DIY or cheap garage heater...any ideas?

[DKAudio]

I live in MN and it has been 0-10 degrees for about a week.

My lower intake manifold gaskets went out on my car, dealer wanted 1.4K to do it. Needless to say I tackled it myself. Cost about $350 in parts but I got her done. At any rate, I borrowed a co-workers propane torpedo heater. In two days it took two tanks, probably ran for a total of 12 hours. That is $46 in propane for 2 days! It got me thinking if there was a better and cheaper way to do it.

These are the ideas I have come up with...

Solar recirculating heater with black heat collecting columns in a enclosed case. Down side is it doesn't heat too well and only works when the sun is out.

Wood burning cast stove. Have been looking on craigslist and cannot afford the 200-300 for one. Otherwise seems like a good way to go, just need wood.

Electric heater, costs too much to run and only have 110V (2 15A circuits).

Natural gas heater, don't have gas lines in my detached garage and again cost to run.



By the way, my garage is standard 2 car with no insulation and thin aluminum doors.

Any ideas? Is there a way I can make my own wood burner? Links to tutorials would be great here too.

[HayZee518]

I made a neet heater out of two 100 lb propane tanks. Their walls are 1/4" thick so they worked out nicely. I cut off one end (valve end) and welded two disks the same diameter as the tanks. I cut one rectangle in each of them and used two door hinges on one side to open the door. I used a sash lock to fasten them shut. At the upper part of the bottom tank is a 1/4" thick smoke shelf. This should meet the lower door plate just slightly above the upper door cutout. The heat and smoke path is - the firebox, back around the steel plate, up thru the front couplings into the upper tank. heat from the smoke is recovered in the upper tank and then back and out the top into a chimney. I heated my whole house with this when I was in New England. I fashioned a plenum and ducted this upward to the first floor with a floor register. I used slabwood (discards) from a local sawmill.

[mrcaptainbob]

Northern Tool has a nice selection of waste oil heaters available. If you have access to waste oil from a local gas station, that wold be a great source of free heat. If the prices put you off, there are quite a number of internet plans available, too to make,

[driz]

Mother Earth: Waste Oil Heater

Babington Burner


Those two ought to give you some ideas. I once tried the wood stove thing with a 24 by 32 garage and its just too cold here in the anus of the planet to have the slow heat do its thing. You need more heat faster when you need it unless you are staying out there all day and not opening the garage door. I now use a simple infared radiant 35K propane heater (coleman) that mounts right on top of the barbecue bottle . I like it since it can be put right behind you and keep yer whatever warm even outdoors if needed with no electricity. Yea I know its shitty propane but sometimes the convenience and just plain raw heat production outweighs the price considerations.
Another thing with wood stoves is that they are illegal by nat code for use in a garage where cars are stored. Not that I don't do worse every day but its pretty hard to hide and deny a wood stove if the place burns down. Of course insurance companies are famous for denying claims for things when something else not related caused the fire if they can find SOME reason. A wood stove is sort of hard to make dissappear after the fact. I spray paint sometimes and of course you can't have a flame running or might wind up pushing daiseys there too so again I like the propane as you can shut it off then restart it again after for quick reheat.
One thing you might try that worked for me is plastic sheeting. Drape off a small section of your garage where you park with plastic sheeting. You can suspend it from a rafter or rail and drop it as needed something like a home made paint booth. That keeps the heat in pretty well and doesn't need much to maintain. Winter sure sux doesn't it. Worst of all thats when most of the car stuff goes to hell.

[DKAudio]

Thanks for the ideas, interesting one Hayzee.

Driz, how long does that 35K BTU radiant last on a tank?

[HayZee518]

DK - I got a single head reddy heat propane heater - on medium I get three ten hour days out of one filling 4.5 gal of propane (small grill tank)

[DKAudio]

Thanks, I was looking at this too...
17-19 hours on high on 20lb tank
Reddy Heater LP Gas Convection Heater — 25,000 BTU, Model# RCP25 | Heaters | Northern Tool + Equipment

[driz]

Originally Posted by DKAudio

Thanks, I was looking at this too...
17-19 hours on high on 20lb tank
Reddy Heater LP Gas Convection Heater — 25,000 BTU, Model# RCP25 | Heaters | Northern Tool + Equipment

Here is what I have. Its 45K but has 2 lower steps which I use a lot. Note it is electric free, no cord to trip over and drag around. I got it in answer to the torpedo propane type with a cord which I hated for many reasons. 125K and it wouldn't SEEM to heat as well as the radiant. It also blew a flame that was concentrated enough to ruin things, the coleman is like a hot sunny day. That is a deal on the construction heater you mention but it only has one setting I can see and it isn't radiant. Mine I just grab by the tank handle and walk around with it where I need it and its out of the way or out in the boonies working fine electric free. No real noise like the torpedo either. I like the way it sits about waist high so its right where you want it and it does angle up and down some. I paid about $95 a few years ago by auction sniping and being patient, they don't seem to go for much under $95 with shipping though. At least that was my experience during Jan feb. The coleman has a nice snap pieze ignition that works well and the safety shut off seems to work very nicely unlike the torpedo which gave me fits quite often. The coleman is pretty vertical and heavy at the bottom so it doesnt get in the way much and doesn't tip over easily at all. I have used mine to heat my house when the power went out and use it all the time to warm it up on cold mornings. It breaks down in about 15 seconds too.
Anyways enough of the sales pitch and I sure don't represent the company as I had a Coleman generator and it was an ABSOLUTE POS. With the clamp on unit though I found something that is handy , portable, and simple which uses no electric. It just works and works really well, just remember with any of these bigger heaters they won't work on less than a barbecue bottle. If you really want to save $$$ get yourself an old 100lb bottle and get it filled in the summer and run off of that. All the gas stations places fill them and most don't look to see the date stamp on the tank. You don't need one of those tip over valves installed in the 100 pounders either. Here one is on Ebay check it out..... gotta go.
eBay