I've been using a kerosene salamander type heater for the last few years - smelly, noisy, etc. Today I was in the garage beginning another winter project on the '69 and started thinking about a better heating system. What do you folks use and like? At some point I'll be at the paint phase and was wondering about how to heat without a fire hazard. I'd like to keep the warm months for driving, if possible. Thanks.

A few years back I borrowed a friend's kerosene jet-engine/salamander type heater. It was smelly, noisy, etc. More recently, I needed one again and I went to the Home Depot and bought my own. Same type of heater but I bought a smaller one. It's actually pretty good and a world of difference from the old one. I think the old one was too large (which generated too much noise) and also badly in need of a tune up - which may have something to do with the smell.

In any event, it works great and there's very little smell. If I could afford it I would install a garage/commercial gas heater - the kind that hang from the ceiling.

However, you really can't have paint fumes around any of these unless you want to blow your house and garage into the neighbor's yard!

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Scott
'69 400SB, Richmond 5-speed; '99 HD Road King Classic
www.geocities.com/sdenning1 (http://www.geocities.com/sdenning1)

i have an oil furnace in my and love it. but my father heats his shop w/ a gas furnace and its even better. i went for years w/the type heater you,re talking about and compared to the two i,ve just mentioned [oranges to apples]i always smelled those things and stayed sick alot.GET RID OF IT.even if you don,t smell it believe me its doing damage.i wouldn,t go back to one of them if someone bought me a brand new one and furnished all the fuel.

Since I want to avoid any fire hazard, does this mean having an external ( to the building ) heating unit if I want to paint, etc? I have a detached garage so it's not as simple as running ductwork.

I really don't know what the ideal solution is. Even if your garage is attached to your house you can't run ductwork from your house furnace out there - the danger of sucking carbon monoxide and/or other fumes into the house is too great.

When I paint, I get everything ready while the heater is running (being very careful about mixing paints or using solvents). Then I let the heater run for a while until the garage and everything in it is pretty warm. I shut off the heater and spray and then leave it all shut up for a while until the paint sets up. Then I open up the garage and let the fumes dissipate before I fire the heater back up. This only works if your garage is insulated and it's not so cold that it instantly cools off. I've had pretty good luck this way but I don't even try if it's down in the low 20's or below.

One option may be to rent some booth time at your local paint and body shop. I have been able to do that occasionally - especially if the body guys are working Saturday but the painter is not.

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Scott
'69 400SB, Richmond 5-speed; '99 HD Road King Classic
www.geocities.com/sdenning1 (http://www.geocities.com/sdenning1)

Just be careful of any heating system you try out in the garage. Here in Sacramento, a firefighter friend of mine went out on a call a while back where a few people died in their sleep using propane space heaters indoors. I know it's a little different situation, but taking caution with any kind of system using a fuel burning source in an enclosed environment is important. Also, I turn off my gas water heater whenever I paint inside my garage. Sometimes you forget about the pilot light and the paint fumes.

I currently have a fuel oil heater and don't want to remember what it was like without it. Of course mine was made in the 40's. Are there any manufacturers that still make fuel oil heaters??

It seems like I should put a clean burning system in ( to eliminate fumes from a health point of view ) and shut it off if I paint or clean with solvents that would have combustible fumes. A person I know has a propane fueled salamander type heater boxed into a small enclosure outside his garage with ductwork to the inside.

When I built my new garage I installed a Reznor forced-air gas unit heater, suspended from the ceiling in the corner, ducted/vented directly outdoors through the wall. To avoid pilot flame problems, I specified the burner with electronic ignition so there is no ignition source unless the unit is actually cycling. It's controlled with a normal wall thermostat, but the main power switch is right over my workbench so I can deactivate it if I'm working with solvents. Works like gangbusters, no fumes, no CO; garage is super-insulated with finished interior walls, so it doesn't cycle very often anyway.

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JohnZ
'69 Z28 Fathom Green

The only cure-all is an infra-red tube heater with an exterior heat element and exhaust. There is no open flame, no exhaust in the garage and it's up and out of the way. You MUST use reflectors for heat direction and it too should be turned off while spraying because the tubes get hot.
This type heater heats objects and they in turn heat the air around them so all surfaces heat first and then the surfaces heat the surounding air so the first thing to warm up is your car. Any heating supply house will have information on them and they cost more than conventional heaters. They also are controlled by a regular house thermostat.

An electrician friend of mine fixed me up with an electric garage heater. This thing is a 12" cube, and hangs above my workbench. It needs a 30 amp 220 line, and has a fan and thermostat. It does a great job, and cost less than $200 at an electrical supply house.

