garage heater

The house I moved into in May has a spot for a heater in the garage. It has a natural gas pipe leading down from the ceiling that is currently sealed off.

I’m considering adding a heater to this garage since there wouldn’t have to be any work work building a natural gas line to it. For those that have a garage heater, do you think its worth it, and would you do it again? My garage is already fully insulated, I have a ceiling fan for circulation, and I have good rubber seals on the doors. It stays relatively warm all winter already. I’m just trying to gauge whether it would be worth heating the garage. Thanks

1000% yes

Sounds like you’re all set! I also have the hookup and insulation, but I have some work to do around my doors to make sure they seal up good. I replaced all my stop strips all the way around a couple of years ago. From the outside it looks good but I can still see light coming through from the inside. Gotta find the time to figure that out first. If you’re good to go on the doors, I would pull the trigger in a second.

Best money spent.

Mine stays at 42 degrees unless I’m doing something painting or will be spending a big chunk of time out there, then I bump it to 50.

It’s much easier on vehicles to melt and have easy starts all winter, for the boat, mowers, etc.

The ceiling fan is key. We put 2 massive ones in our garage and haven’t turned them off since we built. It’s amazing how much they help to dry as well as keep warm air down.

I will never own another house without a heater in the garage.

Jake D wrote:

I will never own another house without a heater in the garage.

Same here. The one and only downfall for me is water. If I had a drain in the garage it would be heaven. Especially now during a snow event because I am constantly sweeping water out of the garage from the vehicles melting off.
Otherwise I cant imagine not having one. I can work out there anytime during the cold season. I have cut back a little this year.

Yup! However if I had the option I’d do in floor heat.

The hardest part of installing a garage heater is figuring out the exhaust. If you don’t know what you’re doing definitely hire that part out.

tswoboda wrote:

1000% yes

X2

suzuki wrote:

The one and only downfall for me is water. If I had a drain in the garage it would be heaven. Especially now during a snow event because I am constantly sweeping water out of the garage from the vehicles melting off.

I don’t have a drain in there. But I have the epoxy shield on the concrete floor that was professionally installed last May, so the snow melt/water is easy to squeegee right out of the garage.

Sounds like I need to install the garage heater based on the responses so far.

Best house decision I ever made… go the next size bigger than what the charts say to install… Pay a professional to install it (DJ’s did mine), its not worth saving a few bucks installing yourself only to have your garage/house burn down due to a mistake, they are also a pita to lift and install unless you have the proper hoist tool like the pros do…

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YES!

I have a drain in my garage, I keep mine right at 50. However it will promote salt to activate and cause rusting quicker.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Pay a professional to install it

Ya I wouldn’t be messing around with exhaust pipes or natural gas lines myself.

What is that, a largemouth mount you got hanging below it?

gim wrote:

What is that, a largemouth mount you got hanging below it?

Yes, a family friend who was starting out in the taxedermy field did it for me, I was 9 years old at the time, it was my first 5+ pounder…

Charles wrote:

However it will promote salt to activate and cause rusting quicker.

I was going to ask about that.

Also agree I could never go back to not having a heated garage. I now have infloor heat, a floor drain, and two ceiling fans. Near perfect setup.

There is no better winter luxury than a heated garage. I keep mine at 45 and then turn it up to 55 or so if I’m going to be working out there. Its so nice just jumping into a warm snow free car every morning, drying out ice fishing gear, cleaning fish and game in the winter etc. Just do it, you wont regret it.

As a side note, bigger isn’t always better for these garage heaters. If too big, they can cycle on and off too much and cause premature wear and tear and are also inefficient that way.

Am I the only one with a heated garage that dont park in it. MIne stays at 50 when im not home but around 67 on the weekends and after work. I spend alot of timeout there and kids like to be out there to cause I let them be a little more rammy then in the house.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

go the next size bigger than what the charts say to install…

Don’t do that. That will cause short cycling, which is not good for the motors and heat exchanger. Since it causes the unit to start up and shut down more frequently it puts extra stress on everything and can lead to premature failure of the heater, especially the heat exchanger. It also uses about twice the amount of energy that a properly sized unit would because of this. The correct size or slightly smaller is always the best when installing a heater or AC unit.

I should clarify, use a reputable sizing chart when deciding what model to get for your garage and do the work to figure out your exact square footage…

munchy wrote:

Don’t do that. That will cause short cycling, which is not good for the motors and heat exchanger. Since it causes the unit to start up and shut down more frequently it puts extra stress on everything and can lead to premature failure of the heater, especially the heat exchanger. It also uses about twice the amount of energy that a properly sized unit would because of this. The correct size or slightly smaller is always the best when installing a heater or AC unit.

Yes and no. Mine is over sized and I’m glad it is. Get yourself an adjustable swing thermostat and that will eliminate short cycling problems.

my garage heater is a propane nipco………..

I came from a heated attached garage to an unheated detached garage (I know, I know, WTH)… heat that thing now and don’t look back!

Why would you not put in the heater if it is all set up? Even if you don’t plan on heating it all winter. There will be one day you need it and you will be happy you have it.

Not that you needed it, but here’s another YES!

Sealing the doors was mentioned. By far the most heat is lost around the doors. What are others using for door seals? Standard ones just aren’t cutting it at our place.

My vote would be to do it and not look back. I have been thinking of doing the same and would in a heart beat if my garage ceiling was insulated. I had a buddy a while back that had his heated and they through up insulation between the rafters and tacked up plastic over the insulation I always thought that would cause roof dams but they did not seem to have an issue that I know of.

I love my Modine heater and have for almost 30 years. 5 years ago I put a window air conditioner in and often wonder how I got by with out that.

WS

Mine is heated and I LOVE it. FW really LOVES it. I keep it at 47 unless I’m going to be out there for an extended time. A ceiling fan is a big help also. Love drying out the ice fishing gear.

MX1825 wrote:

Mine is heated and I LOVE it. FW really LOVES it. I keep it at 47 unless I’m going to be out there for an extended time. A ceiling fan is a big help also. Love drying out the <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>ice fishing gear.

yes, I too added a ceiling fan a few years ago and it really helps push all of the heat up by the ceiling down to the rest of the garage.

We had a late 70s house with a heat vent that fed into an insulated attached garage, keeping it in the mid 40s during the winter(with a floor drain). Now we are in an early 80s house with attached uninsulated garage with no floor drain. We asked our heating guy if he could add a vent-like the old house…Nope! Doesn’t meet code nowadays! Eventually we will insulate, but right now it sucks snowblower and vehicle can’t melt, and sweeping snow and water out the door!