Garage heater - kerosene vs propane
 

I'm looking for a basic, occasional use heater for my garage. The garage is
single car, 410 square feet, uninsulated. Use of the heater for short term
emergency (power outage) indoor heating would be a plus.

What are people's experiences with kerosene vs propane for cost,
effectiveness, safety, cost, etc.? What BTU rating has worked well for
people in similar situations?

Thanks in advance.

I am interested in this one as well. My garage is now my gym, and
below 30 degrees, fugheddaboutit.

But the garage is not insulated...the box heater I use in there now is
good only if you stand in front of it.
Somehow kerosene and a wood garage frightens me.


Bluesman

"JC" wrote in message
nk.net...
I'm looking for a basic, occasional use heater for my garage. The garage
is single car, 410 square feet, uninsulated. Use of the heater for short
term emergency (power outage) indoor heating would be a plus.

What are people's experiences with kerosene vs propane for cost,
effectiveness, safety, cost, etc.? What BTU rating has worked well for
people in similar situations?

Thanks in advance.

I've not use kerosene so I can't comment on that.

I have a garage about the same size. I use a 30,000 Btu propane heater for
a 30 degree temperature rise. This is just fine when it is 20 to 30
degrees, but when we get a spell of single digits, I don't even try to use
it. Over the summer I added some insulation. Too soon to tell what it is
going to do, but it seems to have helped. It does take 15 to 30 minutes to
get comfy on a very cold day.
Ed

"JC" wrote in message
nk.net...
I'm looking for a basic, occasional use heater for my garage. The garage
is single car, 410 square feet, uninsulated. Use of the heater for short
term emergency (power outage) indoor heating would be a plus.

What are people's experiences with kerosene vs propane for cost,
effectiveness, safety, cost, etc.? What BTU rating has worked well for
people in similar situations?

Thanks in advance.

supposedly catalytic propane heaters are safe in a way that (noncatalytic)
propane heaters and kerosene heaters are not

byproducts from burning fuel in propane heaters or kerosene heaters can kill
humans in high enough concentrations, so venting is part of those systems

catalytic propane heaters supposedly don't produce those byproducts and are
thus supposedly safe indoors for humans provided they are fed plenty of
fresh oxygen from outside (otherwise humans suffocate) and are
attended,,,,check with manufacturers for specific application questions

some rv heaters sold are catalytic propane types

you didn't mention if your car or other flammable stuff will be stored in
yoru garage,,,,,,,,,,the advisability of using *any* kind of heater in an
enclosed garage with a car or other potentially explosive storage containers
etc. is best left to experts, check with them too

"effi" wrote in message
...
"JC" wrote in message
nk.net...
I'm looking for a basic, occasional use heater for my garage. The garage
is single car, 410 square feet, uninsulated. Use of the heater for short
term emergency (power outage) indoor heating would be a plus.

What are people's experiences with kerosene vs propane for cost,
effectiveness, safety, cost, etc.? What BTU rating has worked well for
people in similar situations?

Thanks in advance.

supposedly catalytic propane heaters are safe in a way that (noncatalytic)
propane heaters and kerosene heaters are not

byproducts from burning fuel in propane heaters or kerosene heaters can
kill humans in high enough concentrations, so venting is part of those
systems

catalytic propane heaters supposedly don't produce those byproducts and
are thus supposedly safe indoors for humans provided they are fed plenty
of fresh oxygen from outside (otherwise humans suffocate) and are
attended,,,,check with manufacturers for specific application questions

some rv heaters sold are catalytic propane types

you didn't mention if your car or other flammable stuff will be stored in
yoru garage,,,,,,,,,,the advisability of using *any* kind of heater in an
enclosed garage with a car or other potentially explosive storage
containers etc. is best left to experts, check with them too

Unvented propane heaters of today are a lot different than the unsafe ones
of days goneby. Today, they have an oxygen sensor which will shut the heater
down if oxygen falls below a safe level. They are approved in all but six
states for use in residential heating when not used in a bedroom. They are
very common here in Tennessee and have a good safety record. Add a CO
detector and provide a fresh air intake of one sq in per 1000 BTU.
Disclaimer: I'm not a professional heating technician, I'm reading my
manual.

