Radiant tube heat and ceiling height?

[DaveDudek]

Hello, a buddy of mine had bought a 30ft ceiling mounted radiant tube heater. I guess it`s almost new and he said i can have the whole assy for $400. My garage is 26x40 and my ceiling height is 8"9. Will this work?

I live in Mich and would like to keep the garage at 48 degrees at night and 70 when i`m out there working. I normally have a couple musclecars in the garage and i`m worried the roofs will get too hot. HELP!

 

[john mac]

How many BTU's, and what brand? The hight is very important, check with manufacturer for min mounting height from floor. Mine are 75,000 BTU and are 10' from the floor, I think we could of went 9' with no problem.

 

[mmg440]

Here is my opinion on it. 8' 9" doesn't give you very much space. Probably will hang a foot below and the it is most likely close to a foot in height so your output would be about 6' 9" form the floor and the roofs of the cars are most likely a least 4 foot of the floor also your about 2' 9" from the roofs of the cars ?? I don't think that sounds like it would be any good for the paint!
If you could mount the heater so as not to pass over the cars it may be fine.

 

[kbs2244]

Air temp isn't real inportant with those heaters.
Celing height is a factor of the shape of the reflector.
Think of a reflector behind a light concentrating the rays.
If yours is for a heigher celing look into the idea of mounting it along one wall at the celing and at an angle so that it "shines" over a longer area than if pointed stright down.

 

[john mac]

Mine are not mounted above floor but closer to the walls and the reflector is at a 45 angle to the floor so the heat is directed across the floor as much as possible. I looked up my specs and w/a 75,000 btu unit horizontal is 12', 30 angle is 10', and 45 angel is 9'. My shop is 70 in about 10 minutes at the 11' height but takes a while for floor level to warm. My ceiling is 22'

 

[john mac]

I agree that 8' 9" is to low because you have to have room to mount the unit.

 

[john mac]

This is how one side looks, after looking at this photo it looks to be more like 13' or even 14' because my door is a 14' by 14' door. Sorry.

 

[metalTobman]

That is a good price for a thirty foot unit. I'd guess your btuh would be 80,000, which will heat a good size shop. Mine is 30' and 80mbtuh, mounted 14' up, and heats 30' x 36' no problem at all. KBS is right, you will have to mount that heater along a side wall, as high as you can maintaining minimum clearance to combustibles of course, but 'shine' it out at 45 degrees from the corner of the wall/ceiling. Make sure to install it with a very slight grade down toward the outlet, especially for the venting, that will allow condensation to drain out instead of slowly corroding things from the inside.
Another thing you can do if you find the heat is still too intense even on the 45, is have a tin basher make you some aluminum reflectors, install them along the length of the tubes maybe a foot away, this will deflect the 'rays' away from your car roof, scalp, or what have you.

 

[DaveDudek]

Thanks guy`s.. It`s a 100,000 BTU and has 4" tubing. I`m thinking it`s just to much with a short ceiling.

 

[kbs2244]

He is offering you a god deal.
Don't be afraid of it.
"No pain, no gain."
It is a bit like riding a bike (and other things)
You will love it if you try it.