Written by Terry Smith

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UK’s 15 best garage heaters: electric and gas heaters for small workshops and garages reviewed

This article was last updated on January 6th, 2023 at 5:00 am

Normally my updates are based on better products tested hitting the market but this year is all about the most energy efficient heaters where I help you understand the cost of electric heaters. However, with the outrageous price cap of gas and electric brought down a bit by the energy price guarantee, my absolute focus this year when looking at and testing the best garage and workshop heaters is value for money and that means gas is probably favourite as it works out 25% cheaper as you can see from the calculations below. What you absolutely need to understand when comparing gas and electric heaters for your garage is this:

Understand the price your garage or workshop heater is costing you

PRO TIP of fuel pricing this year MUST READ!!! Bear with me, understanding what you’re paying in fuel costs when directly comparing gas and electric is a must!!

Something like the gas Sealey LP14 Space Warmer Propane Heater at full tilt is burning 0.33kg of gas. Propane gas prices are currently £52.50 for a 13kg bottle of Propane refilled. This means your gas cost is in the region of:

  • £52.50 / 13kg = £4.03 a kg of Propane. So at full tilt the Sealey LP14 Space Warmer Propane Heater is burning a third of a kg costing you £1.34 an hour.
  • In electrical equivalence 17000BTU is: 4.98kw. 

Now the electrical cost of 4.98kW is (34p per kW * 4.98kW = £1.69).

If you must go electric: Electric convection heaters are best value for money this year or potentially an oil filled radiator

This means the cost of running a 5kW gas heater is £1.34 an hour, and the equivalent in electric is £1.69. So if you’re looking to compare which is cheaper, then gas is a whole 25% cheaper in energy terms alone. So if you still want to pick an electric heater, you really want to make it something energy efficient like the Devola WiFi Enabled Electric Glass Panel Heater as opposed to a blow or fan heater that doesn’t hold temperature well. With that crucial info in mind, let’s get back to my original best garage heater review:

There are so many quality options for garage and workshop heaters that I’ve had to break this article into three sections: electric garage heaters, propane garage heaters, and diesel/paraffin garage/workshop heaters. However it gets more convoluted than that :D. Within these selections you’ve got radiant (infrared heaters) and convection (space heaters or generally propane heaters). Now you’re thinking infrared means electric – not always and in this article you’ll learn more for sure which is why I say generally for propane heaters 😉

Stanley garage heater

The best garage heater could mean so many things to so many people. Some people want to turn their garage into a cozy warm room while others are taking the edge off. There must be so many questions – can you leave the heater unattended? Value for money (energy efficiency), safety cut offs, thermostatics controls (we even want smart / wifi heaters we can control from an app now too), noise levels, and whether it’s a wall mountable heater or freestanding. Well don’t worry as you can see above I’ve broken this down quite neatly but if you’re still struggling I’d recommend a look at the best garage heater buyers guide too.

UK’s Best garage/workshop heaters: editor top picks

Best electric heater with thermostat: Devola WiFi Enabled Electric Glass Panel Heater 24 Hour 7 Day Digital Timer With Thermostat Remote Control Electric Radiator – [personally tested this and very decent in a mid size garage]I like this the most because Wifi, timer, and thermostat give you the most control if you want cheaper take a look at the Draper 63858 but we warned on the electrical cost this year.
Budget electric pick: Rhino H02076 New PTC2 Fan Heater 240V 2KW or the SEQUAL Electric Heater [be careful of the fan heater costs this year]
Most economical electric heater: Teploceramic Infrared Heater Panel Built in Thermostat Wall Mounted or the SUNHEAT Mirrorstone 700W – Far Infrared Panel Heater
Best propane heater: Sealey LP401 Space Warmer Propane Heater [Heavy duty heater for large garages and workshops – superb. The old Sealey pictured below is still going strong]
Budget propane pick: Sealey LP14 Space Warmer Propane Heater
Best diesel heater: Draper 17111 Infrared Diesel/Kerosene Space Heater, 17kW Heat or the MODERN LIFE and Sealey AB458
Alternative value diesel: Sealey AB7081 70,000Btu/hr Space Warmer Paraffin/Kerosene/Diesel Heater
Beat wall mounted garage heater: SUNHEAT Mirrorstone 700W – Far Infrared Panel Heater – Suspended Ceiling – Wall Mount Heater or the Stiebel Eltron Wall mounted electric panel heater
Best heater for a small garage: Draper 92967 PTC Electric Space Heater Powerful Heater for Workshop, Garage or the Faithfull and Rhino [warning Faithfull out of stock – will leave it here as I hope it comes back]
Best heater for a medium to large sized workshop: MODERN LIFE 30kW / 103,000BTU Industrial Kerosene Diesel Paraffin Space Heater for Workshop Warehouse Garage

