Garage Heaters

H2o, if your garage is not too big and you're looking for a relatively simple solution, Delonghi oil filled electric radiators work great.

 

I'm a little worried about how this will last in the long run. Seems to me that if it's a surface you're gonna be driving on it you wouldn't want to mess with it's integrity.

 

Unless there is a moisture and thermo barrier installed below the heating coils, you will not only be warming up the slab, but also the ground beneath it. I have looked into adding a heating coil 2" slab over the existing floor, using proper insulating procedures, and it is fairly costly but possible. The key is constant temp with this method. Set it in Nov and forget about it until the spring thaw.

 

What was the original purpose for heating your garage? So you can comfortably work in it or to keep your car warm? There is no need to keep the car warm. Just keep it dry thru low humidity. It's the humidity that causes surface corrosion. And a warm, moist climate is the worst condition for a car.

 

Yeah that's the other downside in addition to cost is how long it takes to heat an area as well as how long it takes to adjust the temp of a room even a few degrees. Granted if you can just set it as you say and leave it you're much better off & that's what it's intended for.

The statement about heating the ground reminds me of what my grandpa used to holler at me as a youth upon leaving a door open 'I'm not paying to heat up the whole outside!' accept in this case you wouldn't be... just all the ground. Hehe.

 

Keep me warm when I working on it. Also great to climb into a toasty warn car for a drive when its 29 outside.

 

Same here. I've also heard it's a good idea for racing tires and batteries (on trickle chargers) to not get too cool. I've got a gas heater mounted near the cieling of a tall 3 car garage and it works great. But If I were to do it over, I'd probably go with the radiant heat and maybe a drainage system.

A friend of mine brought up the same point about the moisture, but usually I don't have a large quantity of melting snow on my garage floor.

 

Did not have my garage heated last winter and temp down to lo 40's inside. Had a few leaks due to rough castings and smooth rubber hoses. The aluminum doesnt know if it cold or not, but it does, like Castanza, suffer from 'shrinkage' at a greater rate than the rubber. Issue for me was the viscosity of the oil at start up at 40 as compared to start up at 60.

 

Just an update. In an attempt to heat my garage & install brighter lighting I have met with HVAC installers & electricians. I told them a few things I didn't want; like cut a hole in my roof for the exhaust (natural gas), efficiency yet not overly costly.
One method I am exploring is adding another hot water heater or tankless hot water heater in the basement on my home along with a heat exchanger & pump. This method will pump the hot water into baseboard/wall heaters in my garage.
This alternative is way cheaper than a boiler, and also less or abouth the same cost as a ceiling mount natural gas heater..leaving my roof line unobstructed from "pipes", and other clutter.
Any HVAC guys out here that have a comment, I am exploring this and not in this line of work. Just trying to learn all I can & get a "comfort level" with this application.