Garage Heat
#11
I am going to insulate my 30x30 unattached car garage and looking for ideas for heating said garage.

Is there any reason I cant just use a propane house furnace for heat? I am able and capable of running duct work so that wouldn't be a issue.

I can get a 80,000 btu LP 92% efficient furnace for around $850. I don't have a large enough electrical service to run a all electric furnace I am limited to about 50 amps.


My original idea was then down the road I could put ac in it for the dog when I am gone or if I want to tinker on something
during the summer I could do it in comfort. I would be just doing vehicle maintenance such as oil changes and minor repairs.
I would be storing two vehicles two motorcycles and a riding lawn mower in it all the time.

My brother has a similar size garage and uses a hot dawg garage heater and he gets a incredible amount of condensation and humidity from the heater where he has to run a dehumidifier in the winter. I would like to avoid this problem if possible.

I live in SW Minnesota so our winters can be tough and very cold temps. No AC isn't a deal breaker just looking for something so I don't have humidity problems.

Thanks for the advice
Brent
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#12
Live in northern WI. Use a powervent propane hotdog in my detached shop. Never had any moisture issues. Suspect your brothers is not venting properly. Have him check before carbon monoxide gets him. Something is not right.
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#13
My last shop and the current one was/is heated by a ceiling vented LP furnace, these only tend to run about 80% or efficient...but they don't release moisture into the shop. I think what you want to do will be just fine.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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#14
In the rain in the summer my garage floor gets nearly a 1/16" of water sitting on the floor.  It is over a crawl space and the condensation is horrific.

The only way I would consider heating the garage would be in floor radiant heat.  It is also the most cost-effective and most "green".  Condensation would not be an issue and as long as  your feet feel warm you are never very cold.  It will also keep the machinery castings warm enough to prevent condensation.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blog...eat-garage
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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#15
(04-10-2018, 10:22 AM)tuneswoodshop Wrote: I can get a 80,000 btu LP 92% efficient furnace for around $850. I don't have a large enough electrical service to run a all electric furnace I am limited to about 50 amps.

40A at 240V would be about 33,000 BTU/hr (9.6kW).  That's not a small amount of heat, though electric resistance heat is usually the most expensive way to heat a space, depending on your cost. 

I heated my last two car garage with an electric in-wall heater of half that output, which I would have to turn down or off after an hour of heating from cold (but in NJ, not the Yukon).  The garage was insulated, but the doors were original wooden with single-glazed panels.

I heat my present, even larger, two car garage that's only half insulated using four 120V space heaters, each outputting about 1400W (4500 BTU/hr), from a 30A subpanel.  And again, I have to turn them down or off after an hour.  Colder here, too, but still not the Yukon.

I'm only mentioning it because you brought up the possibility of using electric heat.
Tom

“This place smells like that odd combination of flop sweat, hopelessness, aaaand feet"
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#16
I am looking into the possibilities of warm air solar heat. not costly if DIY and almost free to operate.

My boss is a Jewish carpenter. Our DADDY owns the business.
Trying to understand some people is like trying to pick up the clean end of a turd.
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#17
Vented gas heaters don't add moisture to the space.

The temperature differences causes the condensation from humidity already in the air. Warm air holds more moisture- as it cools, it holds less thus causing condensation on cooler surfaces.
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#18
I have a 100K BTU furnace that heats 1100 sq ft with a 12 ft ceiling.  Propane fueled, fully vented for combustion air intake and exhaust.  It hangs from the ceiling in  the corner.  I have no issues with condensation.

I'd pass on a reused house furnace; shops/garages get dusty, and I think a furnace more appropriate to a shop environment would be easier to maintain.

I agree with a previous response that it sounds like your brother has a venting problem with his Hot Dawg heater.  Fully vvented units have sealed combustion chambers, and the water vapor fomr the combustion should be venting to the outside.
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#19
(04-10-2018, 10:22 AM)tuneswoodshop Wrote: I am going to insulate my 30x30 unattached car garage and looking for ideas for heating said garage.

Is there any reason I cant just use a propane house furnace for heat? I am able and capable of running duct work so that wouldn't be a issue.

I can get a 80,000 btu LP 92% efficient furnace for around $850. I don't have a large enough electrical service to run a all electric furnace I am limited to about 50 amps.


My original idea was then down the road I could put ac in it for the dog when I am gone or if I want to tinker on something
during the summer I could do it in comfort. I would be just doing vehicle maintenance such as oil changes and minor repairs.
I would be storing two vehicles two motorcycles and a riding lawn mower in it all the time.

My brother has a similar size garage and uses a hot dawg garage heater and he gets a incredible amount of condensation and humidity from the heater where he has to run a dehumidifier in the winter. I would like to avoid this problem if possible.

I live in SW Minnesota so our winters can be tough and very cold temps. No AC isn't a deal breaker just looking for something so I don't have humidity problems.

Thanks for the advice
Brent



Im up in the metro...and use a 5000w electric heater. I have a 60a subpanel. Works really well, but its $$$.

This summer I am switching to a NG closed combustion ceiling hanging furnace. Having a friend that owns an HVAC company do it, so Im not sure which type....but something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KRFVJ4Y/ref...0935696342

Once Favre hangs it up though, it years of cellar dwelling for the Pack. (Geoff 12-18-07)  



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#20
Keep in mind that there are very specific requirements in code for placement of gas burning appliances in a space that is storing or has vehicles moving near it. A condensing furnace will produce multiple gallons of acidic condensat per day. You need a means of removing it.  

The condensation problem you mentioned in the other garage is not normal. Encourage the owner to have it checked out.
Blackhat

Bad experiences come from poor decisions. So do good stories. 


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