Shop Heater

[Don Abele]

I've gotten a few PM's asking how my heating situation turned out. I have a 2 car garage, one bay with an 8 foot ceiling, the other is 12 feet high. One exterior wall is uninsulated and both the doors are uninsulated metal. Oh, and the ceilings are also uninsulated. If you haven't caught on, I really need to add insulation. Maybe later.

Anyway, I live in Chesapeake, Virginia and we really don't have long, harsh winters here. I looked at a lot of different heaters and found an electric heater to be the easiest, most economical solution for my situation.

I tried quiet a few different ones but settled on the one sold by Northern Tools (there's a local store here). It's made by Farenheat and is a 240v/21 amp unit. That's 5000 watts and just over 17,000 btu. I installed it in the far corner of the shop and have it blowing across the entire 2 bays (into the one with the tall ceiling).

It's recently been in the low 20's here for about a week straight. With the thermostat set on 50 it easily keeps the garage warm. Crank it up and in less than 30 minutes the 600+ square foot garage goes from 50 to 65 degrees. The real proof, of course will be in my electric bill...and I'm already bracing for the increase.

Be well,

Doc

[Glenn Clabo]

Just plug it into that boat you ride in. I hear they have some juice.

[Don Abele]

Glenn...yeah, normally enough for a small city. Unfortunately being high and dry on the blocks with the tank on "E" the lights are out (at least for now). Just have to buy stock in Dominion Electric and let the heat flow...

Be well,

Doc

[Jeff Watson]

Thanks for the update Don. That is what I wanted to hear. Tried the Marley and it just didn't put out enough heat. Returned it to northern tool today and will order the Farenheat.

Jeff W

[Don Abele]

Jeff, based on everything I read, 17,000 is way too small for a 2 car garage with 10 foot ceilings (especially since mine is basically uninsulated). But I can tell you that it easily warms it up in there and quite quickly.

The farenheat has a few nice features:

-The fan doesn't come on until the heater is hot - no blast of cold air.
-The heater shuts off and the fan continues to blow until it cools down slightly.
-The fan puts out a LOT of air - I can feel it moving at my tablesaw, about 15 feet away.
-The adjustability (up/down and left/right) is nice as well as the louvers (sp) to get the flow in the right place.


Only negative (slight) is that the thermostat is not labeled with temps, just Lo and Hi and dots in between. I turned it on Hi and let it run until the shop was 50 degrees. Then I turned the switch until I heard it click. Made a note of the spot. It's dead-on at 50 now. Have done the same for 65 (temp I like the shop).

All in all, with the exception of my electric bill going up, I'm happy with the unit.

Be well,

Doc

[Don Stanley]

I was looking at this heater specification, and decided this would be a good choice. It's hard to beat the convenience of electric heat.

During our recent cold snap in the NW, I used 2 propane radiant heaters, a 1500W electric, and a 22K BTU Kerosene to heat my 500+ SqFt 3-car garage to high 50's. The garage does not have much insulation; metal uninsulated doors, etc. I haven't not done a cost comparason, but propane and kerosene is not cheap either.

Thanks for the post Don

=Don=

[Ron McNeil]

Don, Thanks for the post about your heater. I have a stand alone shop that is 14' x 24' without a finished ceiling. I'm presently using a propane heater and it heats the shop well. however, it generates to much condensation and to much moisture is put in the air. I keep my tools covered with machine covers and that helps to prevent rust but I'm not happy with the results. I think I might get one of those heaters. I was thinking of the Marley 13500 BTU but I see Jeff Watson said it did not put out enough heat. (of course I only have 336 sq ft to heat) I'll lok into it. Thanks again.

[Bob Marino]

[

Don,


I am in a somewhat similar situation. How much does that unit cost?

Bob

[Jeff Watson]

Here is my story. I own (well the CU owns most of it really) a bilevel with block walls and living area over the two car garage. The two car garage has 8 foot ceilings and a wooden door. The last couple of weeks the temperature here in southern Indiana has been in the twenties at night so the garage temp is usually in the low 40's. I got the Marley as a Christmas present from my in-laws. I was really disappointed with its output, I think my wifes blow dryer puts out more heat. I hooked the unit up and let it run for an hour and it only raised the temp in the garage maybe 1 or 2 degree's.

Menards had a New Years sale the next week with 20 percent off anything you could stick in a tub, well I got the dimplex unit in the tub. The Dimplex is very similar to the Marley as far as the specs go. The dimplex unit performed better, it raised the temp about 10 degrees after an hour to 50. Better, but not quite the performance I would like. So now I have returned both the Marley and the Dimplex and will order the Farenheat from Northerntools.

Thanks again Don for your story

[Jeff Watson]

The Farenheat unit is $199 from www.northerntools.com.

I just thought of another question. Don, did you put that unit on a 20 amp breaker? I noticed that it was spected at 21.

[Don Abele]

Condensation is always going to be an issue with a vent-free propane unit (it's a by-product of the combustion). You can control it if you also run a dehumidifier at the same time. Nice thing about that is the dehumidifier will also heat the air some. At that point you're close to spending the same amount as you would if you just went with an electric unit to begin with.

As I said, I tried a lot of different heaters and quickly returned all of them. The big difference with this one over the others is the blower. It really moves the air and as I said, even 15 feet away I can feel it - and it is warm.

If I had block or concrete construction walls, I would look closer at radiant heaters as they would transfer the heat to the block/concrete and that may work better. Heating the air is a poor way to keep a room warm, but often, as in my case, it's still the best overall solution. Of course, insulating the area would also help.

I was able to get my unit for $189 from my local NT store (of course, paying sales tax brought that "deal" up). But I was able to walk out of the store knowing if it didn't work, it could go back very quickly.

The install guide says the unit draws 20.9 amps and recommends a 30 amp breaker and 10 gauge wire. This is exactly what I used for my install.

I forgot to mention this before: the unit has the option to rewire it for lower wattages (why you would do that, I'm not sure). Anyway, the wiring diagram is in the install guide and on a label in the unit itself. Right out of the box mine was wired for 208 volts/2500 watts ??? Not sure why. Rewiring it is REAL easy, color-coded wires and a labeled wiring block. No problem, but check the wiring against the label plate. If you'd like a pic of mine, I can take one.

Sorry for the long reply, hope this helps. If there are any more questions, please let me know.

Be well,

Doc