Shop heater- simple robust thermostat options?

[tarbellb]

Planning on installing a electric 240v heater for the 2bay in the next few weeks.

I would like to run a simple, robust, thermostat. Besides the basic cheapo (think Honeywell dial) options out there, is there a better
thermostat I could be using?

ie New Old Stock, Industrial use, new digital tech?

Application: 240v Electric wall mount 5k watt heater w/ fan.

Use: set and forget till I turn in off for the day, DONT need programming unless its packaged into a great thermostat

Budget: would like to keep this <$50

 

[txvwnut]

Might wanna check and see if that heater uses a line voltage t-stat. If it does then that will pretty much tell you which direction to go, unless you want to run low voltage circuit.

 

[Terry D]

Does the heater have a built in thermostat already. you would have to bypass that

 

[tarbellb]

Good points

It has a High Level cutout and a built-in thermostat...

The thermostat is ON the machine itself, which I plan to mount high and in the corner making adjustments a hassle.

Can I set the unit tstat high, say 90, then use a appropriate tstat to be more accurate and easier to access?

 

[klassenl]

Good points

It has a High Level cutout and a built-in thermostat...

The thermostat is ON the machine itself, which I plan to mount high and in the corner making adjustments a hassle.

Can I set the unit tstat high, say 90, then use a appropriate tstat to be more accurate and easier to access?

That should work. A dial stat is the easiest solution. Should be quite robust as well.

 

[tarbellb]

So yes, I can run a tstate before the unit and control it that way?

If so im back to my original question:

Is there a better options then the $15 cheapo and the overly complicated digital ones?

 

[jlv03]

I think you need to define by "better" to really answer your question. If you want simple and no programming, that $15 is going to be hard to beat. If you want set backs, temps at certain times, you'll need to spend a bit more. If you want WiFi control, home/away auto sensing, Alexa/Google Home voice controls - you'll need a digital smart thermostat of some sort.

What is the make/model of the heater? Is there an electrical schematic inside anywhere to show how to wire an external thermostat?

 

[PoorUB]

You have an problem controlling that heater with a low voltage thermostat. There is not any low voltage controls in that heater.
The existing thermostat is line voltage. Also most heaters like this the thermostat turns on the elements, and they used a snap disc to turn the fan on and off from the heat from the elements. You can see the snap disc below the elements in the picture. One is the motor control, the other is a high limit. You can try find a line voltage thermostat but it needs to have a high enough amp rating to run the elements. It looks like a 20 amp 240 volt cord so you need a like voltage thermostat that will handle that load. A thermostat for a 5,000 watt, 240 volt base board heater should do it.

I should add, if you just drop the incoming power to the heater the elements don't get cooled by the fan running for a few seconds afterwards. doing this is hard on elements. The best thing would be to remove the existing thermostat and extend the wires to a line voltage thermostat mounted where you like.

Honeywell, or Resideo has a line voltage thermostat for base boards and the thermostat communicates wirelessly to the controller, but it costs more than you paid for the heater!

 

[u2slow]

IMHO, mount the heater lower so it heats the space better... and then you can reach the thermostat knob too.

 

[mikedodge]

There's nothing wrong with the cheap thermostat you pictured. I have one of those controlling the infrared tube heater in my shop, turn it up when I want heat, turn it down when I'm not there. It's never had a problem. That's the same thermostat but different cover that's been controlling electric baseboards for decades.

 

[tarbellb]

Good info guys, much appreciated.

Ill likely have it mounted where I can access the controller, Im tall enough to not to jump n swipe.

Was hoping to have more convenience accessing the controller, closer to the door or something, but Ill make do.

The heater in question:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AXEZV/?tag=atomicindus08-20