Will a 120v electric heater work for a garage? (1 Viewer)

waddadonk

waddadonk

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Garage is attached with living space above, about 360 sqft with 8 ft/9ft ceiling. Drywall is up and unfinished, insulation installed, added some R8 batts to the garage door as well. Ground is a concrete slab.

Are there any suggested 120v heaters that will keep 6+ bodies warm? I'm not looking to call an electrician for a 240v outlet for now, and any gas solution is off limits as per HOA.

Past few days have been freezing and you can feel it in the garage. Had a Dyson heat/cool running for a few hours but it didn't seem to help.
 
I use a couple of the dish heaters in the garage and turn them on a couple of hours ahead of time, they work fine in California (cold here is in the 40s... lol). I can't speak as to whether they would work well in the true cold.

I use something like this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/1000-Wa...M9vAJTvezTxHvx4dcuhoC444QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I would think they would work fine as once people are in there playing, they always end up turning them down or off because it get too hot.
 
I have a slightly larger than avg 2 car garage with high ceilings like maybe 11ft and I am also in NJ. The garage and doors are very well insulated and also has living space above and on 2 sides. On the colder NJ days my garage typically does not get lower than 40 degrees. I have a 240v heater and I can get it up to 70 but it takes many hours. For instance I will turn it on about noon for an 8pm game. So while I am not 100% sure of the answer for you I would guess it would take a very long time and not be the greatest solution but maybe could help a little. In spring and fall it works great when you need to just take the edge off.


20151111_182040.jpg
 
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A couple of 1500w ceramic heaters in opposite corners plus a rug/carpet covering the concrete under the table should do fine, provided there aren't any air leaks surrounding the garage door.

A single heater would probably work, but there will be hot-spots and cold-spots, depending on where you are sitting relative to the heater.

Amazon has a few decent ceramic oscillating floor towers for under $60.
 
calfdemon said:
I use a couple of the dish heaters in the garage and turn them on a couple of hours ahead of time, they work fine in California (cold here is in the 40s... lol). I can't speak as to whether they would work well in the true cold.
Click to expand...

I think the garage has been holding somewhere in the 40s on colder days, so maybe there is some hope.

ChipTalker said:
I have a slightly larger than avg 2 car garage with high ceilings like maybe 11ft and I am also in NJ. The garage and doors are very well insulated and also has living space above and on 2 sides. On the colder NJ days my garage typically does not get lower than 40 degrees. I have a 240v heater and I can get it up to 70 but it takes many hours. For instance I will turn it on about noon for an 8pm game. So while I am not 100% sure of the answer for you I would guess it would take a very long time and not be the greatest solution but maybe could help a little. In spring and fall it works great when you need to just take the edge off.
Click to expand...

Considering that height and adding some extra square footage, it sounds like your garage might be at least 40% larger than mine. I wish I could get a 240v installed because it sounds like it would be a good solution, but I don't think I'd use it much. Thanks for the stats, I wonder if 120v is half as efficient, which gives me hope.

BGinGA said:
A couple of 1500w ceramic heaters in opposite corners plus a rug/carpet covering the concrete under the table should do fine, provided there aren't any air leaks surrounding the garage door.
Click to expand...

I was thinking about this, but I (not an electrician) am pretty sure both garage outlets on the garage run to the same circuit even thought they're on opposite walls. I was looking this up and it sounds like I will blow the fuse running two. I should just test this and do an amazon return if it fails. Would it be a quick and easy electrician call to put them on their own breakers?
 
Yes circuits are a concern. My 240 is a home run to panel by itself. It is rare but I have tripped a circuit in summer between AC and hot dog roller
 
waddadonk said:
Would it be a quick and easy electrician call to put them on their own breakers?
Click to expand...
Probably. But there's also this:

Quick, easy, and cheap. Pick any two.

I'm no electrician either, but I've changed and added breakers in my electrical box before. Plenty of how-to info online.
 
I found the infrared models to work very well to take the edge off with fewer hot/ cold spots and they work a lot quicker than ones with actual heating elements
 
My garage is about 500 or so sq ft (insulated on all sides and under the bonus room)and I established my office there when my 3 kids were home from college during Covid. Plus, I really wanted a space to smoke cigars when it's cold. I had an electrician install a small 240v, 30amp breaker and he only had to do a short run. I cut it off at the breaker.

