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When the cold months roll around, it can be hard to remain productive in a workshop. Handling ice-cold tools is miserable, painting is impossible, and some materials can become brittle. If you need a source of heat, the Comfort Zone Garage Heater might be just the ticket.
The Comfort Zone Garage Heater is an electric heater that mounts to a ceiling or wall and pumps hot air into a garage. Thanks to its compact size, it can fit almost anywhere, and it has an adjustable thermostat. But is it worth it? How well does it work?
In order to answer those questions and determine whether or not it’s worth recommending, I performed hands-on testing with the Comfort Zone Garage Heater and am sharing what you need to know before you buy and whether or not it’s worth the purchase.
Comfort Zone Garage Heater: At a Glance
Rating: 8.6/10
PROS
- Produces plenty of heat for most garages
- Adjustable thermostat to prevent overheating yourself
- Easy to clean
CONS
- 220 volts, so not for everyone
- Doesn’t come with needed wire or wire clamp
Get the Comfort Zone Garage Heater at Walmart for $160.
What Is the Comfort Zone Garage Heater?
The Comfort Zone Garage Heater is an electric heater designed specifically for garage and workshop spaces. It’s made from steel and features heavy-duty brackets and durable construction. It’s also compact, measuring roughly 17 inches tall by 14 inches wide and deep.
The Comfort Zone heater features an electric heating coil with three wattage settings, including 5,000, 4,000, and 3,000 watts, effectively giving it a high, medium, and low output. Beyond the outputs, it also features a thermostat that the user can set to automatically regulate the temperature in the space. It doesn’t allow for exact temperatures.
This heater is designed to mount to a wall or ceiling, which makes it useful in a garage workshop, where lumber and tools can knock over a floor-standing model. Should there be a safety issue, the Comfort Zone features an overheat sensor that shuts the heater down until it cools.
How Easy Is the Comfort Zone Garage Heater to Put Together?
This is one of the most important sections to read before deciding if the Comfort Zone Garage Heater is a good fit for you. If installation isn’t possible, there’s no need to consider its features.
First, installing the heater itself is very easy. It comes with a detachable bracket that the user can secure to a ceiling joist or wall stud. It also comes with heavy-duty lag screws and washers to ensure it won’t fall. And, rest assured, those lags will hold this 15-pound heater just fine. The bracket attaches to the heater with four screw-in knobs, allowing for adjustability and easy setup.
But—and this is a big “but”—the Comfort Zone Garage Heater requires 220-volt electric, and that’s not something everyone has available in their garage. In fact, save for hard-core DIYers with heavy-duty table saws and welders, there’s a good chance you don’t have a 220-volt outlet in your garage. You can hire an electrician to run a 220-volt line out to your garage or even install a subpanel and hardwire this heater into it, but that’s extra money you’ll have to budget.
This heater also doesn’t come with anything to plug or tie into a panel. It doesn’t come with a wire or the wire clamp that secures the wire safely to the box.
So, is the Comfort Zone Garage Heater easy to install? No, not at all. But that’s really this heater’s only con.
How Easy Is the Comfort Zone Garage Heater to Use?
While it might be frustrating to set up and install, the Comfort Zone Garage Heater is incredibly easy to use. Once it’s hanging from the ceiling and tied into electricity, it just requires the twist of a dial and the flick of a switch.
I liked that there wasn’t much effort needed to get the Comfort Zone running. For the test, the 5,000-watt setting was a bit much, so switching to the lower settings was more appropriate. Also, adjusting the dial to the desired temperature was easy. Once it reached the preset temperature, it shut down. It was as simple as that.
If you plan to use the Comfort Zone to maintain a certain temperature in a garage space, it would be best to leave it on the lower wattage settings, so it’s not drawing 5,000 watts over and over again all day long.
Is the Comfort Zone Garage Heater a Good Design for Garages?
It’s in the name, but not all “garage heaters” are as ideal for garage settings as they might claim. Between the amount of dust, dirt, and hard use that things in a garage might experience, it takes a special design.
One of the features I like most about the Comfort Zone Garage Heater is its removable shroud. With just a few screws, the shroud and louvers come off the front of the unit, providing access for vacuuming dirt and sawdust that might collect inside the heater. While there are still a few nooks and crannies, the Comfort Zone is much easier to clean than some sealed garage heaters.
As far as construction goes, the Comfort Zone Garage Heater features heavy-duty steel, and the mounting knobs screw into threaded inserts compressed into the side of the heater. That means the threads won’t strip out over time, and if this unit sees a few bumps or whacks, it isn’t going to fall apart.
My only complaint about the design, and I mentioned it earlier, is that the electrical connection requires punching an electrical “knockout” in the side of the box, as you would an electrical junction box. There are a few knockouts, so it leaves room for mounting flexibility. However, the kit doesn’t come with an insert or cable clamp to protect the wire from rubbing against the sharp box. An electrician would have some on their service vehicle, but someone unfamiliar with electrical work might not know to install one.
How Does the Comfort Zone Garage Heater Perform?
A garage heater should be tough, easy to clean, and high quality, but if it doesn’t perform well, it’s just an obstacle to navigate around.
When I tested the Comfort Zone Garage Heater, I waited until the coldest morning in the forecast. Temperatures hovered around 48 degrees, and I left the door to the 20-by-24-foot garage space open to allow that crisp air in.
The Comfort Zone had no problem keeping up in those conditions. As I stated earlier, the 5,000-watt setting actually proved to be a bit much for the circumstances. I opted to adjust the wattage down.
The Comfort Zone made a difference almost instantly in the immediate area, which I expected since it has a fan to blow the hot air out. After around 10 minutes, the entire garage space was noticeably warmer. Eventually, the Comfort Zone Garage Heater was able to warm the space enough to shut off when I adjusted the thermostat to roughly the “medium” setting on the dial.
Is the Comfort Zone Garage Heater Right for You?
If you’re considering purchasing the Comfort Zone Garage Heater for your workshop, barn, or garage space, there are some points to consider.
If you don’t have 220-volt electricity accessible in your garage, you might want to consider a propane heater or something that works on 110 volts. Otherwise, you will need to run electricity, which might require an electrician and permit. If you’re capable of running the power yourself, you could save some money, but a permit requirement is still a possibility.
If you have an oversize garage with open rafters, the Comfort Zone Garage Heater might struggle to maintain the temperature, meaning it will run constantly. Constant draw on a 220-volt circuit can bump up the utility bill, so there might be better options, such as an infrared heater that heats just the immediate area.
Otherwise, it’s definitely worth considering the Comfort Zone Garage Heater. It’s a durable heater with plenty of output for most garage spaces. The thermostat allows users to set it to a certain temperature and leave it alone, and the overheat safety switch provides some peace of mind. Also, the compact size and heavy-duty hanging bracket mean it’s not going to get in your way—a true benefit in a busy garage space.