Cujo,I'm your NY neighbor,just moved from Webster to Ontario NY,got a 1000 square foot insulated garage.Give me a call on my cell,585-315-9678,come on over and check out my garage heat.
After considering all types of heating,we do heat the house with wood only,I bought a ceiling hung natural gas fired unit heater.I even had to pay around 1200 bucks to have the gas line run 500 foot from the road for the garage,no gas at the house.So the total cost was 1700 bucks with me doing the heater and interior gas pipe.Less than the price of a corn stove anyways
In a garage used for storing vehicles,the combustion part of any furnace should be a minimum of 18 inches above the floor,and ceiling hung is best.Potentially explosive gas fumes will accumulate at floor level,and old trucks with atmosphere vented fuel tanks do give off gas fumes.In fact,all spark producing devices,such as electricial outlets also need to meet the code.
If for some reason you have a garage fire,your insurance company may try to reduce the claim if for any reason of non complience with building codes,such as non approved heaters,faulty wiring etc.Even if the non complience had nothing to do with the cause of the fire.The label on the Dayton heater I installed says it meets all current building codes for residential and commercial garages if installed according to directions.If you don't have insurance,ya gotta be extra careful of course.
All those less expensive means of heating a shop mean nothing if you lose your truck or tools cause of a fire and the insurance company refuses to pay.
