Heating the Garage

[joel]

Well it is time to start getting heat in the garage.
I have a propane turbo heater that that has been trouble free that I bought from a local rental company about 20 years ago. It's fast to bring up the temp but leaves a little smell.
First off I will do some more research on this project.
I could open the ductwork for the house heating system and make a vent or hang a forced air gas furnace, but I think I will be going in the hydronic direction.
I have been wanting to replace the electric water heater and convert to natural gas for awhile now and this feels like the right time to add garage heat to that project.
The water heater and furnace are located in the southeast corner of the garage , unlike most of the houses on my block, ours is enclosed in a closet with a electric wall heater.
The picture posted is an example of how the system works.

 

[joel]

Here is a more simplified version.

 

[gator508]

Looks like quite a project Joel, be sure you are vented well to outside and put a CO monitor in the garage. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Jeff Klarich]

Nothing better than a heated garage, good luck on the project.

 

[liquid_wrench]

Joel, My shop is 25x40 and it's an older building. I use a 150,000 btu propane bullet heater to get it to the temp I want then turn on the 2 (Dyna-Glo) ventless heaters to maintain the temp. I only heat the shop when i'm using it. My Garage has electric baseboard heat (it's very well insulated) and we keep it set at 50-55. I like the setup you are considering....tell us what you think when it's done.

 

[joel]

I will start a new thread with the process.
My neighbor got me on this idea, he has it in his, but a self made exchanger.
Tells me that cost per month to keep it warm, above 60 degs is cheap.
From what I have read it is a low cost heating system compared to electric or a natural gas hanging heater.
Being that I am going to a gas water heater anyway, I am somewhere in the $1000.00 in the extra items needed.
I will try to use any of my business accounts we service at our shop to cut costs and share with the forum how it turns out.