dodgeram2500
Well-known member
Hey all, just found this great site and it's my first post!
I just built a 24x30x10 garage and am located in Thunder Bay, ON, Canada (think northern MN). The slab is insulated with that foil/bubble wrap/vapor barrier stuff. I should have ran pex before I poured the slab but because I'm too cheap I did not, lol. That being said I am going with a radiant tube heater. So...a couple of questions for those with knowledge/experience...
- For those of you with a single radiant tube, do you notice warm and cool spots in your shop? Will a tube 9.5 feet off the floor warm a floor space of 24 feet? How about stuff on/near the walls like tools hanging up, storage cabinets, etc.
- After doing calculations I am going to go with a 40-45k btu system. Would it be better to have one 45k tube straight down the middle of the garage, or a few smaller units placed in different areas? Say...two 10k units on each side wall mounted on 45* angles and one 5k unit on the back wall?
- Electric radiant heaters seem appealing...especially since electricity is 7.5c/KWH including all the extra fees and stuff and I wont have to plumb gas to the garage/cut holes in the brand new roof! Does anyone have experience with electric radiant tubes? If so what are your thoughts?! If the extra start up cost for gas will pay off in the next 5 years I might just go that way. Any thoughts on energy prices 5 years from now? 10? I'm currently paying about 1.5c per cubic foot of ng.
Oh, and I plan to "set and forget" the thermostat
Thanks for any input! Great site!
I just built a 24x30x10 garage and am located in Thunder Bay, ON, Canada (think northern MN). The slab is insulated with that foil/bubble wrap/vapor barrier stuff. I should have ran pex before I poured the slab but because I'm too cheap I did not, lol. That being said I am going with a radiant tube heater. So...a couple of questions for those with knowledge/experience...
- For those of you with a single radiant tube, do you notice warm and cool spots in your shop? Will a tube 9.5 feet off the floor warm a floor space of 24 feet? How about stuff on/near the walls like tools hanging up, storage cabinets, etc.
- After doing calculations I am going to go with a 40-45k btu system. Would it be better to have one 45k tube straight down the middle of the garage, or a few smaller units placed in different areas? Say...two 10k units on each side wall mounted on 45* angles and one 5k unit on the back wall?
- Electric radiant heaters seem appealing...especially since electricity is 7.5c/KWH including all the extra fees and stuff and I wont have to plumb gas to the garage/cut holes in the brand new roof! Does anyone have experience with electric radiant tubes? If so what are your thoughts?! If the extra start up cost for gas will pay off in the next 5 years I might just go that way. Any thoughts on energy prices 5 years from now? 10? I'm currently paying about 1.5c per cubic foot of ng.
Oh, and I plan to "set and forget" the thermostat
Thanks for any input! Great site!
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I don't have mine yet, so I can't comment on experience. But I think you need to look at the manufactures specs of a particular model and see the coverage vs. height chart to get an estimate of coverage. I'm sure it will vary according to design & model. I'm betting on individual heaters to cover different spots for a larger garage. A smaller garage might be able to do one of those long ones right down the middle? I'll post my experiences once mine arrive and I get them running. I can't wait to feel like a french fry in the middle of winter!