Any experience with the Northern Tool Ceiling Garage Heaters?

[autolex]

Hello guys and gals,

In the process of buying my first home (3br/1ba w/attached 1.5 car 13x20 w/Vaulted peak at 16').

Need to find something to provide me even, reliable heat for this 260 square foot (floor space)/~2600 cu. ft (volume) attached garage located in the Midwest (St. Louis). Garage is uninsulated as it sits now, but i'll be pulling a few circuits over (including one for this if need be) and probably going R-15 through the walls/ceiling

Any experiences with something like this? any recommendations for OTHER products?

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200631858_200631858

The Farenheat products also seem to get good reviews

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_595_595


Alex

 

[pseudorealityx]

What temperature are you expecting/hoping to maintain? Constant maintaining of a temp or need a quick recovery from it being cold? You also said it had to be 'even' heat. Is there a particular need/requirement there?

Insulation is #1. R-15 is pretty minimal, especially on the ceiling in St. Louis.

 

[autolex]

Hoping for ~20-25 deg above outdoor temp, Mostly for maintaining a working temperature for weekend garage projects (not run during the week probably) so slow-to-respond is fine.

Even heat (in my mind) = not infrared (hoping for a warm room, not warm surface that the IR heaters are pointed at)...

Agreed on the insulation; unfortunately without losing a LOT of storage space (above) then 3.5" of Roxul R-15 seems like my only option (within reason cost wise)... any suggestions here?

 

[Falcon67]

Search here for Dayton G73 - very similar to the Fahrenheit unit. I have a G73 (5000w) and I can keep my 240 sq/ft tool room at 65 or better with the thing set one tick below LO on the dial. If I set it on LO it'll stay 70~75 depending on weather. My shop is ALL R-13, walls and ceiling. It was the only heater in my old shop which was 480 sq/ft, R13 insulation. Kept that place at 65 set a hair above LO, cycled 3-4 times per hour for a total of 15~20 minutes. That would have been with temps 20~30F.

 

[tractordude]

I have the farenheat in my one car at home, all block 14x30. It works well, a bit noisy. It will heat from 45 to 75 in about 15~20 min. I think the max temp is 84.

 

[autolex]

Search here for Dayton G73 - very similar to the Fahrenheit unit. I have a G73 (5000w) and I can keep my 240 sq/ft tool room at 65 or better with the thing set one tick below LO on the dial. If I set it on LO it'll stay 70~75 depending on weather. My shop is ALL R-13, walls and ceiling. It was the only heater in my old shop which was 480 sq/ft, R13 insulation. Kept that place at 65 set a hair above LO, cycled 3-4 times per hour for a total of 15~20 minutes. That would have been with temps 20~30F.

Exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for!

I'll post pictures when we close (the 15th) and start a "build thread"

Thanks!

 

[Jagmandave]

Uh.....a buddy bought one for his shop (not the ceiling mount one) and I found it to be marginal at best - 5 feet away from it you can't really feel the heat blowing from it on a cold day,, and it took forever to make much difference in his shop - which is completely well insulated as it's below the bedrooms and about 600 sq ft. Although he says if he leaves it on for several days the shop gets warm and stays warm - at least till he opens the garage door to move a car in or out on a 0* day!

To me it just doesn't put out enough to do the job.

I have an 18K BTU heat/ air conditioner, and it will warm my similar size/shaped/insulated shop from 40* to 65* or so in about 30 minutes. I don't need it any warmer than that in the winter....

And I don't understand mounting a heater up high against the ceiling or whatever - heat rises, seems to me you want it to start low.....

 

[pseudorealityx]

Uh.....a buddy bought one for his shop (not the ceiling mount one) and I found it to be marginal at best - 5 feet away from it you can't really feel the heat blowing from it on a cold day,, and it took forever to make much difference in his shop - which is completely well insulated as it's below the bedrooms and about 600 sq ft. Although he says if he leaves it on for several days the shop gets warm and stays warm - at least till he opens the garage door to move a car in or out on a 0* day!

To me it just doesn't put out enough to do the job.

I have an 18K BTU heat/ air conditioner, and it will warm my similar size/shaped/insulated shop from 40* to 65* or so in about 30 minutes. I don't need it any warmer than that in the winter....

And I don't understand mounting a heater up high against the ceiling or whatever - heat rises, seems to me you want it to start low.....

So you're saying that 5 KW of heat isn't enough, but 5.25 KW of heat is enough.

Ok... that's not really useful.

 

[Gerald O]

Last winter I bought two of these 5KW, 17KBTU ProFusion units from Northern Tool.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200578579_200578579
They were a black Friday sale for $99 each. I hooked one up with a long cord and plugged it into the welder outlet. The hanging bracket made for a nice carry handle. I would just position it to blow where I was working and it provided enough heat to make working tolerable. I didn't have any insulation at the time and all the heat would just escape through the vented roof, so there was not point in mounting them to the ceiling then.

This winter there will be insulation and these will get hung from the ceiling. We'll see, but I believe the two of them will be enough for my ~800 square feet garage with 11' ceiling.

 

[bottom feeder]

Search here for Dayton G73 - very similar to the Fahrenheit unit.

The Dayton G73 and the Fahrenheat FUH54 are exactly the same heater. Both are built by Marley. Shop around and buy whichever one is on sale. I have the Fahrenheat version and use it to occasionally heat my 2 car attached garage for working on weekend projects. Takes awhile to bring a cold garage up to temperature, but it is quiet, essentially maintenance free, and affordable.

If you don't feel that 5000 watts will meet your needs, you can opt for the 7500 watt version, or use two of the 5000 watt units in opposite corners of the garage.

 

[Falcon67]

Mine is mounted on the ceiling so I can point it where I might need it. Throws air a good 15~20 feet. Put hooks around it, great for drying paint on small parts.

 

[cagullett1]

Mine is mounted on the ceiling so I can point it where I might need it. Throws air a good 15~20 feet. Put hooks around it, great for drying paint on small parts.

Chris, is that just some SJ wire you used? I recently relocated my heater and originally had it hardwired. The watertight whip I used doesn't mate well to the twist lock outlet plugs and I'm trying to decide what wire I will be using.