The reviews on this unit look good but they also come from people who enjoy milder winters. The unit is 5KW and I need someone who runs electric heat to give me some input here.
I had a similar heater, we have cold winters here, and it always was on. I switched to wood, due to unlimited free supply, it takes up way more space, but no bills. Without the wood, I would definitely use electric.
Ive been using the 4800watt for my 22x24 as well. I put a new heater in every few years cause I heard they can fail??Works great, even in -40 it still only cycles.
The reviews on this unit look good but they also come from people who enjoy milder winters. The unit is 5KW and I need someone who runs electric heat to give me some input here.
I use this from CTC its 220V I leave it on all winter (set Lo) keeps 26x13 insulated garage at 50F turn it up and you can't stand it Love it adds about 20.00 per month 2cents
Ideal for garages and workshops. 190-cfm offers quiet running operation of unit. Thermal cut -off safety protection and automatically shuts off heating element if airflow is restricted. Stainless-steel tubular element with built in thermostat switch
I have the same setup as Carl, 2 x 4800Watt 240V construction heaters (~33,000BTU total) to heat my little 20x24 insulated garage.
Hey Joel. So if you run two of these units you require 2 30A circuits at the panel? I only have a 60A feed running from the 100A house panel to the garage.
Do you guys run two of these units all the time or just for quick warmup then run only one?
I have a propane fired radiant tube heat system. Garage is 30x48 with 10ft. ceiling. R50 in ceiling and R18 in walls. Keep it 70degrees all winter for $400.00 a season.
I have the same setup as Carl, 2 x 4800Watt 240V construction heaters (~33,000BTU total) to heat my little 20x24 insulated garage.
Hey Joel. So if you run two of these units you require 2 30A circuits at the panel? I only have a 60A feed running from the 100A house panel to the garage.
Do you guys run two of these units all the time or just for quick warmup then run only one?
Both just for quick warmup, then one for the rest of the time unless it's particularly cold outside.
Secondly, do you run these construction heaters even at low temperature to keep the garage from freezing even when your not working in the garage?
Yes, I leave one turned down as low as it can possibly go without clicking off and that usually keeps the garage at about 4 to 8 degrees depending on outside temps.
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My heaters look like the ones in the links above. You should be good with the 60A into the garage sub-panel. I have 200Amp service in my house and I wired 3 x 120V 20A circuits and 1 x 240V 40/50A circuit for my welder from the main house panel to the garage (a little overkill I know). The welder uses a 40A breaker which works perfect for the 2 heaters (4800W/240V=20A x 2 heaters = 40A total), worked great last winter without overloading the circuit once. I cut off the construction heater cord ends and bought a welding plug end and wired the heaters together so I can simpy plug them into my existing welding receptacle when I want to heat. I kept them portable so I can plug them into my 25' welding extension cord and place them in the area I'm working for faster heat. A little long winded... you can swing by to have a look at my setup sometime if you want. I just finished building sheds so the garge is almost free of clutter and I can see the car again.
I use two 3000 watt commercial warehouse electric heaters in my storage garage. In the dead of winter on the lowest temp setting, I would not be able to work in there due to the heat. Garage is 24 by 32, by 9, fully insulated and with an air exchanger in place. But the electricity bill was a lot higher last winter than the winter before. By the way I tried the construction heaters, but they ran so hot that I was afraid to use them as an unattended heat source.
Hey Kevin, I use 1 4800w heater to keep the 26 x 30 with 10ft walls warm. I keep it heated all the time and don't let it get below 12 bring up to 15 or so when working and up to 20 when enteraining. The 1 heater keeps up quite fine although at -40 it works pretyy hard. And a ceiling fan is a must, mines on medium blowing the air up against the ceiling to push the air down the walls, seems to keep the temp more constant from top to bottom and no draft under the fan.
I just finished a hobbie shop last year and had to ponder the same question. After much consideration, went with in floor heating a little more expensive at the get go. But it makes for even heat and once the floor is warm it says that way. I set the temp at 18, have been very happy with it. The natural gas bill not any higher in this building that regular furnace heat. A real pleasure to work on a project as well with the floor heat.
If you have access to natural gas go with radiant heat. They only heat objects not air so if you turn it 65 it feels like 80, shop can be just above freezing and within 30 minutes you will not be wearing a jacket .
