Is this safe?

[Syntaxvgm]

I have a garage that can kinda hold heat and I'm half done adding some temporary foam insulation that is really cutting out the draft at least. 

So far, I can keep it at 50f for a few hours with a space heater, which is a big improvement, but that's at 30f, not that cold. 

Problem is, this detached garage doesn't have a 240v line, and I can only safely run 2 space heaters on the 2 different lines to the breaker (about 10k btu)

It will get better once I finish sealing air gaps, but what happens if it dips down close to 0 or below? I want to put my desk in there temporarily after all. 

 

 

So I have one of those forced air propane heat cannon things. You need ventilation with one of those if you use it inside, as it can release carbon monoxide and consume oxygen, which means you lose heat immediately once it's off. 

I have a divided garage. What if I put a high temp duct around the end of it and duct it in to the side I want to be on, and put this on the door side which is vented, and do it that way? Right now I've been opening doors a crack, kicking this on for half an hour, then closing everything up and turning it off. Keeps warm for a while. 

Would this be safe in combination with a  carbon monoxide detector? 

I assume it wouldn't deplete oxygen in the room, as it will suck in air from the other vented side of the garage. And I would want to put the vent up high, as the garage has a short ceiling anyway. Heat rises, but propane fumes sink, so tradeoff.

Someone convince me this is a bad idea if it is. 

[Bigbootyjudy]

You want to put your desk in a garage that gets to almost freezing? Geez, the coldest it gets where I am is 40 degrees at night. 

 

I think the idea that you have is probably better than what you are doing right now. 

[8uhbbhu8]

3 hours ago, Syntaxvgm said:

I have a garage that can kinda hold heat and I'm half done adding some temporary foam insulation that is really cutting out the draft at least. 

So far, I can keep it at 50f for a few hours with a space heater, which is a big improvement, but that's at 30f, not that cold. 

Problem is, this detached garage doesn't have a 240v line, and I can only safely run 2 space heaters on the 2 different lines to the breaker (about 10k btu)

It will get better once I finish sealing air gaps, but what happens if it dips down close to 0 or below? I want to put my desk in there temporarily after all. 

 

 

So I have one of those forced air propane heat cannon things. You need ventilation with one of those if you use it inside, as it can release carbon monoxide and consume oxygen, which means you lose heat immediately once it's off. 

arage. What if I put a high temp duct around the end of it and duct it in to the side I want to be on, and put this on the door side which is vented, and do it that way? Right now I've been opening doors a crack, kicking this on for half an hour, then closing everything up and turning it off. Keeps warm for a while. 

 

I assume it wouldn't deplete oxygen in the room, as it will suck in air from the other vented side of the garage. And I would want to put the vent up high, as the garage has a short ceiling anyway. Heat rises, but propane fumes sink, so tradeoff.

Someone convince me this is a bad idea if it is. 

With a monoxide detector yes it would be. I highly suggest insulating the space though otherwise you'll lose all the heat as fast as you make it.

[Syntaxvgm]

6 hours ago, 8uhbbhu8 said:

With a monoxide detector yes it would be. I highly suggest insulating the space though otherwise you'll lose all the heat as fast as you make it.

the walls of this room are insulated, but there was  a section that allowed air to the garage door section which I have blocked with 1.5 inch panels of  EPS and great stuff. There's also a small air gap on the other side, which is due to the roof insulation missing (normal roof venting), and some damage to that wall at the bottom. Once I seal that it'll be pretty decently airtight at least. 

Before summer,I'm going to replace all of the drywall and put new insulation in. It's chewed up in sections and was installed horribly, like they cut it without a T.  Adding insulation to the roof will not allow some really thin and low sections to breathe (temp gun on the bottom showed 140F on a 75F day), so I'm going to apply white silicon paint to the roof after I drywall the ceiling and blow in some insulation. 

[dizmo]

I imagine you'll still get a decent amount of gas through the hose, if the hose can even withstand the heat from the torch.

