Took one of the 23000 BTU heaters out to the garage last night and
fired it up. Burned clean and hot. It was 18 F.
Good to warm your hands only.
If you're 18" away from it you feel nothing except 18 F.
Problem is the heat goes straight up from the heater top and past the
rafters and out the roof vent.
Tomorrow I'm going to climb up on the rafters and block the roof vent.
We'll fire up both the kerosene heaters and do the alternator and
water pump on the Grand Am. See if the garage warms up a bit.
Supposed to be about 30 F tomorrow.
I'll bring a thermometer out there to see what's really happening.
Just having that flame burning and putting your hands over it make you
feel warmer, but I don't think it did a damn thing to warm up the
garage. Have to measure that.
Garage isn't real drafty, but there's no insulation.
These heaters might provide only hand-warming and psychological
comfort only out there. We'll see.
Anyway, I want them for the house in case of a power outage, so
they still have that value regardless of what they do in the garage.

--Vic

Vic Smith wrote:
Took one of the 23000 BTU heaters out to the garage last night and
fired it up. Burned clean and hot. It was 18 F.
Good to warm your hands only.
If you're 18" away from it you feel nothing except 18 F.
Problem is the heat goes straight up from the heater top and past the
rafters and out the roof vent.
Tomorrow I'm going to climb up on the rafters and block the roof vent.
We'll fire up both the kerosene heaters and do the alternator and
water pump on the Grand Am. See if the garage warms up a bit.
Supposed to be about 30 F tomorrow.
I'll bring a thermometer out there to see what's really happening.
Just having that flame burning and putting your hands over it make you
feel warmer, but I don't think it did a damn thing to warm up the
garage. Have to measure that.
Garage isn't real drafty, but there's no insulation.
These heaters might provide only hand-warming and psychological
comfort only out there. We'll see.
Anyway, I want them for the house in case of a power outage, so
they still have that value regardless of what they do in the garage.

--Vic
Put an inexpensive box fan in front of the heater pointing away.

On Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:25:33 -0500, lil abner wrote:

Vic Smith wrote:
Took one of the 23000 BTU heaters out to the garage last night and
fired it up. Burned clean and hot. It was 18 F.
Good to warm your hands only.
If you're 18" away from it you feel nothing except 18 F.
Problem is the heat goes straight up from the heater top and past the
rafters and out the roof vent.
Tomorrow I'm going to climb up on the rafters and block the roof vent.
We'll fire up both the kerosene heaters and do the alternator and
water pump on the Grand Am. See if the garage warms up a bit.
Supposed to be about 30 F tomorrow.
I'll bring a thermometer out there to see what's really happening.
Just having that flame burning and putting your hands over it make you
feel warmer, but I don't think it did a damn thing to warm up the
garage. Have to measure that.
Garage isn't real drafty, but there's no insulation.
These heaters might provide only hand-warming and psychological
comfort only out there. We'll see.
Anyway, I want them for the house in case of a power outage, so
they still have that value regardless of what they do in the garage.

--Vic
Put an inexpensive box fan in front of the heater pointing away.

Good idea. I'll tinker with that.

--Vic

On Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:52:37 -0600, Vic Smith wrote:

Took one of the 23000 BTU heaters out to the garage last night and fired
it up. Burned clean and hot. It was 18 F. Good to warm your hands
only.
If you're 18" away from it you feel nothing except 18 F. Problem is the
heat goes straight up from the heater top and past the rafters and out
the roof vent.
Tomorrow I'm going to climb up on the rafters and block the roof vent.
We'll fire up both the kerosene heaters and do the alternator and water
pump on the Grand Am. See if the garage warms up a bit. Supposed to be
about 30 F tomorrow.
I'll bring a thermometer out there to see what's really happening. Just
having that flame burning and putting your hands over it make you feel
warmer, but I don't think it did a damn thing to warm up the garage.
Have to measure that.
Garage isn't real drafty, but there's no insulation. These heaters might
provide only hand-warming and psychological comfort only out there.
We'll see.
Anyway, I want them for the house in case of a power outage, so they
still have that value regardless of what they do in the garage.

--Vic

You could put a tarp or polyethylene sheeting across the rafters to
shrink the size of the garage.

On Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:32:01 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

Put an inexpensive box fan in front of the heater pointing away.

Good idea. I'll tinker with that.

