Garage heaters

Zach · Feb 12, 2025

Howdy, just wanted to see what y'all use to keep the shop warm when the weather is not and maybe some suggestions. Up in here in Minnesota its 0 degrees F currently makes it a bit brisk to work out in the garage, and sketchy when I need to spray some paint. Currently just using a portable diesel jet heater, but it is loud and messy. Was thinking about getting a 40,000 some BTU modine hot dawg but haven't pulled the trigger yet. 3 car garage is around 600 square feet with 11ish foot walls, unfortunately only 50ish percent of the walls are insulated.

Moderator73 · Feb 13, 2025

I bought an inexpensive Dr Infrared ceiling mount electric heater (DR-966) & am happy with it. I live in Michigan so maybe not as cold as Minnesota but close. I have a two car garage with two insulated walls and no ceiling insulation. Walls are 9 feet tall so area & volume wise less than you.

It takes this heater about an hour to warm up my garage on high, 6KW. Then I switch it to 3Kw and just let the thermostat manage it.

This works for me but I don’t keep the heat on all winter, only when I’m actively working on my mustang or painting/curing.

They make a bigger one DR-975 (7.5kw) but in my case didn’t think I needed it. After using mine the past four winters it’s done well.

Zach · Feb 13, 2025

Moderator73 said:
I bought an inexpensive Dr Infrared ceiling mount electric heater (DR-966) & am happy with it. I live in Michigan so maybe not as cold as Minnesota but close. I have a two car garage with two insulated walls and no ceiling insulation. Walls are 9 feet tall so area & volume wise less than you.

It takes this heater about an hour to warm up my garage on high, 6KW. Then I switch it to 3Kw and just let the thermostat manage it.

This works for me but I don’t keep the heat on all winter, only when I’m actively working on my mustang or painting/curing.

They make a bigger one DR-975 (7.5kw) but in my case didn’t think I needed it. After using mine the past four winters it’s done well.

How warm does it get for you within that hour? I am aiming for at least 30 some degrees on cold days relatively quickly then my hands will at least be comfortable, I don't need a t shirt and shorts type of heater. What kind of reach does it have, never been near an infrared heater before does it throw heat far? I only work in a part of the garage so it isn't like I need the whole area heated up, if I am able to point it. This is a fraction of the price of the hot dawg I was looking at.
Thanks.

71coop · Feb 13, 2025

I'm running a slightly older version of this heater:

Comfort Zone 10000W

It's good enough to make a 35 X 22 ft garage reasonably comfortable.

Hemikiller · Feb 13, 2025

A friend has a Hot Dawg heater in his oversize two car and is very happy with it. His primary house heat is propane, so it was a no-brainer over electric. His first unit lasted about fifteen years, then a board went and he opted for a new unit over repairing.

rcadd1ct · Feb 13, 2025

I got this for my 2 car garage
https://a.co/d/ieKfTMb

basstrix · Feb 13, 2025

I have a kerosene heater than I pull out of the shed if I'm going to be in the garage several days in a row when it's cold. I'm in the Phoenix area, so it never gets very cold, to begin with.

73pony · Feb 13, 2025

Before you buy a hot dawg or other heater, I would consider the following...

Finish the insulation, this will alone make a huge difference.

Then look into installing a Heat Pump Mini Split. Cost is reasonable and it will give you efficient heat and as a bonus AC in the summer.

rvrtrash · Feb 13, 2025

73pony said:
Before you buy a hot dawg or other heater, I would consider the following...

Finish the insulation, this will alone make a huge difference.

Then look into installing a Heat Pump Mini Split. Cost is reasonable and it will give you efficient heat and as a bonus AC in the summer.

I agree. Step 1 is to insulate the walls and ceiling. Once that's done, the heat from the house will keep it warmer, and you won't be wasting the heat from whatever heat source you use. Consider getting an insulated garage door as well. My current garage was uninsulated, except for the shared wall with the house. I insulated and sheet rocked the remaining walls and ceiling, and put insulation in the garage door panels. When it's 0 out, my garage is at about 37 degrees. The downside of the aftermarket insulation (fiberglass batt) is that it collects moisture which freezes, making the garage door really heavy, so I'm replacing the door this coming summer. Currently -3 here in Spirit Lake, Id.

