I have a 960 sq foot garage in Wisconsin with R19 insulation in the walls and above ceiling and 9 foot ceilings. I just finished running natural gas from the house to the garage, and now need to decide on a heater. I have a large cabinet full of paint and chemicals that I don't want to freeze, and I need to decide on a heater quick (it was 22 degrees F last night - but the garage being insulated kept it above 32 so far.) I want something as efficient as possible as I want to leave it running all winter with a thermostat set at about 40.
So, I'm looking for a natural gas heater that is very efficient with a thermostat that I can set down to about 40 or so. I have two in mind, one radiant and one forced air; the radiant sounds like a good idea, but i'd likely need two for my space which drives the price up - which is the last requirement; I'd like to stay under $300. (I already have over 200 invested in the CSST and pvc that I used to run the natural gas out to the garage.)
So, my questions are; has anyone used this radiant heater, or one like it? I like the idea of an efficient heater that heats surfaces (I also will be opening the garage door every day as my daily drivers will be in here and heated surfaces like the floor won't loose as much heat as heated air would - plus laying on a warm floor is nicer.) The large heater in a 45,000 or 60,000 btu would probably fit the bill nicer, but I'm guessing I'll loose more heat when the door opens and isn't as efficient so the monthly cost would go up. Does anyone with some experience in this area have any advice? Could I possibly get away with one radiant heater?
Here is the link the the radiant heater I was considering. It comes with a thermostat etc.:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...tDisplay?storeId=6970&productId=25606&R=25606
Here is the forced air type I was thinking of; it would also require a thermostat and piping and I may need a little higher rated one (60,000 or so based on what reasearch I've been doing):
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...?storeId=6970&productId=200307959&R=200307959
So, I'm looking for a natural gas heater that is very efficient with a thermostat that I can set down to about 40 or so. I have two in mind, one radiant and one forced air; the radiant sounds like a good idea, but i'd likely need two for my space which drives the price up - which is the last requirement; I'd like to stay under $300. (I already have over 200 invested in the CSST and pvc that I used to run the natural gas out to the garage.)
So, my questions are; has anyone used this radiant heater, or one like it? I like the idea of an efficient heater that heats surfaces (I also will be opening the garage door every day as my daily drivers will be in here and heated surfaces like the floor won't loose as much heat as heated air would - plus laying on a warm floor is nicer.) The large heater in a 45,000 or 60,000 btu would probably fit the bill nicer, but I'm guessing I'll loose more heat when the door opens and isn't as efficient so the monthly cost would go up. Does anyone with some experience in this area have any advice? Could I possibly get away with one radiant heater?
Here is the link the the radiant heater I was considering. It comes with a thermostat etc.:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...tDisplay?storeId=6970&productId=25606&R=25606
Here is the forced air type I was thinking of; it would also require a thermostat and piping and I may need a little higher rated one (60,000 or so based on what reasearch I've been doing):
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...?storeId=6970&productId=200307959&R=200307959