Shop Heater

[Tim M Tuttle]

Winter is fast approaching. It's already been down in the 20s at night here in KC. I want to install some sort of shop heater this year. I am working out of a two car garage that is fully insulated. I dont think I'll need anything super beefy as I would only want to get the shop to about 60. That will allow me to work comfortably in a tshirt.

These two have pretty good reviews:

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...8579_200578579

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...1888_200631888

I've also looked into the Mr Heater propane heaters though I am not sure I want to mess with the propane.

Anyone have any good recommendations?

Thanks

[Don Jarvie]

I have a similar version of the first one. It does a good job but needs to be hardwired on a 30amp line with 10g wire. No plug. If you go out for a few hours at night it's not to hard on the electric bill. If you go out in the shop 5 to 6 hours a day it can get expensive and it would be worth the cost to get a more efficient system.

I have 400 sq ft and can get it from 40 to 55 in about 30 minutes. It probably costs 20 to 30 bucks a month to run but I go out every night for a few hours and a little more on the weekend.

[Jim Becker]

I have the Farenheat version of these heaters and it does a great job. My shop is such that putting in the required 30amp 240v circuit was easy, so this was a no brainer for me.

[Josh Molaver]

I have the larger Northern Tool version - works great, very happy, no issues in a 2 car garage. The only thing I'd suggest is consider an additional fan as well, even a portable one - the heat stays at the ceiling...the fan brings it down.

[Tim M Tuttle]

Good to know.

The 220 line isnt a problem as I am in the middle of installing a subpanel in the garage and running conduit all over the place. Thinking about the heater now since I am doing all of this stuff and it's starting to get a bit nippy.

Thanks for the info, everyone.

[Jim Becker]

Tim, it's a good idea to have the heater available. And one with a thermostat is nice to have, too. The thing I like about the Farenheat unit I bought is that it "runs smart", meaning it doesn't push cold air as the fan is delayed on startup and it keeps the fan on for a short period when the coils turn off so that heat already generated is moved out of the unit. That increases comfort and efficiency.

[Tim M Tuttle]

Tim, it's a good idea to have the heater available. And one with a thermostat is nice to have, too. The thing I like about the Farenheat unit I bought is that it "runs smart", meaning it doesn't push cold air as the fan is delayed on startup and it keeps the fan on for a short period when the coils turn off so that heat already generated is moved out of the unit. That increases comfort and efficiency.

Thanks, Jim. I looked into the Fahrenheat units and they have the same or similar specs as the Northern Tool brand yet are much more costly. Any idea why? Just a brand name?

[Bill Dufour]

Be careful of those propane and NG units. many of them are not vented. This means the exhaust gas is vented into your breathing air. They make roughly equal amount of water vapor compared to fuel used. this makes crazy humidity swings in the shop.
Bill

[Jim Becker]

Since Northern Tool deigns to locate stores in the northeast US, I'm really not familiar with their offering. I bought the Farenheat from Amazon. It was a little more money than what you are looking at, for sure, but I was familiar with the brand and its features. If those units you are considering have the fan delay, that would be great. The ability to wire in a "real" thermostat is nice, although I haven't taken advantage of that feature to-date.

[Tim M Tuttle]

Since Northern Tool deigns to locate stores in the northeast US, I'm really not familiar with their offering. I bought the Farenheat from Amazon. It was a little more money than what you are looking at, for sure, but I was familiar with the brand and its features. If those units you are considering have the fan delay, that would be great. The ability to wire in a "real" thermostat is nice, although I haven't taken advantage of that feature to-date.

It has the fan delay and the other specs are the same as far as I can tell. For the money, I'll give it a try and see how it goes.

At the very least I learned a new word from this thread.

[Dan McGonigle]

I installed a natural gas 60k btu “hot dawg” heater in my 300 sq ft, uninsulated garage shop. I was very lucky to find it, like new, on CL for $150. I had to run a NG line to it and it’s vented to the outdoors. I had everything permitted and inspected as per my local code. It’s very nice, last winter I went out on a 20 degree evening and had it about 55 in the shop. Normally I can work at 65 degrees throughout the winter. Thermostat controlled too which is very convenient. It intakes air from the shop which I’m not crazy about, but all in all it’s one of the best shop improvements I’ve made.