Best industrial: Sealey LP401 Space Warmer Propane Heater 210,000-400,000BTU/hr – easily 500 m2 coverage – don’t bother with less it’ll be too powerful

Best garage heater you can leave on: SUNHEAT and Teploceramic. I trust the Stiebel Eltron or the Devola too. [Always read the safety recommendation but these are much better than fan heaters for safety which I wouldn’t even leave the room!]
Best wifi/smart garage heater: Devola WiFi Enabled Electric Glass Panel Heater 24 Hour 7 Day Digital Timer With Thermostat Remote Control Electric Radiator, Wall Mounted Or Free Standing

Best garage heaters buyers guide:

Did you know diesel heaters are literally 10 times cheaper to run than electric fan blowers? Yes, that’s a fact. It’s only in small areas that we get horrendous value for money. So if you have a larger garage then please feel free to read through my buyers guide as there are some really handy tips!

 

Electric vs propane vs diesel

Electric heaters are by far the most convenient. They are also the safest too. I wouldn’t leave the propane or diesel heaters unattended – they are safe enough, but not so much that I’d leave them running while I nipped down the shop. However, that’s where it ends. Pound for pound propane is cheaper, and diesel a multiple of that cheaper. Whilst I like propane, especially the Sealey LP14 Space Warmer Propane Heaterit’s hard to imagine picking that over one of the diesel heaters like the MODERN LIFE or the smaller Sealey AB458 (great little diesel unit) because they both run clean enough and the diesel is much cheaper and I always feel far more confident with a diesel tank as opposed to a gas bomb! 😀

Basically when you look at the costs in a larger setup you want ideally ideal, in a smaller you might still opt for propane or electric.

Sealey space warmer – diesel is by far the best value for heating a garage or workshop

Infrared (radiant) vs convection

Infrared heats up the objects around the room. You have no air movement. This in turn heats the rest of the room. Convection on the other hand heats the air and so far less effective and efficient – hence radiant being so good on economy – example of radiant heaters in this article are the . Convection heaters like the Draper 17111 Infrared Diesel, Teploceramic Infrared Heater, and the SUNHEAT Mirrorstone 700W – Far Infrared Panel HeaterBlow heaters and standard diesel propane heaters are convection – good examples of these are the Sealey AB7081 or DevolaThe thing about radiant is they are generally pretty safe units – I’m not sure I’d leave the Draper unattended but the others can be left on overnight or on a timer with relative confidence.

Infrared radiant wall panels are next level

Safety heaters you can leave unattended

In this article there are some heaters I would trust unattended and others that I don’t. Personally I don’t mind leaving wall heaters on whilst I nip out the room. These include the Teploceramic, Devola, Stiebel Eltron, and the SUNHEATIn this article those are definitely the best choices for safety. You simple cannot leave blow fan heaters like the SEQUAL – you will come back to a burnt down building!

Noise

Generally the most efficient of the heaters in terms of noise are the wall mounted heaters. Anything with a fan is noisy. However, the diesel heaters are far more industrial and so make much more noise than the smaller blow heaters. It’s never been a problem for me in my workshop but if noise bugs you then diesel heaters need to be placed out the way to minimise the annoyance – Propane heaters are a bit less noisy than diesels but when heating up huge areas it’s hard to ignore the value for money you get from diesel heating.

Economy and efficiency of heating

By miles the worst possible heaters in this article for economy of heating are blow heaters. The truth is we pay too much for electric! The next on the ladder is the element heaters like the RhinoThese aren’t bad and if you have a smaller garage may make sense. After that, you want to start looking at my infrared wall hang picks: the Teploceramic and the SUNHEATAs far as electric goes these are easily the best value for money.

