Portable heaters?

[scoobyxj]

I already have a 28k Btu kerosene, but it's not big enough to heat my garage. Got a 55k/75k Btu torpedo heater (also kerosene), but the smell runs me out. So I am planning on returning it and getting a propane version (supposedly they don't stink). The propane version is a bit bigger Btu wise than the kerosene version, but I don't care about having too much heat (I can always open the door). I see they also have convection style propane heaters, and wandered if they work as good as the torpedo style? Does anyone have any experience between the two? The convection style are so much cheaper than the torpedos, but that kerosene one I bought heated my garage up in about 5 min!

 

[dick.breakey]

I have this heater and it does my two car garage just fine. i have to turn it down after I get to working cause I start to sweat with a hoodie on. its indoor safe and nice that its portable. i bring it with me when wheeling for the just incases.

how much space you looking to heat? is it finished and insulated or bare walls? do you want to be able to wear shorts and a tee or enough to work and be comfortable?

also what I like about this one is if i want, I can hook up a normal size propane tank to it and run it off of that instead of the 1lb propane bottles(of which you can use one or two to run the thing. doesnt impact heat, just how long it runs)

 

[stumpXJ]

I have a 140,000 BTU torpedo heater (its a BEAST) and run it on diesel instead of kerosene. Its a big enough heater that by the time it gets 'warmed' up I need to turn it off cause its too hot in the shop, so it doesnt spend a half hour smelling up the place. Have you tried diesel over kerosene? I find it a little easier to smell...

 

[ChiXJeff]

If you're burning propane, you're going to generate a lot of water vapor that will condense on anything cool. Hope you like rusty metal.

 

[souske]

Is a waste oil heater an option? I have no experince with them, being illegal in CA, but my inner XJ owner likes the idea of free fuel

 

[ILLXJ]

I have a 140,000 BTU torpedo heater (its a BEAST) and run it on diesel instead of kerosene. Its a big enough heater that by the time it gets 'warmed' up I need to turn it off cause its too hot in the shop, so it doesnt spend a half hour smelling up the place. Have you tried diesel over kerosene? I find it a little easier to smell...

I use diesel too. For some reason the offroad diesel doesn't smell as bad as the stuff I get at a gas station.

JIM.

 

[scoobyxj]

I can try off road diesel in it it's supposed to be able to burn it, but I'm not holding my breath on it though. I work on the rail road and I'm around off road fuel all the time. When you run long hood forward the exhaust fumes will sometimes blow right back in the cab, and it's all I can do to hack it. Of coarse I'd be safe to bet a torpedo heater burns more efficiently than a 30 year old locomotive, and probably won't stink as bad.

 

[Jeepman401]

Is a waste oil heater an option? I have no experince with them, being illegal in CA, but my inner XJ owner likes the idea of free fuel

If you have a good source for used oil, they are a great option, but you need quite a bit of oil.

 

[westvirginia24976]

If you have a good source for used oil, they are a great option, but you need quite a bit of oil.

:lecture: They are very hungry. I've seen one consume more than 150 gallons of oil over a weekend.(school bus garage)

 

[ehall]

The shop I use for big stuff runs a waste oil heater, but they do oil changes and stuff so no risk of running out

 

[scoobyxj]

Waist oil heaters are out of the question. I could insulate the garage, and install a gas furnace with A/C for the price of a WOH. Not arguing they are right for the application. Just not mine. A pellet stove may be an option, but I've yet to do any research. Keep in mind this place is a rental (with the option to buy), so my options on how permanent my heat source is is limited. I have however come up with a free source of material to insulate the place.

 

[ehall]

Ah you can build your own waste oil heater pretty cheap

http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/ethanol_motherearth/me4.html

 

[souske]

That's a pretty cool link, wonder if I could build a 1/4 size version for my wheeling trailer

OP: is natural gas an option over propane? Or are you far enough out to have a big tank in the yard?

 

[dick.breakey]

I just realized i didnt include the link in my original post. this is the heater I have. does a pretty good job and is really affordable. especially if you use the 20lb tank its not expensive and it doesnt take up much space.

 

[scoobyxj]

I just realized i didnt include the link in my original post. this is the heater I have. does a pretty good job and is really affordable. especially if you use the 20lb tank its not expensive and it doesnt take up much space.

That wouldn't heat my garage. Ive got a 24k Btu karo now that I'm using that just barely keeps up when it's 30* out. Ive pretty much made up my mind I'm going to give THIS one a try.

 

[dick.breakey]

oh wow. that thing looks pretty sick. i like it a lot. i actually saw it at lowes when i got mine, but i didnt need something that big, cause mine is only about 400sf and insulated.

is your garage insulated?

 

[ChiXJeff]

Be careful with burners, especially high BTU burners. You're going to need a lot of ventilation to keep from depleting the O(2). These things take a lot of air.

 

[dick.breakey]

thats good to know for future reference. i got mine cause it was the biggest i could find right then that was "indoor safe".

 

[scoobyxj]

Be careful with burners, especially high BTU burners. You're going to need a lot of ventilation to keep from depleting the O(2). These things take a lot of air.

Roger that. I'm planning on getting a o2 detector to go with it .My garage is built like a pole barn, and not insulated at all so I'm not for seeing any issues, and it should be big enough I can crack the door, and it'll be able to keep up. I did put a blue tarp on the ceiling to help keep the heat in, but it didn't help much. That perticuler heater has a thermostat so I can set it to what temp I want and It'll cycle on/off as needed. If it was insulated I really think my little kerosene unit would keep up. I used to heat a 12x60 mobile home with it no problems at all. I could even turn it all the way down, and it would still keep it 80*+ in there.

 

[ChiXJeff]

Here's what I was looking for. John Blichmann, of Blichmann Engineering, at the 2010 American Homebrewer's Convention, recommends BTU/hr/30 for use of indoor burners. If you're running a 50k burner, 50,000/hr/30 = 1,666 ft.^3/min., and if you're using hoods over your kettles, half of that. He also says that a 14" duct is capable of 1,100 ft.^3/min. No matter how you look at it, it's a lot of ventilation.

Most salamander heaters are capable of significantly more heat than that.

Edit: Yes, I know, this isn't apples and apples. But, if you're generating 100k BTUs of heat from a gas burner, you're burning a known about of fuel, and thus oxygen as well. The penalties for not getting enough airflow are pretty severe.