Can You Use A Propane Heater In A Garage? (Find Out Now!)

No longer just for cars, garages have become multi-faceted in their usage. They are part storage, part workshop, part exercise room, and the list goes on.

They’re not always well insulated, though. And using a garage in the winter months can be unpleasant. Thankfully, some wonderful person invented space heaters, which are an efficient and effective way to heat drafty garages.

Propane heaters are safe to use in a garage, but some precautions are necessary. Be sure to use an indoor-safe propane heater, which has an oxygen depletion sensor. This automatically shuts off the heater if oxygen in the room reaches unsafe levels. Always make sure the garage is properly ventilated and never leave the heater unattended while it’s in use.

Burning propane causes carbon monoxide emissions. The odorless, tasteless, invisible gas is deathly at high volumes. It also takes time to accumulate, so you may not realize how much there is unless you have a carbon monoxide detector.

Usually, carbon monoxide is swept away by air currents. Outdoor-only propane heaters don’t need anything special to get rid of the carbon monoxide emission because ventilation takes care of that.

But indoor-only propane heaters are a different story. Because they are meant for use in an enclosed space, there’s nowhere for the carbon monoxide to go. To combat this, indoor-only heaters come equipped with an oxygen depletion sensor (ODS). This safety feature automatically shuts off the heater when it recognizes that the oxygen in the room has reached unsafe levels.

Indoor-only propane heaters are safe to use in a garage as well as in other enclosed spaces. Because garages are semi-enclosed spaces, you must use an indoor-only propane heater. They aren’t ventilated enough for an outdoor heater.

For reference, outdoor propane heaters are used at worksites and on the sidelines of football games. They produce heat at such high powers and rely on natural air currents to whisk away carbon monoxide. Even opening windows won’t vent the carbon monoxide enough for use in a garage.

Indoor propane heaters have two different ways of venting their combustion exhaust, which includes carbon monoxide. Vented propane heaters vent out the back into a chimney or pipe that takes the exhaust outside. Vent-free propane heaters vent back into the room.

Because space heaters are meant to be portable, most will be vent-free. These heaters are typically clean-burning and energy-efficient. But because they don’t take the combustion exhaust outside, they come equipped with an ODS to keep you safe.

If you’re looking for occasional use of a propane heater in your garage, you can get away with a vent-free propane heater. Just make sure you take proper safety precautions.

Even though vent-free indoor propane heaters have the ODS safety feature, it’s still a good idea to vent the garage. Open windows or keep the garage door ajar while using the propane heater. Position the unit so the heat is directed where you need it and the back faces the ventilated area.

Make sure the heater is on a flat surface away from all flammable materials. Place it where there’s the least amount of foot traffic. Never put anything on top of a propane heater. If using a wall-mounted heater, install it near a window or other ventilation source to reduce carbon monoxide build-up.