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Wiring help for Qmark heater with thermstatd

garrag10

Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2018
Messages
6
Location
Georgia
Hi I'm new here and appreciate any help. I wasn't comfortable guessing what goes where and the nearest licensed electrician that will come out any time soon is 30 miles away and they want $300 to reconnect the wires.

I had this setup in a previous garage. Qmark heater shown with subpanel shown. When I moved from that location 6 months ago, I removed the sub panel and the heater. In so doing, I cut the wires to separate the tstat from the conduit coming out of the heater (which I didn't install or wire originally).
I could have sworn I took a picture to show me where it all plugs into but I can't find that picture.

So the problem is I have flex coming out of the unit with 5 conductors, shown in one of the pictures.
1 thick black
1 thick red
1 thin black
1 thin white
1 bare ground

The conjoined breakers on the top right hand side of the sub panel (where there are no leads currently) is where the heater was connected and where I need to reconnect it. Of course, I want to use the thermostat.

If you look at the tstat, I believe the ground and the two thick (red and black) wires were cut at that point where the conduit entered the wiring box. What remains unaccounted for is the thin white and thin black. I can deduce that the thin white goes along that block on the right side but I don't know for sure. I also don't know if there are missing jumpers and I'm starting to think that there are missing pigtails that would lead from the breakers to the tstat but I just don't know. I seem to remember when the electrician came out to install the sub panel at the new location, he removed something and I remember thinking at the time "oh great now I'm not going to know what that was for" but that could have just been a dream but it doesn't make sense to me that a switch like a tstat would not also be connected to the breakers. In any case, the electrician didn't install the heater at the time just the subpanel.

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That's where you come in. I'm just trying to figure out where to connect what and if I am missing something. :headscrat
 
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Tom45acp

New member
Joined
Dec 22, 2018
Messages
3
Location
Shinnston,WV
Do all five wires go to the heater? If so, then the small black and white conductors probably connect to the thermostat leads and the two larger conductors go to the breaker. Many unit heaters like yours have terminals inside the heater for connecting a thermostat. To be sure, how about posting the model number of the heater. The wiring diagram may be available online and we could then be sure of how to wire your thermostat.
 
OP
G

garrag10

Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2018
Messages
6
Location
Georgia
Yes all 5 wires are coming out of the heater but it didn't come from the factory that way. The thicker black and red wires appear to have been connected to the thermostat but what we now believe is that there is a missing wire that went from the breaker to one lead on the tstat and from the other lead on the t-stat to the heater and then from the other thicker lead on the heater to the breaker. The thin solid black wire- we think- was wired in with the wire that goes to the thermostat. HAven't tried it yet but will soon.
 

Charlie K

Active member
Joined
Oct 22, 2018
Messages
33
Location
Baltimore
Yes all 5 wires are coming out of the heater but it didn't come from the factory that way. The thicker black and red wires appear to have been connected to the thermostat but what we now believe is that there is a missing wire that went from the breaker to one lead on the tstat and from the other lead on the t-stat to the heater and then from the other thicker lead on the heater to the breaker. The thin solid black wire- we think- was wired in with the wire that goes to the thermostat. HAven't tried it yet but will soon.

That's why it would be nice of you to post the model number of the heater.
 
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Tom45acp

New member
Joined
Dec 22, 2018
Messages
3
Location
Shinnston,WV
Black and white are the power leads, the white should be marked with some colored tape at the terminals so it is not mistaken for a grounded conductor. Any color except green or gray will do. The black and red connects to the thermostat and the bare conductor is the equipment ground
 
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garrag10

Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2018
Messages
6
Location
Georgia
Black and white are the power leads, the white should be marked with some colored tape at the terminals so it is not mistaken for a grounded conductor. Any color except green or gray will do. The black and red connects to the thermostat and the bare conductor is the equipment ground

So to be clear, the thin (solid conductor) wires, both white and black go to the breaker?
I noticed that inside of the heater, they used a black magic marker at the end. I don't know if you also noticed that but they didn't use anything on the other end.
 
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