All Northerneres: Heating a Garage in Winter?

My dad's old shop was 60'x80', and he used 22" split rims from an old 18 wheeler shop. He took a 1/4" plate and welded to the bottom of one, then stacked the wheels on top of one another, welding them together as it got taller. The overall height of the stove was around 5', and had a grate and door at the bottom for removing the ashes and regulating air flow. It had a 16" wide opening at the top so we could drop in just about any size log we had without worry. He also rigged up a metal gallon can with a tube brazed to the bottom with a cutoff valve in it so that he could dribble used motor oil onto the wood. This helped moist or even ice covered wood ignite and burn quickly.

During the dead of winter, we'd always fight to work close to the stove, as it was relatively warm in that huge shop. When we'd leave for the day, we would shut the bottom door on the stove, and the shop would hold heat all night. If it was less than 10 degrees outside, the shop would typically hold the heat to about 40 degrees or so.

The other nice thing about this stove is that he only spent about $20 to build it, and it lasted more than 25 years. The only thing we had to upgrade over that amount of time was to change the stovepipe to a piece of 6" regular steel pipe. The stovepipe lasted about 4 years, and the regular steel pipe lasted the other 21. I believe it is still being used by the new owners of the building.

 

Goztrider - that's a great story, and your dad sounds like a smart dude. Necessity is the mother of invention.

 

I can remember the side of that stove turning cherry red some mornings when it got fired up and rolling. Of course if the wind was blowing from the north, the rolling black smoke cloud would blow across the little 2 lane highway and slow traffic! That was always a blast to see.

Beauty of that big old stove was that we burned just about anything in it that was flammable as well as being able to pack it full once and only have to add a few logs to it during the day.

I can also remember how some of those old split rims had some 1/2" diameter holes in them for some reason. Anyway, when the oil drip got the fire going sometimes you could hear the old stove "huffing" with this wild 'whoomp whoomp whoomp" and shoot flames out of the little holes about 6" or so!

Man, that was a cool *** heater!

 

Radiant floor heat is the way to gnce the very small hot water heater has the water warm,the floor stays warm-no cold spots under the car and everything stays dry.Heat a 80 ft shop no problem,feet are always warm and evrything warm to the touch.Actually sometimes gets to warm.Have to work in a tee shirt.Something for Canadian winters.

 

Here in Southern Oregon we install mostly the hanging unit heaters that several have mentioned. They are high so fumes are not a problem, and being gas they heat very fast. I would caution about using the wall gas heater that was shown, unless it was mounted at least 18" off the floor. (18" is code around here for anything with a flame or that can produce a spark.) Radiant is a very good way to heat but next to impossible to put in if the floor is already poured.
You can get the above mentioned unit heaters specifically for garages, they come with sealed combustion.

 

All right Kramer, I've heard the 18" rule myself, and taking that into consideration and the fact that I'm broke, and the fact that the floor is already poured, those hanging units are starting to sound pretty good.
Thanks.

 

The hanging unit is prolly the easiest way to go. Modine makes one - it's called a Hot Dog - and they're easy to install and cheap, too!

Just make sure you insulate the garage door. I insulated mine - and I use the dryer vent to heat the garage in winter. Granted - it doesn't get hot (35 degree rise over outside temps) but working in 55 degrees is pretty comfy as compared to 20 degrees.

Was able to use the garage all but three weekends using the dryer vent method...and we have a design condition of -10 deg F.

 

I've been considering the alternatives for heating my 28x28 wood framed garage. I haven't made a decision yet, but here are some links to a few that I'm thinking about:

http://www.alsheating.com/ToyoHeater.htm

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200326090_200326090

Here's a forum about heating:
http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/

 

I have a 30 by 40 shop and I heat with a wood stove I can put 3foot logs in it and it works great I've painted about five cars in it and never had a problem. Pat

 

Another consideration about the split rim stove is that you can probably go by a 18 wheeler truck shop and pick up their bent or warped wheels for next to nothing. You'll probably need between 4 and 10, depending on how big of a stove you want to use.

