: .

: Here is a cheap way to do it. Over head of your kayak on the garage ceiling
: wire light sockets maybe every three feet apart in one row and then put in
: cheap heat bulbs. . .

Ordinary light bulbs and halogen bulbs work well, too. You get about 10 percent light and 90 percent heat from them. A heat bulb just gives less visible light. The amount of heat depends on the amount of energy you radiate.

I believe most 1500 watt heaters give off heat in the range of 5000 BTUs. If they have fans they just circulate the air faster.

You need 1500 watts ( ten - 150 watt ordinary bulbs, or three -- 500 watt halogen buulbs) to equal the heat of a 1500 watt radiant heater.

An individual socket may be rated to 300 or more watts, but may not be able to take the heat generated by high wattage bulbs. You can find plastic, brass and ceramic sockets. Ceramic usually takes heat better, and lasts longer, but it may be more cost effective to use brass sockets, and use more of them, with smaller wattage bulbs.

Going much higher than 1500 watts can lead to blowing fuses and popping circuit breakers. With a few switches you can turn off half or 3/4 of the -- or you can just unplug the whole thing, unscrew a few bulbs, and plug it back in. This allows you to regulate your heat, and also reduces your electrical load on this circuit so you can run an occasional small power tool.

Reflectors help direct the light and the heat. The cheapest reflector idea I've seen is to use aluminum pie plates. Using a scissors, cut about a 1 to 1-1/2 inch diameter hole in the center, pass the marrow part of the lightbulb through this hole, and screw the bulb into the socket. You want the hole in the pie plate to be big enough so the pie plate rests on the glass bulb, and does not touch the socket itself. A tight fit is not necessary. It will just sit there. This only works, of course, when the socket is above the bulb. Hardware stores sell refector/socket/clamp rigs for under $10. If you are going for 10 of them this get to be a bit steep. Farm supply stores sell similar rigs for heat lamps, but these usually have porcelain sockets and can take greater heat -- and they may cost more money.

Hope this helps,

PGJ