Easiest and Cheapest way to Heat an Unattached Garage?

[TSCTSC]

I have a 2 car garage that is not connected to the house. It has electrical outlets there but no gas outlet. It is also not insulated. However, I would like to try heating it and seeing how it goes. What is the cheapest and most efficient way to do it? Thanks!

[Whoaru99]

Heating like in all winter long, a few days at a time, or just for a few hours at a time?

[LMITOUT]

Does it have a ceiling or just open rafters?

I have a 24x36 garage and when I bought the place there was no ceiling in it. They left the old house furnace (120000 btu) and it was ready to be piped in so I finished that in the fall but didn't have time to do the ceiling. On the coldest days (0°) and windy, it would run constantly as the wind just pulled the warm air out of the attic though the soffits. I knew this was happening but it kept it around 40°... warm enough to get some work done and then I would shut it down. Now that the ceiling is in and insulated, it doesn't take long for the entire shop be toasty and the furnace will kick in and out like it should.

So, I guess the first thing to know is if the ceiling is done. 120V or 220V in the garage? You could start looking at possibly a hanging type heater with a fan. I wouldn't bother with the radiating units.

[icehousebob]

Step one:INSULATE! After that, decide if you want it heated full or part time. I know a few guys who put in wood burning barrel stoves for occasional heat. For working in a garage, it heats fairly quickly. You might want to check with your insurance agent first on what it will do to your rates.

[Surface Tension]

Yep get it insulated and a vapor barrier then sheet rocked.

Natural Gas or Propane furnace is the way to go if your planning on heating it all winter.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Direct vent corn stove. By far the easiest install, and theres no question that it is cheap to use!

[TSCTSC]

Well, my garage has a roof instead of bare rafters. I know it is not insulated because besides the sidings and the wooden boards, the 4 small windows are single paned, and the garage doors are not insulated.

I believe the insulating the garage will be quite a bit of work and the space in between my studs are being used to hang my tools. I do not want to lose that space.

So, now, what are my options? The hanging heater fan sounds good as it only requires an electrical outlet. But would it be costly. I am thinking of heating the garage more or less throughout winter mainly for a few reasons :

1. I want a decently warm truck to get into every morning

2. I want to work in my garage once in 2-3 weeks

3. I hope that by keeping it slightly above freezing, I can avoid winterizing my boat ... hehehe

What say you guys??

[Jeremy airjer W]

Actually, Heating your garage to prevent "winterizing" would be the worst thing you can do. The purpose off winterizing is to keep corrosion from forming on important pieces/parts on the boat, motor, trailer. This is why we change the lube in the lower unit (remove any possible water that could freeze/corrode) Fog the engine, and repack the bearings as well as other little things.

Now here comes the shocker. A heated garage will promote corrosion if the the boat hasn't been winterized. Rust doesn't occur unless the air is warmer than freezing. So the purpose of winterizing is not exactly to protect it while it is freezing but to keep it protected when it is warm enough to promote corrosion as well.

The second thought is that keeping a salty vehicle in a heated garage can excellerate the effects of salt and corrosion making your vehicle "potentially" rust away even faster.

[federline]

You're kidding yourself with the words "uninsulated" and "cheap" in the same sentence. Plan to insulate.

You won't achieve #3, for the reason airjer states. He's on the mark, my chemistry degree tells me so.

You won't achieve #1 without insulation, cheaply, no matter what fuel source you use.

As for #2, you might be able to get by without insulation. A 30 pound propane cylinder and a 85,000 BTU or greater fan-style bullet-style heater might work, for a few hundred dollars. If your garage is drafty, all the better, cause it can suck the O2 out of the air like nothing you've seen - but you'll need more BTU's to make up for it.

I have the same size garage, but it is batt and blown insulated, sheet-rocked walls and ceilings, and attached. I can bring the temp inside to 50 degrees with the system outlined above, if the temp is 0 degrees outside and I have the double garage door cracked an inch or so. If I close all doors and crank 'er up, I can hit 60 degrees, but have to vent the garage now and then to avoid CO poisoning. But, since all the "stuff" inside the garage is heated up, it's much easier to heat the garage air back up.

After I'm done in the garage and shut it off, it takes 4 hours, and it's back to it's normal unheated temp. There's no way you could do it without insulation. A friend of mine has the same heater for his 24x40 garage with no insulation and bare rafters - if you're not right in front of it, it's still cold, no matter what.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Wow, a "non science educated" mechanic is right on the money! Hope Scifisher doesn't get wind of this! I guess thats a whole new topic for a whole new post!

[TSCTSC]

OK...so you are saying that the reason why we winterize our boat is so as to prevent corrosion during the months that it is not being used? So the issue is not to prevent freezing from causing damage?

[Phred52]

TSCTSC, "Easiest and Cheapest"/ heat is an oxymoron. Similar to "Military Intelligence". Insulate, Insulate, Insulate, Heat. The more insulation you install, the "less" heater you'll need. Heavy on the ceiling!!

[Surface Tension]

You'll have wasted more money on fuel in one winter then it would cost you to insulate.

[Valv]

Quote:

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OK...so you are saying that the reason why we winterize our boat is so as to prevent corrosion during the months that it is not being used? So the issue is not to prevent freezing from causing damage?

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The reason we winterize it to preserve motor during several months of not use. And since we live in a freezing prone area we also do it in a manner we prevent damage from it.

If you want to spend several hundreds of dollars, if not thousands, to heat up a non insulated garage just so you don't have to winterize, you have some issues.

[Jeremy airjer W]

What we are saying is that when you winterize your boat you need to take steps to make sure that any water/moisture is removed so that it doesn't freeze, expand and cause problems. On the other hand because the tempurature is below freezing for most of the time it helps to preserve the metals that are prone to corrosion. So in fact we need to make the neccessary steps to gaurd against corrosion when the temps are warm enough and we need to gaurd against freezing when the temps are low enough.