Also, standing on something other than cold concrete can make a big difference. Some old scraps of carpet or cheap rubber mats really make a huge difference if you are in there for a while. Yes, I've spent a lot of time working in cold garages....
I was in this situation about 10 years ago with an uninsulated garage. I used a ~35,000 BTU propane torpedo heater to heat things up quickly and then switched over to an 18,000 BTU Mr Heater Big Buddy hooked to another 20lb cylinder to maintain. The propane torpedo had a bit of smell. The Big Buddy burns very cleanly and has tip-over/low oxygen protection.
Kerosene v. Propane: https://www.timothyoffheating.com/about/blog/how-stuff-works/heaters-kerosene-vs-propane/
Get two one of these https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dyna-Glo-70K-125K-BTU-Propane-Forced-Air-Heater-RMC-FA125DGD/202616552 then some sort of smaller IR one. Turn both on wide open and go away. Then come back open the door to let oxygen in for a minute or two. Turn off the big one and have the IR one running to keep it warm.
He's trying to heat a 1 car garage, not cure powder coating. And you forgot the "come back in an hour and swap out the propane tank(s) for full ones"
Have you thought about blowing insulation in? you can rent the equipment, drill a few smallish holes in the top of each stud compartment and go to town. No need to tear the walls down.
I just bought the one you linked a couple of months ago. I've used it 3 or 4 times and it works pretty well. I have a large uninsulated garage. I have just set it about 10 feet from the area I'm working and keep it going, starting on high and then turning it to low once things get warm. Sometimes I think the regulator might stick and the flame is small when I first light it. Turning it off and back on usually fixes it. I bought it Menards for $120 not including their rebate.
mine is a 3 car though it is insulated. You don't have to run it wide open nor for an hour. I can run mine about 10 minutes then turn it off with a garage in the 60's or better. Though it does not drop much below 30 often here. Got to love the salamanders though for kicking out heat, bad boys can almost heat open space.
I have a 2 car attached garage. It’s dry walled and maybe insulated, don’t know for sure. I can turn on a 100,000 btu kerosene torpedo for maybe 20-30 min with the door cracked and it’s warm. I turn it off. Get ready to work and close th door. Stays warm for couple hours. Then repeat as needed. I have done this for y-8 days this winter and have only used a couple gallons of kerosene.
+1. I have a 24x36 detached garage. Half is insulated with plywood walls. Metal roof and no ceiling, just exposed trusses. I use a kerosene torpedo heater for about 20 mins to bring it up to about 60 ....and with my fairly large wood burning stove w/dual blower fans, it will maintain 60+ when it's 0 degrees outside. Wood is stacked inside the garage, nice and dry. Notice the my grandmas old recliner.....it almost caught on fire. A little too close.
Illinois/Iowa border here. I use one of the tank top heaters with 2 burners on it personally in my 22 x 26 garage. I opted against the forced air style because they really seem to chew up oxygen in your work area and I can place the 20lb bottle top heater as close or as far from me as I need to be comfortable. Also, the radiant type has never given me any ignition issues vs watching some friends last only a season or 3 before they went haywire and required servicing.
I am going to help you out om this one. You have already decided what you want to do and are just looking for affirmation that you made the right choice, correct? Therefore, I will tell you that for your situation, the choice you have made is 100% correct and will do exactly what you need it to do. All of the naysayers on here are wrong. All of them that are telling you to insulate are wrong. The recommendation of your co-worker is all you need since he is a certified genious. Go for it and get what you want, if you haven't already done it. P.S. I have found that propane creates more condensation than electric and I suspect that the insulated garage will be a selling point on the house when you move on and if you have a warm garage you will use it more than you think. But that is just my opinion and I might be wrong, too.
For cheap and easy, staple up plastic to the rafters. It is in no way the equivalent of insulation, but will keep a greater portion of your heat from flying out the roof and cost essentially nothing.
The new multifuel salamanders are great. I got one a couple weeks ago, cold as fuck outside and I was toasty warm inside putting injectors in the truck, no fumes, and I ran it for over four hours in a 2000 sq ft 16’ high space. Run on kerosene, #1 or #2 or diesel. I ran mine on diesel.
I've found if I get start the heater for a couple of minutes with the garage door open and let it get hot it's not that bad. I've noticed that most of the stink is when the heater is running but not up to temperature. I usually open the door, fire it up and then close the door after it's well heated up. I have a ceiling fan in the garage and that really helps to, both in the winter and summer when I have the A/C on.