I have a heating system that is what I feel as close to perfect as you can get. It is a 75000 btu Hot dog by Modine. The hot dog doesn't have a pilot like most units, it has a wire or something that will get cherry red before it lites the burners. It is a low profile that hangs close to the ceiling, it exhausts throught the side of the wall instead of the roof to prevent leaks and moisture from getting inside. It heats a 24x40 insulated building like it doesn't even run hard. There are ventless furness' out there, but they will require dehumidifiers, because they will really make things damp in the building.

If you're real cheap like me, buy a $25 electric that plugs into the 120v wall outlet. Mine works great as long as you work while sitting on it. Just be careful not to catch your axx on fire. Gotta save that money for the big block. (kidding of course)

oil heaters are just that oil. and the burn heat has a oil in it. you talking about "fisheye" get your heat in a room to itself and duct heat over to were you will be painting at. be carefull

I have the Slimline Reznor with side vent which you can get to use in an area with fumes.It's an enclosed fire box or something.

Although this is of no real practicle value;
the ultimate heating is hot water or steam pipes running thru your concrete floor. I used to work in a airplane hanger and that's what it used. The heat radiates up past you no matter where your at. Very safe and very comfortable; especially if you have to lay/sit/kneel on the floor for long periods.
If I has to build another shop from scratch, I think I would try it.

Here in Arizona I just open the shop doors .

69 camaro, NFG TPI 5.0

Yes, I did, too. Then I froze my a** off!

When I lived in Nebraska back in 75 I had a one car garage that I heated with a welded up 18" boiler pipe that burned wood. This was before everyone had fireplaces and I couldn't afford a chainsaw so every night after work I would remove a section of the white picket fence in the back yard and burn it. Well that fence lasted long enough for me to srip the paint from my '68 SS 396 and get it ready for my buddy to paint in his wood stove heated garage. I can't remember if he had a fence in his yard or not.

John

A few of my bud's an i use oil furnace out of mobile trailer seems to work fine for us..

Eric68,

My kinda guy!!!

Sounds like something I would do. LOL. pdq67

I am the same as JimM, I use one of those 12" cube electric heaters with a thermostat and as long as your garage is well insulated you can't beat it.

When my brother in law remodeled his house I got the old house heater and put it in my garage. Low initial investment and lots of heat. He put the water heat through piping in the floor. Lucky bug.

TTFN
Mat

JimM, how large an area do you heat? My garage is 24x28 with 10' ceiling. It's insulated and finished.Would your electric heater do the job?

RickD,the section of garage that I heat with one of those 12" cube electric heaters is 25'x35'x10' and once you get it warmed up theres no problem keeping it warm. One thing I did also was to seal the garage door with duct tape. As you can see I don't need to open the big door until spring.

I also have a 25x40 i warm up with salamander while the wood stove heats up stays very warm if you don't mind cutting some wood.But i heat my small garage same as your's with mobile trailer oil heater work's great!

It all depends on your budget. Like everything else, you get what you pay for. I talked to a heating guy about my 24'x40'x10' shop and for $2500, you can paint and everything else you would want to do. Unfortunately my budget doesn't allow it. I am leaning towards a Reznor hanging unit.

BOB

Just for info. I have a house furnace, 100,000 BTU input that uses fuel oil. Also have a 55,000 BTU torpedo kerosene heater. The small heater puts out twice as much heat as the furnace seems like. When I first go out, say 20 degrees inside, I'll open the door a little, fire up the heater and blow the startup fumes out the door, and shut the door. Really has no smell to speak of. After about 10 minutes I shut off the heater and the furnace will do the job easy. Fuel oil and kerosene are getting expensive though. Costs me about 6 bucks a day for a typical Sunday in the garage.

My Reznor ceiling-hung unit is Model FT-125, 125,000 BTU, heats 46'x 58'x 12' finished/insulated garage with no problem. With outside temps in low single digits (and below zero at night) with heat shut off overnight, it's about 55 in the morning. Turn heat on, takes about 40 minutes to bring it up to 70, and I shut it off. I only cycle it about three times for the rest of the day and night to keep it above 60. Doors are insulated, also insulated under concrete before floor was poured. Nice and comfy, no clammy floor.

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JohnZ
'69 Z28 Fathom Green

Nothing beats hot water heat in the floor. You can lay on the cement when its -30 outside. Its pretty pricey but very energy effient.

What's a garage heater? http://www.camaros.net/forum/biggrin.gif

Keeps the alligators and noseeums warm??