Why don't you just get a 220v heater? It'll be more expensive than propane, though I'm not sure how much.

14 hours ago, Syntaxvgm said:

 

Before summer,I'm going to replace all of the drywall and put new insulation in. It's chewed up in sections and was installed horribly, like they cut it without a T.  Adding insulation to the roof will not allow some really thin and low sections to breathe (temp gun on the bottom showed 140F on a 75F day), so I'm going to apply white silicon paint to the roof after I drywall the ceiling and blow in some insulation. 

Hahah, I've never heard of someone using a T square to cut insulation. Insulating the roof makes sense, venting comes from the upper part of the roof, not the roof above your head.

[Syntaxvgm]

1 hour ago, dizmo said:

I imagine you'll still get a decent amount of gas through the hose, if the hose can even withstand the heat from the torch.

Why don't you just get a 220v heater? It'll be more expensive than propane, though I'm not sure how much.

Hahah, I've never heard of someone using a T square to cut insulation. Insulating the roof makes sense, venting comes from the upper part of the roof, not the roof above your head.

....no I mean the drywall. The drywall is poorly cut. It has has gaps in places. It's like some guy was like "I'm gonna finish my garage, but I don't want to do it sober"

I did just get some large high temp vent hose, rated for 450f I think, and I'll be keeping an eye on it. The heater has a shroud with a space between it and the actual tube that makes it much cooler, as for how hot it gets in front of it I'll keep an eye on it. 

 

 

As I mentioned above, this whole thing was about only having 2 120v circuits and being a detached garage. If I could've gotten a 240v heater, I would have. Much easier, quieter, and safer. 

 

 

[dizmo]

7 minutes ago, Syntaxvgm said:

....no I mean the drywall. The drywall is poorly cut. It has has gaps in places. It's like some guy was like "I'm gonna finish my garage, but I don't want to do it sober"

I did just get some large high temp vent hose, rated for 450f I think, and I'll be keeping an eye on it. The heater has a shroud with a space between it and the actual tube that makes it much cooler, as for how hot it gets in front of it I'll keep an eye on it. 

 

As I mentioned above, this whole thing was about only having 2 120v circuits and being a detached garage. If I could've gotten a 240v heater, I would have. Much easier, quieter, and safer. 

 

Is it a permanent thing or just temporary? Just run a cord from the breaker box to the garage. Depending on the distance of course, and what you can get the thick gauge cable for.

 

Haha, ahh yeah. Well, to be fair, garages usually aren't boarded with the most care. After all, it's just a garage. If you were going to finish it tape and mud fills the cracks anyway.

[Syntaxvgm]

9 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Is it a permanent thing or just temporary? Just run a cord from the breaker box to the garage. Depending on the distance of course, and what you can get the thick gauge cable for.

 

Haha, ahh yeah. Well, to be fair, garages usually aren't boarded with the most care. After all, it's just a garage. If you were going to finish it tape and mud fills the cracks anyway.

As I have no spare 240 lines in the house, I can't do that either unless I like unplug my stove. Clothes dryer is natural gas. Could unhook AC I suppose. The cost of a proper outdoor extension cord for that is kind dumb as well, though I have a shorter one. It's a pretty decent distance. 

Safety and availability wise, a couple of 120v cords would do the trick, run like 3 or 4 space heaters. Still dumb becuase of the wet snow, though it should be fine. 

 

I will look into the cost of adding a 240 line when I get a ground rod buried. The current electrical is hanging not buried....and yah. Might want to change that anyway. 

[dizmo]

1 minute ago, Syntaxvgm said:

As I have no spare 240 lines in the house, I can't do that either. The cost of a proper outdoor extension cord for that is kind dumb as well, though I have a shorter one. It's a pretty decent distance. 

Safety and availability wise, a couple of 120v cords would do the trick, run like 3 or 4 space heaters. Still dumb becuase of the wet snow, though it should be fine. 

