240v Garage Heater

[paramud]

I need a heater for my 3 car garage. Standard size. I use the 3rd car as a shop. The garage is insulated except for the garage door.

I am in the garage occasionally after work and then one day on the weekend. I live in Denver, so it does get cold, but not COLD.

I already have a 50amp 240v plug near where I want to have the heater. Does anyone have any recommendations for a heater?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HS8FZAC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

?

Most I see are hardwired. Will there be any issues just installing a plug on the wires?

 

[Andy Kraus]

I'm currently using a Fahrenheat FUH724 7500w heater for my 36x24x12 garage and it does great. I'm located in Pittsburgh PA. I only flick it on an hour or so before I need it.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Am I not seeing roof decking on top? No insulation in sight up there.

 

[JRC3]

Inb4 "heating with electric is too expensive, you should..."


I have dryer cords on two of these. https://www.menards.com/main/heatin...73-c-6328.htm?tid=-7954051363244861018&ipos=9 My main reason for using cords was to keep them slightly portable, need be. Like if my furnace went out I could plug one in the dryer outlet or pop the cover off the breaker box and tap in.

You'll might want to step your breaker down to a 40A for that heater.

 

[Retlaw 66]

^^^ That Pro fusion heater is on sale at Northern tool for $80. Also avail from Northern on eBay and Amazon.
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200578579_200578579

Rural King has a comparable model for $70:
https://www.ruralking.com/heater-24...MI4ePYuevc2AIV1kwNCh1vNwaCEAQYAyABEgLqofD_BwE

I just ordered a Pro Fusion to get thru this COLD winter!
There are some reviews of it here somewhere. Couple of guys had some failures.

 

[JRC3]

^
I have a thread about them from a year ago. https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=347448&highlight=watt&page=3

It's single digits here and I have a buddy bringing the wife's car over this evening to do a brake job. Gonna crank 'em up.

 

[Binger]

^^^ That Pro fusion heater is on sale at Northern tool for $80. Also avail from Northern on eBay and Amazon.
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200578579_200578579

Rural King has a comparable model for $70:
https://www.ruralking.com/heater-24...MI4ePYuevc2AIV1kwNCh1vNwaCEAQYAyABEgLqofD_BwE

I just ordered a Pro Fusion to get thru this COLD winter!
There are some reviews of it here somewhere. Couple of guys had some failures.

I bought the $80 northern tool one also. I got the 5000W one to cover my 10x20 work shop. I am not quite finished wit it yet so I can't say how well it is going to work. I have see recommendations for a 2 stall to take a 5000W. with your 3 stall you may want to look at a 7500w unit. I would see no issue with wiring a plug on a unit. As long as it is rated to handle the amperage of your heater.

 

[paramud]

Am I not seeing roof decking on top? No insulation in sight up there.

Yep, Old picture. I have insulation, but no drywall up there now.

 

[Slednut]

I have a 5000 watt heater but I also only need to heat part of my shop. I had this tarp so I cut it off and added some eyes to it. I strung a cable and used a turn buckle to tighten it. Even with an opening at one end the shop area stays from 5 to 10 degrees warmer than the side where our vehicles are parked. I also have air conditioning so it works well in the summer.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

I've got a 7500W Pro Fusion in my 15x27. Works amazing. I keep it about 35-40 degrees when I'm not working in there and turn it up to 50-55 degrees when working. Even when it was below 0 this winter I could still work in there fairly comfortably, save for laying on the concrete floor. It was actually nicer in my garage than most shops I've worked in.

