Can I use an external thermostat with the portable dayton units?

[DanWheeler]

I think I may be going with 2 of the little red box-type dayton heaters that put out 19,000BTUs each. I'm going to put them up towards the ceiling which is out of reach to adjust the thermostat.

How can I control these things without getting up on a ladder? I would like to be able to control the garage heat using my home automation system so i can turn the heat on in the garage before I get home like I do with my house. Is it possible to connect a standard external 24v thermostat to one of these types of heaters?

thanks,
dan

 

[DanWheeler]

anybody? How about how do I turn an electric heater on and off that is too high to reach? My electrician said something about a contactor but I dont know what he was talking about.

thanks much for any help
dan

 

[timgr]

Dan, I don't know if you can use an external thermostat. Not sure it would be safe to mount the 'stat remotely, since it probably provides overtemp protection for the heater.

You can mount a switch on the wall. This is the one that I used: http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=6357517&PMT4NO=34350200
Just run some EMT down the wall from the junction box that your whip will go to, and surface mount this switch in another box. I may have a picture somewhere...

 

[timgr]

Here's one in the background...

That's not a remote switch, but it's a switch. You could look through the McMaster-Carr or MSC catalogs for a remote contacter.

 

[DanWheeler]

awesome, thanks Tim for your reply. my electrician is out there working right now and i've been scrambling to decide what to have him do. I think for now I can just use a 30amp standard switch and control the heaters manually.

at some point could I install a contactor and control the contactor with a standard honeywell thermostat? or do the contactors require 110v to close the circuit?

and if I used an external thermostat would I then just turn the thermostat all the way up on the heaters and let the honeywell control them via the contactors? or would I want to get a heater that doesn't have a built-in thermostat and just a hi-temp limiter?

thanks again, i really appreciate all your help.

 

[RPH]

You can order what ever control voltage you want on the coil of the contactor. A contactor is an oversized heavy duty relay. They come with 24 VDC, 120 and 220 VAC coils.

 

[DanWheeler]

You can order what ever control voltage you want on the coil of the contactor. A contactor is an oversized heavy duty relay. They come with 24 VDC, 120 and 220 VAC coils.

thanks, so then I think what I'll do is get 2 Dayton red-box heaters and a 24v control voltage contactor for each. Then I'll need a 24v power source and a standard thermostat to control them. I'll just set the internal thermostat on the heaters to their highest setting and hopefully if I centrally locate my standard thermostat it will turn them on and off as necessary.

on paper this seems to work but I dont know if it will in reality. I'll let y'all know how it goes. thanks for the help.

 

[nyjets53]

Timgr

You can mount a switch on the wall. This is the one that I used: http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT...MT4NO=34350200
Just run some EMT down the wall from the junction box that your whip will go to, and surface mount this switch in another box. I may have a picture somewhere...


How did you use a single pole switch for a 220V heater...

 

[timgr]

How did you use a single pole switch for a 220V heater...

A resistive heater does not have a common connection. You only need the common wire on appliances that use both 220 and 110 for operation, like a kitchen stove.

The common is basically a ground-referenced return. For 220 you have +110, -110, and safety ground - no common. You can put the switch in either of the hot wires (+ or -110V) and turn the heater on and off.

 

[jtong313]

How about these http://www.heatersplus.com/thermost.htm