After that you have propane – this is slightly better value than electric but heats more quickly. The very best value for money without doubt is the diesels. You can heat a large workshop for the price of a medium garage when comparing electric to diesel. I know diesel isn’t ideal to leave unattended but if you’re working and have a relatively big space then it’s hard to ignore good old fashioned heating oil! And then you have the infra-red Draper – they’ve take efficiency to a new high, even for diesel. This is a super economical unit and I expect all diesel heaters to end up this way – they are considerably quieter too.

Got some good background on what your options are now? Excellent – let’s start with the electric garage heater reviews:

Electric garage heaters:

Here’s a look at the different electric garage and workshop heaters available. They range from blow heaters, infrared heaters, and convection wall heaters. Some have thermostats and can be remotely controlled by wifi. I’ve picked the best, cheapest, most economical, and safest so you should find something here:

1. Devola WiFi Enabled Electric Glass Panel Heater 24 Hour 7 Day Digital Timer With Thermostat Remote Control Electric Radiator - DVPW2000B

One of my favourite methods to heat a garage would be the Devola. Apart from the fact you can control it with an app, hang it neatly on the wall out the way, set the timer and thermostat from the app, and monitor the room temperature, it’s also good on the efficiency front as well.

This comes with the wall mount kit – so nothing extra to buy – just download the app – it weighs 8kg so can be hung on plasterboard as well if you like – personally I’d find the baton though.. It’s competitor realistically in this review is the Stiebel Eltron and I would say that despite the fact that model is more powerful I still prefer this on looks and efficiency

It heats a 20m2 room pretty well making it comparable to the Draper 92967 but you’ll spend less money as it won’t be on full tilt as much – this type of heater is more efficient than other convection heating.

This is one of the heaters I would trust to leave unattended. This and the Teploceramic or SUNHEAT as they are designed to be wall or ceiling hung and used overnight.

When you click through on the link you’ll see different size and power options. It feels mad to pay just a few quid less for 25% less power, and then a few quid less again for 50% less power – to me the best buy is the 2kW – you need about 85cm of width to hang it somewhere on a wall though as the unit finished 78cm.

Pros:

  • Looks the business
  • Wifi enabled
  • App is pretty comprehensive

Cons:

  • App has so many features can take a bit of time getting the hang of it first time round.

It also goes without saying that it looks superb as well!

2. Draper 92967 PTC Electric Space Heater 2000W, Fully Adjustable Thermostatic Control, Powerful Heater for Workshop, Garage

One of my favourite little semi professional heaters is the Draper 92967 and it’s one of the smallest in this article kicking out 7k BTU. This might surprise you – it takes about a minute or so to get up to temperature, all of this type of heater with the element like the Faithfull and Rhino do – the heater element needs a while to get hot and then air is blown over it from the fan behind to release heat into the room. This particular heater is effective up to around 20m2 and keeps the chill off 25-30m2 so covers most peoples garages quite comfortably. This is more of a Jack of all trades – it can take the edge off overnight and it has that ability as well as blasting out 2kW and keeping you cozy warm. So that for reason definitely deserves top pick as best electric garage heater.

With a 1.5m power cord you have some freedom and it’s pretty easy to move around and weighs less than a couple of kilos. Draper are known for their quality and this heater is no exception – there’s a 24 month guarantee but it’s hardly relevant – I don’t know one that’s ever failed!

From a noise perspective it’s not silent – you’ll hear the fan. But in a garage environment you’re hardly looking for silent I expect. In terms of energy efficiency it’s using 2kW so on a sensible deal about 30-35p an hour at the moment on full tilt – not bad as this will keep the room warm, not just take the edge off – and you can turn the thermostat down to make sure you don’t waste any heat beyond your comfort zone.

There’s a couple of niggles from people online – 1 saying it doesn’t heat up rooms – have to say it builds a nice temperature in my opinion. I use this exact model in the back of a luton and it’s warm in 45 minutes even in snow! The other is tripping – if you put an extension cable reel on this it’ll trip guaranteed. If it’s not unwound fully you will overheat and trip out.

