HEAT!! (for your feet...and hands...in the garage) Topic is solved

[BlackBart]

Well I've finally done it. After all these years of fighting cold in my garage, projects stopping for the winter.... I have purchased an electric heater.

Comfort Zone brand, 5000w, 240v, 3 wattage settings, thermostat, hard-wired to a 30 amp breaker. Good reviews, and a builder friend has one in his shop and likes it.

Electrician shows up in a couple of weeks. I'm putting in more lights (warm color LED tubes) and outlets while we're in the panel.


It's doggo approved.

[RickHaleParker]

Conservation of energy has the best Return On Investment (ROI). Did you insulate the garage?

[BlackBart]

Yes, doing that. It's a former open carport, so panels were all hollow.

[cn90]

Nice...

I avoid fixing cars during Dec ---> Feb.
March is OK.
If outside temp is 5-10C, then inside garage is OK bc I use the standard 120V electrical heater with 1500 Watts.
My magic temp for inside garage is 10-15C.

Anyway, best is to avoid any time the inside of the garage is < 10C if you can.
Try to do all repairs/maintenance in the Spring/Summer/Fall....

[matthew1]

5k watts! Holy s.! I thought the new PC I built for my son was hungry today at 300W peak/sustained during gaming (Battlefront II), measured by my beloved Kill-A-Watt thingy.

But hey, it's not much vs. $100/hr shop rates.

[BlackBart]

Sounds high, doesn’t it. But that’s just over 17k btu’s, and maybe a bit low for 600 sf, depending on temperature rise. I hope to not have to run it except for a major task, cars or house stuff. I read about people installing heaters and keeping their garage at 45 or 50 - that’s gotta suck a lot of power.

[matthew1]

I sleep my ~40W laptop when not in use. I'm frugal. I set my thermostat to 60-62°F at night.

I stay out of my (unheated) garage when it's below say 55°. It's just no fun organising or car tinkering in the cold. I get ya, BB.

[BlackBart]

Yeah, cold metal is just no fun.

[matthew1]

Did you look into a gas heater? Do you have a gas utility line?

[BlackBart]

Yes. Pretty expensive unit, then a lot more labor to install, pipe, and exhaust it. More efficient, yes.