Hey guys. I have standard stick built house with 1 regular heat vent, for a 28'x22' (2) car garage. Needless to say, it doesn't work well.

What are my options for heating it?

Gas or electric?
Im not made of money...so looking for the best "bang for the buck" option
The garage does share a wall with natural gas for heat and water heater. Maybe a wall mount option? (If gas is best..?)
Side note: Insulated garage doors are on the list as well.
Its not a "shop" so I would like a thermostat controlled environment.

Thanks for any help!


EDIT: Im in the midwest, so it gets cold in the winter.

Modine Hot Dawg.  Natural gas.

Any vent free, blue flame, larger, natural gas wall mount heater will do you. I suggest around 45k btu if possible. Dirt cheap and puts out great heat. Friend has one. Real nice and super affordable.  Prolly less than $350 for the unit you need. Big box stores usually carry them or ordering is fast from anywhere.

Nevermind. Go with modines hot dog. Just read great reviews, its almost as affordable as the chinese crap i initially suggested, but its MADE IN AMERICA. If you have hanging room, go hot dog, if not, go vent free blue flame.

Thanks guys.

I have hanging room for the Modine and will look into it, but the additional cost of installation may kill the deal (around here probably more than what the unit cost)

Did find a couple of the blue flame vent-less wall mounts...everything looks perfect on paper. Slap it on the shared wall and connect gas (no electrical). Is carbon monoxide a concern with something like this?

CO usually isn't a big concern but moisture is.  Go with the vented unit if at all possible.  You'll be a LOT happier with it.  

Also check out the Mr. Heater vented heaters.  Northern tool usually has a good price on them.  50k btu would be plenty.

If you're on a budget and infrequent use is all need. Try a kerosene tower heater(23,000 Btu). I can heat a oversize 2 stall to 80+ degrees in a couple hrs. Run a small fan aimed at the ceiling to keep the air circulating and you'll be golden.
I agree a hawtdog or similar would be great but for the 4-5 times a winter I heat the garage its served me well and I like the fact that I've got a back-up heat source that I know is working well through use if the need comes up.

I went with a blue flame wall hanger in my 3 car garage.
I think this is the exact one:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200395467_200395467?cm_mmc=Google-pla_with_promotion-_-Heaters%2C%20Stoves%20%2B%20Fireplaces-_-Dual-Fuel:%20Gas%20%2B%20Propane%20Heaters-_-177201&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=177201&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=177201&gclid=Cj0KEQiA1qajBRC_6MO49cqDxbYBEiQAiCl5_E6J24ZyW56yvONdY9ykCntfxkQ2CUgjgbrpxSLcu_4aAtql8P8HAQ

It keeps my garage very nice and warm. I use the 3rd bay for a workout area and hate to be cold when I'm lifting.  Humidity isn't an issue here during the winter. If anything its nice to have some moisture in the air. The electric heat in the house makes everything too dry.

If you just want to keep the cars warm the Modine will work well.  If you are actually planning to work in your garage I would look at a radiant heater.

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the help.

In a turn of events, I am going to have to replace the home furnace/ac setup. The heat pump setup (16yr old) unit was "hotwired" to only run "emergency heat" ... heat pump doesn't work at all...among other discoveries.

The idea then came to buying a big enough Furnace/AC to heat/cool the house and garage (along with adding pipe for another vent) and the installer said its no problem.

1600 sq ft home: $6756 was the quote for all new setup with extra vent installed in garage. I was told "High Effeciency 95% 16 seer" and something about an "ECM"

More questions of a whole nother ordeal

What should I look out for on this new setup, as far as specifications?  
Is this a fair cost?
I read online in a few places, that vents in the garage are a bad idea and they don't do it after homes built after 00...? (car fumes, fuels, no returns etc)

I would not use a house system to also heat/cool a garage for all of the reasons you stated

While the installer is there running gas to the furnace have him run a line and vent for the modine.

Here in GA there is a $500 rebate from the has company to switch from a heat pump to gas and an additional small rebate for going high efficency.

Use the rebates to cover the cost of the modine

Just my .o2 from a licensed gc

I have a register installed in the main duct coming from my heater, which is in the garage.  It's worthless as a garage heater/AC.  My garage walls are fully insulated, but the garage door isn't quite as thick.  Unless your garage is as insulated as your house the heater isn't going to run enough to warm the garage very much.    

I use a propane "sunflower" style heater in my 2500 ft. shop. Works very well. I just move it to the area I`m working in and voila! After a short period I`m in shirt sleeves in the dead of winter.

While the odds of a problem are low, the reason this isn't recommended is because a heater needs an air return.  If your garage/house connection is so tight that air from the garage can't return back to the unit, then you aren't going to be putting much heat into your garage.  If the house to garage connection is fairly loose, then the air return inside the house should be pulling air from the garage (creating that "loop") and allowing the garage to heat and cool.  The issue is, you could be pulling CO into the house from the garage.  If you have such a system, I would NEVER start a vehicle unless the garage door is open.

I would check local regulations, might be both a fire and CO issue.  I wold however have them run a natural gas like to the garage and get a separate unit.  Depending on how hot or cold it gets, heat pumps don't work that well.  If your spending the money, get a forced air unit.

I Just went through the same thing. The cheap way to do this is just buy a potable propane heater with a lot of BTU's and use it as you need it. I used to do this and it worked, however I would burn through a lot of gas because I would be in the garage a lot. Whatever you choose, I recommend a carbon monoxide detector be installed in the garage as well.

My garage is a smaller 22x22 that used to have just bare studs. I went the overkill route and Insulated/drywalled my walls with R-13 fiberglass batts. I also just did the owens corning atticat blow in insulation in the attic above the garage and put enough in there so it's R-49. This made a HUGE difference in how much heat the garage retains. The inside of the garage is on average 30-35 degrees above the outside temp with no heater.

I also replaced the weatherstripping around the outside of the garage door (there was none). My garage door had no insulation and I didn't want to buy a new one since it was still in great shape. I ordered an insulation kit for it and it works great. Here is the one I used, if you have a double garage door you will need 2 kits.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-Garage-Door-Insulation-Kit-8-Pieces-Garage-Door-Insulation-Kit-8-pcs/203630159

I have a 45k BTU NG heater mounted on the garage ceiling in the corner that vents to the outside through the roof. I installed everything myself including a T from the gas line in the garage for around $800 in materials. It costs a decent amount, but it's nice when you can work on your car in shorts and a T-shirt when its below 0 outside

go to www.garagejournal.com for some more ideas, and prepare your wallet.

I agree with others. Get a gas line run into garage for hot dawg. Period.

Heating the garage with the same system that heats the house is a no no.

where most folks live this is a violation of fire and HVAC codes.

many fires start in the garage, hence the 5/8" type X sheetrock that separates the garage from the living area.  don't make a hole which enables smoke and fire spread.
CO poisoning is another reason that the house HVAC system should be isolated from the garage, always.

ar-jedi

any HVAC system that is supplying conditioned air to a garage must be independent of any system that is supplying conditioned air to the interior living space of a home.

ar-jedi