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  • Floor area about 550 square feet
  • Ceiling about ten feet
  • No existing chimney or other exhaust venting system
  • Insulated walls with insulated two vehicle doors

I would like to be able to maintain a temperature of about 13°C (56°F) inside when temperatures outside are, say, -10°C (13°F). If it's colder than that I'll stay in the house!

Thanks for considering this question.

Additional information:

  • 2x4 walls insulated with 'pink' bats, which I think would be R7 or so, plus the usual vapour barrier and Tyvec on the outside
  • I could provide 240 v cabling through an adjacent crawl space under the house. It would also be possible to hire a contractor to install a natural gas feed to the garage.
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  • What R-value are we talking about here for the wall insulation? – ThreePhaseEel Jul 21 '18 at 18:16
  • Also, we can suggest a solution without mentioning specific products here -- half the problem here is equipment sizing (Man J/Man S), not shopping for equipment – ThreePhaseEel Jul 21 '18 at 18:23
  • Finally -- what is available as a power or fuel source at this garage? Fuel gas? 240V electricity? – ThreePhaseEel Jul 21 '18 at 18:27
  • @ThreePhaseEel: Thanks for responding. I'll edit the question to answer. – Bill Bell Jul 21 '18 at 18:40
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Workroom...shop...dust...occasional use...gas...electricity...seems like lots of variables.

This guy seems to know what he’s talking about:

https://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/shop-heating-options/

Remember, the difference between infrared heat and forced air is that infrared heats the objects in your shop BEFORE it heats the space (air) and forced air heats the space BEFORE the objects. This could be important depending on how long you’re going to be working in your shop.

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  • I've used a propane torch with the flow restrictor removed to make about a 4 foot flame. Plenty of BTU's for a small area in not very much time. You'll look very stupid if you mess up and have to call the fire department. – Wayfaring Stranger Jul 22 '18 at 3:55
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    @WayfaringStranger: Calling the firefighters here in the country usually means waiting around until the house burns down. Maybe I could limit myself to a two-foot flame? ;-) – Bill Bell Jul 22 '18 at 16:05
  • Thanks for a very useful link! At this moment I'm inclined to consider forced air electrical heating that's directed at the most important item in the garage, namely me. – Bill Bell Jul 22 '18 at 16:14
  • @BillBell That's a good plan, Bill. Although you'll likely only get a quarter of the heat out of a two footer. – Wayfaring Stranger Jul 22 '18 at 20:09

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