My new Electric Ceiling Heater

[keitho64]

My new Electric Garage Ceiling Heater

I have been lurking here for quite some time admiring all the creative garage ideas. My garage is more of a car repair facility than anything else. It is a 24x26 attached garage with a 10 foot ceiling. I live in the Chicago area so the cars tend to be down in winter and that is prime time to repair/upgrade then.

The garage is completely insulated and seldom gets below freezing. For the past few years I have been using a portable propane radiant heater which will keep the garage at 45-50 but never quite felt comfortable.

Last years’ Polar Vortex and my aging body motivated me to do something more.

Above the garage is the master bedroom so doing a Natural Gas furnace was going to cause quite a bit of work for the chimney. My local laws state the top of the chimney must be above the highest peak on the house.

I was researching Garage Journal as saw quite a few comments and reviews on electric heaters, mostly with favorable results.

I broke down and decided to buy myself a Christmas present. I ordered a ProFusion EH-4604 from Northern Tool & Equipment. It is rated at 17,000 BTU which is much better than the 7,000 BTU propane heater I had been using.

I did have to run a 220V 30A circuit to the garage which wasn’t difficult. (I did get help to make sure it was done right). I used an AC disconnect switch so I can kill the power to the furnace when not in use. The installation was very simple and I am happy to say the garage was over 60 last night when the outside temperature was in the teens. I had the heater on the 5000 watt setting for about 30 minutes and then turned it back to 3000 watts.

Here are a couple pictures of the completed project. Now I can spend this winter working in the garage in greater comfort!

 

[David Paul]

Humm, sounds familiar........
Looks great Keith!

 

[Charles (in GA)]

And after seeing the title, I thought to myself, "why would anyone want to heat a ceiling?"

Charles

 

[keitho64]

And after seeing the title, I thought to myself, "why would anyone want to heat a ceiling?"

Charles

OK, you got me on that one...


I edited the title.

 

[jd_77]

How is the heat output of that unit? What was the start temp and finish temp and how long did it take to get it to temp.

 

[oba97]

I'm curious too. I'm about to buy a similar unit for my 2 car garage that is decently insulate. I live in Michigan so am curious how quick it can heat up a cold garage.

 

[DBALL]

Same here, after being out there today and its not that cold yet the space heater isn't cutting it. My setup sounds similar to yours 10ft high ceilings but mine is 20 x 20. So in 30 mins at the 5000W setting your garage was 60 degrees? That sounds pretty decent.

 

[Falcon67]

Looks like my G73. Its 72 in the work room in the shop, ice and 23F outside. I can heat all 960 sq/ft with it if I give it a little time to work on it. I have a 30~60k turbo and a dual burner Mr Heater propane unit that I never use. No need.

 

[keitho64]

Without heat my garage will be between 38 and 40 when it is in the teens outside. I will run it on the 5000 watt setting for about 1 hour and then cut it back. Within two hours it is very toasty. I will pay more attention to the actual temps and how much per hour it warms up. I will say I am very happy with the results and I was skeptcial going into it.

Over the next few days it is supposed to be a lot colder and I plan to do work over the weekend and will post some more results.

 

[oba97]

Great! I'm looking forward to hearing the results. In the mean time I'll be running my 220.

 

[keitho64]

It is in the low teens outside and the garage was at 41. I ran the heater on 5000watt for an hour then put it at the 4000 watt setting for another hour then to 3000 for the rest of the day. Within 1 hour it was 48 and in two hours 55. I managed to get it to 60 in 3 hours and that it where I left it.

It definitely works for my needs. I was able to comfortably work in the garage and have the engine and transmission almost out of the car. I will finish that job tomorrow and spend the winter with comfort while I work out there.

 

[dakotart1984]

How did the heater come wired? Was there a whip attached to it?

 

[keitho64]

I used a 4' BX Appliance whip and hard wired it in. It is 10 gauge with two hot and a ground. I think it was $14.00 from Menards.

