Self-repairing a car in the winter is still a pleasure. In the cold, changing oil or a wheel in the garage, if it is not heated, is not too desirable for any motorist. Frost bites, so it's difficult to do without a good heating device.
However, you must agree that main gas is the cheapest fuel for such equipment today. At the same time, the range of devices for heating on blue fuel in stores is huge.
To make it easier for you to choose, we have collected detailed information about which gas heaters for the garage exist. We analyzed their features and characteristics to make it easier to understand which of the devices is more practical. Taking into account our advice, you can easily determine the best option for yourself.
The content of the article:
- Is gas heating suitable for a garage?
-
Types of gas heaters
- Option # 1 - infrared
- Option # 2 - catalytic
- Option # 3 - convectors
- Option # 4 - heat guns
- Choosing the best appliance
- Conclusions and useful video on the topic
Is gas heating suitable for a garage?
Often, a private garage today is not just a place for storing a car, but also a small personal workshop, a warehouse for spare parts and a room for minor car repairs. It is usually connected to the power grid, but not always to centralized heating.
It is too expensive to lay heating pipes down the street to such a structure. Moreover, in this case, heating is not needed constant, but only seasonal.
Most often, a gas heater for a garage is chosen with gas supply from a cylinder (propane or a mixture propane-butane), pipes with methane are expensive and irrational to pull due to inconsistent use heater
If the heating of the garage is organized on electricity, then the huge electricity bills will discourage any desire to often turn on the heating. And not always existing electrical networks are able to supply the required current for a good powerful heater.
In the case of your own plot and a private house, there will most likely not be any special problems with the required voltage. But in a situation with a garage array in the city, you can not even dream of additional kilowatts. Power grids for such rooms are usually only designed for a couple of bulbs and a socket for a low-power electric tool.
And cheap gas remains here in fact the only alternative to electricity. The diesel heater is too environmentally dirty.
A wood-burning or coal-fired stove for a garage is also not very suitable because of the increased fire hazard, an abundance of soot and a short duration of use. Wood stove takes too long to be used to heat up a small garage workshop for a couple of hours of work.
Gas cylinder-operated garage heaters are good:
- compactness and mobility of the heater;
- low cost of equipment;
- availability of fuel (a bottle of liquefied gas can be filled at any gas station);
- environmental friendliness and absence of soot;
- relatively low cost of fuel;
- ease of use of the heater;
- long service life of the device of 15–20 years;
- high speed of warming up the room.
Their only drawback is their explosiveness and high risk of fire. However, if you follow the elementary rules for handling gas equipment, then such a device is completely safe.
During operation, a gas heater burns oxygen in the room, therefore, before turning it on, you must take care of sufficient air exchange and good ventilation in the garage.
Gas heaters explode extremely rarely. It is required to try hard to bring the situation to an explosion and even a fire during their operation. Electrical counterparts burn much more often due to short circuits.
At the same time, an autonomous gas appliance in a closed room is dangerous by the gradual combustion of oxygen inside the garage. If the ventilation is poor and there is no outside air flow, the gas in the burner may go out. And then, if there is no protection in the heater that cuts off the fuel supply from the cylinder, it is close to an explosion, fire or burnout.
Types of gas heaters
All types of gas heating appliances for garages are divided into two types of models:
- wall-mounted;
- mobile floor.
The first option is usually performed in the form of a powerful convector for main gas, more precisely, a mixture of gases produced and transported through a gas pipeline, in which methane predominates. He needs to supply a pipe with fuel and make a chimney.
Such devices are rarely installed in garages. A compact mobile analogue, designed to operate from a cylinder, is cheaper, easier to install and does not require approvals to connect.
A private garage usually has a small area, so small-sized and cheap propane-fueled appliances are most often chosen to heat it.
By design and principle of operation, gas heaters are infrared and convection. To stimulate the movement of heated air, convection models can be equipped with a fan or not. Each of these types has its own advantages.
Option # 1 - infrared
The operation of infrared heating devices is based on the principle of "thermal radiation" of electromagnetic waves with a length in the region of 9.2 microns. Such infrared rays quietly pass the air in the room without delay and heat the surfaces opposite the heater. And already from the walls, ceiling and various objects, heat dissipates further through the room.
Radiation from a gas infrared heater in a garage is absolutely safe for a person, it is not capable of causing damage to a car even with prolonged exposure.
The source of radiation in a gas-fired infrared device can be a direct open flame or a ceramic heating element, which receives energy from the combusted fuel. Further, the infrared rays are directed in the desired direction with the help of a reflector.
Infrared gas equipment for space heating:
- does not require electricity for operation;
- it is compact in size;
- economical;
- silently;
- does not create convection and does not raise dust.
The basic disadvantage of IK gas heaters for arranging a garage or summer cottage is a narrow beam of heat. After switching on, the infrared emitter heats in the treated space only those surfaces where it is directed.