TommyK · Feb 13, 2025

I agree with rvrtrash that insulation is step 1. You will need less heater and use less energy over time if you properly insulate. I heat an oversize 2 car garage with 10 foot ceilings with a little 4000 watt 240V electric heater which will usually keep the temps in the 50's. If it is really cold out or I need the garage warmed up in a hurry, I have a propane torpedo heater which I will put on for 20-30 minutes and then the electric keeps up. I have insulated doors, R-19 in the walls and R-30 in the ceiling with an un-insulated attic space above. I put plastic up around the stairwell going to the attic in the winter to keep the heat from rising up the stairwell. I have less than $300 into the 2 heaters and 30 bucks worth of plastic and it keeps it as warm as I need it on the weekends. I don't run it continuously so not much impact on the electric bill.

Zach · Feb 13, 2025

Yeah I have put some thought into finishing the insulation, the ceiling has a bedroom above it from the house so it should be insulated already luckily. Only issue is that the drywall is already up and we have shelves made. House was made 7 years ago so I was only 14ish didn’t think I’d be this deep into cars by know otherwise we would’ve made a lot of changes. So we would need the insulation to be blown and I’m not sure how nicely that will turn out. Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

73pony · Feb 13, 2025

Zach said:
Yeah I have put some thought into finishing the insulation, the ceiling has a bedroom above it from the house so it should be insulated already luckily. Only issue is that the drywall is already up and we have shelves made. House was made 7 years ago so I was only 14ish didn’t think I’d be this deep into cars by know otherwise we would’ve made a lot of changes. So we would need the insulation to be blown and I’m not sure how nicely that will turn out. Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

Blow in cellulose is easy and works well. You can rent the machine at any Menards/Home Depot type store.

Ryunker · Feb 13, 2025

I have a 10k watt electric heater here in the sunshine state of South Dakota, zero degrees for the high today. It heats and maintains 1,000 square feet garage 9' ceilings well.

Moderator73 · Feb 13, 2025

Zach said:
How warm does it get for you within that hour? I am aiming for at least 30 some degrees on cold days relatively quickly then my hands will at least be comfortable, I don't need a t shirt and shorts type of heater. What kind of reach does it have, never been near an infrared heater before does it throw heat far? I only work in a part of the garage so it isn't like I need the whole area heated up, if I am able to point it. This is a fraction of the price of the hot dawg I was looking at.
Thanks.

Hey Zach...sorry for my delay in responding...been traveling all day. I would say in the first hour the temp will go up between 18-22 degrees from it's starting point based on my Thermometer. Here's a picture of my set up below, and let me explain. The wall my garage heater, thermostat and wall clock/Thermometer are adjacent to the living room on the other side. This is an insulated wall. The wall the left of this picture is an uninsulated outside wall. The Wall to the right is an insulated wall adjacent to living spaces. Of course the other wall has the overhead door and is uninsulated. The ceiling is not insulated directly over the garage but the attic space is all connected and is insulated over the living spaces.

So if you look at my Thermometer/Clock in the picture, it shows 39 degrees right now next to the mud room door going into the house. Right now it's 14 outside so this is a naturally warmer part of my garage from the house heat. When I turn on my heater, it'll climb to 60 degrees in an hour from this point. So in an hour it'll go up between about 18 - 22 degrees. I usually set it at 65 fyi.

This is the optional Dr Heater Thermostat I installed, and it works really well. Just as note though...the way this works you run full heater amperage through the thermostat and then back to the heater so you need 8 gauge wire for all this.

https://www.amazon.com/Infrared-Heater-DR-001-Thermostat-3360-7756W/dp/B07VQNVXNZ

Since an Infrared heater heats objects and not the air, it takes awhile to fully warmup the tools/car/etc to really equalize the "air" to feel warm. Sometimes, I have another small portable/floor "Convection Heater" in the opposite corner of the garage from the ceiling heater. With both of these on, the temp indicated is the same (about 60-65) but I'm wearing a tee shirt.

Your other question about the "reach", I'd say the way I have my louvers set it reaches around 16-18 feet initially, but it grows from there to warm the whole garage if you leave it on.

