Warm Air Circulation

[bookman51]

I keep looking at my 72' x 40' pole building and trying to figure out how to heat a 30' x 40' part of it to a comfortable level on occasion without going broke. The roof is insulated but no ceiling. I had the side walls and overhead door high enough to park an RV in it (do not have one or plan to get one ...but maybe the next owner will want to do so). So the roof is fairly high. Right now I do not want to invest in a ceiling. I wonder if it would be effective (cost and otherwise) to run some kind of duct (even a dryer duct) to near the inside peak of the roof with a fan on it to pull down the heat that naturally goes to the ceiling and have the exhaust on the floor. Any one do that? Does it work? And are there good ideas how to do so?


Bookman

 

[kbs2244]

It is worth it.
The common way is regular home style celing fans.
But I have used those 20 window fans as well.
If you want to go with ducts, the best thing I have ever seen was in a factory with a 20 foot celing.
Lots of interior I beam posts.
They used the little 6 inch dia "helper" fans designed to go into home heating ducts.
They mounted them about 18 inchs from the celing to blow into "ducts" made of canvas.
Just cloth tubes fitted into the channel in the posts.
The air flow kept them "inflated" and if they got bumped with something they just bounced back instead of denting.

 

[bookman51]

Thanks kbs2244,

With the lack of response I thought I had come up with the dumb idea of the day, week, month, etc. (not the first time). Thanks for idea for the canvas ducts. Had not thought of that. I may put in a couple of ceiling fans but I have had better luck with them making me feel cool in summer than warm in winter (unless it is particularly warm air, air movement usually makes me feel cooler than warmer). I like the idea of the fans blowing into the duct. I had though to of something at the bottom to **** the air through the duct too.

Bookman

 

[fourfeathers]

Snap On used to sell some kinda "jet" fan designed to help de-stratify air in a shop. Seems like it was on ebay at one point.

 

[bookman51]

Fourfeathers, Thanks, I will look for it. Bookman

 

[tatra]

one of these maybe?
http://www.bigassfans.com/

 

[kbs2244]

The trouble with bigassfans is that they are just that.
Big.
(And kind of expensive.)
You can get garage sale fans that will work just as well and fit them into smaller places.
(As a long time Bears fan I do love the William Perry as spokesman idea, though.
There was no missing his backside when he got down in a 3 point stance.)

 

[Chetter]

I would think a couple of well placed paddle type fans would do a good job, that's what we use in our with the high ceilings.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

What you need are ceiling fans, industrial ones. Bigassfans are extremely expensive and the smallest are 8 ft diameter.

Go to this thread here for a discussion about 60" industrial ceiling fans. My pics and info are down near the bottom, around post #28 or so.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11627

Charles

 

[bookman51]

Looking at the thread on industrial ceiling fans, it look like just a couple of industrial Home Depot ceiling fans might do the trick. Blowing up in the winter and blowing down in the winter. Better than something I would over engineer.

Thank

Bookman

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Looking at the thread on industrial ceiling fans, it look like just a couple of industrial Home Depot ceiling fans might do the trick. Blowing up in the winter and blowing down in the winter. Better than something I would over engineer.

The fans are reversible, but not easily. You have to loosen a screw on the wiring cover just above the motor, and slide the cover up the downrod, then move the slide switch to the other position, then slide the cover down and re-tighten the screw. If they are up high, you would need a manlift of some sort. Personally, I would think you would want them blowing down in the winter, to take the hot air from up high, and push it to the floor where it can spread out. I think the idea of pushing the air up, and expecting it to spread out, with purlins and joists in the way, and then travel downward toward the outside walls of the building are highly over rated.

Charles