What can I expect from these heaters?

[nova65ss]

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/tls/185889251.html

Anyone ever use a heater like these? If so what kind of space can they heat and how are they energy wise? I have some better pics of the specifics.

Markel Industries
3.3 KW
277 Volts
1 PH
60 HZ
12.2 amps

I'd be interested in getting one if they would heat my garage somewhat efficiently. Thanks,

Jimmy

 

[bmwpower]

Looks pretty small. I'd be wary that it wouldn't heat things quick enough and kill your electric bill at the same time.

 

[W-Cummins]

277 Volts
1 PH
Jimmy

How are planning on running it? Do you have 277V at you place??
I guess you maby could run it on 240 volts at a lower output. But I'm not sure I would want to untill I checked out how it's wired. 277v is hot to the grounded conductor, and 240v is hot to hot.

William.....

 

[nova65ss]

How are planning on running it? Do you have 277V at you place??
I guess you maby could run it on 240 volts at a lower output. But I'm not sure I would want to untill I checked out how it's wired. 277v is hot to the grounded conductor, and 240v is hot to hot.

William.....

Didn't realize that would be a problem, thank you sir!

Jimmy

 

[jwith68]

Probably would be fine hooked up to 240V, it's still single phase AC power. At 240V, you'll have about 75% of the rated 277V output, or 2.5kW. That translates to just under 8500 Btu/hr. That's not a lot of output, but it may be enough in NC. Put up 2 of them, with a total of 17000 Btu/hr, and use one or both, depending on the need.

 

[nova65ss]

Probably would be fine hooked up to 240V, it's still single phase AC power. At 240V, you'll have about 75% of the rated 277V output, or 2.5kW. That translates to just under 8500 Btu/hr. That's not a lot of output, but it may be enough in NC. Put up 2 of them, with a total of 17000 Btu/hr, and use one or both, depending on the need.

Hey thanks,

So what's the diff. in 240 and 220. 220 I know 240 I don't is it just a different recept. or wired different? Seems like alot of runaround just to save a few bucks. I'll probably hold out and get something made for what I need.

Jimmy

 

[Stuart in MN]

Markel makes good unit heaters, unfortunately those (if they are designed to run on 277 volts) won't work on a 240 vac system. If you have the model number, you could check their website; unit heater manufacturers sometimes have some models that have multiple taps so you can run them on different voltages, although I suspect that's not the case for these particular ones. The pictures on the Craigslist ad aren't big enough for me to read the part number or see the wiring diagram well enough.

Electric unit heaters have their place - they are fairly cheap to buy and easy to hook up, and they are good for warming up a space quickly. As mentioned, they will generally cost more to operate, but that depends on what your local electric rates are compared to gas prices.

277 volt heaters are designed for use in industrial buildings, where they have 277/480 vac electric service. They often use 277v for the lights as well.

People refer to 110/220 volts or 115/230 volts, but the nominal voltage in the US is really 120/240 volts these days. In the past, line voltage could vary from one part of the country to another but at some point the electric utilities standardized on 120/240. People still use the older terms, but they're really all the same thing,