Pros:

  • Reliable unit
  • Quick to heat up a room
  • Surprisingly powerful for 2kW

Cons:

  • Will cause a trip is using a power lead

3. Rhino H02076 New PTC2 Fan Heater 240V 2KW

The rhino is basically competing with the Draper 92967 and it really is a coin flip. They both deliver 2kW of heating in exactly the same way – PTC. If you’re wondering PTC basically means you’ll draw less power as the machine heats up. A big bonus considering the price of electric in the Uk at the moment!

Like the other heaters in this category, noise isn’t an issue and there are three settings to choose from – fan, eco, and full blast. If you have a large ish garage then you’re almost certainly going to take aim at full blast. I’ve never seen many reasons to use the middle setting – I don’t like to leave this type of heater unattended at night and therefore son’t have much interest in keeping the chill off – I just want toasty 😀

My opinion is this is hard to turn up when the Draper is more expensive – I think I prefer it overall – sorry Draper you’ve been pipped on price. the only heater cheaper in this review is the SEQUAL Electric Heater and that’s a blow heater and doesn’t heat a whole room efficiently at all.

Pros:

  • Cheap quality heater slightly better priced than the Draper 92967
  • 2kW can heat most little or medium sized garages
  • Well built and will last

Cons:

  • Hard to pick fault

This heater is pretty much identical to the Draper 92967 except it’s more powerful and can cover more m2. The thermostat and control are identical – all in all it is just a big better version of it’s smaller brother. It’s basically the same as the the Faithfull with a couple of minor differences in looks – but for all intents purposes they are the same thing.

I’d pick this over the smaller one if I had a room heading up to 20-30m2 and wanted it warm. If you have damp problems then the bigger model makes sense. If you love it warm or you have damp issues then obviously the bigger model makes sense but please remember at a sensible 17p a unit you’re still looking at burning around 40p an hour so do use sparingly if at all possible.

Many moons ago I had the model before this and it lasted me brilliantly:

Draper 2.8 kW – the older model lasted well too

Pros:

  • Quality heater with a 12 month guarantee
  • Fast to heat up a room
  • Can heat a 30m2 room

Cons:

  • A lot of power for a socket so may trip

5. Faithfull FPPHEAT28KWC 2800W Portable Space Fan Heater 2.8kW

(Update: The faithfull is currently out of stock but I’m leaving it on the list because it’s been a wonderful servant to me in the back of my mobile workshop where the cost of electricity is far less important than actually keeping warm)

The Faithfull is a solid 2.8 kW heater  – and it’s up against the Draper 63858. The only real difference is the colours and this one has a slightly longer power cord at 1.5m as opposed to 1.3m. they both use the PTC heating element, have the same 1 year guarantee, draw the same power, and heat the same amount. They even weigh the same and have the same body shape 🙂 Who copied who I wonder? 😀

Here’s a closer look at one:

Faithful ceramic fan heater

You’ll heat a 30m2 room with no problems but as always it’s worth being aware of the amount of fuel you’re burning. It’ll cut out as it has a thermometer – it’s a very accomplished little heater and aside from using it in the garage, being that it’s quiet and reasonably safe – if there’s an emergency in the home like no heating breakdown you can easily use this as proxy.

You’d probably argue it’s got a slightly better handle if you were really looking for differences. But it’s hard to pick this over the Draper because its more expensive.

Pros:

  • Very powerful electric heater – ideal for garage or workshop
  • 12 month warranty – Faithfull are reliable for that

Cons:

SEQUAL is the only fan heater in my review – they are great for close up heating and taking the chill off while sitting in the lounge or kitchen for example but for a whole garage they are out their depth. I’ve included one though because they are considerably cheaper and if you only need spot heat in your workshop then this could work, otherwise I would turn away now and have a read of the Rhino as that’s the next in the line in terms of bargains.

This heater comes with two settings for the fan and temperature as well as having a variable controlled thermostat (which isn’t much cop in a big room as it’ll never turn off anyway). it’s extremey light weight and portable – surprising how they make these little fan heaters 2kW and this small! You’ve got to keep your eye on this type of heater, just like the previous fan types they can be volatile.

It’s a good buy for spot heating though and miles cheaper than the rest. Otherwise you’ll probably pass, but don’t take my review the wrong way – in the right setup this is a super product proven by masses of positive feedback online.

