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time for some more heat! what do you think of this heater?

3K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  snorulz 
#1 ·
When it comes to heat and a/c I know NOTHING unless it is on a car. Since my garage don't have a running motor and a 5ft heater core, Ive got to ask for some help.
If I understand right, The higher the BTU the more heat it puts out? correct?

I do a lot of painting in my garage and can't use a kero heater because it puts oils in the air. I had that issue last winter. I bought A large Readyheater brand torpedo style heater last winter from the home depot for $400 :eek:
It worked great to heat, But the first time I sprayed paint it was a disaster. Took me months to get everything clean again.

This year im working will a smaller budget of about $300. And hope to find a good heater. I prefer non electric. My power bill is high enough as is. Im thinking propane would be my best option. Will propane leave fumes or oils in the air that could possibly contaminate painting?

And what do you guys think about this heater from Northern Tool seen here: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_47716_47716
At 200,000 btu @ $229.00 It has the highest BTU per dollar of any heater they sell.
Just a little background, My home shop is 24'x31'x10' carport style garage, with R-13 in the walls and roof, covered by 5/8" dry wall. Im not looking for full time heat. I need something that will heat fast, And I use my shop about 20 hours per week. So I only need something to heat as I need it. Like a torpedo heater.
What do you guys think?
Im open to any other option that fits under my $300 budget for quick heat.

Thanks for your time!
 
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#3 ·
they dry your nose out , any propane will , unless you vent the shop .
i used to leave on and leave , then come back and shut off .
i used wood , best , but wood cost or hard work .
now i use electric after shop burnt .
but thinking out side wood heating water sending in air duct coils for house and garage .
 
#4 ·
200,000 btu's should heat your house, your garage, and possibly your neighbors house. :D Check first, BTU's in, BTU out, or how efficient the heater is. Without a fan, it will heat slower using only radiant heat. Putting out 200,000 btus, it will heat fairly quick, but the efficiency probably won't be very good. The hanging heaters with fans, propane or natural gas, are hard to beat.

Propane burns pretty clean, not as cleanly as natural gas, it will leave some sooty oils in the area of the heater as time goes by, it will take awhile. I would think it would be fine for painting.
 
#5 ·
crussell85 said:
I have two vent free gas heaters heating my house. The windows get washed about once a week due to the gas or oil that is on the windows. Why not a wood burner?
Vent free should NOT be used full time as heaters.Get a carbon monoxide detector if you have to use them, the best they can do is 99% efficiently, still the spent gasses are spilled into your home, as evidenced by the windows. If your home was older and somewhat drafty, it may be ok, I would not like going to sleep at night wondering if I was going to wake up in the morning.... :pain:
 
#6 ·
200,000 btu's is way to big for you shop, I think you would want more in the ball park of 75,000 btu's. Just to give you an idea, the furnace for my 1,200 sf house is only 60,000 btu's. Also, check with your insurance company to see what they will allow. All my insurance will allow in a garage is the hanging propane or natural gas heaters that hang from the ceiling.
 
#7 ·
:drunk: ha homeowners insurance, They don't even know I have a garage lol, I don't want to buy a building permit.
After reading the laws and codes I built a garage from a carport. It is considered a "movable structure" thus needing no building permit needed :D
I added $25,000 protection on my homeowners policy that covers damage to property on the property. Such as cars, carports, furniture, storage sheds etc.

Anyway before I admit to any more crimes, lets get back to the heater.

I would rather have too much heat for my money then to little. I believe I will give it a shot and see how it does. My only fear is how much propane it will use. 20lbs every 10 mins would kill my wallet. And may be the reason the heater is 200,000 btu and only $250.

I checked the torpedo heater model I bought last year and it was 165,000btu
and it heated just like I wanted. If the 200,000 btu is as good as the torpedo heater I will be happy.
 
#9 ·
smithkustoms said:
I would rather have too much heat for my money then to little. I believe I will give it a shot and see how it does. My only fear is how much propane it will use. 20lbs every 10 mins would kill my wallet. And may be the reason the heater is 200,000 btu and only $250.
That is way to much heater!! You are going to waste your money. The efficiency will go down because that heater will be cycling on all the time and will only run for about 10 seconds because your garage will be way to small for it. A 75,000BTU is what is usually used in a 3 car garage that is insulated. If your walls were not insulated this would still be to much heater. Please do some more research before you buy it!!
 
#10 ·
dinger said:
Vent free should NOT be used full time as heaters.Get a carbon monoxide detector if you have to use them, the best they can do is 99% efficiently, still the spent gasses are spilled into your home, as evidenced by the windows. If your home was older and somewhat drafty, it may be ok, I would not like going to sleep at night wondering if I was going to wake up in the morning.... :pain:
any ventless gas heater certified for in home use have oxygen depletion sensors that shut everything down if the oxygen levels drop below a certain point... there supposto be suplimental heat, but that just means used with a furnace.. I have a 10,000 BTU 1 and I just installed a 30,000 BTU in my grandparents house. they work good, and I'v never noticed anything on the windows from it
 
#11 ·
I think a 20 lb tank would last a few mins with that.. regulator is set at 18 PSI, so that's gonna drain it pretty quick. you would be better off with a couple garage rated vent free radiant gas wall heaters with add on blowers. they make them pretty big, and usually run on 1/2 PSI
 
#12 ·
Surely the 200,000 btu is not constant run time? Im sure it would have some kind of thermostat to adjust the heat output. If not it would be nothing more in a controlled fire in a metal box.
It says on the ad that thermostat is not included, But I believe it may still have a heat adjustment. The Read-Heater torpedo heater I had also said NO thermostat Included but it had different heat output settings. It just would not start and stop on its own at a certain temperature.

