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Forced air, Propane or Kerosene?


Automan2164
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. Carbon monoxide? that's why warehouse forklifts burn propane, there isn't any(CO). Could you get asphyxiated? sure, from a lack of oxygen, not CO poisoning.

 

this is incorrect,ive had many LPG lift trucks on the 5gas analyzer. they can kill you from CO as easily as any gasoline engine.

because of this most OSHA inspectors carry CO meters with them into warehouses,you will also see CO alarms in travel trailers and motor homes,even truck bed campers usually come with them if they have heaters.

 

LPG burns cleaner then gasoline but its still dangerous

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I think this is an excellent topic! I have been wondering the same thing.

 

Personally I bought a kerosene torpedo heater from a friend at work for $25 with a gas can. You can't beat that! I have hot water radiant heat in the garage also so it stays 50 degrees year round. I just use the kerosene to get the chill out of the air. It does smell but it burns fuel very slow.

 

I have natural gas and I wanted to pipe something in but the natural gas torpedos are so expensive, like $400 compared to $159 for a propane unit. They are crazy btu's too, like 150K, when I only need a small one. I don't want to put in a forced air because they take up so much space but the kerosene is stinky and very loud. If there was another option that was cost effective that would use natural gas I would think more about it, but the kerosene is cheap, fast, and portable since I have an outside shed I paint in.

 

As they always say, choices, choices choices...

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Have you looked into a used oil burner? Something like the Clean Burn 1400? They run about $3500 or so new and $2500 for a reconditioned unit.

 

The cool thing is they will run off used motor oil, trans fluid, hydralic fluid, or diesel. There are small shops out there that would give you a barrel of used oil just to save them from having to have it disposed of.

 

I am going this route when I complete my garage.

 

It is something else for you to look into.

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I still would insulate the garage up to house specifications (you seem to be almost there) and then run some duct work from the furnace (exactly how will depend on your setup, my house would be tough but my sister's house would be simple). Unlike what I said earlier, I probably wouldn't just leave the house door open. :D but I'd seriously consider making the garage just another part of the household furnace system. think about it, if you let your garage freeze, then kick on the new secondary unit, it'll take a while to get the air reasonable, but it'll take forever to heat up the truck and your tools (and it'll stink the entire time). And you'd waste a ton of fuel every day you went out there to work, even if it was only for an hour. Especially for this winter, where the garage is destined to be a project room and not a car port (meaning the garage door is likely going to remain shut), I'd infinitely prefer that everything just be warm, maybe not 70* like the house, but definitely not 20* with a hot flame burning whenever I'm out there.

 

choice is yours though.

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I think I am going to go with the Kerosene heater. I just got done putting R19 in the walls, and R25 in the ceiling, and going to be using 5/8's thick firecode drywall to finish 'er up. :brows: Most likely, as stated, I am just going to be using it to take the chill out of the garage. In my mind Kerosene/Diesel just seems cheaper, and like a more BTU's per buck than natural gas or propane. Plus, they put out a good amount of warm air in a hurry. So if needed, I could point it at a frosty vehicle to get it warmed up and less drippy before I start rolling around underneath. Another positive is being able to use a portable kerosene heater outside of the garage, and take it where as needed. My price range is only about $150, so that keeps me otherwise limited.

 

Make sense? :dunno:

Rob L.

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ducting is cheap. :D

 

 

 

But............

 

In theory your right.......but, practical........Bad Idea :shake:

 

First, your also allowing "fumes" from a garage into the house, with extending a whole house furnace into the garage area. Second, your breaking the "seal" of the house/garage, in other words.......the building inspector/fire marshal wouldn't be too happy to see a set-up like that.

 

As Rob wrote, he just finished adding the 5/8" "fire-core" drywall to the garage. There is kind of reason that 'fire-core' drywall is used in a house/garage wall, and 4 feet onto the ceiling, just as a minimum for an attached garage. Oh, and the self closing class "C" door from the garage to the house.

 

Go with the portable salamander, like you noted, you can move it around, and take it other places with you, as long as you can find a 110v outlet, you'll have heat with you :D

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Just fired it up today... 45K BTU Kerosene running rudolph's number 2 diesel... Walked in and turned it on 30 degrees, 15 minutes later I couldn't tell the difference between the house (62 degrees) and the garage... GF even came into the garage, and didn't notice any fumes.

 

Rob L. :cheers:

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When I built my additional garage, I insulated it better than my house. It's completely finished and my garage door is insulated as well. Both the door going outside and the door leading to the other garage are heavy insulated steel doors. I use a small electric radiator type heater and it does just fine. In fact, it is warmer than the house most of the time. I keep it on a low setting 24/7 just to keep it in the 60's. It is more effiecent to keep it warm than to turn it off an crank it up on high to warm it up from 30 or 40 degrees. When I'm working out there, I crank it up a little if needed. My other garage is inbetween the new garage and the house and it never gets warm in there due to lack of insulation. One day I'll correct that. I know it gets a lot colder up north, but I wouldn't rule out an electric heater. I figure mine cost me probably about $10 to $30 a month depending on the outside temp.

 

:cheers:

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