Welcome to the Corvette Forums at the Corvette Action Center!

Lets heat the garage..

jims427400

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 7, 2005
Messages
763
Location
Temperance Michigan
Corvette
67 427 tripower,68 427 tripower,04 Z16, 62 340hp
I'm tired of freezing out in the garage working on the 68, so can everyone give your thoughts on heat. I have roughly a 4 car garage and dont really want to mount a large unit. Just something to take the chill out.
Even took the electric blanket off the bed and layed on that and it was pretty warm until the wife wanted it back:mad (guess I'll buy my own)
Dont want kerosine or anything that will use up my air supply while the doors are closed.

Jim
 
I have portable propane heaters I use......"torpedoes".....work well to take the chill out of the air.....I go through 2 or 3 5 gallon tanks per heating season....
 
Are you prepairing for next winter or is it still cold where you are?

I am in Clearwater florida now ,and it sonds so funny to hear a question about heaters

But for a simple affourdable heater I would suggest a hotdawg heater and most likely you can install it your self.


A little simpler installation may be a pellet stove, you would have to mount it 18" off the floor. a simple vent out the wall. Fill it with pellets plug it in and you have heat.

Down side of the pellet stove is its initial cost, then having to feed it pellets and the cost of the pellets, then some routine maintnence.
 
Still in the 30s here in Toledo,Ohio..
Herb, dont I have to be concerned about using those torpodoes in a confined area.Dont they give off carbon dioxide???
monoxide???
I've seen those around but thought you needed fresh ventilation for those.
 
Jim

I have suspended gas unit that draws air from the outside and vents outside. It heats a 25x20 garage with 15 foot ceiling very nicely, in the still cold weather of northern NJ.

Joe
'65 Coupe
 
Still in the 30s here in Toledo,Ohio..
Herb, dont I have to be concerned about using those torpodoes in a confined area.Dont they give off carbon dioxide???
monoxide???
I've seen those around but thought you needed fresh ventilation for those.
no garage is completely air tight. I wouldn't go to sleep with one running, but I have run mine in the garage for 8 to 10 hours, to the point we had to turn it off because we were sweating!


when I work in the garage, I usually wear shorts and a t-shirt so I need to get it warm enough to be comfortable.....
 
I have used the kerosene heaters before as well in the house in my former llife. Ran them for hours and hours (never went to sleep with them on). Only reason I didn't go this time with them was because they smell, where the propane doesn't.

I haven't worried about using either of them and would not hesitate to use them in the future either.....
 
...i'm in central new jersey and it's still below average temperature....i have two heating units, one is a ventless propane heater which mounts on the wall (my house is heated with propane so I ran black pipe off of the main feeder into the house) and i have a torpedo kerosene heater which is actually my primary source of heat.....

....what makes one hell of a difference with the wall mounted heater is that i installed a 24" Walmart special circular floor fan immediately above and behind the propane unit...i think it's a Windmachine or something like that, plastic, and i just screwed the base into some hollow wall anchors....that way i pull the hot air off the ceiling and send the heat where i want it.....i also hung two inexpensive ceiling fans in approximately the center of the garage to even out the air flow.....


...the BIGGEST problem that i have is when i turn on both heaters to warm up the garage, i can raise the ambient temperature 30* in 15 minutes regardless of the outside temperature (i have insulated garage doors), the temperature rises so quickly that condensation forms on EVERYTHING and some of the parts on the car are beginning to rust....fortunately, i'm pretty much on top of that and spray everything topside and underneath pretty regularly with WD40.....live and learn


and i absolutley agree with the CO issue, i have never had a problem but i keep a CO detector in the garage just in case

good luck
 
I use propane heaters in my barn one is a torpedo type and the other is a small red box, both draw the air thru the combustion chamber and are suitable to use around fumes. I too had the condensation issue until I read somewhere on this forum to open the doors fully to let the heated moist air out . (Propane adds moisture when it burns) Seems to work so far this year, but I haven't been working as much as in past years too many cars and not enough room.


Jim I was looking forward to working on my 68 this weekend had a list of things to do then the temps dropped into the 20's and there is snow on the C5 parked outside so I have room to work on the 68 :mad
 
I use propane heaters in my barn one is a torpedo type and the other is a small red box, both draw the air thru the combustion chamber and are suitable to use around fumes. I too had the condensation issue until I read somewhere on this forum to open the doors fully to let the heated moist air out . (Propane adds moisture when it burns) Seems to work so far this year, but I haven't been working as much as in past years too many cars and not enough room.