Bob

"rck" wrote in message
ink.net...

"effi" wrote in message
...
"JC" wrote in message
nk.net...
I'm looking for a basic, occasional use heater for my garage. The
garage is single car, 410 square feet, uninsulated. Use of the heater
for short term emergency (power outage) indoor heating would be a plus.

What are people's experiences with kerosene vs propane for cost,
effectiveness, safety, cost, etc.? What BTU rating has worked well for
people in similar situations?

Thanks in advance.

supposedly catalytic propane heaters are safe in a way that
(noncatalytic) propane heaters and kerosene heaters are not

byproducts from burning fuel in propane heaters or kerosene heaters can
kill humans in high enough concentrations, so venting is part of those
systems

catalytic propane heaters supposedly don't produce those byproducts and
are thus supposedly safe indoors for humans provided they are fed plenty
of fresh oxygen from outside (otherwise humans suffocate) and are
attended,,,,check with manufacturers for specific application questions

some rv heaters sold are catalytic propane types

you didn't mention if your car or other flammable stuff will be stored in
yoru garage,,,,,,,,,,the advisability of using *any* kind of heater in an
enclosed garage with a car or other potentially explosive storage
containers etc. is best left to experts, check with them too

Unvented propane heaters of today are a lot different than the unsafe ones
of days goneby.


(noncatalytic) propane heaers and kerosene heaters make carbon monoxide, the
same stuff in car exhaust and used in gas chambers in ww2

catalytic propane heaters supposedly don't make carbon monoxide

noting both catalytic and noncatalytic propane heaters have many other
potentials for danger that should be addressed if used

for instance, campers in tents during rain using catalytic propane heaters
have noticed the rain seals the tent from outside oxygen and creates air
uninhabitable to humans, suffocating them

looking at hits on google like those at
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...erosene+danger
reveals dangers of using propane or kerosene



Today, they have an oxygen sensor which will shut the heater down if oxygen
falls below a safe level. They are approved in all but six states for use
in residential heating when not used in a bedroom. They are very common
here in Tennessee and have a good safety record. Add a CO detector and
provide a fresh air intake of one sq in per 1000 BTU. Disclaimer: I'm not a
professional heating technician, I'm reading my manual.

Bob

JC wrote:
I'm looking for a basic, occasional use heater for my garage. The garage is
single car, 410 square feet, uninsulated. Use of the heater for short term
emergency (power outage) indoor heating would be a plus.

What are people's experiences with kerosene vs propane for cost,
effectiveness, safety, cost, etc.? What BTU rating has worked well for
people in similar situations?

Thanks in advance.


I don't have either but just ordered a propane type because
it is cheap and should easily heat my insulated 2 car
garage. A kerosene heater easily heated a friend's large
garage (actually a shop) with 11 foot ceilings and produced
way more heat than the smaller propane heater, or so said
the friend. I have also observed a propane catalytic heater
being used to heat a 26 foot trailer. The owners needed
heat that didn't require electricity while camping to make
sure their many birds didn't get cold. It worked very well
and was economical to use.

In any case, you probably should mount the burn surface at
least 18 degrees above the floor to meet code requirements.
I wouldn't worry much about CO or lack of oxygen with any
modern kerosene or propane burner as the garage is likely to
leak lots of air. If it doesn't you can always open a
window, doesn't need to be more than a crack.

effi wrote:

....
for instance, campers in tents during rain using catalytic propane heaters
have noticed the rain seals the tent from outside oxygen and creates air
uninhabitable to humans, suffocating them


I'm surprised they noticed... :)

On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 21:33:16 GMT, "JC" wrote:

I'm looking for a basic, occasional use heater for my garage. The garage is
single car, 410 square feet, uninsulated. Use of the heater for short term
emergency (power outage) indoor heating would be a plus.

What are people's experiences with kerosene vs propane for cost,
effectiveness, safety, cost, etc.? What BTU rating has worked well for
people in similar situations?

Thanks in advance.

The combustion heaters are a safety concern, and I don't use them. An
infrared lamp is quick and works well if you are not moving around a
lot. Great for sore muscles or a bad back too!