 

[JD3020]

How much of a jump are you guys seeing on your electric bills with electric heaters? We have a 15x30 shop that we've been fighting for years. Actually just started some insulation and sealing air gaps today, got a deal on r19 batts and i've done about 8ft of the shop so far. We heat primarily with wood and supplement with a 75k BTU diesel-radiant heater when trying to thaw out snow plow vehicles. Its not an issue throughout the day but i'm tired of walking into a cold shop every morning. The other night i needed to work on a salt spreader and it took me 2 hours to get the shop from 15* to 70*. I rolled the truck out that night at 11:00 and it was 83* with a good fire going, by 8:00 a.m. it was back down below freezing. Not sure why i've never thought of getting a 240v heater to keep the shop around 40-45* 24/7.

I should add i'm currently looking at the "Comfort Zone Ceiling Mount 208/240V Heater 3000 / 4000 / 5000 Watts CZ220" from Rural King for $70.

 

[sleek98]

Jd. It really depends on your electric rate. Some guys like me are paying 5 cents a kw. And some guys are paying 12-25 cents a kw.

 

[JRC3]

Jd. It really depends on your electric rate. Some guys like me are paying 5 cents a kw. And some guys are paying 12-25 cents a kw.

Yep. Mine is 5.4 cents per kWh, then add about another 95% for delivery and line charges and I'm around 10.5 cents. If I use more electric, those deliver % charges go down, (85%) like in the summer when I use more. For example, my last bill.

Delivery Total Billed This Month 41.35
Supply Total Billed This Month 43.55
Total Account Balance $84.90

Here's a vid of my meter with my two 5,000 watt heaters running.

It's spinning. That also feeds the house and the fridge may've also been running. Luckily, I only use those heaters to work on a vehicle or something.

I found an online watts to kWh converter and it says 10,000 watts equals 10 kWh. So that times my 10.5 cents per kWh and I'm at $1.05 per hour to run them both. Now that's running full and non-stop. Pricey, but for me it's cheaper than running 20# propane tanks and my torpedo heater. It's also quieter and no moisture. HTH

 

[drg5490]

What size is ur garage?

 

[T_R]

How much of a jump are you guys seeing on your electric bills with electric heaters? We have a 15x30 shop that we've been fighting for years. Actually just started some insulation and sealing air gaps today, got a deal on r19 batts and i've done about 8ft of the shop so far. We heat primarily with wood and supplement with a 75k BTU diesel-radiant heater when trying to thaw out snow plow vehicles. Its not an issue throughout the day but i'm tired of walking into a cold shop every morning. The other night i needed to work on a salt spreader and it took me 2 hours to get the shop from 15* to 70*. I rolled the truck out that night at 11:00 and it was 83* with a good fire going, by 8:00 a.m. it was back down below freezing. Not sure why i've never thought of getting a 240v heater to keep the shop around 40-45* 24/7.

I should add i'm currently looking at the "Comfort Zone Ceiling Mount 208/240V Heater 3000 / 4000 / 5000 Watts CZ220" from Rural King for $70.

Last bill was my first with the electric heaters. I have 2 pro fusion 5000 watt heater from northern tool in 576 sq feet. They are overkill really, one 7500 would probably have worked. But it does heat nice and evenly and warms up FAST. I keep one at the lowest temp setting and 3000 watt and the other off when I'm not in there. That is about 40 degrees or so, so nothing freezes. When I am in there I kick both on to 5000w to warm it up fast. It goes from 40 to 55 in less than a half hour. I like to work in about 55 or so temps so I drop both back to 3000 watt and set the temp controls about 1/3 up and it's perfect. I typically am in the shop 4 hours a day 6 days a week. Last bill was $80 more than before the heaters. For comparison I used to burn through $100 of propane with a bullet heater in 2 weeks. I was filling a 100 lb tank twice a month.

 

[Retlaw 66]

The Pro fusion heaters are sold out for online purchase at both Rural King and Menards!
Still avail from Northern on eBay and Amazon.
I'm still waiting for mine.... ordered it on 1/16 from Amazon. Apparently there was a weather delay in NC.

While I was considering a mini split or propane heater, the low cost and easy install of this unit is what sold me. I may still upgrade to something else in the future, but this should get me thru this winter.... if it ever shows up!

