I need some advice on heating my garage

Ok, after asking on another forum and getting a lot of answers that didn't pertain to the exact question I was asking I'm still undecided so I came back to hearth for help from the real experts.

My situation: small 2 car garage with 1 large door. Wife parks her car inside in the winter, the rest of the space is mostly tools including a lathe and vertical knee mill for my part-time hobby machinist use. I would like to prevent my tools (most importantly the expensive machinist tools) from rusting. I've had problems with rust in the past because the garage isn't heated.

I would like to heat the garage to keep the relative humidity down and make it a better environment to work in. I would like to do so cheaply because I don't plan to be at this house much more than a few additional years so I don't want to sink a lot of money into a heating system for the garage. I'm looking for advice on what to do. I'm open to all ideas. I've considered many different types of heating (LP, pellet, cord-wood, liquid fueled) and I just don't know what to do. I'm being drawn to wood because I already have wood heat and fuel is nearly free for me. Maintenance won't be much of an issue because I already maintain my ZC fireplace in the house. If I do an LP installation I'm more likely to leave it in place if/when I sell the house. If I invest the money to do wood, I plan to take it with me when I move so that I can heat that shop.

My house is in an "upscale" neighborhood so I want to keep the solution somewhat nice looking. If I choose wood, I don't want to do another penetration through the roof for a chimney, or a hole in the wall. As this solution will only be temporary (2-5 years) I really want to do a window penetration so that it can be easily removed when I sell the house. If I do this it will be done "properly" to ensure the system is safe.


What I don't want to see in this thread is anything like, "You can't put a stove in a garage because it violates codes" or "you can't do a window penetration because of this reason or that". In Indiana, in an unzoned area, on your own dwelling you don't need to comply with codes or have any permits etc. If I were to sell the house, yes, which is why the wood-stove in the garage will be removed when I sell. I just want to see discussion that will possibly help me make a decision on which way is better. I understand the reasoning of why most codes say you can't put a stove in the garage; all combustibles are stored in my backyard garden shed so there is no great concern with safety that I can see.

Additional information:
Space: I have the space for a small stove, but wall/ceiling mount would be "better" if possible. The ideal space for said stove is coincidentally right in front of the window.
Chimney height: will need to be fairly high due to steep pitched roof. I haven't measure it yet but I suspect it will need to be close to the height of my indoor fireplace (22'). This would put the chimney about 10 feet above roof height; definitely needs a roof support. Can a window style penetration support a chimney this high effectively?
Available services: electric only (there is currently no gas/lp service but I can get 100 lb LP tanks if I have to)

Some things that I've considered are: direct-vent wall-mount LP heaters, ceiling mount direct-vent LP heaters, window mount pellet stove made by US stove, cheap wood-stove from craigslist, fuel-oil fired Toyo stove, leaving the door between house & garage open to allow heat to move into the garage...

the last option isn't ideal because my fireplace already runs at full capacity to keep the house warm on the coldest days of winter...

rdust said:

If your wifes car is in the garage all the combustibles aren't in the shed.......

If you want to go the pellet or wood option I think a pellet stove may be a nice solution due to the long burns on a low setting, either that or a BKK. Seeing how this is in the wood stove section my vote goes for the BKK.

Click to expand...

I realize that "all" combusibles aren't in the shed but lets face it. Today's modern cars are very safe storage containers for gasoline. They can most often be involved is serious accidents and not spill the fuel so I'm not quite as concerned about the car that has an air-tight fuel tank. The things to be concerned about are the things that vent their vapors like the lawn-mower or old style gas cans etc, all of which are in the shed. But I do understand where you're coming from.

Jags said:

Have you reviewed the "mini-split" thread in the green room:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/mini-split-heating-cooling-units.89301/

Click to expand...

I'm trying to stay far away from electric. I have the most expensive electricity provider in the state. Just to put that in perspective, my neighbor who has a similar home to mine (square footage, builder, heating system) typically has electricity bills over $1k in the winter months. It's actually a selling point that is listed on many home listings if a particular home is not is XYZ electric cooperative service area. It's borderline on gouging, IMHO.

I realize that a heat-pump is more efficient to operate but it's still pretty expensive compared to wood heat, which is what I really want to do...

Stegman said:

Are you looking to keep it warm in there even when you're not around? I get that sense from the concern about equipment developing rust. If that's the case, then it would seem like wood is a bad idea.

If that is the plan, I'd consider a small propane stove with a thermostat that can keep it at 50 degrees or so when you're not around. What are propane prices like out there in Indiana?

Click to expand...

Let me further expand on this. Part of the moisture problem is coming from snow melt-off from my wife's car. Knowing that, anytime my wife is around to drive the car (and inevitably add moisture to the garage) we will also be around to add heat in the form of tending the fire. Yes, I do want to keep it warm while I'm not around but the very few times I won't be around are not a major concern for me. At most we go away for 2 or 3 weekends during winter but otherwise we're home to tend the fires.

gd9704 said:

I just installed a natural gas version of one of these:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200577748_200577748

Yes, it's a few bucks, requires venting and electricity to run. But it's easy to keep your garage from freezing when you're not there, and will help dry out the garage (dry heat and circulation of air.)

I know you want to be able to take whatever heating system you install with you, but think about this: When it comes to resale value, a man shopping for a house LOVES the idea of a heated garage.

Whatever you do, DO NOT install one of those ventless radiant heaters:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_5839_5839

This is what I had before and replaced with the heater above. The amount of moisture these things put in the air is unreal--I'd have condensing water dripping down my garage window, and mold growing in the corners of the garage. And I've never found that the garage felt "warm" with radiant heat.

Anyway, this is one man's opinion!

Click to expand...

That is the heater I will likely go with if I choose LP. They are nice in the fact that they are on the ceiling out of the way... which saves me floor space...

I definitely won't be going with any vent-free LP options because, as you said, they add additional moisture. The combustion of LP or natural gas actually creates water vapor as a product of combustion. Which is very bad for heating a garage where you're trying to get the moisture out. Might be ok to run one inside the house as a supplemental heat source to act as a "humidifier" but no good for a garage IMHO.

I think we're both on the same track, I'm just having a hard time making the decision between propane and wood...

I know what I "want" to do (due to cost of fuel) and what I "should probably do" (due to my situation) are different I guess I'll just keep weighing the pros & cons until winter passes by and then I don't have to worry about it.