Honestly I like the idea of too much heat. Im a little skinny guy. Ive been cold since winter started. Inside or out. Hell im cold right now. But I don't want it to cost me $300 per month just to heat the garage a few hours a week either.

Im going to look at it as soon as the snow goes away. My next best option is this one: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_503599_503599
Its also 200,000 btu but it says that it can be adjusted down to 75,000. That should work perfect. I can fire it up to max to heat in a hurry and turn it down after warm. At max heat it uses a 100lb tank in 29 hours.
Since I don't have a 100 lb tank. I figure a 20lb tank will last approx 5.8 hours.

Anyone know approx how much a 100lb propane tank costs? and the cost to have it filled?
 
#13 ·
A Suggestion

Hey Man, For the size of your shop I would suggest a pair of hung ceiling heaters. I know you didn't want electric, but two fan forced electric heaters, about 3000w each, will heat your shop up pretty quick. I'm talking 208/220/240v heaters. I put two in my shop which is 24x24, not insulated. They warm it up pretty quick, then I just turn them off or turn the built in thermostat down. They have floor mount models also available within your budget. olnolan
 
#14 ·
smithkustoms said:
Surely the 200,000 btu is not constant run time? Im sure it would have some kind of thermostat to adjust the heat output. If not it would be nothing more in a controlled fire in a metal box.
It says on the ad that thermostat is not included, But I believe it may still have a heat adjustment. The Read-Heater torpedo heater I had also said NO thermostat Included but it had different heat output settings. It just would not start and stop on its own at a certain temperature.

Honestly I like the idea of too much heat. Im a little skinny guy. Ive been cold since winter started. Inside or out. Hell im cold right now. But I don't want it to cost me $300 per month just to heat the garage a few hours a week either.

Im going to look at it as soon as the snow goes away. My next best option is this one: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_503599_503599
Its also 200,000 btu but it says that it can be adjusted down to 75,000. That should work perfect. I can fire it up to max to heat in a hurry and turn it down after warm. At max heat it uses a 100lb tank in 29 hours.
Since I don't have a 100 lb tank. I figure a 20lb tank will last approx 5.8 hours.

Anyone know approx how much a 100lb propane tank costs? and the cost to have it filled?

it's usually about $1/ pound up to 40 LB tanks. 100 LB tanks cost $75-$80 around me to fill up... if you go with that heater, have a tank delivered from your favorite fuel company, they will give you the cheapest rate and come to you for filling, tanks are usually free too ( but they'll take them if you cancel service..
 
#15 ·
Here is a formula for BTU's and propane:
One gallon of propane has 91,547 BTU's. Appliance BTU ratings indicate the appliance usage at 100% capacity. In other words, a furnace with a 200,000 BTU/hr rating means the furnace will use 200,000 BTU's per hour when it is running at "full blast". The furnace will use about 2.2 gallons of propane in one hour's time (200,000 ÷ 91,547 = 2.18).

Two gallons of propane around here will run you about 10 bucks, bbq size tank, at the local yokel service station. The other heater you're looking at has a flame adjustment, no doubt, that would help. Also, consider some ceiling fans to help move the heat around, if the heater has no fan. It's amazing how much heat gets trapped at the ceiling of a room. Climb a stepladder, you'll find out! Also, most heaters will tell you how many BTU output, not intake. You may be sucking up many more BTUs than 200,000! One more thing, if the heater has a valve, a standing pilot light or ignition, you should be able to hook a thermostat to it, the thermostat is nothing more than a fancy on/off switch. :D
 
#16 ·
smithkustoms said:
Surely the 200,000 btu is not constant run time? Im sure it would have some kind of thermostat to adjust the heat output. If not it would be nothing more in a controlled fire in a metal box.
It says on the ad that thermostat is not included, But I believe it may still have a heat adjustment. The Read-Heater torpedo heater I had also said NO thermostat Included but it had different heat output settings. It just would not start and stop on its own at a certain temperature.

Honestly I like the idea of too much heat. Im a little skinny guy. Ive been cold since winter started. Inside or out. Hell im cold right now. But I don't want it to cost me $300 per month just to heat the garage a few hours a week either.

Im going to look at it as soon as the snow goes away. My next best option is this one: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_503599_503599
Its also 200,000 btu but it says that it can be adjusted down to 75,000. That should work perfect. I can fire it up to max to heat in a hurry and turn it down after warm. At max heat it uses a 100lb tank in 29 hours.
Since I don't have a 100 lb tank. I figure a 20lb tank will last approx 5.8 hours.

Anyone know approx how much a 100lb propane tank costs? and the cost to have it filled?
As far as I can tell, the first unit is either on or off, no in the middle. So it will put out either 0 BTU's or 200,000 BTU's. The second one you posted would be a much better option since you can dial it back. If I was you I would save up a bit longer and get one like this http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200316365_200316365. It has a fan which means it will heat up your garage much faster than the radiant heaters you have listed. When I first told you about it being to large I didn't know it was a radiant heater, i still believe it will be to big but not as bad as I first thought.
 
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