A Florida type ceiling fan to bring the heat back down might help
also. I think what would help most however is one or more suspended
infrared electric heaters but you'll need a heavy duty 220 volt
circuit for them.

http://www.professionalequipment.com/dayton-electric-infrared-heater-suspended-indoor-1ucr7/industrial-heaters/?source=pegs

or

http://tinyurl.com/yej9nsk

A wood stove might be cheapest of all. The old pot bellied variety
really throw off a lot of heat.

On Dec 12, 7:52*pm, Vic Smith wrote:
Took one of the 23000 BTU heaters out to the garage last night and
fired it up. *Burned clean and hot. *It was 18 F.
Good to warm your hands only.
If you're 18" away from it you feel nothing except 18 F.
Problem is the heat goes straight up from the heater top and past the
rafters and out the roof vent.
Tomorrow I'm going to climb up on the rafters and block the roof vent.
We'll fire up both the kerosene heaters and do the alternator and
water pump on the Grand Am. *See if the garage warms up a bit.
Supposed to be about 30 F tomorrow.
I'll bring a thermometer out there to see what's really happening.
Just having that flame burning and putting your hands over it make you
feel warmer, but I don't think it did a damn thing to warm up the
garage. *Have to measure that.
Garage isn't real drafty, but there's no insulation.
These heaters might provide only hand-warming and psychological
comfort only out there. *We'll see.
Anyway, I want them for the house in case of a power outage, so
they still have that value regardless of what they do in the garage.

--Vic

I've got an oscillating fan that I turn on occasionally to move the
air around. It was 34 last night, my garage was 70. I have a ceiling
though. I actually have to open the door once in awhile to cool it
down.

On Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:50:28 -0600, thunder
wrote:


You could put a tarp or polyethylene sheeting across the rafters to
shrink the size of the garage.

Think we'll go that way. Not too practical to cover all the joists (I
said rafters by mistake), as the garage is about 21' x 22' and one end
would have to attach to the overhead door. Got a feeling the heater
still wouldn't do much. But you got me thinking. An 8'x8' work area
could easily be covered. Better yet 12'x12'.
Joists are 8' from the ground.
There's a 30' x 30' tarp here for 45 bucks.
http://www.tarpsplus.com/noname.html

Let's say I mark out the center 12' x 12' of it.
Still have 9' left on all sides.
Put attachment rings on that outline, spaced for the joists.
Put screw hooks in the joist bottoms to loop the rings on.
Hang it up.
All sides drop down 9', hitting the floor.
One side will drape over the car by the windshield or by whatever end
I'm working on. Front in, or backed in, depending.
End up with nice heat entrapping box, car end nosed under it.
Slice a corner of the tarp 6' up for access and safety ventilation.
The extra foot should take care of corner wrinkles that might keep it
from hitting the floor. Could rig the hooks lower too, maybe 7' from
ground. Hooks on straps wrapped on the joists instead of screwing
them in. Mark the places when I get it right. Put it all away when
not used. But the stiff stationary hooks might better keep it all
square, so I'm tending that way. Besides, I have a couple 4'x8'
plywood sheets up there to store stuff, nailed down, and they'll get
in the way of wrapping straps.
Bet just one heater would warm it up nice. Might even have to turn
the heater down.
Put a small box fan in there too, on low to move the air around and
keep the tarp ceiling from getting too hot.
Couple stools to sit on. A small table to hold parts and tools.
Maybe a cooler with beer. Chips and dip. Some girly mags.
Or maybe some Boater mags and Nat Geos instead. A TV?
With 12'x12' might get a cot in there. Hell, that's almost as big as
my bedroom.
This could work real good if I get in a fight with my wife when it's
cold out.
Thanks guys. You put me on the right path.
Found these when I looked for tarp attachers to hang it up.
http://shelter-systems.com/gripclips/assembly.html
Look like they could be useful for boaters playing with tarps too.
I'll get 8 of the general purpose for hanging the tarp.
But I'll wait a bit before I order the tarp and attachers, in case
somebody points out a hole in my plan.

--Vic

On Sat, 12 Dec 2009 22:57:48 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:32:01 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

Put an inexpensive box fan in front of the heater pointing away.

Good idea. I'll tinker with that.

A Florida type ceiling fan to bring the heat back down might help
also. I think what would help most however is one or more suspended
infrared electric heaters but you'll need a heavy duty 220 volt
circuit for them.

http://www.professionalequipment.com/dayton-electric-infrared-heater-suspended-indoor-1ucr7/industrial-heaters/?source=pegs

or

http://tinyurl.com/yej9nsk

A wood stove might be cheapest of all. The old pot bellied variety
really throw off a lot of heat.