Good luck with whatever you decide. It's a great gift to yourself

Bob

Zach · Feb 13, 2025

Moderator73 said:
Hey Zach...sorry for my delay in responding...been traveling all day. I would say in the first hour the temp will go up between 18-22 degrees from it's starting point based on my Thermometer. Here's a picture of my set up below, and let me explain. The wall my garage heater, thermostat and wall clock/Thermometer are adjacent to the living room on the other side. This is an insulated wall. The wall the left of this picture is an uninsulated outside wall. The Wall to the right is an insulated wall adjacent to living spaces. Of course the other wall has the overhead door and is uninsulated. The ceiling is not insulated directly over the garage but the attic space is all connected and is insulated over the living spaces.

So if you look at my Thermometer/Clock in the picture, it shows 39 degrees right now next to the mud room door going into the house. Right now it's 14 outside so this is a naturally warmer part of my garage from the house heat. When I turn on my heater, it'll climb to 60 degrees in an hour from this point. So in an hour it'll go up between about 18 - 22 degrees. I usually set it at 65 fyi.

This is the optional Dr Heater Thermostat I installed, and it works really well. Just as note though...the way this works you run full heater amperage through the thermostat and then back to the heater so you need 8 gauge wire for all this.

https://www.amazon.com/Infrared-Heater-DR-001-Thermostat-3360-7756W/dp/B07VQNVXNZ

Since an Infrared heater heats objects and not the air, it takes awhile to fully warmup the tools/car/etc to really equalize the "air" to feel warm. Sometimes, I have another small portable/floor "Convection Heater" in the opposite corner of the garage from the ceiling heater. With both of these on, the temp indicated is the same (about 60-65) but I'm wearing a tee shirt.

Your other question about the "reach", I'd say the way I have my louvers set it reaches around 16-18 feet initially, but it grows from there to warm the whole garage if you leave it on.

Good luck with whatever you decide. It's a great gift to yourself

Bob

Sweet, thanks for the details. Might be the option we go for, I have the diesel heater for a quick warm up if I need it, I just dislike having it on when I am out there cause of the sound and fumes.

tony-muscle · Feb 13, 2025

I have a fully insulated garage here in Wisconsin with a Lennox Hotshot gas unit. It is 22 y/o and counting. The garage door weather seals started to break so this summer I will fix that so I don't loose that much heat. Still, even after insulating, there are small gaps between the door and rail that open up when it is windy out. So it is not perfect! With all that, I keep the temperature at 50 all the time, and then raise it to 55 at night while I am working out there. I have no idea how much that is costing but probably not cheap with the winters here. However, I get a lot accomplish during the winter. Right now it is zero out and the garage is at 50.

Bentworker · Feb 13, 2025

Same as everyone else.
Insulate.
Seal the perimeter of your roll up doors.
See what your local building department will allow for heat sources. A mini split is a good option. I was able to get a permit for a pellet stove contingent on it having a fresh air intake and being at least 2’ off the floor.

I really enjoy the pellet stove. Lots of BTUs, controlled by a thermostat and just like a wood stove you can hang out near it to warm up.

Regional electricity / fuel costs play into your choice. I live in an area with higher electric costs, but I can get a ton of pellets for $300 that keeps me toasty for a season.

jpaz · Feb 14, 2025

I have a Trane gas forced air furnace in my garage. I keep it at 60 all the time, it’s really nice and I’m very fortunate to have that set up. I do keep it on the warm side cause not only do I have the Mach 1 in there, but I also have my embroidery shop in there too. So with the electronic stuff and the embroidery machines I keep it pretty warm. I used to use electric heaters but in the winter they were very expensive, can’t imagine how much it would cost now. I even put a thermostat in that I can control with my phone. My garage is detached from the house so it really nice to be able to turn heat up or down from in the house. Not really sure how much it cost per month but it is way cheaper than electric. But like others have said you have to go with what is available and practical for your situation.

MikeGriese · Feb 14, 2025

My shop is insulated, so I went ahead and installed an air to air heat pump. Heat in the winter, AC in the summer.

tony-muscle · Feb 14, 2025

MikeGriese said:
My shop is insulated, so I went ahead and installed an air to air heat pump. Heat in the winter, AC in the summer.

Not to go off topic but can you expand on what you did, which brand, how much work was it, how efficient is it?

Garage heaters

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