Pros:

  • fast to heat up
  • Easy to use – just plug and go
  • Very well prices

Cons:

  • Only good for spot heating – not larger rooms
  • Not the best on energy use
  • Can’t be left unattended

7. Stiebel Eltron Convector CNS 300 Trend UK Wall mounted electric panel heater, 3000 W for about 30 sqm, LED, 7-day timer, frost + overheating protection, open window detection

The Stiebel Eltron Convector is one of my favourites – the old classic wall space heater. This one though, is seriously powered up! The 3kW heater is easily capable of heating the 30m2 the claim – unless you’ve got 5m tall ceilings and losing all the heat upwards then this is a seriously good pick.

And another reason I like this heater for a garage is it’s the first one in the list that I would be happy to leave on while I head off to get a cup of tea – I don’t trust it quite as much as the Teploceramic or the Devola but it’s not far off and many do leave this heater on overnight or use the timer function to bring it on a few hours before getting up.

Stiebel Eltron – quality heater for a garage

I’ve listed one of the base models here. When you click through to Amazon you’ll see that there is a premium radiant model – if you are prepared to spend the money then that is a cracking choice – better than all the electric listings here but we are talking about £350 upfront. As a happy medium this is a good deal.

Having the digital display and buttons you can press and setup is a nice thing – not everyone wants the wizzy apps after all – however this does mean you’re limited in terms of how high this can be hung so you can reach the settings.

Pros:

  • Very powerful
  • Pretty efficient, far more so than the fan blow heaters
  • Reasonably priced for quality
  • Timer and thermostat for 7 days

Cons:

  • Could buy cheaper wall space heaters if you wanted
  • Occasional dud from manufacturer promptly replaced.
  • Programming can be tricky if you’re not tech savvy

Considering what the Teploceramic is, this is a very very nice deal. Unlike your average heaters, this one comes with a massive five year guarantee – these guys genuinely believe in the quality of their products – a rare thing these days no? The Teploceramic Infrared Heater is a radiant type heater and therefore vastly more efficient than the blow heaters and also to an extent the PTC and ceramic convection heaters. You’ve got variable thermostat controls giving you the freedom to accurately choose between 5 and 35 degrees.

They’ve given this unit an IP rating of 54 – I have to say that leads me to thinking they had this panned for bathrooms so if you’ve got a wet garage then this isn’t a bad shout at all – just remember the rating is specific to the unit and not the socket – get that wet and you’ll quickly realise IP54 is not the deal there 😀

They are also more efficient than the standard space heaters – yes that means more so than than Devola and the Stiebel Eltron. The reality is a 20m2 room will heat up pretty well if sealed but using half the electric of the 2kW convection heaters is a bit of a win! Warm might be a bit of a stretch, but definitely the chill is well off for much less money.

Pros:

  • Much more efficient than convection heating
  • Runs silently
  • Looks great too
  • 5 year guarantee a bit of a deal sealer
  • Very well priced for radiant heating

Cons:

  • Not big enough for larger garages – would need multiple but still a good solution

The SUNHEAT works just the same way as the Teploceramic but it’s smaller and less powerful. It’s IP54 rated as well so can take some water – the one thing of note is the width. At 1.2m you’ll need a fair bit of wall space available for this – you can also have it from the ceiling if you prefer. Why I really like these heaters though is they don’t kick up the dust. Let’s assume you want to do a bit of work in the garage or workshop that involves finer dust. The blow heaters will have it everywhere. Because this is radiation and works to heat up the objects around the room, you don’t have the air whooshing about and so no dust in the air! That simple but good!

And just like the Teploceramic, this unit comes with a 5 year guarantee – it’s hard to pass up such a quality product that is specifically designed to last well, going to keep you warm for sensible money, and you know it’s a safer form of heating than fan heaters.

A small sized room that’s pretty well sealed can build temperatures over 20 degrees – to be honest on just 700 Watts that’s pretty efficient! Overall it’s a great choice is you have a small garage or you’re willing to run multiple units.

Pros:

  • Cheap to run
  • Will get rooms over 20 degrees
  • Nice looking unit will fit any setting

Cons:

  • If only they made them bigger – hard Task when 700 Watts is already 1.2m wide though!