I might get the wires for 240 fished to the garage next year.
And some conduit and outlets run in there too.
Mostly because I want a good 240 air compressor in there.
I was thinking about trying the fan somebody suggested, and my kid
wanted to go there today and try putting a box fan up by the rafters.
I told him to hold on, there's no rush.
I have "Florida type" ceiling fans in every room here, except the
living room, and a nice 5 footer with lighting I bought 8 or 9 years
ago to put in the living room, still in the unopened box.
Really wanted the overhead lighting in the fan most, but the ceiling
fans are fantastic for evening out temps.
Even got the Romex, 100 foot roll, hangers, etc., since there is no
ceiling fixture there. Just have to crawl up in the attic with boards
to put over the joists so I don't go crashing through a ceiling, cut a
hole in the ceiling, hang it and wire it. Been saying that for 8 or 9
years.
Been a little slow on that.
I figure I'm never going to do it, so maybe I'll get that done when I
get the 240 done for the garage, and some circuit splitting done for
the house. I could do it, but having seen pros work, I know they are
ten times faster. Besides, I won't get zapped if they do it.
My daughter's near-fiance is an electric contractor, so I better act
before they break up.
He'll probably run conduit up there and take the Romex off my hands
for something else. Not sure. The Romex is ok codewise, but I only
got it because I didn't have a conduit bender. He has plenty.
Hope Romex doesn't go bad from sitting around. Didn't put any Stabil
in it.
Anyway, unless I insulate the garage it's going to be hard to heat it,
no matter what I use. Don't want to insulate it.
I think the tarp tent will work out.
Not heating the garage, just the tent.

--Vic

On Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:30:12 -0500, Gene
wrote:


Sounds like you are making this really hard..... why not put a ceiling
in with something like 1/4 OSB (can you still get that?) and 1/4 X 2
battens, then blow in a little insulation.....

I'd lose the storage on the joist platforms, which I want.
If I had my way I'd have the garage torn down and a 24'x26' put up,
new slab and wired 240 wired in, etc.
Then I'd have room for storing gear. As it is, I even drag the
lawnmower up there in the winter so we can put 2 cars in the garage.
Wife wants a kitchen first, and I agree, so a new garage ain't gonna
happen. Paid $6k to get my 24x26 "custom" put up 30 years ago.
That's probably about $25k now, though I haven't priced it.
Afraid to. Might get in the way of using the money for a boat.
Besides, I only work on the car in the winter occasionally, so it's
not a big deal.
And I'm not sure just doing the ceiling would be enough anyway.
Then I'd want to batt and drywall the walls, and on and on.
With the cracked slab and "inadequate to me" size I just don't want to
put money in this garage, except to keep it what it is.
Will put a new overhead door in soon, as that's coming due. and maybe
I'll price a new garage then. But I know I can the door done for
$1800, so that will probably do it.
Hey, the tarp tent setup is about 65 bucks and if it works it'll be
real easy to hang/put away when used.
Besides, it's elegant. Yes, elegant I say.

--Vic

On Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:30:24 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:30:12 -0500, Gene
wrote:


Sounds like you are making this really hard..... why not put a ceiling
in with something like 1/4 OSB (can you still get that?) and 1/4 X 2
battens, then blow in a little insulation.....

I'd lose the storage on the joist platforms, which I want.
If I had my way I'd have the garage torn down and a 24'x26' put up,
new slab and wired 240 wired in, etc.
Then I'd have room for storing gear. As it is, I even drag the
lawnmower up there in the winter so we can put 2 cars in the garage.
Wife wants a kitchen first, and I agree, so a new garage ain't gonna
happen. Paid $6k to get my 24x26 "custom" put up 30 years ago.
That's probably about $25k now, though I haven't priced it.
Afraid to. Might get in the way of using the money for a boat.
Besides, I only work on the car in the winter occasionally, so it's
not a big deal.
And I'm not sure just doing the ceiling would be enough anyway.
Then I'd want to batt and drywall the walls, and on and on.
With the cracked slab and "inadequate to me" size I just don't want to
put money in this garage, except to keep it what it is.
Will put a new overhead door in soon, as that's coming due. and maybe
I'll price a new garage then. But I know I can the door done for
$1800, so that will probably do it.
Hey, the tarp tent setup is about 65 bucks and if it works it'll be
real easy to hang/put away when used.
Besides, it's elegant. Yes, elegant I say.

--Vic

A small electric heater works very well if you're working mostly in
one spot in the garage.
--

John H