http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...erosene+heater
i was wondering if anyone has any experience using these in their garage for those winter repairs? i'm looking at getting one but would like some input on them before i do. things like; how affective it is, is it directional, where do i get kerosene, is it worth getting over a space heater? any input would be great.

thank you
nick

 

i got one of my friend's. 35k btu kerosone/diesel/jet fuel.

gets u a little high. but warms up garage from 0degrees to about 70 in an hour. quite effective. u can borrow it if u just need it short term.

for kerosne fuel, check thorntons and other smaller gas stations. it's like about $4/gal.

 

Torpedo heaters work pretty well. How big is your garage?

 

Ugh don't mess with a torpedo heater. Not only do they start to stink, but they only heat about a 6' radius in front of it. As soon as you shut them off, or you aren't standing right in front of it, the heat dissipates pretty quickly.

I see you're in IL, which is good. Go to Menards. They have these great 30,000BTU wall-mount ventless gas heaters. You can plumb natural gas (some are dual-fuel and will also run propane) and don't require they have a vent. They are odor-free and work great. I used to have one in the garage of my old townhouse, and even on the lowest setting (it has a built-in thermostat) on the coldest day it never got below 65 in there.

I plan to add the same thing in my new place. They run ~$140, 30k BTU, supposedly good for 1,000sqft. I'm planning to heat a 3-car garage with one. Knowing how well it worked in my old 2-car, I'm sure it'll be more than enough.

If you really want a torpedo heater I have a propane-powered one that I don't use. Works fine. $50 and it's yours, come'n'getit.

 

nick, i'd buy jim's propane heater heh. that's a deal and a half.

 

Are you sure the Menards unit isn't an externally vented unit? I've seen people tlaking about it on the Garage Journal forum. I believe it draws in outside air for combustion thru a concentric fitting that also vents the commbustion gases out.

That's what I'd want, one with no flame or combustion products inside the garage. Anything that puts combustion gases into the space (torpedo, etc.) will cause massive amounts of condensation on anything cold (like precious tools, the ceiling and walls, etc.) and requires that there be absolutely no combustible fumes in the space. They are designed for work sites that are very leaky and get lots of infiltration.

The Garage Journal has an entire forum devoted to heating and cooling garages, I'd read thru it to see what people have learned. You can also see some AMAZING garages!

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/

 

You don't need THAT much heat. I did a bunch of work in my garage yesterday, with no heater (and it was 25 degrees out). I usually work up a sweat (anger, nerves, stress) while I'm wrenching. It was probably 45 degrees inside and it was tolerable. If I get around to it, I'll get a basic electric fan heater.

 

Yes I am 100% positive it is a ventless unit. I used to have one, a buddy of mine still has one, and I am looking to install another one. The one I had, I had it mounted on an interior wall (my garage wall backed up to the utility room, so it made for easy access to the gas line.)

I had mine run all winter long @ my townhouse, with a CO2 alarm mounted in the middle of the garage. Never went off, no issues.

 

Jim, can i get some pictures/specs?

 

I have a 20,000BTU torpedo heater which runs off LP gas. I hate it- I end up feeling lightheaded and my eyes are burning after just a few minutes. I'd rather freeze....

This year since the garage is small, I'm using an electric heater which doesn't make it warm, but definitely takes away the chill. Once work starts I usually warm right up.

 

Ok well Menards' website sucks, they have nothing on it.

But one of the brands they carried were these: http://www.masterdist.net/glowarm/

The one I used to have was this brand ("Glo Warm"). I didn't have the official "garage heater", I just had the regular one. I know mine actually had a thermostat in it - some of these just seem to have low/med/high. Don't know what the difference is between the "garage" and "non garage" - the only difference I could tell the last time I was at Menards was that the garage one was black. I imagine that'd be a little nicer than the tan one - my old one was tan and it did tend to collect dust/dirt and look kinda nasty.

 

My grandfather used to have one of those rediheaters in his garage in upstate new york....it was fantastic !

 

i'll stick with my wood burning stove. Makes it about 70 degrees within an hour or so and stays there- as long as you feed it.

 

I got a Natural gas house furnace in my garage it was free used one, made no difference to my home heating bill and fast heat and no mess. If you have nat gas go that route you can get a small 20,000 btu heater that hangs from the ceiling direct vent and they also work very good and not to much money. Keep your eye on a friend that is up grading to high efficiency and you can get his old one for free if the heat exchanger is not cracked and is safe. Wall furnace is good way to go as well and does not take up room in the garage only sticks out from wall about 8"but not as fast to heat as the house furnace or hanging unit. I'm in Canada I like heat in the garage when working on my 944. Take care and good luck.

 

Woo hoo! Kingston Rennlist! Can I come and live in your garage? j/k.