The wife and I just moved into a new house. It has a 3 car garage. I haven't measured it; but, I speculate it to be about 25'x30'. I love my wife. She informed me she wants it to be heated. Hesitantly, I agreed. Anyway, we are starting the search so I would like recommendations from others here. What have you used? What do you recommend? Based on negative experiences, what should I avoid? Thanks in advance.

I am thinking about heating my garage as well, only mine is a 2 car. I have the option of natural gas and the line is right outside the garage so I'm going to start there, but given my breaker box is in the garage I could run a 240v as well.

In our 3 car garage I had a Mr heater natural gas radiant heater installed in two opposite corners. Got them from Menards. Northern Tool & Equipment also carries them. Like them so far. Much better than anything forced air in my opinion.
Two 40,000 btu units mounted as close to the ceiling as specs allow. Model MH40NG.

100000 btu mr. Heater ceiling mount would be my choice.

First thing I would do is make sure it's insulated and sealed at least as well as the house. I'd also make sure no carbon monoxide or other dangerous fumes have a way to exit the premises. Get those taken care of and the heating source isn't as big a concern.

Heating it for what reason?

Because you want to be comfortable changing your own oil? Does she change the oil or swap out the brake pads?

Or, I don't like to be cold going from the heated cocoon of the car to the heated cocoon of the home?

Would a kerosene/diesel 500,000 kbtu salamander do for those brake jobs? That's what me and mrs slumlord use. Try to get the job done before you get dizzy and your eyes start burning.


If just for no real reason, what about a gas or propane overhead radiant heater?


Or that much square ftg, maybe a separate hvac zone, 1-1/2 ton gaspack.

First off what heats the house? Assuming its an attached garage an extension of your home heating system to the garage might be easiest and cheapest. Our place has a natural gas boiler with modern 'radiators' for lack of a better term in every room of the house. The garage is plumed with one of these units which works great. I keep the heat way down in the garage ~ 45 degrees just enough so it doesn't freeze as the doors have about zero insulating value (wood).

I have had a Modine in my garage for 14 years. Changed out a thermocouple once. My gas bill went up 18.00 a month after I installed it.

Get a couple wood burning heaters!

For my wife, she wants the warm and comfy car and the warm move to the heated cocoon you mentioned. The ancillary benefit to me is working on the motorcycle, the boat, the truck, the tractor and just spending time out there scratching myself with nobody else around. Ya, I can do it in the ten degree garage; but, if the wife really NEEDS it, I'm in. Outdoors is number one. Outside the house in the garage is one of the next best things.

To answer another relevant question, the house is heated by both forced air gas and hot water heat. The hot water heat is not the sub-floor stuff they put in nowadays. The house is 28 years old and that hot water heat runs through baseboards.

Don't forget to have the wife cut, and carry the required wood!

Sounds very similar to our set up. I'm thinking it would be worth a call to someone in the business and see what it would set you back to extend a water line off the boiler set up into the garage and go that way. Like I said back there that's what we've got it works good. I've got a 20x20 garage with two very small base board style units just like in the house. If that's a bust some good other gas options mentioned here.

Do they salt the roads in the winter in your location? If so, parking a car with road salt on it in a warm garage really accelerates the rust. Of course, if you buy new vehicles often it won't matter.

Or you could make sure your vehicle has a military grade aluminum body.

Same here in an insulated shop.

Bought a used one off craigslist from a guy in GF. Every so often they have to replace heaters in building at Malmstrom so I got a nice, reasonably new unit for a couple hundred dollars.

Put in a propane tank because we don't have natural gas.

That Modine unit is the way to go!

My shop garage....steel framed.......insulated.......30 deep 50 long

R19 ceilings & walls.......came with steel garage package

walls beefed up.....4x8 rigid insulated sheeting 3/4" thick

then framed a 2x4 wall against that.....then added R13 rolled batting

Then sheeted it over with 1/2" OSB (wafer)...heat......the only way to go

NG radiant tube heater....this is 'U Tube type' (extendable) vents out north wall

Keep thermostat set about 68* all winter......2 insulated roll up doors/one walk through

Gas bill currently runs $63/month for house & garage..but just added NG stove in basement

another pic.......

enough space for two Tacoma's......Teryx SxS....Chevy 2500HD......storage...benches.......tools

small beer fridge.......even an ole washing machine for dog beds....old towels etc......

another must......2' high stemwalls......

That's the best choice.
Using ceiling fans helps too.

Modine are great units,they also have a "Hot Dawg" line which is very versital in mounting,and smaller profile.

