Ceiling fan for tall shop

[vrinner]

So I am cheap...well...trying to just get by with things and have had another posts on my shop and some AC questions which I am eventually going to go with a couple of mini splits.

But for now I am wondering if adding a couple of large ceiling fans would help or hurt.

Shop is 40DX60WX20H with good insulation. Located in SoCal so not ever very cold but can get warm. I'm thinking about putting a couple of larger ceiling fans in the main shop area but from other posts I've read that they may just pull hot air from above and push it down to where the cool air already is.

So without having (or even after having) mini splits put in yet, would this be a not so good idea?

 

[jack stand]

Your climate is completely unfamiliar to me, but I'd imagine that there are times when you'd like to simply move the air around some before it's AC weather. I'd put some ceiling fans in for sure, especially with 20' ceiling heights. Someone should have a rolling scaffold on site during construction that you can hijack when they're not using it.

 

[Jayman17]

aren't you supposed to change the angle of the blades in the summer so it pulls the cool air from the floor up to the ceiling? Then in the winter so they push the air from the ceiling to the floor? Dont know if this is true, I think I read it somewhere on the internet.

Jay

 

[jack stand]

All the fans that I've ever had have reversible motors.

 

[vrinner]

Fans are reversible based on what you want it to do. From my understanding (at least in my house with normal 8' ceilings), you want the air to blow down to make you cool from the air movement. But my concern is that with such a large shop, in the heat of summer (say 100 degrees), the the air up in the top 10' of the building will be extra warm and would negate any air movement benefits.

 

[ChargerMan426]

I have a 35x80x14 and went with 3 of these. One was DOA but Home Depot replaced it quickly (they were the cheapest at the time when I ordered them). I had already rented a scissor lift and ran the wires before i put the insulation and ceiling in so everything was an easy install. They work very well and will blow papers off my bench if i turn them all the way up. One does have a bit of a DC motor "whine" but I'm only 30 and have alway worn hearing protection, my mom and other people that come over don't hear it so your milage my vary there...

Amazon.com: Big Air 96" Industrial Indoor/Outdoor Ceiling Fan, 6 Speed with Remote, Silver: Home & Kitchen

Buy Big Air 96" Industrial Indoor/Outdoor Ceiling Fan, 6 Speed with Remote, Silver: Everything Else - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[Jakemedic]

All the fans that I've ever had have reversible motors.

Mine too! I ended up with a 65" Hunter ceiling fan in my shop with 10'6" walls. Seems to circulate the air well for 159.00. I always forget which way is which with the fan though. Stay COOL!!!

 

[vrinner]

Thanks for all the input. Anyone with taller ceiling shops, like 18' to 20'? I just have this fear that I'll be pulling a lot of super hot air from above down below.

 

[mike93lx]

Thanks for all the input. Anyone with taller ceiling shops, like 18' to 20'? I just have this fear that I'll be pulling a lot of super hot air from above down below.

You'll definitely be warming up the air by the floor, the question is will the breeze feel good?

I don't have a super tall shop, but do have ceiling fans throughout the house and they do get used.

 

[Matt M PA]

Interesting timing for this thread. At the risk of going off topic..

I have had a ceiling fan turning in the bay where the lift is. It's been on non-stop since I built the garage.

My middle bay has a mid-rise lift, but the remaining bay is where I finish up after washing cars, etc.

I was thinking of putting a ceiling fan in that last bay...but wonder how much good it will do. Just trying to get an idea of the best way to get some air movement. I had considered free standing fans, but would rather not have to store it.

Any thoughts on a 60" fan in one bay? Ceiling is 9'.

 

[mike93lx]

60" is a decent size fan. 52" is a typical size used in a home and they can move a good amount of air.

 

[65ranchero]

How about this?

Compare Large Ceiling Fans | Big Ass Fans

See how the full lineup of large industrial and commercial ceiling fans from Big *** Fans stack up against each other.

www.bigassfans.com

 

[Matt M PA]

60" is a decent size fan. 52" is a typical size used in a home and they can move a good amount of air.

Thanks...my thoughts too. My concern is how far away from the fan will it make a difference? When I am around the fan in the other bay...it seems that unless you are standing directly below it....you don't notice a difference.

 

[vrinner]

I'm thinking about a couple of these from HD. $399.00 for a 10' fan. Reviews are mostly positive but there are some duds in there too.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Home-De...EC-_-rv_gm_pip_rr-_-308810697-_-312270307-_-N

 

[mike93lx]

I'm thinking about a couple of these from HD. $399.00 for a 10' fan. Reviews are mostly positive but there are some duds in there too.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Home-De...EC-_-rv_gm_pip_rr-_-308810697-_-312270307-_-N

That's a lot of fan for little money.

