Garage Heaters

There are a few different styles of garage heaters that may be considered.

• direct vent wall mount heaters
• overhead unit heaters
• radiant tube heaters

The three main manufacturers that we carry are Empire direct vent sealed combustion heaters, Hot Dawg unit heaters, and Calcana radiant heaters.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is to oversize a garage heater. A well insulated double garage can be heated quite well with as little as 30,000- 45,000 BTU.

The problem with putting in a 75,000 or larger heater is the unit is going to heat the garage up so quickly it is not going to have a chance to heat up itself or the chimney.

Keep in mind when an efficiency rating is given on a heater this is achieved when the unit is up to full operating temperature.

If a unit is only on for a minute or two it is going to be very inefficient as a lot of energy is absorbed in heating up the unit from a cold start.

A chimney is designed to work best when it is heated up. If the unit shuts off before the chimney has reached a proper temperature the flue gases are going to condense in the chimney and possibly down into the heat exchanger.

One of the biggest by products of combustion is water vapor. When this condenses it is very acidic and can eat away at your chimney and the heat exchanger.

If your chimney is not venting properly there can be possible carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide is the silent killer, another reason you want someone who knows what they are doing. Properly installed and engineered venting is just as if not more important than the gas piping. A fully qualified gasfitter is well trained in venting practices as well as fitting of gas lines.

The venting of gas appliance regulations and practices falls under the Canadian Gas Code Book and regulations.

The City of Calgary gas inspectors inspect the venting as well as the gas piping.