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Triumph TR6 - Garage heater

Hi Guys,

I know that this is not strictly to do with TR6's but I would appreciate some opinions as to the best type of heater to use in "Joe the plumbers" garage.Sitting on concrete at -30 is a tad uncomfortable.
In-floor heating is out as the slab is already laid. The options here in Calgary are largely forced air or radiant heat. Both gas fired, as electricity aint cheap in this part of the world.
Cheers. Neil P.
Neil Peniston

Neil- Here's mine

DON KELLY

Here it is in my little shop

DON KELLY

Hi Neil... my brother-in-law has an Orbis Wall Mount propane heater which does a great job and does not take up a lot of space. I think it's 15 or 18 thousand BTU's. I am assuming that a jet / nozzle conversion can switch it to natural gas. I'm told it is also safe for woodworking too since the ignition is enclosed and cannot ignite airborne sawdust.

Ken
Ken Shaddock

Hi Don/Ken

Thanks for the reply. Don, your set up sure looks neat.

What I want to know is which is more effective, the radiant heater or forced air heater?

Anyone have experience with both?

Regards. Neil.
Neil Peniston

Hi Neil. Yes, I have both. Radiant on the ceiling and a small forced air unit on the floor. Radiant heat will warm objects in the room (including you) which in turn will warm the room but not as effectively as forced air in my experience. At my work bench I have an overhead radiant heater (about $100) and as long as I'm standing within close proximity it's quite warm. I stand on interlocking foam matts to improve foot comfort. If I move to another part of the garage/shop though that area is cold. Come to think of it, if moved the unit was directly above the car I may be able to get away with it only.

However, when I'm crawing around the car this winter I'll have a cheapie 750/1500W forced air unit ($30)nearby blowing warm air in my direction.

If I had the space I'd put in an Orbis forced air direct vent gas heater, turn it on when I make the coffee, and by the time I'm ready to roll up my sleeves the shop would be comfortable. BTW, my garage / shop is insulated including the sectional doors. These Orbis units are closer to $2000 where I live... last time I checked them out about 3 years back. Hope this helps.

Ken
Ken Shaddock

The problem with the forced air is you get cold when it is off. The system has a fan that can be loud.
The system I have heats the shop area of my garage nicely. Being my shop is close to 1300sq. the part where I park my daily drivers does not get as warm.
I use a very small oscillating fan to move some of the warmth around. this photo shows the 2 parts of the shop


DON KELLY

The best system I have worked with is a hydronic system (hot water circulated in floor). It is clean ,efficient (providing the controls <TEKMAR> and engineering are properly done)and very comfortable as the heat is in the slab and rises evenly... dissipating as it rises, keeping feet warm and head cooler. Open the door, bring in the wet car, close up the shop and the place is warm again almost immediately and the wet areas on the floor dry off very quickly along with the whole car. Cooled water can be circulated in the summer months to cool the slab and air too. My last shop had this system and I would recommend it to anyone building or doing a serious renovation. Currently I am out in the cold like a lot of fellows...hoping to build again soon with hydronics and 3 bays.

Rob
Rob Gibbs

Rob- Next garage that is my plan
DON KELLY

I have a little forced air Lennox unit that hangs from the ceiling and works great. I set it to keep the garage at 4-5C until I want to work in it.

The year I installed it in the garage (detached), I found a bug in the house thermostat. When I fixed it, the improved efficiency of the house furnace, paid to heat the garage compared to the previous 3 years. I thought it was a good deal!!

SID
Sid Turner

Hello,

I have a 16'x24' garage on a concrete slab and here in Québec city it is often -30 during winter. I heat it with a building heater and could work on my TR6 with only a T-Shirt. I use a remote thermostat to control heater. Less that $100 for the whole set-up.

Cheers
J. G. Catford

Oups I forgot to upload image...

JGC

J. G. Catford

JGC

Looks like that puppy requires 30AMP service.

Ken
Ken Shaddock

Yes ken,,
It needs such Amp.. But any system will cost $ to heat a garage. Neil has an economy perspective in mind. All systems could be adequate, but for économy purpose, the best thing is to keep your garage at a low temp. when not in use, like 10C.

Cheers,

JGC
J. G. Catford

I have a heater like JGC..works great with it's built in thermostat.
To help pre-heat I run a propane burner that attaches to my BBQ tank...It really throws the heat and after 30 mins I have to shut it off.
It won't heat the whole double garage but the work area is fine
Charlie
Charlie B.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your comments. As fate would have it my new garage floor is cracking up badly and the builder has agreed to replace it in the spring.
As we already have inslab heating in the basement it is apparently an easy conversion to use the same set up to heat the garage floor. Just needs the piping.

As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining!

Cheers. Neil P.
Neil Peniston

This thread was discussed between 24/10/2008 and 04/11/2008

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