Garage Heater on/off Frequency?

Just curious what’s a normal/typical garage heater on/off frequency? I know the outside temp dictates how quickly the temp falls in a garage which then kick the heater back on based on your thermostat settings, but let’s just use today’s temp as an example.

-10 outside right now and my 65k BTU Reznor garage heater is cycling on/off every 30-33 minutes, it then runs for 5-6 minutes to keep the inside temp I have set at 50 degress (per my thermostat mounted to an inside wall about 8′ up from the garage floor)

I have a 1,000+ sqr ft 3 deep stall garage with 13′ ceilings fully insulated and a ceiling fan in the middle pushing the hot air down, is my heater cycling on/off every 30 or so minutes pretty typical?

I found the moment I put R30 worth of loose fill in the roof of the garage, the heater hardly ever kicks in. its pretty unbelievable.

I set my garage t-stat at +/- 3. Slowed the cycling way down. Does run a little longer when it does run though.

That sounds reasonable. I just installed a 50k in my 3 stall 900sq ft insulated and it cycles about that often. Curious to see my heat bill this month after leaving it at 50-55 all month. 65k sounds reasonable for that size garage, 5-6 minutes doesn’t sound like a short cycle. With 13′ ceilings, I’d suggest adding a ceiling fan or two to push that warm air down and circulate it better.

luttes wrote:

That sounds reasonable. I just installed a 50k in my 3 stall 900sq ft insulated and it cycles about that often. Curious to see my heat bill this month after leaving it at 50-55 all month. 65k sounds reasonable for that size garage, 5-6 minutes doesn’t sound like a short cycle. With 13′ ceilings, I’d suggest adding a ceiling fan or two to push that warm air down and circulate it better.

yep, I just added a 52″ fan this fall

Mine runs about 8-10 more mutes (ish) every hour and a half or so. Stiff wind into the OH door will cause it more frequently. Search out any air leaks and seal them. Also, your OH door in addition to your wall and ceiling Rvalue makes. Difference. Doesn’t make sense when you see R-19 walls and an R-5 door and poor seals

What kind of thermostat do you have? Digital or old style mercury?

Don Carlisle wrote:

What kind of thermostat do you have? Digital or old style mercury?

Digital

Our ongoing build has a 920sq. ft 3 stall garage with 11′ ceilings.

We are tentatively planning to have a 50k-60k BTU unit and going heavy on the insulation. We are installing 2 ceiling fans that will run around the clock during heating season. I don’t ever see setting the thermostat over ~40-45 degrees unless it’s some extended Winter gathering in the garage.

Our doors are whatever the highest R-Value midland garage doors come in. Our contractor said regardless of what you spend on garage doors or how precisely they are installed, they are moving large doors that shift over time and have air leaks and that’s life. Buy a quality jamb seal that stays flexible and keep an eye on them. Anyone who thinks their garage with 30′ doors will be as efficient as their house is mistaken. He encouraged efficient fans to help balance heat and ultimately save on heating costs in the long run.

Get a lux brand thermostat with a adjustable swing from menards for about $25. I got one in my fish shack, garage and house

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OK good the old style you had to set the up for the amp draw from the gas valve. Too keep them from short cycling.

With an insulated garage ( roof and walls) and no heater my stays around 33-38 degrees.
Would a ceiling fan help even more by circulating the air or would that not make a difference?

With an insulated garage ( roof and walls) and no heater my stays around 33-38 degrees.
Would a ceiling fan help even more by circulating the air or would that not make a difference?

buckybadger wrote:

Our ongoing build has a 920sq. ft 3 stall garage with 11′ ceilings.

We are tentatively planning to have a 50k-60k BTU unit and going heavy on the insulation. We are installing 2 ceiling fans that will run around the clock during heating season. I don’t ever see setting the thermostat over ~40-45 degrees unless it’s some extended Winter gathering in the garage.

Our doors are whatever the highest R-Value midland garage doors come in. Our contractor said regardless of what you spend on garage doors or how precisely they are installed, they are moving large doors that shift over time and have air leaks and that’s life. Buy a quality jamb seal that stays flexible and keep an eye on them. Anyone who thinks their garage with 30′ doors will be as efficient as their house is mistaken. He encouraged efficient fans to help balance heat and ultimately save on heating costs in the long run.

I adjust my doors at least every other year depending on how the seal is. You can adjust them to get a better connection to the seal. I know it probably helps only minimally but I believe it does help. When I first started doing it there were some pretty big gaps i could see and feel.

After getting the current gas bill think im shutting mine off. Dont think the garage is the problem when they said natural gas is up 80% since september.

