Electric Garage Heating

[mgbizzle]

Is there going to be a big difference using this: Click to this Clicky

My Father's argument is there both 2kw, so can only kick out that amount of heat. So why such the big price difference between the two different types? Is the more industrial style better?

[Deleted]

The Stanley one looks a better bet and will kick out more heat the small plastic Chinese land fill fodder will brake and not be able to warm the area up quickly especially if the garage is drafty, it depends what you want to do quick warm up to work in the garage or something to keep it warm all day. If it's a work shop and you want to keep it warm then oil filled rads are good and cost less to run but kick out some heat.

[86corolla]

The cheap Chinese one is for indoor use only...
where as the other one will no doubt be ip rated.and suited to workshop environment ie able to cope with dust.dirt.moister etch

[g40jon]

I would avoid anything like those heaters linked. An oil filled electric radiator is a better option if you want to take the edge off over a long period. Electric heaters are hugely expensive to run. I have been doing a house up ad had to go through january using only electric panel heaters (they were meant to be a back up for the wood burning stove, but things didn't go to plan due to a shonky instalation by the prev owner). For the month, it cost £400 in electric.
I went and borrowed my dads old, portable gas heater. 13kg calor gas bottle is around £30, has lasted being on for 3 or 4 hours per day for the past two weeks. Only downside is that it gives of a lot of moisture and having an open flame in some situations might not be suitable.

[Richard TR7]

Have a read of the reviews, the little one gets good reviews as it pushes out more heat than expected for a small unit - the larger one is less well reviewed with the main criticism being that it isn't warm enough / should have bought the more powerful version.

[mgbizzle]

Sorry I just used those links as an example.

I have a similar small heater fan to the one linked currently (and its quite reliable despite what people seem to suggest), I pop it on and direct it where I'm working when I'm in the garage. I thought a more expensive workshop type heater might warm me up better, however my father came across with the argument it uses the same power so it cant be better, which seems to make sense as I believe electric heaters are nearly 100% efficient?

I was just wondering if people had any experience with both the different types. It looking better doesnt really warrant a £65 spend.

Oil rad would be no good for me as you cant direct the heat and it takes a little time to warm up.

[dodgerover]

The Stanley ones are utter wibblepoo! We bought 10 for a job we were on so I speak from experiance. You will get more heat out of the Chinese cheapy's at a fraction of the cost, these just don't give any heat out and have a tendancy to melt the plugs into the wall sockets as they draw so much power - not that you could tell from the heat output.
You wouldn't dare leave one unattended using just the thermostat (for example to stop pipes freezing) the place would be on fire by the time you returned. Really Really don't bother utter waste of money

[optimusprime]

I've got four of those small fan heaters ( they were free,being binned in previous job) only good for keeping my hands warm when working on my workbench,or other similar jobs where you can get the heater near you.
Its not the heat wattage thats the issue, its the amount of air that gets blown out by the fan, some are better than others, plus they can get hot ( yes, i know before some smart alec comments ....... Its a heater) and cut out.

[pauly22]

If your garage isn't too drafts,

Possible stick some insulation in the garage door to help and draught excluders, expanding foam in gaps too will help.

The small job will take the chill off the garage,

Always try edmunsons or newy and eyre they have Newlec fan heaters we use a lot at work. Seem a bit more robust.

[taurus]

I tried to warm the garage with fan heaters, it cost a fortune and I was still cold. Then I tried a halogen heater, just a cheap 800w type. It kept me toasty.

[DWDarkWheels]

Bought that Stanley one recently. Robust but not much heat off it. You need to be standing a couple of feet directly in front of it to feel any benefit. I doubt it's up to heating even a well insulated single garage.

Cheap enough, but wouldn't recommend it. Interested to see what others recommend.

[bstardchild]

I've got a very similar one to this clicky - heater



My garage is 11m long by 3.5m wide and it'll bring the temp up from 7 deg to 12 deg in under an hour

However my garage is well insulated and has double glazed windows and doors plus I have insulated the up and over door and that makes a huge difference all year round (in winter it's normally 5-6 deg warmer than outside and in summer 8-10 deg cooler than outside

[chris y]

Consider a radiant heater rather than fan, radiation heats up the objects its pointed at rather than heating air and blowing it out where most of it drifts off and in a garage is quickly soaked up by everything. More suitable when there is no hope of heating the whole place.


I have a 3Kw one and sometimes wear a hat to prevent burning my head if I'm working too near it.
It will get the air temp up to about 10 - 12 degrees in an hour (assume starting at low single figures) but I usually turn it off by then anyway because the air is only heated by heat leaving the objects the heater has heated (including people). The person gets hot before the air does.

Its how the gas super ser type heaters heat but more powerful and without the moisture, the gas ones aren't a bad option for cheap localised heat though.

Your Dad is right that 2kw is 2kw, but it can be delivered in different ways.

[taurus]

The above says much better what I was trying to say about halogen heaters. I was amazed that a 800w heater could keep me warm where two 2kw fan heaters left on for several hours made no difference at all.

You can also focus the heat where you want it.

[bazzateer]

I currently use a3kw version of that cheap one to take the edge off my garage. Works fine, only need it on for about 30 mins (garage is well insulated).

I have however, recently bought a 6kw commercial fan heater which I will be fitting as the little one is more suited to domestic applications.