Garage Heater

[Jcon]

Do any of you use heaters in your garage to work thru the winter?

Thanks in large part to the people on this board and my Bentley manual, I've learned a lot and had some good wins working on the SC. It's addicting though. This winter I planned to put on new shocks ( Bilstien sports) rebuild the calipers, new break lines,install the 6 point harnesses and test / replace the injectors.

All the above is a lot more fun if I'm not freezing my A#% off. I have a standard 2 1/2 car attached garage with 9 foot ceilings, cement floor. I'd love to know what some of you in the colder climates use.

Thanks

Jeff C

[89911]

I use 2 units. To warm the whole garage for the 0-20 degree days, I have a forced air proprane heater that uses a 3 position switch up to 55,000 btu's. It heats up very quickly but is very loud and annoying. Best to preheat the garage for a half hour and then shut it off when your working. A small electric unit is sufficient for keeping close to you and works well for above freezing climates. You gotta love the sacrifices you do for your car!

[jtdig64]

I have a 20x12 shed that is the workshop for my car. I have a small strip heater for 40 deg days and a forced air heater for those really f***ing cold days in Indiana.

[Joe Bob]

Unless you want to see your electric meter spin like a dervish, use propane....Harbor Freight makes a few models that don't use a blower. They resemble smaller models that open air cafes use out here....they allow us shorts wearing guys to eat outside in Winter comfort.

Weather report today....clear and sunny, highs in the 70s, I can see the Channel Islands, no wind chop on the seas.....

[89911]

No offense, but what the hell do guys from CA know about space heaters?? We need some answers from the Great Lakes regions and NorthEast! Through my window, I can see the lifeless vegetation, above the cold gray sky.

[KTL]

I use a Kero-Sun kerosene heater. Works great and saves you elec. costs. Not a peep out of it either. Still gotta buy the kerosene, but a big 8 gal. jug lasts a long while. I crack the window or door a bit to make sure and vent the place. Doesn't smell, just don't want to kill myself with whatever is the byproduct of kerosene combustion (CO?). Only time it is smelly is after you ignite it. Just light the thing outside and wait a few minutes for it to get rolling.

[Joe Bob]

We MAY have to drive to find snow, but we have it. Dad owned a share in a little ski area above LA when I was growing up. Plenty of times I would wake up at 6am to fire up the generator for the ski area and start the lifts in -10 degree weather.

I think I qualify....

[aseem]

I have a 2 car garage with enough depth for a work bench, compressor, and all the other junk I keep.
I'm just about to buy a 3KW electric heater fan.
We have had temps down to 10F this winter in Norway, and I have been waiting for som milder weather before changing my front rotors and other brake work.

[RarlyL8]

Jeff -

My garage is the same size and description as you own. When I brought my 911 home from the painter (in pieces) I knew this would require a long winter and some heat.

The garage is detached from the house. I ran a natural gas line from the house and purchased a 100% efficient wall furnace for $150 at Big-R. I keep this furnace on its lowest setting. The temperature in the garage stays at 45F all of the time. I find this is just right for working in cover-alls. You can crank it up enough to burn you out of there if you want. Heating bills are not bad, and you get free humidity in the air. My garage is well insulated, so no condensation forms on the roof or walls. The first winter I worked in there the temps were below zero outdoors for a long time. Forty degrees seemed down right warm.

[Jcon]

Well That about covers all he options. Anyone else.... I am on my way out later today to sree if I can't find something. I'm traveling all week and I would like to get under the car again next weekend.


Any more input would be greatly appreciated.

Jeff C
81 SC

[Jcon]

Rarly

I was posting at the same time you were so I missed it before my last reply. I love that idea. I would only need to extend the gas line 4 feet to bring it into the garage.

Hey maybe I should just go for the gas fire place and bring the TV out their.

All kidding aside that's a great idea.

Thanks again to everyone.

Jeff C

81 SC

[SK]

I use a forced air kerosene heater...heats the garage in about 5 min from 30deg to 65 or so. It is loud like a small jet, but works great. I also have a CO detector in the garage because I don't like to open the door when the heater is on...I have never had it go off, and i run the heater for about 20 min at a time.....

[critter]

I have a overhead propane "unit heater".It is basically an overhead furnace ,you will probably find that it is the only type of heater that you insurance company will approve of.The problem with floor mounted furnaces is that most flammable fumes will creep or lie along the floor and the chance for a explosion is higher with a floor mounted open flame heater if you get a fuel leak or spill some gas.I bought mine used in the local paper for 100 bucks and seen many similer deals since.Took half a day to install and you can change to run on natural gas if needed.

[MarkY]

Here in Phoenix, I just open the garage door to heat the garage.

[david w.]

Modine heaters are great!

http://www.qcsupply.net/modinelp.html

[Mark Howard]

Its January, spent the whole day in the garage today, no heat needed down here in south Louisiana. But in July...

[critter]

Those Modine heaters look almost exactly the same as what I have,work great and usually you can find the used in the bargain papers cheap.

[stew]

i just installed a used natural gas furnace that i bought from a friend for 50 bucks .my 70e and 72t share space with my wood shop set up and are very comfortable. i do a lot of painting and have no problem getting up to temp. here in the northwest we have an average temp in the winter of about 45. used to heat with propane but i can get expensive.

[jluetjen]

Let's see; Up here in Mass we once again have snow on the ground and the temperatures have been hovering around freezing during the days. Here's what I do and it seems to work.

1) Insulate the dickens out of the garage. You didn't mention if you had done that already. Make sure that you have insulation in the ceiling as well as the walls. The higher the insulation value the better. Without insulation, any heater that you buy will just be heating up the great outdoors. Just insulating my garage to the same code as is required for houses easily keeps my garage above freezing and bearable for working in with a sweatshirt and overalls on. Since there is no breeze, it really doesn't feel cold. Right now it is 36 degrees outside and the garage is 40 without any heat on nor has the mini-van been used in 5 hours. An added benefit is that the insulation helps to keep the heat down in the summer.

2) If you have a 2-bay, run some errands first in the other car and then park it in the other bay. That's a free 5+/- degees.

3) Everyone has already given better imput then I on the heaters. FYI, I just have a simple electric/oil heater that I picked up at Sears or Home Depot. After it has run for a while, I turn it off and the oil continues to radiate. I keep it near me and the work bench so that my hands don't get cold while doing work on the bench.

4) Be sure to buy a creeper so that you don't have lay on the floor.

[bpcsguru]

Just bought a natural gas radiant heater at Menards for $140. The installation was more expensie than the heater. The plumber charged $160 to run the pipes to the heater.

The beauty of it is that it does not have to be vented. I keep my CO detector nearby so far it has not gone off. And it keeps the garage quite toasty.

Boris
1987 Carrera