 

I will look into the cost of adding a 240 line when I get a ground rod buried. The current electrical is handing not buried....and yah. 

I can't recall what we use, but it handles -40 perfectly fine. We sometimes run it over 60 feet. It's just black electrical cable attached to a breaker, which we insert into the box. You don't have any free spots on the box? You just need space for one 2 switch breaker.

 

Haha, I wouldn't recommend a bunch of extension cords. Though even a spool of household wire does the trick. Just depends how DYI you want to get. I'm assuming this is all very temporary. You're just trying to heat it while you work or?

[Syntaxvgm]

Just now, dizmo said:

I can't recall what we use, but it handles -40 perfectly fine. We sometimes run it over 60 feet. It's just black electrical cable attached to a breaker, which we insert into the box. You don't have any free spots on the box? You just need space for one 2 switch breaker.

 

Haha, I wouldn't recommend a bunch of extension cords. Though even a spool of household wire does the trick. Just depends how DYI you want to get. I'm assuming this is all very temporary. You're just trying to heat it while you work or?

I want to heat it a few hours every night, I want to put my work desk out there temporally while I work on stuff inside. I'll be working on it spring time. 

 

[dizmo]

1 minute ago, Syntaxvgm said:

I want to heat it a few hours every night, I want to put my work desk out there temporally while I work on stuff inside. I'll be working on it spring time. 

 

Honestly? I'd just keep the desk in the house. We use a tiger torch for heat a lot of the winter, and I can only work so long before there's a noticeable lack of oxygen. If you really want to make the most of the space, I'd grab a roll of poly, seal the room off with tech tape, and use a couple heaters. Just use the propane heater briefly to bring the temp up.

[Syntaxvgm]

7 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Honestly? I'd just keep the desk in the house. We use a tiger torch for heat a lot of the winter, and I can only work so long before there's a noticeable lack of oxygen. If you really want to make the most of the space, I'd grab a roll of poly, seal the room off with tech tape, and use a couple heaters. Just use the propane heater briefly to bring the temp up.

Basically what I want to do. Fire the propane heater every hour or two as needed. 

[dizmo]

Just now, Syntaxvgm said:

Basically what I want to do. Fire the propane heater every hour or two as needed. 

You'll still get a lack of oxygen. Unless you crack the window for a few minutes to get rid of the fumes. Should only result in a small drop if you have it properly sealed with poly. Or, really, keep the window open as you wait for it to heat up.

[Syntaxvgm]

Just now, dizmo said:

You'll still get a lack of oxygen. Unless you crack the window for a few minutes to get rid of the fumes. Should only result in a small drop if you have it properly sealed with poly. Or, really, keep the window open as you wait for it to heat up.

well that's the point of having the duct. The heater pulls in the air from outside the room. The garage door would be cracked. 

[qakawra]

Whatever you do, just be sure to have an oxygen tank on hand at all times. Please.

[Guest]

On 13/12/2017 at 2:58 AM, Syntaxvgm said:

....no I mean the drywall. The drywall is poorly cut. It has has gaps in places. It's like some guy was like "I'm gonna finish my garage, but I don't want to do it sober"

I did just get some large high temp vent hose, rated for 450f I think, and I'll be keeping an eye on it. The heater has a shroud with a space between it and the actual tube that makes it much cooler, as for how hot it gets in front of it I'll keep an eye on it. 

 

 

As I mentioned above, this whole thing was about only having 2 120v circuits and being a detached garage. If I could've gotten a 240v heater, I would have. Much easier, quieter, and safer. 

 

 

Hi,

 

Get a gas heater and use appropriate ventilation.

 

Thank you,

 

RorzNZ, Apple Expert.

[Syntaxvgm]

8 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

Hi,

 

Get a gas heater and use appropriate ventilation.

 

Thank you,

 

RorzNZ, Apple Expert.

can't use a gas heater, and this was about ventilation. 