Another idea is look for an old Ben Franklin stove. They should be cheap enough around where you are and work extremely well for heating a smaller shop. I think I saw one at an auction down here awhile back go for $5....

 

I had to go back and re-read your original post Gigantor, you said you are busy insulating but don't have power out there yet. You are stringing your outlets and lights, etc before you insulate, I hope? It'll be a ***** to do later. I have a 30 x 40 shop up here in the frozen north a****st the dead pine trees. I am currently heating with a 80000 btu ceiling hanger.... works out to about $100/month. I did plumb the slab with three zones of radiant tubes before it was poured. I've just got to find the right deal on the right heat source before I switch over.

 

Go ahead and laugh, but I'm still using the electric furnace that was in the building I bought 14 years ago. It works great and I don't think it's that much more expensive than gas/oil to justify the expense of installation. My shop is 30'x30' with an attached shop that's 15'x20', which I use as my machine shop (drill press, lathe, etc.) and that is zoned separately - i.e. I can heat either the main bay or the small shop together or separately. I also have it hooked up so I can turn it on from the house and have it nice & warm when I get out there. I have a LOT of insulation in both walls & ceiling. Works for me!

 

As mentioned by chuckspeed the Modine Hot Dog (Hot Dawg) is a good choice. They have a low profile so they don't hang down and in the way.

http://www4.modine.com/v2portal/mod.../building_HVAC/market_level_3_content_013.htm

 

Doesn't the moisture from the dryer vent concern you a little bit? I would think that moist warm air would condense rather quickly when it hit some of that cool metal in the garage. Or are you just running the dryer with no wet clothes in it, strictly to heat the garage?

 

I'm not a northerner but it gets pretty damned foggy and cold here in the winter.

I've been working on my shop for a few years. It's ell shaped. It's 20 X 32 (leg) with a 25' X 25' 2 car attached and 9 ft ceilings...In one corner I have a Reznor type hanging from the ceiling.

But, in the old shed that's been here since the 30's the old guy that lived here before me fabbed a hanging heater. If you look at the 2nd picture you'll see a (black) fan and motor behind a heat exchanger with the burner below...It took the chill off in the small 16' X 16' shed.

 

sorry.. i hadn't seen this post.. till just now..

I actually bought the unit at a flea market.. the seller had about 10 different models and they were all scratch and dent..

I actually picked this one because it is small.. (16 inches wide, about 10 inches deep and 7 feet tall) and because it was the biggest one the guy had that was ready to hook up to propane..

I think I paid 350? for it.. maybe it was 250.. honestly I cant remember..

I do recall however that tokyo looked at me really funny when we were loading it in my pickup on a really hot summer day..

however he was really happy the following January when it was toasty warm in my garage..

I paid about $150 in propane last winter.. (I have one 100 gal propane tank that I take and have refilled) I DONt usually let the heater run at all.. when I leave I shut it down.. this heater brings my garage back up to temp quickly..

however it usually runs from Friday nite till Sunday afternoon.. most winter weekends..

the only thing I may change is to move the tank closer to the heater (its currently about 15 feet away (outside the garage)

and I may buy an additional tank, because the place that refills my tanks cheapest is sorta out of the way..

 

Good to know Sawzall - thanks. My fiances sister had that exact unit pictured in her apartment, and aside from the fact that it kept her joint nice and warm, I couldn't remember a brand name, or fuel, or even what it's called. I'm going to keep my eye out for something like that - as in it's more my price range these days.
Again, thank you.

 

Depends on what you want to spend If you can afford it Infared overhead tubes are the best next to radiant floor head It is a totaly sealed system gets it combustion air from an outside source and is a totally sealed unit. Open the garage door and in a couple of minutes everything is nice and warm again. Over head muti postion or hanging furnace is also a good choice you can get them from Home Depot of Lowes for a resonable price 500-700 bucks I would say 40,000-50,000 should be more then large enough for a 2 car garage. For mine right now I have a porpane jet heater and a couple of the oil filled electric radiant heaters Large one car 14x24 Fire up the jet heater to get it to a working temp and then shut it down so the electric ones can keep it there or at least from dropping like a rock

 

get a woos stove

 

A woos stove? Where can I get one, and how much for a cord of woos?