Propane garage heaters

There’s very little point in me reviewing this thoroughly here. I actually own one of these and something I failed to mention on the Sealey LP14 Space Warmer Propane Heater review was that I get about 35 hours of full blast heating out of a 13kg bottle of gas. Now at current prices that sounds harsh as it’s about a pound an hour – but the heat this thing kicks off is quite incredible – in my workshop that insulated thats 28m2, granted it’s insulated with celotex, but I can’t have this heater on for more than 15 minutes without getting stifled. So if you think about the electric heater options taking their time – this is quick, hot, and relatively reasonable on price – especially with the state of the electric prices at the moment…

Sealey LP14 Space Warmer Propane Heater

 

You just clip it onto the edge of your gas bottle and away you go. There’s not much more to say than what’s already been said in the other review – it’s a very very good buy for a garage or workshop.

Pros:

  • Superb for garage or workshop setting
  • Cheapest quality heater by far
  • Relatively cheap to run considering how fast you heat a room on full tilt

Cons:

  • Not the best looking but not a bother for me in the garage or workshop
  • Get a safety lighter to start it

Probably the most ridiculously over powered heater on this review – I wouldn’t even bother reading this unless you’re heating over 500m2 and then if you are, then please feel free to read the Sealey LP401 Space Warmer Propane Heater review. There’s a few more bits worth adding here so lets make a start:

Basically this thing is four times more powerful than the most powerful diesel in this review – the MODERN LIFE. You’ll want some ventilation and the thing is a bit noisy – it’s hardly surprising though is it? We are into the realms of industrial now.

Luckily the thing is controlled on a thermostat or we would all be toast 🙂 The electronic ignition is lovely – I left mine for a while and had a bit of grief getting it going but when in frequent use it only needs a couple of zaps to fire.

If you asked me to pick fault i’d struggle – fuel consumption is the only obvious one but it’s efficient in terms of m2 heating so even that doesn’t hold up – a super buy for a mid sized workshop or large garage.

Pros:

  • Massive power and well priced for it
  • Heats fast and furiously
  • Perfect for industrial use – anything over 500m2 and up

Cons:

  • Will need ventilation to let out fumes

Diesel garage/workshop heaters

12. Sealey AB458 Space Warmer Paraffin Kerosene & Diesel Heater without Wheels, 45Kbtu/Hr, Red

After reviewing the Sealey LP401 everything else seems a bit wimpy. But if we come back down to reality for a bit – this is a far more suitable heater for your garage or workshop. For a start 45000 BTU is going to be bang on the money – 30-40m2 will be toasty. Now I always call these diesel heaters but in fact they can burn on multiple fuel sources: paraffin, kerosene or diesel. Personally diesel or paraffin are the easiest for me to source but you can use kerosene too.

The one thing that you should know about this unit is that once it fires up you still need a power point. This will keep the fan going as well as the igniter burning the fuel cleanly. Yep you heard that right – this is a very clean and safe bit of kit.

Sealey space heater –  efficient and burns clean but as you can see needs mains to work

Basically anyone with a big garage or a smaller end workshop are going to love this. It’s compact and reasonably quiet too. I love the fact it’s diesel if I’m honest. I know propane is safe but diesel doesn’t go up in flames and that fills me with a bit more confidence.

I’ve had my Sealey for years and it just keeps on going – even the igniter which will need replacing in a donkey’s age is still holding up! Overall this is miles better than unknown brands and seeing as the price is still sensible it wouldn’t make much sense to pass this up.

The drawbacks are as I already mentioned – the requirement for a power point continually apart from that it is a rare, flawless bit of kit.

Pros:

  • Diesel safer than gas
  • Burns clean
  • Great value unit
  • Ideal for big garage

Cons:

  • Almost flawless but you could argue needing a power point continually may be an issue as a workshop or garage without power can’t run it

What you’er going to notice about all the diesel heaters, just like the Sealey AB458 is that they have incredibly good reviews. Basically, diesel heaters are a different level to your electric heaters – they give off tons of power and are pretty efficient in the process.