 

[vrinner]

I just purchased two of those fans (had to get them in black as the silver wasn't available). I'll update this post with my findings.

 

[aggie113]

I'm thinking about a couple of these from HD. $399.00 for a 10' fan. Reviews are mostly positive but there are some duds in there too.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Home-De...EC-_-rv_gm_pip_rr-_-308810697-_-312270307-_-N

I have two of these in my garage (30x40x18). I have one setup on a 6' drop and the other on a 1' drop (above the lift). They do a go job of circulating the air but not in a way that is often noticed. They come with a remote for things like the speed setting and choosing what direction they are spinning. I leave them on most of the time in the garage.

 

[vrinner]

So these two Peak Purlins (I think that is what they are called), I want to mount my ceiling fan between these to which would put them dead center in the building. They are 36" apart.

What is the best way to do that? I'm thinking either just a strip of thick flat steel then mount the box to that or a couple of square tubes screwed into the perlin.

 

[vrinner]

Well it's been a while but I finally started making some progress on getting the fans up.

Had to make my own bracket to hang the fan from the purlins. Of course I thought that the Home Depot kit would work but it was only 24" wide and I needed 31. So I had to make a longer tube that just fit over one of the existing in the kit.



Running the electrical was no fun as well. I have a ton of 3/4" EMT so that's what I used. Never having really done conduit before it was a struggle. Wasted a few bends/material to get things to line up (mostly) . At least it's high enough up in the air that it wont bug me too much.




Once I had the fan installed in the mounting, getting the blades on was fun for a guy who doesn't like heights. Dangling my feet outside the scaffolding trying to get those little screws started. Luckily I was able to move the scaffolding around so that the last blade would fit inside the scaffolding and I could slide it out. Putting on the light on the underside totally sucked because those little screws...I dropped one while trying to put it in...so another trip down the scaffolding and back up.







So now I need to run my conduit for the switch, finish the wiring and hopefully get it done by this weekend. I mentioned in another thread, this would have been a couple hour job for an in the house, 8' ceiling but this thing is kick my behind. I still have one more to put up but luckily most of the work is done and I have some experience. LOL

 

[mike93lx]

That's a big fan

On the scaffold, I've seen people run ratchet straps diagonally to tighten them up. Might be worth it the next time you are up that high

 

[vrinner]

That's a big fan

On the scaffold, I've seen people run ratchet straps diagonally to tighten them up. Might be worth it the next time you are up that high

Diagonally between the corners horizontally or vertical?

 

[mike93lx]

Diagonally between the corners horizontally or vertical?

Vertically

 

[vrinner]

So I got both of the HD fans up. Putting up the second fan was sooo much easier/quicker than the first one. Mainly because most every tool I needed was already up on the scaffolding from putting up the first one so not as many up and down trips.

Here is my general review of the fans.

• Installation was pretty straight forward, if I could have easily changed the height of my scaffolding then it would have been a bit easier to attach the fan blades and lighting but I was able to get through it with one height.
• I have a 20' ceiling and I used a 4' down-rod (not included)
• I also purchased a down-rod wire harness...first off, it was just 4 pieces of 14g wire and 4 wire nuts and I could have just made them myself. Second, the wires coming out of the fan were already about 6' long so I didn't need the kit.
• The safety cable is only about 2' long so not long enough to go my 4'. I added 4' of small chain.
• Their max speed is 60rpm so not super fast (I knew that going in). And they do seem to move a bit of air although not a ton like I'm sure a Big *** fan would. I would say it's a nice slight breeze and it move the air around the shop nicely. Certainly gives the cooling effect but for sure not like you would get from a small fan in your living room.
• It is very quiet.
• You can turn the fan and lights on and off, adjust the fan speed and direction via the remote control. It also has a "comfort breeze" mode that cycles the fan through various speeds. I don't think with the height of my fans that it would do much good for me.
• Because the fans only spin at 60rpm max, with any lighting above the fan it will cause shadows on the ground. Luckily I have not put up any permanent lighting yet so when I do, I will make it just below the fan height.

So I think for the money they are pretty decent.

 

[bearskinner]

I didn’t see this anywhere, but you can get attic exhaust fans, at each end of the shop to exhaust the heat, then a couple inexpensive ceiling fans. You can set the exhaust fans on a thermostat, and the heat at ceiling height will be much less.