Like @ChipTalker said, it can take many hours to get up to a warm temperature when it's really cold. When it's below say 55 degrees, I just hit my 80k propane heater for 10-15 minutes and it warms right up. Then the 240v heater takes over. I also supplement with a 1500w oscillating heater I keep up my desk. I like to wear shorts as much as possible and it keeps my legs warm. I have 2 windows in the garage where I'll crack one for intake and use a dual window fan for exhaust when I'm smoking cigars. Works great and still can keep the garage 68-72 degrees.

Propane heater is great: https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_503598_503598 - You'd probably be able to crank it up and put it on low, maybe even cutting it off for spells if you have other heaters that can't keep up.

Pic prior to the electrician hooking it up.
20201105_174829-jpg.577973


It's pretty quiet and has automatic shutoff (will not overheat). I did a lot of research to figure out what I wanted.

Wow, this is a great price at $150: https://www.newair.com/products/5000-watt-g73

A little more from the PCF Cigar thread.

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/pcf-cigars.14122/post-1300048
 
I am an electrician, and, without even looking at your wiring or breaker sizing, if you plug in 2 heaters I can say that the odds of you continuously tripping a breaker, or, possibly burning your house down, are the kind of odds that I'll insta call on. How far is your garage from the panel? I realize that an electricians estimate can give you a shock (see what I did there?), but, a 120v portable space heater is the most inefficient heating method there is. And, you may never get to the temp you need.

You'll likely need a fan to help circulate that heat, otherwise you'll have hot spots, and, cold spots. The transference of energy works from hot to cold, so you're fighting an uphill battle in winter. Place the heater on the floor and use a small fan to help with circulation. Rising heat forms a convection.

Good luck.
 
KHarp1 said:
How far is your garage from the panel? I realize that an electricians estimate can give you a shock
Click to expand...

I have a few poor quality pictures from before the garage drywall was put up. One set of outlets its a few feet from the breaker box. The other pair is on the opposite wall ~19 feet away.

I appreciate that pun, lol

1675701813311.png


1675701820776.png
 
If you were willing to cut through some drywall, maybe remove some, putting a 240 breaker in is pretty straightforward. And, can be safely done by a novice by following some good, basic instructions.
 
Here's mine after the electrician installed it. I just didn't want to try it myself. I paid about $275 for this short run in 2020. I had to get a bunch of quotes. Some wanted up to $475, which is about the total I paid for heater plus installation. It was well worth it.

Heater.jpg



Now I'm recalling how I funded this project. I sold a set of CPCs (NOT customs though). I hate it when that happens. Nah, I needed the heater a lot more than the chips.
 
waddadonk said:
Are there any suggested 120v heaters that will keep 6+ bodies warm? I'm not looking to call an electrician for a 240v outlet for now, and any gas solution is off limits as per HOA.
Click to expand...
I've used an oil-filled radiator heater to help keep my downstairs warmer - in the old house I live in the downstairs is often 10 degrees cooler than the upstairs. But I honestly don't know how good it would be for heating up a garage space by itself -- I'd assume like one reply above, you'd probably need to start it at least 8 hours before game time to heat up the space.

look up DeLonghi 1500 Watt (5120 BTU) Electric Oil Filled Radiator Space Heater

At 120 volts, running this at the max heat setting (which would use all 1500 Watts), this will use around 12.5 Amps. So, if your circuit & breaker size is 20 Amps at 120 volts, then 2 heaters at max setting would trip the breaker. But running at medium or low setting should use less than 1500 Watts.
 
That's if the heaters are the only things in that circuit. There are other considerations that can alter this as well.
 
With all the watt talk I was curious what my specs were since I can't remember yesterday neverminded 10 yrs ago.
Anyway this is my unit which has a low of 3K Watts and a high of 6K Watts.

https://drheaterusa.com/products/dr...-garage-commercial-heater-3000-watt-6000-watt

I forget what I paid but was less than $200 prob in the $160ish range.

6000W at 240V = 25A
Pretty sure I have it tied to a 30A breaker as I did not feel comfortable on the hairy edge with a 25A.
 
How good of friends are they? You could just close the door and start a charcoal grill.
 
As long as it's only for poker nights, a couple of plug in oil filled radiator types should be fine. Might take a few hours to get up to temp, but people generate heat as well. Definitely try to cut out any drafts.
 

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