$4 a gallon for Kero?

I need another garage heat option. What's my options for cheap heat?

Pellet stove (not sure if I can in the suburbs)?

Electic or will this be more painful on the wallet than Kero?

I have dreams of running natural gas lines out to the far garage, but in reality that probably won't happen.

or is the 20lb propane tank burner the best route? 2 stall garage, insulated walls (but not ceiling) and drafty.

Wood stove and a source of old pallets. I had that setup in my old place, it got hot in there.

First, insulate the ceiling. Then do whatever you want. Without insulation, you might as well heat it by burning $20 bills.

Wood stoves and pellet stoves are great if you will be in the garage for hours. I almost installed a woodstove until I realized my garage time usually runs in the sub 2hr range and that wasnt long enough to make wood worthwhile. The house uses wood and a soapstone stove as a primary source so I am very experienced with it but in the end it wasnt worth it to me.

I ended up going with a propane convection heater like this

It was about 100 bucks at the local Family Farm and Home. Its really loud on full blast so I have a process I follow to knock the chill out of my uninsulated steel wallwd garage in the Michigan winters. As soon as I get to the garage I crank it on high and with a fan beside it and within 5-10 minutes the garage is warm enough for me (if its 20s outside it will be 50s in the garage). Then I either turn it off and work for 45 minutes or so and turn it back on, or I turn it to a low setting where its quiet but still heating.

It was the best, low cost solution that has worked for 4 winters. I bought a 100lb propane tank so I have about 200 total in it. I am moving it with me to the new, insulated garage in PA.

I pity the fool who doesn't run diesel in their salamander heater.....

Mini Split heat pump?

I'd fix the ceiling and drafts first.

Having lived in the great white north, radiant heaters. Not cheap but beats heating up cold air when you still have to touch cold objects.

WOW Really Paul? wrote: I pity the fool who doesn't run diesel in their salamander heater.....

Always heard that but never tried it. Anything special to do?

What about a kerosene space heater? Same or no good?

you can run diesel in those? how?

-J0N

WOW Really Paul? wrote: I pity the fool who doesn't run diesel in their salamander heater.....

You pity the fool who doesnt live on a working farm, ya damn cheater.

EDIT- i just read that it used to be an issue, burning diesel, the sulfer would cloud the room and cause sore throats. but now, with the ultra low ppm diesel, guys run it with zero effects. in fact, of the 5 threads i just thumbed through, most guys run the red tax free off road stuff, and say it produces more BTUs, so they can run it less often, for shorter time periods.

interesting...

-J0N

Bacon.

Seriously- turn bacon fat into fuel.

If the Miata is the answer, bacon is surely the special credit addition.

One word of warning about burning pallets

HT=Heat treated, safe to burn, just low grade wood and nails.

MB=Methyl Bromide, toxic insecticide, do not burn! .

.

.

jmthunderbirdturbo wrote: you can run diesel in those? how? -J0N

You pour it in the tank, plug it in and don't mind the smell, with ULSD it probably doesn't even smell now.

Junkyard_Dog wrote:

WOW Really Paul? wrote: I pity the fool who doesn't run diesel in their salamander heater.....

Always heard that but never tried it. Anything special to do? What about a kerosene space heater? Same or no good?

Never did it with the stove type heaters, I think for in house use you'd actually want the clean aspect of kerosene. The salamander heaters will typically be the most cost effective way to heat a garage occasionally....even more so running diesel through them(unless you buy something way too small for your space)

And Tom makes a valid point....

In reply to jmthunderbirdturbo:

The pink off-road fuel isn't ULSD as far as I know...

As mentioned, insulate the ceiling first.

If the intent is to use the garage for a few hours now and then, electric heat can be a reasonable choice. Sure, electric heat is typically more expensive on a per unit basis, but for limited use it's not that big a deal. Say you have a 5kw heater, your local electric charge is 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, and you're going to run the heater for two hours. That would cost $1.

This all depends on whether you have adequate electrical service to your garage to hook up a heater, and also the 5kw heater mentioned above was just for discussion purposes; your actual requirements may be different.

One big advantage of electric heat is there's no open flame, so you don't have to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning, or gas fumes blowing up.

My typical use is to warm up with the salamander while I eat breakfast and then turn off the noise/smell (she runs rich-probably needs service) and then use a large-ish space heater to keep the chill out for the rest of the day.

I just don't want to have to store another fuel jug.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: One word of warning about burning pallets HT=Heat treated, safe to burn, just low grade wood and nails. MB=Methyl Bromide, toxic insecticide, do not burn! . . .

jmthunderbirdturbo wrote: you can run diesel in those? how? -J0N

You pour it in the tank, plug it in and don't mind the smell, with ULSD it probably doesn't even smell now.

Good info. Thank you.

Insulate the ceiling and damn near anything will work. What I used to use in my old shop was visqueen, staple or nail it up and it at least holds the heat down cause as you know heat rises and it sucks when all the heat your making is 5 foot over your head (in my case)

As for my input on heaters, you could try one of those electric oil radiators from Walmart and the likes. I use one in my house and I leave it on super low, I'm sure on medium or high it would keep it warm although it's slow to work, pretty much got to just leave it plugged in and going

logdog wrote: Wood stoves and pellet stoves are great if you will be in the garage for hours. I almost installed a woodstove until I realized my garage time usually runs in the sub 2hr range and that wasnt long enough to make wood worthwhile. The house uses wood and a soapstone stove as a primary source so I am very experienced with it but in the end it wasnt worth it to me.

Mine used to heat up very quickly, probably about 20 minutes. Now, this wasn't in northern Michigan, but it would take the garage from below freezing to t-shirt conditions in that time.

10,000 btu/hr ventless with a 30lb LP tank next to it. Done. You can even use the LP tank from your grill.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200648896_200648896

Might have to crack a window or if your garage is leaky enough.

I finally finished insulating my garage ceiling right before I had surgery 2 weeks ago, the walls were insulated and chip boarded over a year ago. Even without the ceiling done, the 25k but salamander heated it up to t-shirt/shorts condition in under 15min.......now it takes about 5 minutes for the 20x20 space. LoL

This from Northern Tool & Equipment and a 100-lb. Propane cylinder. Good to go!

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200631838_200631838

Junkyard_Dog wrote: My typical use is to warm up with the salamander while I eat breakfast and then turn off the noise/smell (she runs rich-probably needs service) and then use a large-ish space heater to keep the chill out for the rest of the day. I just don't want to have to store another fuel jug.

I use a torpedo kero heater to warm up my garage. I installed a thermostat that will shut it of when the garage gets to the set temp. To maintain the temp. I use a catalytic propane heater on a 20lb tank. It's nearly silent and I can point it where I need the heat and it keeps the rest of the garage comfortable.