 

[sleek98]

Yep. Mine is 5.4 cents per kWh, then add about another 95% for delivery and line charges and I'm around 10.5 cents. If I use more electric, those deliver % charges go down, (85%) like in the summer when I use more. For example, my last bill.

Delivery Total Billed This Month 41.35
Supply Total Billed This Month 43.55
Total Account Balance $84.90

Here's a vid of my meter with my two 5,000 watt heaters running.

It's spinning. That also feeds the house and the fridge may've also been running. Luckily, I only use those heaters to work on a vehicle or something.

I found an online watts to kWh converter and it says 10,000 watts equals 10 kWh. So that times my 10.5 cents per kWh and I'm at $1.05 per hour to run them both. Now that's running full and non-stop. Pricey, but for me it's cheaper than running 20# propane tanks and my torpedo heater. It's also quieter and no moisture. HTH

Ouch, my delivery portion is .003 per KW. Tacked on to the .049 per KW for the actual electricity.

 

[slodat]

I have 26kW of heat in six Cadet Hot One heaters in 3500 sq ft. I pay $0.04/kWh. I just put my heaters on an ecobee3 lite thermostat to control them better. Now, the thermostat is at 45F when I'm away from the shop. With the higher temps since I installed this setup the shop hasn't dropped below 50F while I'm away.

You can buy the Cadet Hot One heaters refurbished from Cadet.

 

[bubinga]

why not close off that last stall too.
wouldn't have to be nothing fancy.
Some studs, top and bottom plate, maybe a makeshift door, wouldn't really even have to frame it. and some insulation, and some cheap or used paneling for the walls.

 

[bubinga]

Man that heater looks decent for $70.00 at RK.
https://www.ruralking.com/heater-24...MI4ePYuevc2AIV1kwNCh1vNwaCEAQYAyABEgLqofD_BwE
Looks (at least) like the same darn thing as the Fahnerheat FUH54 on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AXEZV/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Booth 5000 watt max.
wonder what the difference in the two heaters is?

 

[Falcon67]

How much of a jump are you guys seeing on your electric bills with electric heaters?

My 5kW cycles about 4 times an hr, maybe 3 minutes per cycle. So that 15 min/hr run = 1/4 hour @ $0.08.9/kWh = .$022/hr to run.

 

[EOC_Jason]

I have a 3 car garage and use a 5600k electric heater to warm it up in the winter when I'm working. I *only* run it when I'm in there, I don't keep a constant temp like some people do up north. Also my garage doors are insulated, but my ceiling & walls are not (just sheetrock). It works okay even if the temps are down in the 30's, I don't think I've gone out there to work with it any colder outside. I would say it is a little undersized, something around 7000-1000w would probably work much better if you have lower outside temps.

Usually I run it at 5.6KW for ~30 min to get the place warmed up, then drop it down to 3.2KW I think and that seems to hold the temp for me.

I can't comment on my electric bill as it's always less in the winter... I have gas heat so my gas bill goes up in winter, while electric drop. But in the summer my gas drops and electric goes up when using A/C... lol.

 

[nadogail]

Granted that we don't see freezing temperatures here, except once every few years, I have installed 5 KW heaters in both of my two car garages. They are hardwired to avoid the extra cost of a plug and receptacle. Both heaters are connected with Flexible Appliance Connectors to the box where the 10 AWG romex ends.

In my workshop the heater shares the 50 Amp circuit with my stick welder. I feed the heater through a 30 Amp disconnect tapped off the welder circuit.

In my wife's garage I use a 40 Amp DPST relay controlled by a 30 minute twist timer, the coil voltage comes from a 24 volt sprinkler power transformer. I used the twist timer so that she wont have to remember to turn the heater off when she leaves the garage.

We have a lot of Solar Electric Panels and little real need for the heat, the heaters are a comfort item. So the cost to operate is negligible.