Radiant Tube Heat

[jtreywallace]

In process of building 32x40x16 with scissor truss 4/12. I will have two garage doors, 10x10 and 12x14. Ideally I would like a tube heater installed in the peak of the building but concerned with clearances due to garage door rail supports/bracing for the doors. Assuming 85,000btu NG. Has anyone come across this and what solutions did you come up with ?

 

[4x4Pete]

My shop is 32' wide, 30' deep, 12'6" tall. 2x6 walls r20, r60 ceiling. 2" 30psi foam under the concrete. I have an oversized 60k radiant tube mounted at a 45° across the back of the shop. Could have used a 45k heater. I keep the temp at 68° all the time. No problem with damage to anything. The big issue with radiant systems (infloor or tube) is that for best performance you have to maintain temperature. If you're not planning on keeping it warm 24/7 you may want to consider another heating system type.

 

[cannuck]

My backyard shop is 26 x 39 wide. When I built size (lot width) and wall height (8.0 bylaw) resulted in a metal building with a 10x10 rolling door feeding the center bay that is about 13' open to peak. Trusses stand on 25' beams (also overhead crane tracks) so center bay is open to about 11'. a 20', 80k btu tube lives up there and does a fantastic job of heating the area. I keep it at 40f but when planning work will kick it up to 60 an hour before I go out. Working directly under the tube IS very warm, but tolerable. truss design allows a lot of overhead storage easily reached from the 2 side bays and a rack on each side accessed from center bay that will hold 20 and 24' material.

 

[Bert_]

I'm not sure exactly what your layout will be but with 16 ft and scissor trusses I wouldn't expect an issue.

For building that size that's a very large heater. I have a 100,000 tube heater in a 40x100x16 and it's still more than it needs here in Iowa.

 

[cannuck]

Just a little note to anyone considering a radiant tube heater: make sure you plan to mount it on a slight grade so condensation will run downhill and out of horizontal "tailpipe". Otherwise your tube will rust through prematurely. Most 20' tubes start with a stainless tube baffled first 1/3 and end with a mild steel tube to try to even out amount of IR radiation, so that steel tube is quite easily rotted by the huge amount of water produced from combustion.

For overhead door? You just need to put a permissive switch in place so heater can only get power when door is closed. I do that for my overhead cranes that have a jumper in their charge cable to allow power to heater only when cranes are parked. I also have to comply with code by placing a height limit bar in the doorway to keep vehicle height below max for heater clearnace. That bright yellow bar is in place any time an inspector is expected.

 

[jtreywallace]

Appreciate the feedback. My concerns more deal with the garage door struts, rails, bracing in the middle of the building. They most likely will fall within the clearance tolerances for most radiant tube heaters by a couple of feet. I assume this will be a deal breaker by installing in the peak or middle of the building. Thanks again for the feedback. Appreciate the help.

 

[cannuck]

From everything I have ever seen it is only combustibles that have to remain a set distance from the open side of the reflectors and tube, so just use steel mounting for steel hardware and you will be golden. The reason I have to limit height of vehicles is the very flammable nature of paint.

 

[Bert_]

They really shouldn't condense much if it's installed right and not grossly oversized.

I've had one that condensed and rotted the tube out in about 10 years. It had way too long of tube for the burner size.

 

[no704]

Had them in a shop I worked at in the early’90s. Do not pull in a frozen car and open the glass lift gate with out putting some cardboard over it!