Superior Radiant Products - Shop Heater (Rating: 5)

I had debated for a long time to find the best solution to heat my garage shop at home.

Forced air is no good since the filters will be clogged with dust all of the time, and a heater that burns the shop air has too many drawbacks including humidity control, possible fires, and consumption of oxygen in the room.

I decided that whatever heater I get had to use outside air and vent outside. My choice was this radiant tube heater from SRP. I have it hung and in the photo was still testing it, but I already love it. It heats all of the contents of the room first, so the heat is maintained well. The other advantage is the flu system. The flu is two concentric pipes (one inside the other). So there is an outer round duct that brings in fresh air from outside and an inner pipe (like a muffler pipe) that acts as the exhaust. The advantage of a concentric system like this is that I only had to bore one hole in the wall, and as the unit draws air from outside it passes over the inner flu pipe allowing the cold air to be preheated before it gets into the burner.

The install is a 2 man job as the unit is heavy and awkward to hang. No surprise as it is around 10 foot long. also, you do need a tall ceiling for this to be effective. I am lucky to have a 12 foot clearance in my garage. The other thing to keep in mind is that it can be vented wither through the ceiling or with a straight shot through the wall. I had to rent a core drill to bore the hole through the block and brick to install my flu. Be sure to mark it perfectly before you drill as the pipes are rigid and if you are off, you will be sorry.

Finally, you will need a 110 outlet to control the unit and thermostat as well as a 1/2" gas line.

As I said before, this unit has worked perfectly for me and I really recommend it to anyone looking to heat a garage with a high ceiling.