I'm trying to set up shop for the winter in my unheated(other than what bleeds out of the house), uninsulated garage. I worked out there for an hour today and was nearly frozen by the time I was done, despite the fact that I went out of my way to put 100W incandescents in all my work lights to try and at least keep things warm under the hood of the car(where I was working). That doesn't change doing other stuff in the garage, though.
I have a preference for kerosene, as I've always perceived it as being a lot more inexpensive to operate than propane. I can usually find K-1 white kerosene at gas stations for ~$4 a gallon. I've not bought propane in a while, but a 20lb refill seems about $20, meaning it will cost about the same as a 5 gallon tank of K-1.
What I'm looking at in Kerosene is just the good old classic radiant-type round heater, most of which seem rated at around 23K BTU. I can get one for $100-150. I'm familiar with these heaters, both in output and operation, and know they are a good size for something the size of my garage, maybe even enough that I'd not need to run it full blast. The numbers I find are 8-12 hours per 1.9 gallon fill. That puts it, at the low end, at about 21 hours on a 5 gallon tank(or a bit less since I know I can't fill a heater without spilling some.
I'm not overly familiar with the propane options out there. My BIL swears by the Dynaglow type that fit right on top of a 20lb cylinder. A quick search rates these at 15K BTU, and the run time on 20lbs is stated at 28 hours at full blast.
Of course the lingering question out there-is 15K BTU going to be enough, or am I going to need a second? I don't have dimensions offhand, but I know also with the almost complete lack of insulation I'm going to need more space than a heater would dictate.
Still, though, the kerosene heater seems less expensive to run, although IIRC efficiency drops if run at less than full blast. That does make sense given how much more energy dense kerosene is than propane.
The only thing that does throw me off, and maybe I'm being overly cautious, but I tend to always crack the garage door a bit on kerosene. I know as long as they're running correctly the risk of CO is minimal, but it's still there(of course also in propane, but it's a bit easier to get right). Kerosene does smell though, although there again good K-1 in a properly operated heater(with a clean wick) minimizes that. The other part of that is that either can end up way too humid with either type if not vented a bit.
What would you all choose?
I have a preference for kerosene, as I've always perceived it as being a lot more inexpensive to operate than propane. I can usually find K-1 white kerosene at gas stations for ~$4 a gallon. I've not bought propane in a while, but a 20lb refill seems about $20, meaning it will cost about the same as a 5 gallon tank of K-1.
What I'm looking at in Kerosene is just the good old classic radiant-type round heater, most of which seem rated at around 23K BTU. I can get one for $100-150. I'm familiar with these heaters, both in output and operation, and know they are a good size for something the size of my garage, maybe even enough that I'd not need to run it full blast. The numbers I find are 8-12 hours per 1.9 gallon fill. That puts it, at the low end, at about 21 hours on a 5 gallon tank(or a bit less since I know I can't fill a heater without spilling some.
I'm not overly familiar with the propane options out there. My BIL swears by the Dynaglow type that fit right on top of a 20lb cylinder. A quick search rates these at 15K BTU, and the run time on 20lbs is stated at 28 hours at full blast.
Of course the lingering question out there-is 15K BTU going to be enough, or am I going to need a second? I don't have dimensions offhand, but I know also with the almost complete lack of insulation I'm going to need more space than a heater would dictate.
Still, though, the kerosene heater seems less expensive to run, although IIRC efficiency drops if run at less than full blast. That does make sense given how much more energy dense kerosene is than propane.
The only thing that does throw me off, and maybe I'm being overly cautious, but I tend to always crack the garage door a bit on kerosene. I know as long as they're running correctly the risk of CO is minimal, but it's still there(of course also in propane, but it's a bit easier to get right). Kerosene does smell though, although there again good K-1 in a properly operated heater(with a clean wick) minimizes that. The other part of that is that either can end up way too humid with either type if not vented a bit.
What would you all choose?