Subject pretty much says it all. Got some remodelling to do. Combination sliding-table miter saw and table saw are in the 552 sq. ft. uninsulated garage. Baby, it's cold out there.

Comments for the Mr. Heater MH60QFAV 60,000 BTU Portable Propane Forced Air Heater indicate it should be more than enough to take the chill off.

What sayeth the SF Oracle?

Another brand I should consider?

I like convection heaters. Like a Remington 80000-BTU Portable Convection Propane Heater. No electric required, so it is more versatile. Plus your foil-wrapped goodies can heat up upon the top. Mmmmmmm, cheese steaks.

Be very careful of carbon monoxide buildup of any fuel burning appliance inside.

I understand many folks do it, it warms up quick, and is cheaper way of doing things, but risky.

Make certain you have CO monitors, but even then, I would be hesitant.

Electric more expensive, and slower, but much safer.

How is your home heated? Boiler by chance? Run a circuit to a unit heater if so would be a great alternative.

We have one of those kerosene heaters. Sounds like a jet taking off, but AIR puts out 50K BTU.

I used it many times while doing carpentry work in cold areas, like the garage.

Doubt carbon monoxide would be a problem unless running it in a sealed environment with no outside air available. Not saying it would never be a risk, but reasonable considerations will suffice. Only "problem" I have with my heater is the noise. Sounds like a B1 taking off.

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:
We have one of those kerosene heaters. Sounds like a jet taking off, but AIR puts out 50K BTU.

I had one of those. It went out to the curb last fall. I don't even know if it worked any more. I know it'd become balky the last time I'd used it, probably fifteen years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:
I used it many times while doing carpentry work in cold areas, like the garage.

I used the hell out of mine in this same garage.

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:
Doubt carbon monoxide would be a problem unless running it in a sealed environment with no outside air available.

I spent literally hours out there. Never once suffered even the faintest hint of CO poisoning symptoms. I'm sure the CO level was probably higher than, say, inside the house, but it couldn't have been that bad.

I did leave the bottom of the garage door cracked a bit, IIRC.

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:
Only "problem" I have with my heater is the noise. Sounds like a B1 taking off.

In my case: That and the kerosene stench.

I'll take the Appropriate Cautions. I'm just wondering if this heater will do the trick.

Home is heated with natural gas. Back when I thought I was going to make fine woodworking a hobby, I planned to insulate the garage and put an in-wall furnace in there. Gave all that up.

I used the 75k BTU one to heat up my garage during a warm/wet spell in Jan, which caused the floor to sweat badly (puddles). The noise caused me to return it. It heated quickly & helped dry it out, but got much too hot for working. Most of the bullet-style need to be about 30-40kBTU IMO, otherwise it's too hot or too cold & all you get done is screwing with the heater.
2x 25k radiant heaters are much quieter & do almost as good of a job.
If you're working, you'll be fine. fill up unused space as much as possible. keep 1 car in a bay if you don't need it. Lawnmower, etc. SOmething to absorb heat & radiate it back so you don't loose it all quickly due to lack of insulation.

quote:

I spent literally hours out there. Never once suffered even the faintest hint of CO poisoning symptoms. I'm sure the CO level was probably higher than, say, inside the house, but it couldn't have been that bad.I did leave the bottom of the garage door cracked a bit, IIRC.

It is likely fine, but here is some cheap insurance, put this up in the garage that way you can be sure.

Tannerite?

I have a radiant propane red dot heater. Triple dot. You can run 1,2, or 3 dots 3 heat ranges. 8k to 42k. BTU. Quiet multiple heat settings. Works for me.

We use the kerosene fired jet heaters on our projects but only to heat the place up and then we shut them off. Depending on the house it might take 20 minutes to heat it up and we are good for another 40 minutes or so.

Can you insulate your garage? It's relatively cheap and will work forever.... it will also make the heating needs considerably less.

I've been thinking of something like this for my garage. It's pole barn type building with a metal roof. Not insulated yet as it's one of about 200 projects to complete still. Would this do any potential damage to the structure or roof? It's exposed with the sweat barrier backing. This would be a good temporary fix for me.

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
I used the 75k BTU one to heat up my garage during a warm/wet spell in Jan, ... [it] got much too hot for working.

So it sounds like this 30-60k BTU unit should be fine.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
It is likely fine, but here is some cheap insurance, put this up in the garage that way you can be sure.

