hot dawg concerns

[GORDOO]

i am looking at purchasing a modine hot dawg heater for my small 18x24 garage and the concern i have is if this heater will keep the floor warm enough to keep it free of ice build up.I have a snowmobile and after i ride i pull it into the garage to thaw.My current heat is provided by a old propane furnace that is on its last legs but it has ducting that blows right on the floor.This works real well at keeping the floor free of ice.Will the hot dawg be able to do the same?Oh by the way i plan on going with the bigger 75 model and my ceiling hieght is 8 feet i do not keep the garage heated at all times as well.PLease any replies would be great.

 

[Junkman]

Heat rises, so it depends on how cold the floor is. I have seen ice on floors in warehouses that are heated, because the floor under the concrete is so cold. Too many variables, such as how long is the heater going to be used, and how cold it gets in the garage in between these times. My unheated garage never gets below 40 degrees, but it is well insulated, and the doors rarely are opened in the winter. If I open a door and don't close it for 10 minutes, the garage get to the outside temperature and it takes days before it warms again. The small amount of heat loss from the common wall with the house is what gives the garage its warmth.

 

[Chipster]

I have a 45k BTU nat. gas Modine in my 34'x24' fully-ins. garage (10' ceilings), and the floor area (knee height and below) was cold - until I installed plain old white utilitarian ceiling fans (3 of em'). Made a big difference.

Mine are 56" industrial fans from Global.

 

[Chipster]

Also Gordoo, is your garage (and doors) fully-insulated?

If they are, 75k BTU seems a bit much. in my 34'x24', with 45k BTU, I'm able to maintain 68 deg. with no problem (it's -10 outside at the moment).

If your space is uninsulated, get the 75k by all means.

 

[DaveL.]

My garage is 30 x 40 and I have the HD75. When I'm not out there working I keep the thermostat at 50. When I am done using my snow blower,I park it over one of my floor drains and by morning the snow is all but melted. For the record I have R30 cieling and R19 wall insulation. As the others have said,the HD75 may be overkill for you.

 

[RAYJAY]

Also Gordoo, is your garage (and doors) fully-insulated?

If they are, 75k BTU seems a bit much. in my 34'x24', with 45k BTU, I'm able to maintain 68 deg. with no problem (it's -10 outside at the moment).

If your space is uninsulated, get the 75k by all means.

If it was me doing the install stay with the 75k heater you want a real fast recovery on temperature, when ever you open the door , yes the 45k might maintain temp but recovery has to be longer,

Jeff

 

[Chipster]

DaveL's great post warrants some specifics on my specs:

* 2x6 walls
* R28 wall insulation
* R44 ceiling insulation
* 5/8" drywall (walls & ceilings)
* R14 insulated gar. doors

We keep the temp during the day at 65-68 deg. At night, the programmable t-stat drops it to 55 deg.

It's new construction. Not long ago, on a -15 or so degree day, my son and I cranked the t-stat to 75 deg., to see if the heater could handle it. Within 15 min, we cooked. ;-)

 

[Chipster]

RAYJAY also has a good point. If any of our garage doors are left open on a cold day, say for 5-10 minutes, it'll take about 10-20 minutes to recover the heat in our space. When we pull a vehicle in the space, it's only open for under a minute. When we park outside, we use the service door.

Also, some distributors have pretty good deals, and the price diff,. betw. 45k and 75k is negligible (at least during spring/summer sales, like Northern Tool often has). We bought our HD45 in July for an insanely low closeout price from a local farm supply shop.

 

[RonBou]

I have the 60,000 unit in my 24 x 24 garage and that is mildly overkill. I also use an overhead fan that I reverse in winter and only keep on when I am out there tinkering. Snow usually all melts overnight. I keep the T stat at 55 overnight. I had to put in a rubber matt under my daily driver to control the excess water after the snow melts....otherwise the floor is a mess and slippery.

 

[GORDOO]

Well first off my garage is insulated but the door is old and is not.I plan on upgrading that in the future.From what i have read so far i think i will have ice build up on the floor as i do not heat the garage all the time only when i work in it.This is why i was told to go with the larger unit as it would take alot less time to bring it up to temp.With the furnace i have now(when it works)I can light it at-30 celsius and in a half hour it is between +15 and +20 celsius i was hoping for the same result with the hot dawg.

 

[ac45mike]

I have a Hot Dawg in my 20&25 shop with nine foot ceilings. They are a great unit the heat blows down on the floor. It works great. For the Garage your talking a model HD45 is what you want the bigger one is to Large. I sell these things on my day job. I took one back from a guy because it was oversized. and I live in a Cold Climate.

 

[RAMBIN]

i was told a smaller unit would take longer to recover but the extended run time would warm the interior stuff up better? as the hot air is moving for a longer duration...

 

[mulepackin]

I'm wondering if it's not more energy effecient to keep your garage at a steady lower temp when not using it, but not keep the furnace off. I'm thinking it may require more energy to heat the space, everything in it, and the slab of concrete up to a comfortable temp each time you use it, rather than an even but lower temp. I keep mine at 50 deg. when not out there, about 60-65 when working, depending on what I'm doing. My main concern is to keep paint, etc. from freezing. It just seems to have to run a long time when heating everything up from the outdoor temp, and the furnace cycles much more frequently when doing that.

 

[hewl35]

>>

I'm wondering if it's not more energy effecient to keep >>your garage at a steady lower temp when not using it, but not keep the >>furnace off. I'm thinking it may require more energy to heat the space...

You nailed it. When I took my HVAC course we were told not to turn units off for just that reason. If your unit has to run for more than 15 to 20 min on your return, you will generally lose most of your energy savings. A timer or setback or setback t'stat would also help.

 

[beetroot72]

I've Been Running a HD45 for just over a month now. It is by far more efficient to keep the garage at a steady "lower temp" to allow everything in it to assimilate. If everything is Ice cold, the air will warm up but quickly cool off from all the items (ice cubes) in the garage. And without a doubt..INSULATE!, INSULATE!, INSULATE!
If I'm working in the garage all weekend at 68 degrees and turn the T-stat down to 50 Sunday night, come Monday morning it is still 55 degrees in there even with Sub-Zero temps outside.

 

[drbill]

Another vote for the HD45 and leaving it on all the time at a lower temp. If you let that slab of concrete get cold it will take forever to warm up.
I keep mine at 50° in a 22x22 with 9' side walls that have a cathedral ceiling to 12' 6"
My snow blower is kept as far away from the heat flow near the service door and garage door and it always melt the snow and evaporates the water.
Last time I checked the slab was about 45° there.