Jim I was looking forward to working on my 68 this weekend had a list of things to do then the temps dropped into the 20's and there is snow on the C5 parked outside so I have room to work on the 68 :mad


good point, thanks!!!
 
good point, thanks!!!
I just wish I had learned it 10 years ago. Mine is heating up as we type till the propane runs out ;LOL better make a quick trip to the hardware store. BTW I use bigger tanks 30 Lb they last longer.
 
I only have a 2 car garage but use a 900/1500 W oil filled (sealed) radiator type heater. It is inexpensive and comes with a digital thermostat. It keeps the large 2 car garage at about 50 degrees with no problem. It is safe and portable and you do not need to buy fuel for it. They thermostat controlled on/off keeps the temperature constant. You might try two of these.

My boiler broke when it was about -10 here on Superbowl sunday and we brought it inside. I used to mess around with a kerosene torpedo heater. It was much warmer and faster but screwing aroudn with the kerosene and turning it on off to suit my temperature needs was a pain.


Brian
 
I have a Reznor power-vented forced-air natural gas unit heater (with electronic ignition - no pilot flame) hung from my ceiling joists; keeps the garage nice and toasty when it's only run 4 or 5 times a day for 15 minutes or so per cycle (it's shut off from 9 PM - 8AM, garage is never below 60* in the morning, even when it's single-digits outside, thanks to having super-insulated the garage when it was built). Garage is 2500 sq. ft. with two 18' x 8' insulated sectional doors. :)

200222813558-5-reznorhtr.JPG


:beer
 
I use Monitor Heat!!I have the K1 or Low Sulfur fuel Heaters! They work great,My shop is about 2000 sq ft,My house is about 1600 sq ft,and my office is about 800 sq ft. I have a Monitor 41 in the House and Shop it's the same as the Newer Monitor 2400 and I have a Monitor 20 in my office it's the same as the Newer 2200!! They do a Great Job!! I bought them used for $300. and rebuilt them,there simple to work on,spent $50 a piece on fire mats and gaskets!!! And there Real Economical,allot cheaper to run than Firewood cost a Cord now days!! And WAY easier on the Back!!!;LOL :D :upthumbs

http://www.monitorheaters.com/monitor_stoves.htm
 
....i don't have a garagemahal, i figure the garage is about 1800sf and this little guy does a decent job but as i said, i use the kerosene heater to bring it up to temperature and then use the propane to keep it toasty....i'm not TOO far from JohnZ's experience, my garage rarely gets below 50* with no extra heat
 
I'm tired of freezing out in the garage working on the 68, so can everyone give your thoughts on heat. I have roughly a 4 car garage and dont really want to mount a large unit. Just something to take the chill out.
Even took the electric blanket off the bed and layed on that and it was pretty warm until the wife wanted it back:mad (guess I'll buy my own)
Dont want kerosine or anything that will use up my air supply while the doors are closed.

Jim
Ten years ago, I gave my furnace man $75 for an old 60Kbtu hanging furnace he took out of a barber shop. The gas line to the garage cost $400 and the stack and plumbing another $50-60. Except for the concrete floor, it will keep my 3.5 car garage warm anytime. The colder the outside temp, the longer it takes to bring up the garage temp (about an hour to go from 30F to 55F). I have a ceiling fan in the garage peak (no suspended ceiling), and put 1/2 inch aluminized 4'x8' insulation boards across the roof beams.

The smell and danger of kerosene, and the time it took a kerosene heater to warm up a cold garage were enough incentive to get the job done.
 
Ypu opening up the doors and letting it cool off fast works to get rid of the condension from propane I worked on the 68 all weekend and no wet tools:upthumbs I wish I had learned that long ago.
 
Craig,
Just cureous, what projects are you doing on your 68..cant wait to get all my new parts back on.
 

Corvette Forums

Not a member of the Corvette Action Center?  Join now!  It's free!

Help support the Corvette Action Center!

Supporting Vendors

Dealers:

MacMulkin Chevrolet - The Second Largest Corvette Dealer in the Country!

Advertise with the Corvette Action Center!

Double Your Chances!

Our Partners

Back
Top Bottom