Garage heating options

[jazzjune18]

Howdy. Looking for suggestions from the wise wonders out there. I currently live in CO and build for fun in my in-insulated garage. Insulating is out of the budget at the moment so I'm trying go think of other means of heating while building in the winter months. I'm thinking of trying one of those tall propane powered outdoor heaters. Would excessive sawdust flying around (which is common for me) would there be a fire hazard??

Thoughts?

[MikeEdgerton]

..I'm thinking of trying one of those tall propane powered outdoor heaters. Would excessive sawdust flying around (which is common for me) would there be a fire hazard??..

Anything with a flame could be considered a fire hazard in that environment. I had the same issue and went with oil filled radiator type heaters. It is expensive to operate but there isn't an open flame.

[violinvic]

It may be cheaper and far more efficient to insulate first. I insulated, vapor barriered and dry walled my shop. I heat it with one of those small 110 volt ceramic heaters. Shop is 12 x 24 with 8 foot ceiling. Michigan.

[Marty Jacobson]

These work:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Dimplex-4...4031/203568990
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_595_595

They will keep your garage warm without any part of the heater getting hot enough to be a fire hazard. I use a similar one in the winter in my poorly insulated old drafty house which I use as a shop and it keeps 2 rooms at about 60 degrees. It is 4000 watts, though, so not something you want to run continuously except to keep temperatures above freezing, due to power cost.

[HoGo]

These work:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Dimplex-4...4031/203568990
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_595_595

They will keep your garage warm without any part of the heater getting hot enough to be a fire hazard. I use a similar one in the winter in my poorly insulated old drafty house which I use as a shop and it keeps 2 rooms at about 60 degrees. It is 4000 watts, though, so not something you want to run continuously except to keep temperatures above freezing, due to power cost.

Make sure the units with fan have good (replaceable-washable) dust filter or the propeller and heating element will become covered in thick layer of wood dust soon and will loose efficiency.

[Mandobart]

Howdy. Looking for suggestions....I'm thinking of trying one of those tall propane powered outdoor heaters. Would excessive sawdust flying around (which is common for me) would there be a fire hazard??

Thoughts?

Possibly fire hazard, definitely CO hazard. As you state, these are outdoor heaters, meant to be used only where there is plenty of ventilation. So what's the point in burning a 20,000 Btu heater for warmth if you have to keep the garage door wide open to breathe? Insulation is cheaper than all the propane you'll be burning. Also, water vapor is a big combustion byproduct which may not be desirable in a wood shop.

[Timbofood]

Rolls of reflectix insulation don't appear to be miserably expensive, it might make the area too bright to work without sunglasses until it gets a little "dusty".
I think violinvic has the least worrisome solution, a fairly small investment for safer warmth.
Just a suggestion.

[Jonathan Ward]

In your position, I would look at insulating your garage with Tekfoil insulation (http://www.teksupply.com/contractor/...;pg101382.html)

I've used it in many applications with excellent success. If you're talking about a stand-alone two-car garage, the material would cost less than $1,000 (and less still if the garage shares a wall with your house), and it's a one-day job for a man with a powered staple gun. After that you can pretty well heat the garage with a candle. (And you'll be comfortable while you work.) The foil/bubble/foil stuff gives you a vapor barrier, a radiant barrier, and insulation. It also does a bang-up job on sealing crawlspaces. As for the expense, you can blow a grand on energy in no time when trying to heat an uninsulated structure in a cold climate.

They sell the same stuff at Lowe's, et. al. as "Reflectix," but it's significantly more expensive.

[Timbofood]

Just looked at your link Jonathan, that is one heck of a deal!
You will probably need a spare set of hands, at least I would! Should be a really good option.

[Bob Visentin]

If you know anybody who does HVAC work and can buy Tecfoil wholesale that would be the way to go. This stuff will stop 90% of the long wave radiant heat!

[Marty Jacobson]

Make sure the units with fan have good (replaceable-washable) dust filter or the propeller and heating element will become covered in thick layer of wood dust soon and will loose efficiency.

I just blow it off with compressed air periodically. I think a paper filter would be OK, but a polyethylene filter would probably melt when the unit cycles since the element retains a lot of heat and just radiates it when the fan is off.

[dorenac]

Anything with a flame could be considered a fire hazard in that environment. I had the same issue and went with oil filled radiator type heaters. It is expensive to operate but there isn't an open flame.

Not even a good Scandanavian woodstove properly vented?

[Mandobart]

Not even a good Scandanavian woodstove properly vented?

I heat most of my home with a very efficient wood burning fireplace insert. It uses outside air for combustion, vents back to the outside and has a variable speed fan to circulate heated air around the room. My town is mostly surrounded by apple, peach, pear and cherry orchards so good firewood is cheap and plentiful.