 

Oh man, since this wasn't MY thread I left it alone, BUT that WOOS **** is FUNNY!!!! And to think I have been collecting wood all this time, when I should have been collecting "woos"!!! Maybe the Cat in the Hat has some or Thing 1 AND thing 2 has some? 1- Woos, 2- Woos, 3- Woos 4!!! OH man I am sorry!!! Been outside in the heat and drinking beer and this was just funny as hell....Ken

 

Oh man just had to post on this one...Saw only a couple of good posts and they all tell you to put in a unit heater. I have installed over 300 of the Modine Hot Dawg units in the "Great White North" and they work fantastic. I dont know about you but I carry insurance on my garage and its contents, some of these guys should look at there policies and see if they get coverage with some of the home grown heaters they have dreamed up. Sure makes for a bad story reading about the guys garage that burnt down and he has no insurance....

 

Damn, that IS a thought about the insurance thing!! S O----> I just called MY insurance when I saw you post and I am NOT COVERED period!! I ONLY have homeowners insurance that covers my home and IT'S contents! Since my garage is NOT attached, it is NOT covered!!! Something to look into guys, Yes you can add it but I just ***umed it was included, as I am sure others think that also...YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK IT OUT!!!!!.....Ken

 

I've got a Rinnai heater (balanced flue through the wall). It works great, built in thermostat. I leave it on low in the winter when I'm not in the shop (helps keep the rust away on Iron parts and if you keep some heat on the floor won't get as cold). Before that My dad used to heat the place with a Redi heater, it's a combustion heater that works on the principle of if you have enough air leaks in the building the CO will not get to a fatal level. I much prefer the setup I've got now. It was Propane when I put it in, but I ran a gas line to it a few years ago (it came with the parts to run either propane or natural gas).

On the question on puting a barrel in the chimney of a fireplace, there were places that used to sell "double barrel" stove kits here. The kit would lay the barrels on their sides one over the other with the lower being the fire box and the upper is a heat exchanger. The chimney would come into the upper barrel (from the fire box) on the bottom in the back and then out the top in the front. It's just a plenum, big empty space to slow the smoke down before it leaves and give it enough surface area and time to put more heat out instead of sending it up the chimney. Hope that helps.

 

Damn - thanks for the tip and testimonial. I'm sure I'm not alone in knowing that if my garage and car and tools burned to the ground I would be devastated ... and then if I found out that it wasn't covered by insurance, I'd probably dig a hole in the yard to crawl in and die.

 

Here in Texas when we have a really bad cold snap (like 40), I find that a hot cup of coffe on my work bench warms things up nicely. Sometimes a candle will do also.

I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. I sure envy you guys in the summer.

 

I have a Modine Hot Dawg that I bought on the recommendation of others and installed it myself. Keep the shop heated at 45 degrees minimum when I'm not out there and in a matter of minutes it can be 70 degrees. Works extremely well. My neighbor has in floor heat which worked great, but he quit using it because it is too expensive. He's looking at putting a Modine in now as well.

 

at the risk of beating a dead horse. But.. (I'm hoping to force this insulation point)

today it was 90 deg here.. and like 75 percent humidity.. (it was stinking hot.)

so I fired up the window A/C unit in my garage (the same unit I paid 25.00 for at a yard sale 4 years ago.. and used in the house for 2 years)

in 20 minutes it was nice and cool..

the MORAL.. (in case you missed it) IS INSULATE the heck outta your garage..

sawzall

 

i use a coal stove.........love it! best heat........nice crisp saturday morning, i go out in the shop and start it up......i spend about $60 on coal per winter.........because it's so cheap to operate, i don't worry about insulation, opening the garage doors or even sealing off the upstairs.....

wood, coal, etc. is the type of heat that warms you to the bone....