Was wondering if anyone has experience with the 20lb propane tank topper heaters? I have been sidelined from working on the Bronco too many days so far because of the cold and was looking for something inexpensive, small (I have a one car uninsulated garage), and effective. I noticed HF has both the one source and dual source propane toppers and was hoping that one of those would do the trick to heat the garage up to at least 50 degrees.

Thoughts?

Can you post a link? It might help some, but once you consider venting so you don't nix yourself, it may not be enough. The benefit is they are quite. But I think a better option is a torpedo style heater that is fan powered. Especially one that has some low-med-high settings. That way you can aim the heat where you are.

http://denver.craigslist.org/tls/3525665910.html

http://denver.craigslist.org/for/3527576838.html

http://denver.craigslist.org/app/3526516470.html

My wife picked up a 1500w ceramic electric heater that mounts to the ceiling or wall for me for Christmas. I mounted it right above the work bench and I love it. One of them will take the chill off a 2 car garage but does not do the job in my 3 car. I combine them with 1-2 of the standard space heaters and if needed for light or heat - those 500 or 1000w halogen lights solve both issues quite well.

And no need to worry about CO levels causing me a trip to the hyperbolic chamber or worse...

Now watching the electric meeter spin - that is another story all its own.

Not sure I'd do a propane heater in your space. It's small, and could probably be heated pretty effectively with electric. Not sure about the kind of heater that mounts on a tank, but the wall mounted ventless propane heaters are known for creating problems with moisture in addition to have some level of carbon monoxide risk. I'm not familiar with the ceramic heater that Greg is talking about, but the parabolic electric heaters are also a good option. They heat surfaces, rather than the air, so they're more efficient in an uninsulated garage. I think they're going for $60ish at Costco. I've been planning to pick one up, but will also be looking into the ceramic ones since the prices seem comparable.

Jesus_Man -- I did look at those but I am VERY limited in space and those just require too much for what I can do.

Hockeydad-- I did see those ceiling mounted ceramic electric on Grainger's website. They look pretty good and I am glad to know they work pretty well.

I found one that I may give a shot on Wal-Mart's website that is actually on sale for about 42 bucks. Again, I have such a small space I am thinking maybe something like this will be sufficient enough to warm the area I am working in enough to at least take the bit off a bit. Anyone use something like this before?
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lasko-Pro-Cer ... 0003260430

Of course that will help, and depending on how many cubic feet you are attempting to heat - it may actually do more than enough. We spent 2 days in a 3 car garage with very high ceilings swapping an engine in a friends mustang. We used a similar space heater as it was all my friend had. As long as we kept the overhead door closed it was easy to work in a hoodie and jeans. We started at 8am and did not wrap up until well after 10pm on Sunday Dec. 30th.

I guess we did have a couple of halogen lights providing some additional light and heat as well.

This is the one I received for Christmas and I really like it. It is up out of the way and if I had one more on the other side of my work area I could work in shorts and a T shirt year round without tripping over cords or brushing against a hot heater.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Optimus-H9010-G ... 4d086d51c1

Hmmm, I may need one of those. Same thing as the parabolic heaters I was talking about, but in a way more shop-friendly package. Was reading the Amazon reviews and holy heck, it'll pull 12.3 amps! No using that and the compressor at the same time. I'm also contemplating this one:

http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-HMP1500- ... 975&sr=1-5

Looks similar, but has a thermostat.

I do like those ceiling mounted ones... put them in opposite corners and I would bet you can heat the area pretty easily. The one thing I do like about the blower heaters is that it is more specifically heating an area it is pointed at as opposed to the "radiator" type ones. I ended up ordering the shop ceramic heater from Walmart-- gets here next Monday so I will post up how it works out. My other dilemna is that I am renting so I am trying to purchase things that are not exactly permanent fixtures/improvements to someone else's garage!

Thanks for the recomendations-- it certainly steered me away from the propane heater!

I have always used one of the large propane tank topper heaters to get the chill off, then I use an oil filled radiator type heater. I just have a small 2-car garage though.

I like the ceiling mount heater idea.

I have 2 halogen heaters wall mounted but the elements burned out after about 5 years and I need find replacements still. I also picked up a torpedo style propane heater. That heater kicks ass! 60,000BTUs will heat a three car garage fast. The only down side is it eats propane pretty fast. I need to see if I can convert it to natural gas. I was working in the garage when it was 5 degrees out with the backdoor half open for ventilation. It was still warmer in the garage than in the house.