I believe I posted a thread back in 2014 or 2015 about options for a garage heater for an attached garage. At that time I was in a split level and my garage was under the bedrooms so propane or kerosene was out.
Fast forward to now and I’m in a traditional two story home but still with an attached garage. It gets pretty cold in Pittsburgh in the winter and I got tired of freezing my gibblets off. When it’s colder than 40 degrees the garages hovers around 35-40 degrees inside. Call me weak but that takes all my garage motivation away.
Ive been using two space heaters that would take about 4 hours to warm the garage up to around 55 degrees. That was horribly inefficient and I noticed a cost increase on my power bill.
I finally bit the bullet and started looking at 220v ceiling heaters and narrowed it down to a Pro Fusion unit from Northern Tool. I quickly looked on Craigslist and found the exact heater local for $50. It’s a 7500w heater that outputs 26k BTUs. I had to run 8-gauge wire to a 40 amp breaker which was around 80 feet from my panel box. The unit was direct wire so I opted for a drier plug so I could run a compressor to in the future. Running that heavy gauge of wiring isn’t fun but I made it through to the other side.
Summary is that within 10 minutes the garage is a toasty 60 degrees. A few more minutes and it’s 70 degrees. I usually have to turn the thing off because I overheat. Now that it’s getting warmer I use it less but it’s still nice to have. Link below of heater. I did spend around $100 in wiring.
https://m.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200631888_200631888
I finally got a big boy tool box. For years, half my wrenching time has been spent searching for tools. Now screwdrivers are in the screwdriver drawer. Sockets are in the socket drawer. 72” of tool holding glory is just the best thing since.....well anything.
Plasma cutter. Hands down.
Jay_W
Dork
4/19/19 12:00 a.m.
Our house. It has a garage.
Maybe not the absolute favorite, but this one gets the most use and would be the most missed.
Favorite would still have to be the lathe.
Right now it's the $100 I spent on LED tube lights to replace all the burned out fluorescents. Working on everything is better when you can actually see it.
In reply to Toyman01 :
IIRC you did a build thread on the lathe. Can you post the link to it?
Battery-powered impact wrench. It’s so nice not having to pull an air hose around the garage very much (still use air for some other tools that don’t get a lot of use)
Ian F
MegaDork
4/19/19 8:42 a.m.
Right now, it would be the two scissor lifts. Being a narrow, one bay garage they are the only realistic lift option I have.
My next tasks are storage and flooring. The previously mentioned width makes the current tool boxes and floor shelving I've had for ages difficult to work around, so I need to figure out a new system. Something wall-mounted and not as deep.
RossD
MegaDork
4/19/19 8:49 a.m.
Three things come to mind. The gas fireplace, oak cabinets, and the 4' led hanging light that I use on the floor. But since I only paid for the light, I am going with that. Next I need two magnetic base with hooks for under hood light
My Miller 211 has quickly become the new favorite.
slefain
PowerDork
4/19/19 9:16 a.m.
Floor to ceiling shelving the length of the entire garage, 24" deep. One side uses 2x4s and 3/4" plywood for heavy stuff like car parts, the other side is hacked together Ikea HEJNE shelving with custom 8' tall uprights for random storage. The HEJNE shelves use normal 1x4 size uprights, so you just need to buy a single kit and bunch of extra shelves. Used the stock uprights are guides and drill your own holes in longer uprights. Bolt the whole thing to the wall using some L-brackets and you have a massive amount of storage in a day. The 2x4 shelves took a lot more planning and cutting.
I was weepy when I actually got a shop that was just a metal box with garage doors. Smashed up about 200 old flower pots to get a ramp to drive into the shop.
Electricity was a red letter day. Sure it was just one 4 outlet plug but it it sure beat the extension cord from the house. It ran Lights, a fan and a radio (pick 2).
I think angels actually sang the day I was able to flip a switch and light the place up! Put up a bunch of outlets all around the walls, both 110 and 220 and installed a fridge and found a big compressor soon after.
Building my workbench to replace the collection of rickety tables that the female would not have in the house had me feeling like I was making America an industrial powerhouse. It has a couple of gooseneck lamps, I bolted a good vice, grinder and a table top drill press and it was dead level and strong like bull!
One day my brother hands me a hammer drill as a present that left me a little confused until he showed me it went with the 2 post lift out on the trailer! Got tall jack stands and a rolling tall oil drain thing too. Installed it with an air hose reel and a couple of drop lights and felt like we had found the promised land!
One week we added proper water and sewage along with a tire machine and balancer.
All these things thrilled me more than I expected.
I expect to enjoy the insulation with the HVAC system and finished wall to be just as welcome.
It is kinda like asking which is your favorite kid!
Bruce
My blast cabinet and the compressor to run it. I don't do well with ugly parts. The blast cabinet allows me to address that.
mazdeuce - Seth said:
Automotive levitator.
Repeat. I will not complain about the lack of room in my garage..........
mazdeuce - Seth said:
Automotive levitator.
I spent all day yesterday using mine. I came in here to change my answer.
In an odd way I have favorite things but the $79.00 Sears floor jack I bought in the 1980's has taken care of me like a faithful servant.
rustybugkiller said:
mazdeuce - Seth said:
Automotive levitator.
Repeat. I will not complain about the lack of room in my garage..........
I need to attack the mess. I did learn a lot in this garage about space.
mazdeuce - Seth said:
Automotive levitator.
Lifts are cool! This IS a universal constant!