I am working in the garage today. It was 35 when I first turned the heater on and after two hours it is pushing 60. It actually has been off the majority of the time now, maybe running 10 minutes per hour.

I am definitely sold on this for my use!

 

[rburke65]

Any one have this heater over a period of years that can say how they have held up. Any issues? Thanks.

 

[JbTech]

Anyone have one of these heaters that makes a lot of noise?

Sounds like the fan rubbing.

The motor spins at different speeds and causes different noises.

I'll tear it apart if needed. Just curious.

Just hooked mine up tonight for the first time.

 

[David Paul]

Mine is pretty quiet. Another user posted the same issue with the sound of a fan hitting. They exchanged it with no further issues. Since I had to have mine shipped, if it was making nose of the fan hitting something, I'd open it up.
David

 

[JbTech]

I'll see what happens. It's a trial run,

Still checking of temps and operation. Overall I'm pleased.

However it's still warm outside at 50'.

Garage has come up 10'. Not too shabby!

 

[ambenz]

Oh man, I know our Com Ed isn't cheap....and I am not trying to beat you up on your decision.
It's just that others in our climate will see this thread and consider your purchase.
I can guess your might have a pretty high electric bill.

In our area, natural gas is pretty inexpensive...
Any reason you didn't consider a ventless gas furnace?
Menards has them for less than $200.
I run my garage ventless heater 24/7 at 55F during the winter....costs me $78 last month to heat home, detached garage, run the clothes dryer, bake and cook during the holidays.
A plus for electric heat is it easier to install.
Enjoy your heat...there is nothing like a heated garage!!!

 

[James-W]

I can guess your might have a pretty high electric bill.

I agree with you, electric heat works great, is easy to install, and it doesn't need venting. Only problem is, it isn't real cheap to use.

 

[David Paul]

Electric was the best choice for my use. Don't have natural gas, wanted ease of installation, no added humidity. Add to that that I'll only use it about 12 hours a month for about 3 months out of the year......yea, electric was the best choice for me.

 

[dakotart1984]

This is why Im leaning towards this option in my thread.

I figured it was a whip, Just wasnt sure how you went about mounting it. I might do the same and add the cutoff so that way it doesnt "accidentally" come on when I dont want it to.

 

[Autorotica]

5K watts in Eastern PA would cost $0.70 per hour to run.

Chris

 

[keitho64]

Oh man, I know our Com Ed isn't cheap....and I am not trying to beat you up on your decision.

I can guess your might have a pretty high electric bill.

In our area, natural gas is pretty inexpensive...
Any reason you didn't consider a ventless gas furnace?
Menards has them for less than $200.

Above my garage is the master bedroom so doing a Natural Gas furnace was going to cause quite a bit of work for the chimney. My local laws state the top of the chimney must be above the highest peak on the house. So in my case electric was the best option.

 

[JbTech]

I think I found the noise issue in the heater!

The Fan blade fell off!

Reinstalled with some loctite and it's much quieter!
Although it seems I have vibration now...Hmmm.
Just a heads up for anyone who ends up with a lemon!

 

[newhollandpuller]

I installed mine 2 weeks ago and was working fine (quiet and kept the garage comfortable) Standard 3 car attached garage. Yesterday fan was running and no heat!! called customer service and they instructed me to take it back to the store of purchase... It is either the switch for for the wattage or the heating element.. I will be pulling it down tonight and exchanging it for another one.. If its the three position switch I would've just hard wired around it because I want it to only run at 5000 watts anyway.

 

[newhollandpuller]

I took the orginal heater back to Menards and they no longer had the profusion heater so they exchanged it with a Comfort Zone model. Installed it and we had heat... then the next night before bed checked the garage (habit to make sure everything is OK) Found a garage full of smoke and burnt electrical smell.. Yep this one caught it's self on fire and kicked the breaker... Menards exchanged it for another one - but now wondering if I should even install it.. I don't need to have my house burn down just to keep my garage 45*.. Anyone else have any problems with these?