So I'm looking at getting a heater for the garage. I have $400 on my Lowes card and was hoping someone could point me in the right direction or give me some advice as to what heater I could get for that price... If any. My garage is 504 square feet and has a ceiling height that goes from 9ft and tapers to 8ft. I want to be able to heat the garage enough to do body work and possibly even paint. Is there a heater that would heat that size of a garage for around $400 even? Any input is very appreciated as always. :) I'm just trying to find a way to get ahead and not have to wait for spring temperatures...

Calculate your cubic feet, and buy one accordingly. You will not need a large one for the size you have.

Just look at the electric vs. fuel burning models.

Originally posted by CODE4
Calculate your cubic feet, and buy one accordingly. You will not need a large one for the size you have. Just look at the electric vs. fuel burning models.

I checked at garage heater calculator and it says I need a 25608 BTU/hr - 7500 Watts. Can't seem to find one at Lowes. Anyone have a similar size garage and have a heater they would recommend? I'm kind of wondering if I split the difference into two heaters and put them on opposite ends of the garage for more uniform heating. hmmm. My garage is 4,536cu. ft.

My suggestion would be to find something like this...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DURA-HEAT-DFA210CV-210-000-BTU-KEROSENE-PORTABLE-FORCED-AIR-COMM-TORPEDO-HEATER-/360414118301#vi-content

When I was rebuilding my motor several years back in the winter in my dad's friends garage he had a similar salamander/torpedo heater that he ran with a thermostat and it would kick on/off as needed. It worked very nicely.

I'm with Cas. We had one of those in our garage in MO, just a little bigger than that model. -15º outisde with the doors open, no problem. Those designs are really the way to go vs ceramic element models that look like box fans.

I was looking at getting two smaller ones just like that to put one on each end of the garage.. Think they will suffice for painting? Also, exactly how much ventilation is needed for those things, I don't have much experience with kerosene heaters... Thanks for the help guys!

Originally posted by Red90Sev
I was looking at getting two smaller ones just like that to put one on each end of the garage.. Think they will suffice for painting? Also, exactly how much ventilation is needed for those things, I don't have much experience with kerosene heaters... Thanks for the help guys!

Torpedo forced air kerosene heaters (aka salamander heaters)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JQMFZQ/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000TKC7HU&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=19CVWX2M6B554N6EEHKF



WARNING!

Do NOT have these heaters running while you have any solvents in use and not for a good while after spraying until you have fresh, clear air. Even if the solvents have dissipated to the point where a fire or explosion is not likely you still run the risk of burning a host of residual chemicals such as the catalysts that are found in automotive paint.



If painting with a kerosene heater in use, heat the area well before spraying and then shut down the heaters as you begin. After spraying, let the solvents flash off while the garage area slowly cools and the paint begins to cure. Air out the spray area throughly before re-lighting the heater.

The fumes from even trace amounts of some chemicals being burned could seriously damage your lungs. Brake clean solvents come to mind as a particularly nasty thing you NEVER want to burn and breath due to the nasty gasses created when it burns.

http://www.brewracingframes.com/id75.htm.

Glad people are bringing up safety here too. It's not a bad idea to have a couple carbon monoxide detectors in your house.

The warning Dave put up also covers you welders out there. Welding near open fluids (such as brake cleaner) can be deadly. EDIT - I should have looked at Dave's link first :)

Originally posted by ez
Glad people are bringing up safety here too. It's not a bad idea to have a couple carbon monoxide detectors in your house. The warning Dave put up also covers you welders out there. Welding near open fluids (such as brake cleaner) can be deadly. EDIT - I should have looked at Dave's link first :)

Buy a respirator from Harbor Frieght and as for welding. Never use brake cleaner/carb cleaner as solvent to clean the part you're going to weld. It will kill you.

Do a price comparison on the biggest electric heater within budget means. Checkout walmart, lowes, homedepot, harbor frieght. If you're lucky craigslist, you might an industrial/restuarant heater.

Nice, bike ez. Do you have a baseball card on the back tire, give that motorcycle sound. :7

Originally posted by dalesmitsu
Nice, bike ez. Do you have a baseball card on the back tire, give that motorcycle sound. :7

Thanks :) Actually it does look like a big kids bike, but I love it like I'm a big kid. One goal of mine was to prevent any sound at all. The electric motor is totally silent and I injected grease into the freewheel to make it silent too. It moves like a ninja now. Works for me because I get home faster than in the 2g in traffic, and I don't give a single penny to oil regimes :P

@azdave, :love the clean white 1g laser. Do you have the rare porn red interior.

Thanks for all of the replies guys, I'm in the process of looking at getting a pellet stove possibly. I'm hoping to get it for about $300 which would be awesome since it's worth well over $1k. Otherwise, I'll probably be getting one of the kerosene heaters some of you have posted up.

Originally posted by dalesmitsu
@azdave, :love the clean white 1g laser. Do you have the rare porn red interior.

Nope...standard tan interior. Pics make the car look cleaner than it really is.