Best Garage Heater for MA weather

[Tony C]

Just be aware of heaters with forced air. They blow dust and dirt around no matter how clean your shop is, you will not always see the dust blowing around. Warm it up and then turn it off when applying waxes or coatings.

This is an important point for all of us. My goal is to get a product which can warm the area enough to shut down for a while. I wasn't thinking of the dust though, just the noise. Thank you.

[Tony C]

This is the heater that I have in my garage and it works quite nicely. I have a 24x24 block garage with very little insulation and this does very well heating it. Very rarely do I turn the temp setting more then a 1/4 turn past the lowest setting.

PRODUCT OVERVIEW Model # FUH724 Internet # 202043070 Store SKU # 144839 Store SO SKU # 952656
Warm an area of up to 750 sq. ft. with the Fahrenheat 22 in. x 16 in. 7,500-Watt Wall Heater. This fume-free, forced-air heater features an adjustable thermostat that helps you control and maintain a temperature of 45 - 135 degrees Fahrenheit. The heater comes equipped with a ceiling mounting bracket to offer many flow position options.
[LIST][*]7,500-watt heater at 240 volts creates plenty of warmth[*]750 sq. ft. heating area capacity is great for a larger garage or other unheated area

This is what I consider the best heater for the area. The price right now is prohibitive to me though. I am also curious as to the impact on your electric bill. If used periodically, I suspect it can be more reasonable. Thanks for sharing.

[octane]

any combustion will create carbon monoxide, I have a Co detector that gives the PPM rating, not just an alarm when it's too high for too long.

I used a kero heater on my enclosed porch at the cottage and withing 20 mins the detector was over 20ppm, and as I said earlier the smell was nausiating. I then got a big buddy heater, that one is better, but still generated some CO, like 10 ppm per hour. the only one that I got that was ok for CO was a full catilitic propane , but that thing only gives out 1500btu. to me the only option is an electric construction heater (4500watts/220v) they cost under 100$ and only need a 30 amp circuit (pretty standard wiring) and no maintenance ever!

[ducksfan]

Wouldn't you save a lot of money running the catalytic with the electric?

[KMG]

This is what I consider the best heater for the area. The price right now is prohibitive to me though. I am also curious as to the impact on your electric bill. If used periodically, I suspect it can be more reasonable. Thanks for sharing.

I had previously had a propane heater in my garage and was spending close to $150 a month just on propane. Since putting this in I would say my electric bill depending on how cold it is might go up about $50-75 possibly. Last year in the coldest month the biggest increase I had in my bill was roughly $125ish I think. I am glad I went with the electric as it is simple and I don't have to worry about it really.

[MarkD51]

Reading this post reminds me of one I read last year. The member was working on a car in his garage with some kind of heater burning for warmth. After a couple of hours he stopped for a smoke but his lighter wouldn't light. He was surprised because he had fueled it in the morning and had used it during the day. He then opened the garage door and was greeted by a rush of fresh air. The garage had become full of carbon monoxide. That was a time when smoking maybe saved his life.
Be careful with heaters in enclosed spaces. Get a professional installer for a garage heater. Personal safety issue.

Yep, that was probably me who mentioned that, and had that happen to me.

I'm guessing that that 45K BTU forced air propane fired Bullet Heater was eating up all the oxygen in my closed Garage.

And without venting, and thinking back, I probably was also subjecting myself to a lot of Carbon Monoxide as well.

Prior to using one of the forced air Units, I remember I had bought a dual radiant propane heater from Cabelas that simply mounts on top of the tank. Honestly, it worked quite poorly. Might've been fine for a duck blind, or smaller space, and take a bit of chill away, but surely wasn't enough for my 2 car uninsulated brick garage. Was like trying to warm up an igloo.

In any case, I think any un-vented type heater could be a recipe for some bad things happening. It surely is something you have to be extremely careful with.

[Tony C]

OK everyone, here is what I ended up getting:

Mr Heater 38,000 BTU Forced Air Propane heater; and CO Sensor. The Mr Heater brand had pretty good reviews, and their latest technology was significantly quieter than other forced air units that I'd heard before. The 38,000 BTUs warms my garage fairly quickly (even with garage door cracked and window open) which allows me to shut it down due to my recent insulation project. Estimate 10 min on and 30 min off. It makes it very comfortable with a long sleeved shirt on.

Safety is first, and the number one concern with any fuel burning unit. I bought a CO sensor so as to monitor levels continually. Obviously, ventilation is key, but then sometimes I get distracted with my projects, and I can't afford to be stupid.

So, thank you all for excellent feedback. It gave me many ideas and appropriate cautions for which I am grateful. I think in the future, I will invest in a permanent electric heater, but for now this appears to work great.

Tony

[Scoobertin]

Glad it worked out for you. When you look into something more permanent, consider low intensity infrared garage heater.