Gas or electric?

[cosmicbike]

Having just had a look at electric heaters available, I guess my next question is fan, convector or oil-filled?

I've never had to buy one of these before!

Oil filled if you are going to be there for a period of time. Fan heaters provide instant heat, but by the same token turn them off and the heat is gone. Convectors are OK but tend to cool quickly also, oil filled maintain their heat better.

 

[slowmotion]

If you choose gas, unless you have a flue to vent the combustion products to the outside, you'll end up with a shedload of condensation.

 

[Chislenko]

Your best bet is an electric roller garage door, eliminates all the draughts thus keeping the cold out and no need for a heater. I have been out in the garage all day today doing some plaster boarding and fitting new downlights just in jeans and a jumper.

 

[si_c]

Oil filled electric radiators are by far the best for your use case, they come in varying power levels. I use one periodically (on it's lowest 800W setting) for my home office (roughly garage sized) to heat it up on a cold day when I don't want to, or don't see the need to heat the whole house. They are by far more economical than a fan heater, which don't dissipate heat through the room properly, and standard convection heaters where the temperature starts to drop the moment the heating goes off. The downside is that you don't get instant heat, so you would need to turn it on about 15 minutes before the room starts to warm.

Also if you are going to be using it frequently, consider a properly insulated garage door - this may help preclude the need for heat entirely.

 

[newts]

Carbon monoxide kills, I wouldn't use an
unflued gas heater in an enclosed space. Portable gas heaters create high humidity, also not very healthy.

 

[Drago]

If you have the ventilation and a CO2 detector, then gas.

 

[DRM]

In a small packing shed at a firmer employers, we had infra red heaters mounted on the walls.
More efficient than many other kinds of electric heaters but they dont (particually) heat the air, rather they warm you when youre near them /it.

One site I go to for work has 2x large freestanding versions in the workshop area, which even in summer is probably an ambient 3 or 4c, and they make a noticeable difference, it's at the bottom of a larger room, warehouse high roof, the reach trucks have a 10.5 meter lift height and go nowhere near the ceiling, it's a cold store, so the warehousing freezers are at around -23c, hence it being so cold in the ambient areas, so I think you'd be ok in a garage, but wouldn't have gas in there unless properly flued, carbon monoxide poisoning isn't nice, I've had it.

 

[Once a Wheeler]

Battery-powered electric charged from your static bike and solar inputs.

 

[gbb]

We had a Calor gas type heater years ago, put too much moisture into the room and cost an arm and a leg to run, just my experience.

 

[MontyVeda]

Having just had a look at electric heaters available, I guess my next question is fan, convector or oil-filled?

I've never had to buy one of these before!

Or an Infra-red panel?

not cheap to buy... mine was £135 for a unit measuring 100cm x 60cm, but at only 600w, it's relatively cheap to run.

Whilst it won't blow you away with the amount of heat emitted, it does work... but the trick is to stay under it (mine's mounted on the joists above my bench). It's a bit odd since it doesn't heat the air, so whilst feeling the warmth, you're still exhaling a cloud of condensation so something in your brain says it's still cold.

Mine's in an uninsulated double garage so it seemed pointless trying to heat the air when all i need is a warmish corner.

 

[Dayvo]

@LeetleGreyCells
Saw this and wondered if this might be of use!

https://vauni.com/?utm_campaign=202...0yJZn3luE89e8XPuTeOvNGKGo0ofy8DC4lIeFdR129InY

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

@LeetleGreyCells
Saw this and wondered if this might be of use!

https://vauni.com/?utm_campaign=2021-10:+Q4+Paid+Social&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paidsocial&utm_content=home&hsa_acc=18854254&hsa_cam=6251179707154&hsa_grp=6251182480554&hsa_ad=6251182480354&hsa_src=fb&hsa_net=facebook&hsa_ver=3&fbclid=IwAR2QeIfoLb6G-W0yJZn3luE89e8XPuTeOvNGKGo0ofy8DC4lIeFdR129InY

Very cool . May be a little too flash (and expensive) for my garage though

 

[MontyVeda]

Very cool . May be a little too flash (and expensive) for my garage though

looks like a bioethanol burner to me... cheaper/smaller ones are available. Have a look on ebay... although I'm not sure how efficient a small burner would be in a large space.

 

[oldwheels]

In my workshop which was the old lifeboat station and corrugated iron clad we used coal and wood in a cylindrical stove about 3ft high and 1ft diameter. The shed was 6 metres x 5metres and 5 metres in height. Once warmed up was very comfortably but in morning we had a calor gas heater as well to give a quick boost before any workers arrived. The stove flue was mostly inside the shed also and added to the heating area.
An old cast iron bath lay outside in a secure area as a coal bunker.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

You won’t want any heating when on Zwift