garage heater
 

Been looking for one of these for awhile now (3yrs.) It seems either I was a day late or dollar short or they just wanted way too much $.

Finally got one at a great price. now too clear a spot for it build a frame and hook it up....before it gets cold.
it's tough too think about heat when they are calling for 100* in the next few days.

I know a old fella up here that uses a heater like this in his shop.
i went over too see how he has it set up and as it turns out his is the same unit just a little older than mine. So I'm gonna set it up the same way as his.

Hopefully I can get it going and not have too use my stinky loud turbo heater this year.

Re: garage heater
 

What BTU and what size is the space you are heating? LP or Natural?

Re: garage heater
 

Good question I never even looked for btu's
I see on this label it has.
Output btuh 64ooo.
And below that it also has
Btuh 66400.

Perhaps this pic might help.
I was told they ran oil or kero in it.

My shack of a garage is 30x40. Built somewhere between 1910-1920 and not insulated at all.

If I need parts my next door neighbor is 87 and been doing heaters this all his life.
He installed my home furnace in 1967 and serviced it every yr. Since
Lots of houses in my village have the same fun ace since they were made rite over the mountain.

Re: garage heater
 

Heater in my shop is working great now..about 105 out there right now..haha

Re: garage heater
 

I had a nice long chat with the neighbor. He showed me a few things about this one.
His sons runs his business now but he is still the mastermind. I wanna talk with the boys yet since this came from a local place perhaps they are the ones who took it out.

The old man advised checking out the firebox too be sure it's not burned through.....another project.

Re: garage heater
 

Looks like a trailer house furnace

Re: garage heater
 

It seems like a big space for that heater but again I am no heater expert. I do know insulation is the key to keeping it cozy though. I bought a small gas unit that looks like that when I built my garage and when I spoke to a friend that does gas installs he said not to waste my time with it. He installed a gas furnace with hot air ducts in the attick that is large enough for a 3 bedroom house. It was the best $1200.00 I could have spent. I bought rolls of insulation and sheet rock as I could afford it and had the inside done in 6 months. It is only 24x26 but very warm and cheap to heat. I do run the furnace in the summer to paint on humid days, it drys the air quite nice if you can stand the 90 degree temps.

Re: garage heater
 

Yes it did come from a trailer.

My neigbor has been doing heaters his whole life he said it should work just fine for my garage of course he did say some sealing up will help.
just too take the chill off.

I have been doing some interior work out in the garage in prepration for the installing of it.
i havent really done anything too this garage since moving in 10yrs ago besides running the new 110 and 220.
the focus was the house and vehicles. So its time since its starting too show negelct.
i also picked up a good 110 ac. Too install.
im thinking im gonna install it up in the open loft in a window that was sided over.
i still gotta check out the fire box in it and build the stand....im slow.

Re: garage heater
 

This is my heater, I call it the "Wood Hog" It goes through about 5 cords a year!

Re: garage heater
 

🔝

Wood hog that's a good one. also doubles as a lunch warmer too.
I had a Kodiak insert here for a few years and never hooked it up.

YES! I finally have a follow up to one of my many threads (im terrible with follow ups)even though it's a cheesy one.
I have a little fear over wood stoves in "my" garage. You never "plan" on spilling gas it's a accident. Those fumes spread across the floor and WHOOF!
It's not like you can just turn off a wood or coal stove.


If you think that's a wood hog you aughta try feeding this one for a season. It's in my buddy's shop and wow does it throw some heat and go through wood but he has a big area too heat.

Anyway bringing this back up too show my heater project finished(well almost) I'm still moving a few cabinets around on that side and have too install the thermostat,fire extinguisher,and co detector away from the heater yet.

I gave the burner a tune up and a clean up pulled the cabinet apart inspected the firebox and heat exchanger all looked good.

I only used 4" ducting straight up and out the roof with a China hat cap. But I couldn't find a 4" draft door thingy so I did without it for now.

The oil pump had a infeed and a return line so 50' of tubing was needed too run too my makeshift tank behind my garage.

I used a 55 gallon plastic drum for the tank.
plumbed in through one of the caps and made a easy vent in the fill cap.

I've yet seal up my doors yet but I have the peices too do so but that's gonna require some outside painting.

So for now I'm happy too say that since it's been up and running it will keep my uninsulated shack of a garage at nice comfortable working temp.

The floor is really what gets ya. That cold concrete is chilly and without nice boots on you don't wanna be out there long.

Since I have the hot air discharge coming out at floor level it helps SO MUCH!

I never intended this too run constantly only when I'm out there I run it. Once I get a ceiling up and some insulation then we will see how much better it works too leave it on.

I have been out a few nites when it was 32 or below outside and I could keep it 70 inside but that's still too much for me working and wearing my coveralls I found 55 degrees is about the sweet spot for me and the heater.

Glad I invested the $50 for this heater and about that much for the install.
So much quieter and fume free than my turbo heater and I'm not worried about melting anything or constantly moving it away from burning anything...but I'll still hang on too that.

Re: garage heater
 

Your furnace from a trailer is called a "downflow/counterflow". In a trailer there is not a basement so the furnace is installed in a closet and the air is pushed down through the floor to the ductwork that sits under the floor. I use the same style of furnace but i purchased new a sealed combustion model and it uses outside air for combustion, heats it up and exhausts the spent gasses out on a separate pipe. If i spill gasoline on the floor the fumes won't be pulled into the firebox and create an explosion!!

My furnace sits on a man made tin box with the opening facing out to the center of the garage. Code says that the burner should be a minimum 24" above the floor, which is where mine sits. Love the heat pouring out at my feet and it's safe.

Remember that if you pull in paint fumes, paint stripper, carb cleaner, etc, into the fire box it will rot out the heat exchanger. The heating industry calls it "haloginated hydrocarbons" (i learned the description in a grainger catalog). Basically it becomes almost a muffler in the fact that a fuel is being burned in a metal chamber that cools down and gets acids inside it and corrodes.

My career as a dealer mechanic of 30 plus years and 5 different locations revealed rotted out overhead modine style heaters in every garage. Carbon monoxide was the first indicator, followed by a flashlight looking at the backside near the fan and would always see flames through pinholes in the metal heat exchanger. Bringing this up to the owners usually fell on deaf ears.

I did some research in the 80's about this and found a local furnace business/installer that told me the story of free hanging modine style heaters would be rotted out in a YEAR in beauty salons. He got tired of warrantying the first heat exchanger and the next year replace the whole unit. This went on for 15 years until he installed a sealed combustion house furnace that pulled OUTSIDE air for combustion. It was a condensing primary and secondary heat exchanger unit made out of stainless steel. He said it was installed 5 years ago and not a service call. I then knew what i wanted for my garage. Mine has been in use every winter for 24 years and never a single problem. What is your safety worth??