Yeah, that looks like a good one. Added to the list. Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
Can you insulate your garage? It's relatively cheap and will work forever.... it will also make the heating needs considerably less.

Not practical at this time. I'd end up spending the time I need to get Project #1 done to do that project.

Save a small space around the workbenches and table saw, the garage is packed full of stuph.

60k but is what I have for the same square footage and it is plenty. Tractor supply has it for 90 dollars now.

quote:

Originally posted by Vanwall:
I have a radiant propane red dot heater. Triple dot. You can run 1,2, or 3 dots 3 heat ranges. 8k to 42k. BTU. Quiet multiple heat settings. Works for me.

Tank-top 2 dot for me, around 550 sq ft garage as well. Quite sufficient for the mid winter car projects.

Mr. Heater Corporation F299730,30,000 BTU Vent Free Blue Flame Propane Heater, MHVFB30LPT https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D..._apa_i_-8kdCbGY3VPB6

This is what I use. Wall mount or standing on its legs. It will heat 1000 sq ft and not cook you out. Very easy to modulate.

Bruce

 
I use the Mr. Heater propane tank top single burner, in a bigger garage. I just place it so it warms up the area where I am working, and it does just fine. Mr. Heater also makes a two burner tank top unit. I keep one door cracked just a bit, and never had any problem. We don't get quite as cold for quite as long as you do, but we do have a month or so of sub-freezing or near freezing temps. That's when I roll out the Mr. Heater. I set it to the medium setting at first (never needed high, it's too hot), then set back to low. On low, it will run quite a long time on a single 5 gal/20 lb tank. Don't get it too close to you though. It will melt synthetic trousers, with nasty results.

I don't know the layout of your garage/house. We are down by St Louis and I insulated the garage when the house was built. When it is 10 degrees out, it is 40 degrees in. Pet water never freezes. The car is warmer and starts are easier on the engine. It will also save some fuel consumption in the house. I added a propane ventless 36000 btu rediant propane unit and it will run you out in about 45 minutes but I'm not real crazy about working 6 or 8 hours out there with it running. I guess I should get a co detector to see what it is doing although it is supposed to shut off automatically if co gets high. A wood burning stove would be great if you wanted to go that route.

Used a kerosene torpedo heater. Next year, I noticed rust on untreated surfaces. Condensation. I switched to Electric

Thanks for the feedback, everybody!

After careful review and consideration, I'm going to stick with the original plan: That Mr. Heater 30k/60k BTU "torpedo" job site heater and a pair of 20-lb. propane tanks.

After a lot of on-line searching and a (luckily, it turned out) wasted trip to the closest Rural King (see below), and discovering Amazon was out-of-stock, I found the exact model I wanted at the local Menards for $10 less than Amazon's price!

It turns out U-Haul sells nice 20-lb. tanks with built-in fuel level gauges for about the same price others sell them without gauges, U-Haul fills, and there's one about ten minutes away.

So today I'm going on a little shopping trip

quote:

Originally posted by oldbill123:
Used a kerosene torpedo heater. Next year, I noticed rust on untreated surfaces. Condensation. I switched to Electric

While I believe a kerosene heater will exacerbate condensation like that, it's hardly necessary in an unheated, uninsulated garage on a slab. Anything I don't keep covered in our garage will rust/corrode. It's the heat/cool cycles and essentially still air.


Rural King: A story about How To Lose A Customer By Not Really Trying.

So the local Rural King allegedly stocked the 38k BTU Mr. Heater. I write "allegedly" because their web site was screwed up, so I couldn't tell for sure. But $69. Very good price and 38k BTU was probably enough. Plus I could buy locally. It's about a half-hour drive, so I called. Got placed on hold-and-forget. Called back. Guy went to check stock for me. (I guess broken web sites aren't their only "issues" with computers?) Somebody else picked up. I explained. Put back on hold. Call dropped. Called back. Luckily: Got the guy who'd said he was going to check. Yup: Got 'em. Ok! I'm on my way. Get there. Nope, they didn't have them. What they did have was one of the 75k BTU versions, one, sitting in the 38k BTU spot. Clearly marked on the box "75,000 BTU."

I won't be going back.

I insulated my garage, and when cold, use a standard Kero heater,

start it outside, and once hot gently bring it it (no fumes that way)

it will run me out of a 20x24 insulated garage in a couple hours,