder if I crank it to max, a one pound can would last two or three work sessions before it was time to change it out.  It also has a blower you can turn on and off to blow air across the room if you want, which I never used before recently because it requires wither four D batteries or a 6v DC adaptor (not included).  It works remarkably well, parking the heater on the hood of the RX-7 at one end of the shop while I'm working under the hood of the VW at the other end.

That 60k BTU heater would make your garage like a sauna.

dculberson said:

I think most unvented options are going to be stinky and a bandaid at best. If you got a vented heater you could run it on diesel or kerosene and have it not be stinky, but it seems to me that running gas out there is your best option long term. How far do you have to go to get gas?

From the end of the current gas line to the garage would be about 50 feet out and 35 feet across. The main issue is the concrete patio that it would have to run under. 

Knurled. said:

 

That 60k BTU heater would make your garage like a sauna.

Nice!

Got any trees nearby?  Wood stove and a fan.  Keeps you warm hauling and splitting wood.

The sooner you pony up the dough for natural gas, the happier you will be.

Wood barrel stove keeps a 120×95 ft shop 80 deg plus all winter easily. 

I've got plenty of wood, not super excited about having it burning in the garage though.

In reply to EvanB :

If you are careless or forgetful wood is a bad choice. It's also Not a good choice for guys who aren't willing to do the work.

  On the other hand I've known more than a few guys who have used wood all their lives without issues. Some of those guys are pretty well off so it's likely not just about money( at least for them ) A circle track speed shop/ garage I go to has a deal where they provide free a big barrel of salted in the shell peanuts and the profit they make selling pop and water pay not only  for the peanuts but all the wood too!  
To be honest I've heard about issues with wood fires but never actually known anyone who's had problems. 

We heat with wood at home x2 and the shop. Never had a issue. Well worth the effort. 

With a wood stove, seems like it would only make sense if you're out there all day. Takes hours to start the fire and for it to warm the garage. Then after a few hours your done, the fire burns for another hour maybe. Seems like a waste. Then there the hauling wood, cleaning ashes, having an open flame in a garage that (I assume) will have flammable gasses and such seems like a good way to make the evening news.  

Waitaminute... i thought the thing with wood stoves was that they were outside the building, and you routed air through them.

Or maybe I'm thinking of pellet stoves and not just mounting a fireplace in the garage.

(of COURSE it is a Volvo 240)

I have seen the ones where the wood burner is outside and they are interesting. 

But as mentioned, you have to get it started and heat up, then keep it going. Not great for popping out to the garage for an hour or two on a week night to get some stuff done. 

Insurance companies can get a little panicky when you have a wood stove in an automotive shop.

Have you thought about updating your lighting?

I got a bunch of 400 watt metal halide high bay lights for cheap from a buddy at a dealership that was upgrading. Could kill two birds with one stone, brighter lighting AND heat while you're working. Be a bit warm in the summer though. 

I wonder if you could do a high efficiency mobile home or RV furnace properly vented to the outside. Configure it for propane now then down the road when you get the gas run to the shop reconfigure it for natural gas. 

Now my question is do they make high efficiency (92%+) furnaces that can run on propane and natural gas. The reason for the high efficiency is that then you can easily do sidewall venting with PVC and avoid roof penetrations. 

Redo the concrete floor for radiant heat and get a tankless hot water heater to feed it. 

On propane. NG later if ya wanna.

Get the gas and get a schwank

I keep the shop at 5C and in 15 minutes it is T-shirt time and all the stuff is warm. Great for when you need to vent the shop or move a car in or out.

Can you do anything to insulate first?  My two car garage/workshop has uninsulated but drywalled walls and ceiling and I just put an 18K mini split heat pump:  https://mrcool.com/mrcool-diy-ae/

It's been pretty warm here in Wisconsin for December so i don't know how it will work when it get really cold, but seems to be fine down into the thirties.  A 100K BTU heater in that space would get way too hot really quickly.  It seems more efficient to try to cut the heat loss down.

No one has suggested that you just move down to Florida?

I have one of these, I call him "Trent."

I didn't want heated floor, because I'm impulsive about when I work int here.  Didn't want radiant heating from above, because I thought a car on the hoist and paint might be an issue.

Heats up the 1065sqft shop in about 15 minutes, not terribly noisy. Runs Natural gas I plumbed when I built the shop.

I use a kerosene radiant heater in my woodshop. Makes the place nice and toasty, a nice dry heat with almost no smell.

I like the smell of burned kerosene though.

Burned Jet A makes my pants tight.

DrBoost said:

With a wood stove, seems like it would only make sense if you're out there all day. Takes hours to start the fire and for it to warm the garage. Then after a few hours your done, the fire burns for another hour maybe. Seems like a waste. Then there the hauling wood, cleaning ashes, having an open flame in a garage that (I assume) will have flammable gasses and such seems like a good way to make the evening news.  

Obviously you are doing it wrong if it takes hours to strike a match on a piece of paper under some shavings and small scraps of wood?  The heat is coming off the firebox within a few minutes.  

May I recommend you put the parts washer as far from the fireplace as possible?  Same with any flammable stuff you spray around. 
 

Really safety demands that no matter what you use for heat be it electric, wood, thermonuclear warhead, keep flammable stuff away.  
 

By the way,  broken shipping pallets make great fireplace wood.  They are typically free, and can be quickly cut into proper size with a circular saw.  Toss in nails and all, once the wood is turned to ashes and pulled from the fireplace the nails are easily scooped out.  
My first home I kept heated one winter with nothing but used shipping pallets. By GMA rules they are made from hardwood typically oak or ash.   Burn clean and leave little ash.  I had a homemade electromagnet I used to pull the nails from the ash that I tossed in my scrap metal barrel.