# What kind of heater for the garage? (that won't start a fire)



## notdan (Aug 12, 2014)

I need to get some heat in my garage. I'm in the midwest and have a 3 car garage, no windows, with my woodworking setup in the 3rd bay. There isn't any heat in there at all right now. I'd like some sort of heater but I don't want something that will get a little sawdust in it and burn the place down. I do mostly hand tool woodworking, so not too much sawdust flying around. Also would like something reasonably priced, nothing too fancy or crazy. Any suggestions?


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## Woodmaster1 (Apr 26, 2011)

I have a bigmaxx 50000 btu natural gas heater for my 1000sqft garage. I have used it for three years and have had no problems with fire. I keep my garage at 68 degrees all winter. My gas bill only went up $10.00 a month. So $120.00 for the year is worth the comfort. I live in northeast Indiana.


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

A ceiling hung gas fired heater, like the Bigmaxx or a Modine (there are several other brands) would be (and was, and is) my choice. I had one in my last shop, and will have one in the current shop now under construction. I live in NW Ohio, and have no nat gas. Even with LP it's proved to be affordable. My last shop (24×32x8) used between 100-150 gallons a year, and that was keeping it 50º when i' wasn't in there (freestanding shop) and 65º when I was. I'm on there most days for 6-8 hours, when your retired it's best to have a way to give the wife a little space at times.


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## R_Stad (May 9, 2013)

I've used a ceiling hung heater for about 3 yrs and am very happy with it. 2 car garage outbuilding. Instant heat, and off when I'm not in shop. You will need 220 though. Not overly expensive to run. Good luck.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Fahrenheat-5-000-Watt-Unit-Heater-FUH54/202043073


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## notdan (Aug 12, 2014)

Great ideas, thanks guys!


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## DirtyMike (Dec 6, 2015)

If you are in the Midwest I would recommend Gas. I live in the south and I just returned my 5000 watt heater due to minimal impact on cold days (20degrees). The added 100 dollars to the electric bill for the month did not go unnoticed. electric heat just doesn't warm the bones like gas.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

Is it an attached garage? Can you add a baseboard or duct branch to your existing household heating system?


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## RogerM (Oct 31, 2011)

Wood stove and a heat pump.


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

I bought one of these, and instead of hanging it from the ceiling I welded together a roll-around stand for it. I also made up a 25' extension cord for it. If it's real cold, I'll move it around to point towards me when I'm working. 
.
.


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## drcoelho (Jul 4, 2016)

I'm using Cozy CDV155C (www.cozyheaters.com) which has worked out well, and to my knowledge does not introduce fire risk due to its design.


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## Jeff2016 (Jan 13, 2016)

I use a wood burner. My air cleaner is on the opposite side of the shop, and there is a small blower on the wall behind the wood burner to move the heat. I've had no problems with this set up, and nothing heats like wood.


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## them700project (Aug 12, 2015)

The 2 best solutions for heating a garage wood shop are

Hydronic Unit heaters 
Cheap to run, wont add moisture to room, more expensive to purchase and install, really only works if you already have a boiler for the house, and if you will not always have it running glycol in the pipe is highly recommended

Sealed combustion gas unit heater. 
Cheep to run, no ignition source,

I am going through this now as well as a mechanical contractor I want to do a boiler with Unit heater but that will end up costing me about 3000 were i can do the gas unit heater for 1000


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## GreenIsle (Jan 19, 2017)

My garage is also our utility room. A few years back we had a bitterly cold winter. The garage had no heat. The water pipes frooze and sprung a few leaks which flooded the whole area. And on top of that the washing machine broke due to some internal freezing and damage.
I spoke to a local plumber and he recommended getting in a heat lamp.
It's basically a red lamp that emitts heat and has low power consumption. I hung it from the roof of the garage and it hangs down directly beside the water pipes and the back end of the washing machine.
It's incredibly effective. It's on a timer to come on/ off during the night.

The neighbours cat has even settled in next to it as her home. Double bonus…. no mice!


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

My 20 X 20 shop is attached to the home. Fully insulated, dbl. paned windows and insulated doors. NE MS doesn't get brutally cold, and I use the oil filled radiator(s). Been very pleased with the results.
I chose not to have the shop hooked up to the HVAC system due to dust and odor contamination.
Bill


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