JEREMY wrote:

After getting the current gas bill think im shutting mine off. Dont think the garage is the problem when they said natural gas is up 80% since september.

Heck, look at my Nat Gas cost range over the last year.

HRG

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Coletrain27 wrote:

Get a lux brand thermostat with a adjustable swing from menards for about $25. I got one in my fish shack, garage and house

What is the temp swing difference between the wide and narrow?

Umy wrote:

With an insulated garage ( roof and walls) and no heater my stays around 33-38 degrees.

Does your garage still stay that warm when its below zero out? I have a fully insulated non-heated attached garage and it stays about 20 degrees warmer than the outside. So if its -15 degrees outside, its only a few degrees above zero in my garage.

Do tell…

You use way less then me. Mine was like 285 therms. Said it had current rate adj of .28 a therm. Thats like $85 extra increase in 1 month

gim wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Umy wrote:</div>
With an insulated garage ( roof and walls) and no heater my stays around 33-38 degrees.

Does your garage still stay that warm when its below zero out? I have a fully insulated non-heated attached garage and it stays about 20 degrees warmer than the outside. So if its -15 degrees outside, its only a few degrees above zero in my garage.

Do tell…

in my experiance, before my heater was installed, my insulated garage was always about 30 degrees warmer than the outside temp, so yes, when it got really cold outside, it was below freezing in my garage…

Just a quick update, this morning (+10 degrees) was about 20 degrees WARMER compared to yesterday morning (-10 degrees) and the heater on/off frequency was 36 minutes apart (this is about 8 or so minutes longer than yesterday)…and as the temps this morning get warmer and warmer, the gap has increased about 2 minutes longer for every 5 degrees warmer it gets..it will likely stay off for long durations now until it get cold again.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

in my experiance, before my heater was installed, my insulated garage was always about 35-40 degrees warmer than the outside temp, so yes, when it got really cold outside, it was below freezing in my garage…

Thanks. My house was built in 2012, the garage is fully insulated and sheet rocked, and I have a good seal with the garage door. Other than adding a heater, I don’t think I can keep it any warmer during the winter in there than it already is, but I just thought I’d ask in case I was missing something.

You’ve likely got your stat placement correct; as you don’t want it on an exterior wall. One thing that many don’t take into account when looking at whether or not their garage heaters are short cycling is the slab temp. If you leave your garage door open for a long period of time, you’ll see heat loss off your slab and it takes a long time for that temp to recover using a forced air heating source.

Charles wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Coletrain27 wrote:</div>
Get a lux brand thermostat with a adjustable swing from menards for about $25. I got one in my fish shack, garage and house

What is the temp swing difference between the wide and narrow?

I don’t remember off the top of my head but I think the max is 4 or 4.5 degrees. I keep mine on the max for my garage

I have a 2 1/2 car attached garage. We put garage floor carpet down and that makes a big difference. Temp is set at 65 and it costs about $350 per year to heat it. I think it cost $300 to carpet it 10 years ago.
Well worth it IMO.
WKW

wkw wrote:

I have a 2 1/2 car attached garage. We put garage floor carpet down and that makes a big difference. Temp is set at 65 and it costs about $350 per year to heat it. I think it cost $300 to carpet it 10 years ago.
Well worth it IMO.
WKW

I’ve never heard of garage floor carpet other than runners or tiles. Is yours one piece? What do you do about moisture/melt from vehicles?

gim wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Umy wrote:</div>
With an insulated garage ( roof and walls) and no heater my stays around 33-38 degrees.

Does your garage still stay that warm when its below zero out? I have a fully insulated non-heated attached garage and it stays about 20 degrees warmer than the outside. So if its -15 degrees outside, its only a few degrees above zero in my garage.

Do tell…

When it’s below zero it does get a little colder – the worst I have seen is between 29 and 30 but generally speaking MOST of the winter it is warm enough to melt everything and keep it civil. Thats why I was wondering if a ceiling fan might help even if it is not heated. Seemed like the conversation headed that way at one time. I suppose it’s possible I have more insulation, face a different direction, don’t have as good a thermometer….

wkw wrote:

I have a 2 1/2 car attached garage. We put garage floor carpet down and that makes a big difference. Temp is set at 65 and it costs about $350 per year to heat it. I think it cost $300 to carpet it 10 years ago.
Well worth it IMO.
WKW

Carpet in the garage? Sounds like a nightmare. I must be picturing it wrong

We use the garage as another “room” and hardly ever put vehicles in.
But when we do the melt and crud dries and I run the shop-vac over it.
Check Menards for different kinds.