I have a Modine Hot Dawg, 60,000 BTU, natural gas powered heater, in my 25' X 50' shop. Had it for 6 years now. Love it. I seriously thought about going wood, because we have unlimited access, but I'm so glad I didn't. Very nice to go out to the shop 20 minutes early and flick the heat on, comeback, and go work in 60 degree temps. Especially when outside, its in the teens.

With a temp comfortable work space you'll spend way more time there and enjoy it. You won't regret heating the garage, if you like working in it.

I subscribe to the "Happy Wife, Happy Life" philosophy, so if my wife wanted heat in the garage, I'd make an honest effort to make it happen for her.

Most of these ideas have merit, and could be made to work in your garage depending on your electric and gas supply sizes, ceiling height, budget, etc. The one thing that I would avoid for sure is a non-vented gas burning heater regardless of fuel type because of all the moisture it will dissipate into the space.

Worked under a lot of those over the years in cattle working sheds. My experience is that when they get some years on them, they really drop in their heat output. Down to below half what they originally produced. YMMV

These are great.

Just installed a 100k btu overhead radiant tube heater in my 30x40 shop...still waiting for the gas line to be connected so time will tell how it works. We use them at work though and I like them, think it's a better more comfortable heat than forced air.

I have a Natural gas 30,000 BTU radiant heater in my garage. It is a solid masonry building (brick on block) so I basically just keep everything in the 40s or 50s in super cold weather. It is a two car with an open rafter ceiling, so I don't expect it to be toasty hot in there when it's 10 degrees. It would heat the whole house pretty well in a basement. It sure makes working on my car nice when the frost is on!

I planned ahead- NG slab heat in my 32X40 running Glycol mix through the tubes. Thermostat bottomed out keeps it above 50.

Should have made it bigger!

Heater in the garage?

I just hung a 150,000 btu Reznor LP forced air.

I thought about heating mine with a propane unit of some kind, but I'm not using mine every day, so I bought a 75,000 btu Salamander at TSC. I'm too cheap to buy kerosene, so I burn diesel out of what I buy for the tractors. It will heat up my 30X30 garage in a very short time, and yes it does smell a little, as diesel is not as odorless as kerosene. But, it works for me, and that's all that matters.

32'x48' w 12 ' ceilings. 125 BTU rerznor LP gas works like a charm. Heat the garage cost 200-300 per winter..

We have a two car garage that I would call small. I just set up one of those electric heaters that looks like a fake fireplace. Easy peasy.

Radiant heat heats the objects in the garage.....and concrete floor

Once warm it stays warm.....

To me..forced air is warm when its running......

when not running..its cold .......

https://www.glradiant.com/2019/01/29/infrared-radiant-vs-forced-air/

We have a nice home with a standard sized 2 car garage, her suburban barely fits's I think time to install remote start for her.

Thanks for all of the input so far. I just need to do more research.

This.

Question for the folks who use any kind of flame gas heating systems.... do you store gasoline cans in an outside shed? I'm kind of paranoid....

We have Modine ceiling mounted natural gas heaters in our workshop and garage. The workshop is 32x32 with 10 foot ceilings. A flip of the thermostat will turn a 45F workshop into a 65F shop in less than 10 minutes.
Zero maintenance

Well, that's why you also have a garden shed... Duh...

Ceiling mounted is a must in a shop/garage just due to fire hazards for me.

I've had gas, electric and even oil/waste oil burners in different shops I've heated but always ceiling mounted..

2nd, I just throw all the gas cans under the welding bench. Lotsa room under there.

I would run a leg off your radiant baseboard to keep it 50 degrees in winter (i sized right) and add a way to heat it up for oil changes or whatever.

If you move your junk outa there I could move right in... But 68 would be a bit warm for me.



Family went to a get together the other day in a post frame building with an enclosed living space heated with a propane fireplace thing. Cozy as heck. Upon arriving at home, the wife pointed out that I could do that with our pole barn, so I could live in there! Didn't seem to be joking..

If you buy a hanging unit heater from a northern tool or similar store make sure they stock parts for them.

We install Reznor units where I work and have access to a parts supplier for those units. In a typical 2 or 3 car garage this is what I would install.

The tube style radiant heaters are nice with tall ceilings but I
have heard stories of them blistering paint when there is not enough space between the heater and vehicle.

I would not try to heat the garage off an extension from the house. With forced air systems the ductwork is going to be a no go code wise in any area of the country. With hot water radiant a left open garage door could freeze and break a boiler line and then your garage is full of water and there is no water to circulate to keep the house warm.