Ceiling Fan for garage

[Trevis]

I have a cheaper Home Depot ceiling fan I'm guessing around a 42 incher installed in the garage. I don't get much air flow and I know I need to go larger for a 22 by 30 garage. Are there any types that are more industrial (metal blades and bigger) that I don't have to have a seperate switch to turn off/on. The one I have is wired live and I have to use the pull chain to turn off/on and no wall switch. Thanks for any advice.

 

[hansen1]

I just bought a 70" industrial fan from Home Depot. It seems to move a ton of air and comes with a 4 speed control. I think it was around $75. It has plastic blades.

 

[JC23]

I used TWO of the HD industrial fans and wired them up to the lights going down the center of the garage. I located the fans in the two most likely places I'd be working. One near the main bench and the other where a vehicle would be. Yet, they are balanced in their location; slightly off both centerlines of the ceiling.

They were cheap fans, like $50 each. I needed them cuz my open, drive in doors face the wind so there's not much moving around in there. On hot days, they move the air very well. In the winter, I hit the reverse switch and put my kero tower heaters under 'em to distribute the heat. That works great, too.

Hope this helps. And welcome aboard, Trevis!

 

[lzenglish]

I have a cheaper Home Depot ceiling fan I'm guessing around a 42 incher installed in the garage. I don't get much air flow and I know I need to go larger for a 22 by 30 garage. Are there any types that are more industrial (metal blades and bigger) that I don't have to have a seperate switch to turn off/on. The one I have is wired live and I have to use the pull chain to turn off/on and no wall switch. Thanks for any advice.

I have had the Granger Dayton high end type in my house for over 15 years, and it is quiet, and efficient. Remember, you need a minimum sqft. openening for outside air make up, and either soffet vents, or gable vents to exaust the air out thru the attic. The size of these openings will depend on the CFM the fan is moving. As far as the seperate switch goes, you can put it on a line voltage thermostat, a 0-8 hour timer, or a wall switch etc.

Wayne

 

[787B]

I lived in Florida for a long time and lived and died by a good ceiling fan. A lot of cheap fans and a few expensive fans don't move much air. Really have to try them out or at least check online reviews to make sure they don't just spin.

Meanwhile, this has to be the best-named fan company ever: Big *** Fans

 

[imperialman]

I also just installed a 52 inch ceiling fan from Lowes in my garage.
I'm thinking i might have to upgrade though because it too isn't moving air like I hoped it would.
Though I don't have the owners manual in front of me, I read to
have the fan pull the air up in the winter and push the air down in the summer . That is the exact opposite of what I have always been told.

 

[787B]

The instructions are right. Moving air feels cooler so you want the fan to blow down on you in the Summer. In the Winter you don't want air blowing directly on you, so set the fan to pull air up. That way it moves the warm air down the walls without the chilling effect of a direct breeze.

Getting a good fan can be tricky. Aside from air-movement issues, another problem with cheap fans is they tend to be noisy (60 Hz buzz), especially at slow speeds. Though that's generally not a problem in a working garage.

I have two fans I've been dragging with me from rental to rental for the last 20+ years. A cheap Monterey Fan "Hi-Tech" 52" I bought at a big box in 1986 for probably $40, and a Hunter Infiniti 52" I bought for $100 about 1994. Both move lots of air and make no discernable motor noise.

The house I rent now came with two ceiling fans, one appears to be mid-range 52", maybe a Hunter, and the other a cheapo 42" ceiling-hugger. Both are terrible at moving air and make horrible humming noises on low speeds.

Which all comes back to - cheap or expensive - ceiling fans really have to be tested to prove their worth buying.