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Garage Heaters
There are a few different styles of garage heaters that may be considered.
The three main styles are
-direct vent wall mount heaters
-overhead unit heaters
-radiant tube heaters
The three main manufacturers that we carry are Empire direct vent sealed combustion heaters, Hot Dawg unit heaters, and Calcana radiant heaters.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is to oversize a garage heater. A well insulated double
garage can be heated quite well with as little as 30,000 BTU.
The problem with putting in a 75,000 or larger heater is the unit is going to heat the garage up so
quickly it is not going to have a chance to heat up itself or the chimney.
Keep in mind when an efficiency rating is given on a heater this is achieved when the unit is up
to full operating temperature.
If a unit is only on for a minute or two it is going to be very inefficient as a lot of energy
is absorbed in heating up the unit from a cold start.
A chimney is designed to work best when it is heated up. If the unit shuts off before the chimney
has reached a proper temperature the flue gases are going to condense in the chimney and
possibly down into the heat exchanger.
One of the biggest by products of combustion is water vapor.
When this condenses it is very acidic and can eat away at your chimney and the heat exchanger.
If your chimney is not venting properly there can be possible carbon monoxide poisoning.
Carbon monoxide is the silent killer, another reason you want someone who knows what they are doing.
Properly installed and engineered venting is just as if not more important than the gas piping.
A fully qualified gasfitter is well trained in venting practices as well as fitting of gas lines.
The venting of gas appliance regulations and practices falls under the Canadian Gas Code Book and regulations.
The City of Calgary gas inspectors inspect the venting as well as the gas piping.
Direct Vent Wall Heaters
These heaters usually mount on an outside wall and the chimney vents directly out the wall.
Also the combustion air is brought from the outside so this makes the unit more efficient as it is not using
air that you’ve already paid to heat for combustion air.
When the efficiency of a burner is stated it doesn’t take this into account. An 80% heater that uses air in
the garage for combustion is not going to be as efficient as an 80% efficient heater that uses outside air for combustion.
The fact that it is direct vent also means that it is a sealed combustion unit.
This means that the air in the garage is not exposed to any open flame from the burner or pilot burner.
A lot of times depending what you are doing in your garage there are several things that could cause a fire or explosion
if they were exposed to an open flame. (gasoline fumes, paint thinners etc., sawdust, glues, leaking propane tank stored in garage, etc.)
A direct vent heater is in fact a safer unit if you are working with any dangerous chemicals, vapors, glues etc., or storing a propane tank in your garage.
These units are quite compact and have less clearance issues than a lot of other heaters. Some units take up less than one square foot of floor space and you can
build shelving to within four inches on either side.
Most units come with a fan so they can heat your garage up fairly quickly if you want to keep your heat low or off when you are not in the garage.
The termination vents tend to be more attractive on these units as well. If your are living in a half million dollar house a chimney sticking out past your eaves
or a vent that looks like a exhaust pipe off a semi is not going to look that attractive from the street.
Overhead Unit Heaters
These units are quite popular. Most are the low profile which hang fairly close to the ceiling and have a fan
which circulates the air. Most of these units have what are called power vented chimneys.
There is a small fan which pushes the flue gases out the chimney.
The natural vent b-vent unit heaters basically don’t exist any more.
Soon you will not be allowed to install them so most suppliers don’t even stock them or manufacturers
don’t make them anymore.
The power vent chimney can usually vent directly out the side wall or through the roof on a detached garage.
If you have an attached garage you most likely would not be able to vent it through the roof as a b-vent must be 2 feet higher than
any roof line within ten feet horizontal distance.
As with most homes with an attached garage, the home is a two storey so this would be impossible to vent through the
roof and maintain the proper clearances.
In almost all cases in this situation the chimney must vent through the sidewall.
The main advantages of this heater are that it can heat your garage up very quickly.
The fan circulates and heats up the air very quickly.
Some people like to turn the heat right off when they are not in the garage so a heater which heats the air with a
fan can heat the garage up quickly.
These heaters come in many different sizes for many different size garages.
Radiant Tube Heaters
These units are quite popular. The radiant heater has a power vent which heats up a tube a very high temperature from the
flue gases flowing through it.
This tube then radiates heat from the reflector panel which surrounds the upper portion of the tube.
Radiant tube heaters can come in many different lengths and btu ratings for different situations.
These heaters do not heat air but they heat any objects which are in line with the reflector panel.
It heats the floor, the walls, and anything under it. These warm objects then heat the surrounding air as they heat up.
These heaters can also either vent through the wall or through the roof.
Some manufacturers make them in a power vent and some make them in a direct vent.
The main advantage of these heaters is that the heating is quite even.
Some of the disadvantages of these heaters are
These heaters heat up objects, so if you plan to turn the heat right off it is not going to heat the garage up very quickly.
It would heat you up quite quickly if you stand right underneath it.
This can also be another disadvantage if it is mounted right over a work bench, the heat may be too
intense as it is going to heat you up.
Generally with this type of heater you would want to keep the heat on all the time at a fairly constant temperature.
These are excellent heaters if you are working in the garage all the time.
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Garage Heaters