At the same time, walls and objects outside the range of the device remain cold without direct heating. As a result, a situation is possible when one corner in the room is hot and comfortable for repairing the machine, and pulls cold from the other.
Gas infrared heaters in stores are found in the form of heating pyramids. For a garage, such models should not be taken, they are intended for heating open spaces and spacious rooms.
For small garage spaces, the most suitable infrared devices on propane in the form of ceramic furnaces with a cylinder inside or compact emitters-panels. Both options usually have an oxygen sensor and gas leaks, and fire protection. The power of such equipment is designed for heating garages with an area of 4 to 40 sq. m.
Option # 2 - catalytic
In catalytic infrared gas heaters, heat is generated by the effect of catalysis - the oxidation of gas on a platinum-coated heating surface. No open flame is formed as such. But propane as a result "burns out" much more completely than in the case of a classic burner.
In terms of efficiency and power, catalytic and infrared gas heaters for garages are similar, but in terms of safety and environmental friendliness, the former are much superior to the latter.
During operation, the heating element of the catalytic device heats up to 200 0WITH. At the exit, ordinary CO is formed2 and H2Oh, however, oxygen is spent in this case several times less than with open combustion of gas fuel. Plus, propane as a result burns out almost completely and without the formation of carbon monoxide CO.
Catalytic infrared heater:
- economical in fuel consumption;
- does not form carbon monoxide when heated;
- fireproof;
- favorable for breathing, oxygen in the garage burns out to a minimum.
The main disadvantage of such a device is its short service life. The catalyst in it is designed for continuous operation in the region of 2–2.5 thousand hours. This is about five to six months, and then the heater can be thrown away. It will be enough for one winter season, but no more.
Option # 3 - convectors
Convector gas heaters for garages have a ceramic or steel heat exchanger inside, which is heated by an open flame, and then gives off heat to the garage with the help of natural air convection. At the bottom, a similar device has openings for the intake of cold air, and at the top for the exit of hot air.
Convectors warm up the garage for a long time, but after that they effectively maintain the set temperature with a minimum of fuel consumption
Among the advantages of gas convectors:
- burning gas in a closed chamber;
- lack of release of combustion products into the room;
- high efficiency in fuel consumption.
The installation of a gas convector is usually carried out on a wall, in which a hole is made for coaxial chimney. For short-term heating of the garage, this option is ineffective. But if you need to keep the temperature inside for a long time at the level of 5-10 0C, then this is the most appropriate choice.
Some convector-type models are equipped with an additional fan for forced air flow through the heat exchanger. Such heaters are characterized by increased performance and are capable of heating large areas. However, they require a power supply to operate, whereas a conventional device does not depend on the presence / absence of power supply.
Option # 4 - heat guns
The fastest of all gas heaters in terms of garage heating speed are heat guns. They can have a fan inside, or they can work only due to the draft from the combustion gas. The former are more powerful, but the latter does not require an electrical connection.
The combustion chamber in a heat gun is open and closed. In the first case, all the products of gas combustion, albeit small in volume, are blown into the garage.
The heat gun allows you to quickly heat up the air volume entrusted to it in order to create comfortable conditions for car repairs. But if the garage is not insulated, then the heat, as quickly came into the room, will immediately leave it on the street when such a heater is turned off.
Among the disadvantages of the "gun" is also raised garage dust. During operation, the device creates a powerful stream of heated air, which lifts even small debris from the floor and shelves in the garage. Otherwise, it is an efficient and powerful heating equipment.
Choosing the best appliance
When choosing a gas heater for a garage, it is necessary to proceed from specific needs. If you have to work in the garage on a regular basis and for a long time, then it is better to purchase a convector. And if you need to quickly warm up the air for half an hour, then a heat gun is most suitable.
IR heaters heat surfaces and objects in the room, they are ideal for maintaining comfortable temperatures in the room for a long time during the day
Catalytic heaters are expensive, but absolutely fireproof and burn oxygen in the garage by an order of magnitude. And ceramic models are cheap and long-lasting.
Mobile household heaters on bottled propane in stores are offered with a capacity of 1 to 15 kW. Find the best option for garage any area will not leave much difficulty.
At the same time, you do not need to take a powerful device for a small room. It will burn excess fuel, and there will be zero sense from the generated heat at the output, since the garage structure will have to be ventilated more often.
Conclusions and useful video on the topic
Gas infrared heater overview:
Pros and cons of a gas heating IR panel:
Calculation of gas costs for a heater in the garage:
There is no ideal gas heater for all garages. In each case, you should select your own option. The range of such heaters is huge, it will not be difficult to find the most suitable equipment in terms of power and principle of operation.
And most importantly, when choosing a gas device, you should not save on protection elements, otherwise it is close to a tragedy with a fire or explosion.
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