Using an old furnace in a garage

[swimmer_spe]

My plan is to build garage, approximately 24'x32' or larger. Id like to heat it. At the place where I am building it, there is no NG, only propane, or if needed furnace oil.

Someone I know is replacing their old furnace, that is NG, and well over 30 years old. How hard would it be to convert it to propane? Is it even worth it?

 

[joecaption]

I would not waste my time on one one that old.
There is no location in your profile, is this also going to need AC?

 

[swimmer_spe]

I would not waste my time on one one that old.
There is no location in your profile, is this also going to need AC?

I am in Northern ON. I have no plans on installing AC.

 

[user 4883]

Look the unit over real good with attention to the heat exchanger.
See if parts (control board) are still available.
Depending on the cost of a conversion kit, it might be a viable source of heat for a few years.

 

[swimmer_spe]

Look the unit over real good with attention to the heat exchanger.
See if parts (control board) are still available.
Depending on the cost of a conversion kit, it might be a viable source of heat for a few years.

My thinking is a new heater for the garage will be about $2k. If this lasts a few years, that's $2k I save till later.

 

[bud16415]

I live up on the Great Lakes and I use my garage quite a bit in the winter and I wouldn’t consider heating it. I did add a wood stove to the garage at my old house and hardly ever used it as it would take 10-12 hours to get it warmed up and by that time I was done working out there. It wasn’t insulated and part of the problem is heating the contents as everything in there is a heat sink. Another problem I found with heating here and there is it seemed to promote condensation on tools and such. I ended up doing something there that I improved on at with my garage now. I have a small heated workshop attached to the main garage that is about 16x12 and I have the walls and ceiling insulated with heavy thick foam. In mild weather a little electric heat cube takes the chill off and in cold weather it heats up quick with a small LP heater I run off a 20lb bottle. If I’m working in the main garage I go in and out of the work shop for tools and to warm up and lots of smaller projects I just do in the workshop.

If you really want a full time heated garage with full insulation there is only one way to do it. My good friend has a auto repair shop and he has hot water in the floor. It is beyond words how nice it feels in the winter and laying on the floor working under my truck is so nice I fall asleep.

 

[swimmer_spe]

I live up on the Great Lakes and I use my garage quite a bit in the winter and I wouldn’t consider heating it. I did add a wood stove to the garage at my old house and hardly ever used it as it would take 10-12 hours to get it warmed up and by that time I was done working out there. It wasn’t insulated and part of the problem is heating the contents as everything in there is a heat sink. Another problem I found with heating here and there is it seemed to promote condensation on tools and such. I ended up doing something there that I improved on at with my garage now. I have a small heated workshop attached to the main garage that is about 16x12 and I have the walls and ceiling insulated with heavy thick foam. In mild weather a little electric heat cube takes the chill off and in cold weather it heats up quick with a small LP heater I run off a 20lb bottle. If I’m working in the main garage I go in and out of the work shop for tools and to warm up and lots of smaller projects I just do in the workshop.

If you really want a full time heated garage with full insulation there is only one way to do it. My good friend has a auto repair shop and he has hot water in the floor. It is beyond words how nice it feels in the winter and laying on the floor working under my truck is so nice I fall asleep.

Once I put heat in, it will be insulated. The plan is to keep it at about 5C so that it is warm enough to work in, even when it goes below -35C. I am not looking at making it so warm to be in t shirt and shorts, but being able to take my toque off would be nice.

 

[bud16415]

In that case hot water in the slab is the only way I would do It.

 

[Fireguy5674]

Hot water in the slab is a great way to go.

The other system I have seen that is great for large open areas is radiant heat. Heats the objects in the building as opposed to the air. I have a neighbor who has a huge shop for his farm. Maybe 80' x 120' with 18' ceilings. The system burns gas inside a heavy tube with a reflector behind or above it. It is a vey pleasant area to work in. No noisy fans or hot and cold spots. I have never asked him about what it costs to run.