Its that time of year when the garage is the least inviting, I've tried several heating methods:
Portable gas fire - condensation problems.
Fan heater - didn't last long before it got run over.
Wood burning stove - looked nice but useless.
What do you use and with what success??
i've been looking at infra red/quartz heaters myself. no experience in them yet, but i think they'd be best.
you can get them on ebay for £30 all the way up to £130
don't know what the difference is though...
Just wear a vest!
I use an electric door curtain, I permenantly borrowed from a Shop we refurbished - nice and warm and fan blows warm air all round garage - was in
there all weekend no problem
"Just wear a vest" and hard work
Again I havent finished my Mother Earth Nature heater.
It runs on Waste or Sump Oil, and we all should have plenty of that.
I have seen simmilar ones running and they almost glow red hot when they are running at full blat. (or you can even put a secondary duct around the
chimney and fan that hot air into the garage (leaving the chimney to exit thru the wall or roof)
Hope this is of use to someone:
Linky
quote:
Originally posted by blakep82
i've been looking at infra red/quartz heaters myself. no experience in them yet, but i think they'd be best.
you can get them on ebay for £30 all the way up to £130
don't know what the difference is though...
The quartz/ ir heaters will heat any solid object, what they don't heat is the air.
And no condensation issues either.
Roger
I wear surgical gloves, an army fleece (tight fit as was originally for under smock), Overalls and thick socks and steelies.
Lovely and warm today. Even laid an old rug on the drive while i took the sump off the car.
Could have lived under it today, i was that comfortable.
As its locostbuilders and electricity is pricey....
Carpet the floor where you stand, saves your feet from the cold.
Wear another 2 layers under your jacket.
I spent all weekend out in the garage and when busy I didnt really notice it was cold TBH.
I used a massive electric infrared patio heater from focus... looked like a big spotlight..
It just seemed to make my head very hot... but didnt give much comfort... Its the skin vs cold metal that seems to be the worst part!
I use thermal coveralls (padded) and a wooly hat if it's really cold! Sometimes I do a few star jumps to get the circulation going. Cheap and
envioronmentaly friendly.
I use a cheap fan heater. Compared the buying costs (which are easy to overlook) and running costs of some alternatives and it made sense. The heat
is fairly directional, too, which is handy when you're working on something made of plastic... 
Francis
I put a jacket on and try to keep moving
(not easy with the lack of space in there!)
I have the perfect solution in a solid fuel burning stove. But alas cutting a hole through my tiled garage roof scares me pantless I must say. I
thought that a gas fire might do the trick but today I got dripped on which worried me as I was unaware of the condensation problem.
What is the science behind this problem and why does it occur? Me noundestandy
Carpet as flak suggested. Smart boy that chap.
I'm interested in why gas heaters/hobs cause condensation.
I have a gas hob in my motorhome which causes bad condensation, and I have a woodburner which nukes the condensation 
Wood burners pwn for drying
things out
Burning hydrocarbons converts them into CO2 and H2O. The H2O is your condensation.
I use an 11kW space heater (gas powered). My garage is properly ventilated; no condensation issues thusfar.
Thought about electric heaters, but being limited to 3kW (fuse!) it didn't make much sense to me. The space heater gets it nice and toasty in 20
mins (300 sq.ft garage) and runs on (cheap!) LPG.
DOH!
I have a 27Kw oil fired space heater, the sort with a heat exchanger and ducted to outside, runs on the heating oil and cycles on a wall thermostat
automatically.
One of my best buys at £260 from Ebay. Nice and warm with no condensation.
But as others have said if you dress for the cold you tend not to notice it.
quote:
Originally posted by Irony
I have the perfect solution in a solid fuel burning stove. But alas cutting a hole through my tiled garage roof scares me pantless I must say.
Electric fan heater is all you need, as long as you get some insulation in there. that's the important part, not the heat. Get some good insulation and you will hardly need any heat at all.
i got an electric fan heater. all it did was blow warmed air at me, which then cooled down before it got to me 
quote:
Originally posted by blakep82
i got an electric fan heater. all it did was blow warmed air at me, which then cooled down before it got to me
Insulate your garage door - its just a blooming big radiator sucking the heat out of your garage and into the rest of the planet.
Last year i stuck bubble wrap on it - proved the point so this year i've done it properly with 2" thick expanded polystyrene slabs. Cut down
to 1" where the spars are. Also boarded the attic with cheap fibre board - this reduces the amount of air that needs to be heated & stops
some of the drafts. HAven't had chance to go in the last week but before that i was having to unzip my padded overalls due to sweating too
much.
Biggest issue is cold hands - on the christmas list this year are mechanics 1 finger and thumb less gloves.
Thermal underwear , I haven't got any power in my garage it was minus 4 yesterday and I didn't feel cold . Latex gloves keep your hands suprisingly warm , you don't realise how warm until you take them off. Mechanics gloves are OK until you get them oily
Water pipes in the floor, 40 gallon hot water heater, circulation pump, nice cosy 10-15 degrees C.
ooo posh under floor heating !!!
the trick is to insulate and dont lose what heat you do generate so its not expensive.
i run a small oil fired wheel radiator from bnq i think - put it on a timer and have it run and minimum temps - cos the garage is insulated the heat
cant escape so it doesnt cost a lot to run.. insulation is the key.. dont waste it - as said before - doors are a big waster - i use some long to the
floor old curtains over them
i use hard work to warm mine (im sure someones already said that but i cant be bothered reading the thread)