[Syntaxvgm]

14 minutes ago, qakawra said:

Whatever you do, just be sure to have an oxygen tank on hand at all times. Please.

the idea was for the heater to be burning new oxygen it sucked in from outside. 

So far I'm still working on sealing the place, and it heats a bit better with what I can draw the the wall sockets. Tomorrow I'm going to see if I can get it to where I'd never need the heater. 

[qakawra]

 

Just now, Syntaxvgm said:

the idea was for the heater to be burning new oxygen it sucked in from outside. 

So far I'm still working on sealing the place, and it heats a bit better with what I can draw the the wall sockets. 

i meant an emergency oxygen tank on hand but sure, whatever works.

[Syntaxvgm]

5 minutes ago, qakawra said:

 

i meant an emergency oxygen tank on hand but sure, whatever works.

lol why? I'm not a deep sea diver. If I 'm aware enough to know I'm running out of oxygen and able to grab a trank, I could open one of the three doors.....and the point is to not need to constantly run the heater. 

Also, again, this is not going to burn the oxygen that is inside the room. It's drawing air from outside. 

My concern was still CO. I have a detector in there now with a PPM display., and so far it's been at 0 in the same room as the heater, but I point it through the door separating the rooms and crack the garage door behind it (as it would be how I want to set it up)

 

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, Syntaxvgm said:

can't use a gas heater, and this was about ventilation. 

as a suggestion my dude rather than these power bill crunchers

[qakawra]

2 minutes ago, Syntaxvgm said:

lol why? I'm not a deep sea diver. If I 'm aware enough to know I'm running out of oxygen and able to grab a trank, I could open one of the three doors.....and the point is to not need to constantly run the heater. 

Also, again, this is not going to burn the oxygen that is inside the room. It's drawing air from outside. 

My concern was still CO. I have a detector in there now with a PPM display., and so far it's been at 0 in the same room as the heater, but I point it through the door separating the rooms and crack the garage door behind it (as it would be how I want to set it up)

 

oh

[Syntaxvgm]

Just now, RorzNZ said:

as a suggestion my dude rather than these power bill crunchers

the reason I have this propane heater is this is a detached garage. It only has 2 120v lines going to it. So natural gas not an option or I'd do it hands down, and it's not gonna be able to be heated by electric completely until I get to replacing insulation, fixing the ceiling, and hanging drywall this spring. 

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Syntaxvgm said:

the reason I have this propane heater is this is a detached garage. It only has 2 120v lines going to it. So natural gas not an option or I'd do it hands down, and it's not gonna be able to be heated by electric completely until I get to replacing insulation, fixing the ceiling, and hanging drywall this spring. 

smh read it wrong. propane is what I mean. Ventilation is just opening a window and you will get tons of heat. I keep my window open in -6 to -12 and my heater heats up too much every time. It'll be right for sure but if ur doing all this stuff in a few days there is no point.

[Syntaxvgm]

8 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

smh read it wrong. propane is what I mean. Ventilation is just opening a window and you will get tons of heat. I keep my window open in -6 to -12 and my heater heats up too much every time. It'll be right for sure but if ur doing all this stuff in a few days there is no point.

Originally that huge (for one room, at least) heater in OP post could barely get it to 55 over a few hours at 35f outside even if it was in the same room. Now I've separated the ceiling gap between the two spaces and sealed most of the air gaps on the non door side, and it will heat it to 60 at 25f outside by pointing it in the room from the other room with the garage door cracked. Tons of wasted heat for ventilation, but improvement. 

A 5000 btu 120v heater will keep the temperature from falling too much for about 45 minutes now, where before two of them did nothing. Progress. 

I just threw the heater in the room, closed all the door, ran it for 15 minutes and it got to 75F. (I left the room, of course.) This is the point of all of this- if I could pipe the heat from this thing from the outside and have all of the doors closed, this thing would kick ass, even if it happens to get below 0 this year. That's a 15 degree difference, and in minutes not an hour or more.