The MODERN LIFE is no exception – this thing is designed for medium sized workshops – or very very big garages. This thing will realistically heat 400m2 if you need it to. If you think this thing is burning about 2.5kg of fuel an hour – at red diesel prices you’re talking about £1.50 an hour to heat a medium sized workshop operation. Now I know that adds up but based on the metres it’s extremely fuel efficient and blows electric to pieces.

Being a diesel heater it’ll need the electric plugged in for the fan and igniter – this is pretty much the same with all models and a feature of this type of heater if you like.

One thing to note – you’ll have an EU plug on it so need an adapter – not a big deal. You’ve got thermostat built in that allows easy dial control of both minimum and maximum temperatures – it’s very simple, very fool proof. Unlike some of the ‘smart’ models in this review that require a fair bit of work to get the tech setup and keep it running!

The other thing to mention – I feel the fuel input is pretty well placed – you’ll have no bother with a jerry can from the side of the unit. Definitely a buy with confidence rating on this one and when you follow the link you can fine tune how many BTU you need as this comes in 34k and 51k BTU too.

Pros:

  • Great value for money
  • Burns clean
  • Easy to fill
  • Thermostat is really simple

Cons:

  • Needs an electric point?
  • 2 pin Euro plug

Pretty flimsy cons…it’s a great buy.

If you don’t need the insane power of the Sealey LP401 but the Sealey AB458 isn’t quite enough then you’re almost certainly going to want to take advantage of the Sealey AB7081. This is 70k BTU and easily capable of heating up 2-300m2 of garage or workshop.

And just like the other diesel reviews this needs a power point at all times – again it’s the fan and the igniter for the Diesel. Also, the blower makes a bit of noise – to be expected. Well, I say diesel – you can use paraffin and kerosene as well in all these models. I have to say, I have no problem burning diesel in the Sealeys – they all seem to come out with a pretty clean burn. No nasty smells or headaches etc which is nice. And you’ll probably notice I haven’t included any of the cheaper lesser known brands for gas or diesel – somethings just aren’t worth the risk and since I haven’t used them nor have any desire when quality isn’t all that expensive, there’s no way I could recommend them to you either!

Like my Sealey this thing will just keep on going. If you’re looking for a longer term solution to heat a larger garage this is it. Not bad at all and even with 300m2 in the middle of Winter this can heat a room.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this model.

Pros:

  • Fuel efficient
  • Built to last
  • Comes with spares – industrial quality
  • 300m2 warmth

Cons:

  • Again hard to pick one need electric power is the best I have.

15. Draper 17111 Infrared Diesel/Kerosene Space Heater, 17kW Heat

Last up on the list is a very special heater, in a way I’ve saved the best for last – it’s a diesel heater that is not convection but a radiant. That makes it even more efficient! Firstly being a diesel heater I should point out it’ll need a power supply and also it’ll make a bit of noise – but this one is relatively quiet when compared to the other diesel heaters in this review.

You get about 7 hour so f run out of a tank when the heater is full blast. That means at current diesel prices (not red diesel) you’re looking at about £2 an hour to run this – seeing as it’s legal to run on red diesel that takes you down to £1. The result is this is vastly cheaper to run than propane and electric heaters. This is in reality 9 or ten times cheaper to run than electric so even if you’re not heating a super large space – you still may want to take advantage of the super value.

Unlike the MODERN LIFEthe fuel filling position is awkward so there’s no way you can use a jerry can straight up. I would get a decent flexible funnel to make life easy – especially if you’re planning to fill this up everyday (remember one tank lasts the best part of a days work).

This is a super reliable unit and very fuel efficient and deserves it’s pick as the best diesel heater for a garage or workshop!

Pros:

  • Fuel efficient just £1 an hour (less) on heating oil
  • Very reliable unit – will just keep on going
  • A tank lasts 7 hours

Cons:

  • Filling with a funnel daily can become a burden – need to get yourself a comfortable setup and it’s all go.


About Terry Smith

I’m Terry Smith from gardentoolbox.co.uk, a professional landscape designer, hobbyist gardener, and barbecue fanatic with 20 years experience building and restoring. So as you go through my site you'll watch me document some of the professional garden installs I make as well as the major projects I take on at home. While sharing those experiences and guiding you, I'll be recommending some great tools I use to enable this along the way so you can really buy in confidence. Always feel free to pop me a message: info@gardentoolbox.co.uk

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